The Lost Plant-it

(Or How Four Books Are Changing Our View Of Our Reality And Inspiring Us to Plant Even More Food Than We Already Grow)

The universe has aligned in just such a way as to make us, here at The Lost Planet, reassess our very existence. Do you ever read a succession of books that all link together in a way? That's what's happened to us lately. It started with this book:

Of all the Buddhist books we've read, this one is very high ranking. It took me a month or more to finish it because I had to put the book down after each section to let what I'd read simmer. This is the perfect book for westerners to begin understanding Buddhism. Jack Kornfield has a gift in explaining Buddhist psychology in a way that makes sense. I came away from the book feeling a deep sense of peace. Sounds like a bunch of hokum, huh? Try reading it. I bet you'll feel all peaceful and centered, too.

You're going to want to feel all peaceful and centered before you pick up this 600 page gem:

Seriously, The Culture of Make Believe is the most ass kickingest book I think I've ever read (I think Babba would agree, but he's busy making oatmeal and I don't want to bother him.). Derrick Jensen unravels the nature of hate. It's not leisurely reading- be prepared to confront the atrocities of the Klu Klux Klan, Union Carbide, J.P Morgan, and Weyerhouser to name a few. This untangling of hate is so profoundly emotional, so soul wrenching, that it makes you loathe this entire civilization and what built it. Derrick Jensen is sort of a mixture of Tim Wise and Edward Abbey. He has this amazing ability to connect the personal with the planetary. I'd go so far as to say this book should be required reading for everyone everywhere. Read this. Please.

Auspiciously, we'd also checked this book out from the library:

We admit to having been very heavily influenced by 1960's hippy counterculture- especially the architecture. The 'make do with what you have' ethos permeates our little hand made compound. But more than the architecture, it's the reasons that people chose to drop out of society that are so fascinating to us- because honestly, we are kind of society drop outs ourselves. It's no surprise that we loved this novel partially set in a hippy commune in California in 1968. The other part of the novel features back to the land/ homesteading/ survivalist/ fur trappers in Alaska. It's a book we couldn't put down. We laughed out loud. You care about the characters as if they are your brothers and sisters, with all of their middle class American flaws. It's supremely enjoyable. One of those novels that you'll remember for a long time to come.

Coming off of the Drop City high, we were curious to read a book written by someone we know:


Jim Minick and his wife, Sarah, planted 1,000 blueberries not far from our house. We used to go there to pick berries, and honestly it was one of the most impressive and beautiful organic farms our eyes have ever seen. They've since moved on. They sold their farm, and sadly the new owners no longer have a 'pick your own' business there.

This book has kindled more than a spark of excitement around The Lost Planet. We've always farmed for ourselves. We have many friends who sell at the farmers market, but we never have. House cleaning is our gig- it's flexible and supplements our art making. House cleaning is not fulfilling on many levels- and it doesn't utilize any of the farming skills that we have acquired. We're to ready to make a change. We want to be For Real Farmers. Finding a new home for the goats has reinforced for us how much we enjoy plants more than animals. Babba's pacing the land counting off square footage, and figuring how many berry plants we can fit. He's up at night thinking about solar powered fencing and irrigation. He's like a mad man- a farming hyper spaz. True, he's been fasting and cleansing for six days which is giving him dizzying amounts of energy for such daydreams. It feels like what we should do though. To be farmers. Real Farmers. I think so. I really do. And being farmers fits into The Found Plan. (have I mentioned The Found Plan on this blog? I may not have. Basically, it's our long term/5 year plan of how we want our family to be and the life we want to live. I'll talk more about it in future posts as the details of The Found Plan become more clear.)