I'm looking for a place to live! I'd like to find a cabin or small house for 1 or 2 people and my dog, with electricity, running water...the basics. I am, unfortunately, in a situation where it would be best for this to happen sooner than later as my current landlords have proven themselves not to be people who follow through when it comes to making the building watertight, etc. In any case it doesn't work for me.

Any and all leads would be appreciated!

Time for some reflecting. Last night WBKM aired the 79th episode of Paradigms. I’m feeling very good about the show. The guests are amazing wonderful people engaged in meaningful activity in the world, and music is such an energy mover; I feel a sense of accomplishment which is satisfying. I wish more people would listen to the show because I think they’d get so much from it. Tell all your friends!

It’s a slow spring arriving in Vermont this year. North America is receiving so much water right now, and we are no exception, so that means flooded lakes and rivers, and here at 1500 feet above sea level it means sodden ground, cooler temperatures, and a slow start to the growing season. There are now three adults living in this space, and Zack the dog. We are building the three bedrooms though. Framing happened on Saturday and is 80% done. Then it’s a matter of doing the dirtcrete floors, framing in the doors, putting up the wall coverings, wood between the rooms and glass and wood facing into the common space. Wiring for electricity and internet will go into each room, and then we can move in! The ceiling needs to be insulated and surfaced too. There’s a lot to do. At the same time we are preparing more beds in the garden, planting, and once the ground dries out a bit we will get part of the hillside plowed to plant a big 3 sisters garden in. The two hens, with their two roosters (thank goodness we got rid of the other 5 roosters, it has made everything better for everyone here) provide probably 10 eggs a week. Friends have been giving us perennials so we have planted a bunch of things up in the new orchard; lavender, bee balm, strawberries, raspberries, currants, roses.

Sharing this space with these two women is interesting. It works pretty well in that we are all respectful of each other, everyone does their share, and we are different enough that we cover different areas of maintaining the living space and a livable vibe. It will be good to get the bedrooms built though.

My housemates and me are planning on building a cordwood and masonry round house with round bedrooms built of the same material attached as pods going up the side of the hill a little. I also want to put a 12’ yurt up at the top of the hill near the orchard as a quiet space. The visioning is going well, and we are doing the work of sharing as we go along with each other and with the people who live in the other side of the earthship, and finding how to blend their visions of what is to happen here with ours. Some of that goes easily and some of it includes coming up against the little square blocks we all have in our minds. It’s definitely a learning experience, but it is working, and so far it’s worth the energy.

I’ve reduced my media consumption lately. The trends are clear, the issues of humans engaging in unethical immoral activity continue to be present, the same people are doing the same terrible things, I don’t need every detail right now. I feel that I am making more of a contribution by focusing on “my work” than by doing anything else.

Zack the dog has been here for over a week now. He is amazing. Everyone who has met him so far has been blown away by how sweet and present and well mannered he is. He is like another person in the house, except that he’s a dog. He’s a Samoyed and they are very special beings. He’s recovering from being mauled, so he has some scabs but they are starting to fall off and he is clearly enjoying his new home.

May we all find ourselves with the resources, the people, and the will to respond intelligently and kindly to what is in front of us.

Today I feel angry. I am angry at Americans. I am angry at the surprise so many feel when they realize that this country has been taken over by fascists. What the hell did you think was going on when Bush was illegally put into office? What the hell did you think was going on when Bush invaded Iraq, or when Obama maintained the Bush policies of torture and rendition? Come on people, wake up!

The republicans have been planning this takeover for years. Republican governors and legislatures are passing draconian laws, vilifying poor people, giving more tax cuts to the rich, allowing the corporations to blatantly buy elections, disenfranchising voters, etc. and democrats are complicit. Both democrats and republicans are essentially one corporate party, in case you haven't figured that out yet.

It is great that middle class people are finally feeling the squeeze and going out into the street. Finally! What took you so long?? You were too comfortable with your TVs and computers; your liberalism that allows you to feel like you are off the hook for the carnage this country has been wreaking around the world. Guess what...you are NOT off the hook, you are hanging on the hook like a piece of meat, and the wealthy maggots of Wall Street and "Government" are feeding on your carcass. They will eat every bit of you until there is nothing left. That is the price of complacency.

If people in this country are serious about reclaiming government and about refusing fascism, the time to act is now. We do not have the luxury of complacency, of waiting to see what will happen next because it is happening now.

Tax the poor masses to enrich the wealthy few. Exterminate the people of the middle east and northern Africa so we can take oil and other wealth from the land. Disassemble education, health care, any assistance, so that Americans will be poor and stupid and sick, and easily manipulated. That is the game plan that has been enacted by the republicans with the aid of the democrats, and it is working.

If my words make you uncomfortable, good. Maybe you'll do something instead of being a "good German" who sits back while the shit goes down.

And if my words piss you off, good. Maybe your head will clear and you will see through the haze. And if you decide that I am the problem because I am saying these things, go look in the mirror. There you will see the problem.

Communication. We are about to enter one of this year's four periods of Mercury Retrograde, which means the planet Mercury is moving away from us effecting electronics, machinery, communications, scheduling and timing...some people believe in this stuff, some people don't.

Communication is a huge part of my life and I think all of our lives. Most of my work life has involved communication through speech and writing with other humans. Words. I think I am pretty good at using words to convey meaning. I have always found that it takes a great deal more intention and more words to accurately convey my thoughts than I would instinctually use, so I am very often engaged in the exercise of translating my own internal shorthand into a form that others can hopefully receive with my message intact. It's easier with writing because I can take my time, edit, proofread, but speaking with people is different. There is no editing once a thing has been spoken.

In this time of political uprising, communication is critical to effective constructive change. I encounter, over and over, people working for the same things but slowed down or stymied by ineffective communication. Often it seems that emotional reactivity is what's skewing the communication. That's the thing I find myself working on perpetually. And I see the same thing in others.

Here's to mindful communication!