Height of Summer Update
August is upon us and the year seems to be flying by as summer crop harvests are in full swing and the season of vegetable processing begins. The native bees of this area flock to the garden’s flowers in this time and it is wonderful to see such vigorous pollination…
Happy Solstice!
This year’s Summer Solstice celebration was a especially wonderful event. The day could not have been more perfect, with a few puffy white clouds passing under the warm, bright Sun. Volleyball, frisbee, horseshoes and bucket pong were enjoyed on the Music Room lawn as people relaxed, played music, and frolicked…
Birds of the Ozarks
Sumner has lived at East Wind Community for just over three years now. He does a number of things around here, including birding religiously on the weekends and less religiously writing this blog. If I allow myself, I can spend hours and hours observing the many and varied forms of…
Spring Update
Spring rains are upon us. Pastures greening, trees awakening. New life abounds and the humid warmth of the Ozarks is returning. Each year there is plenty of work to be done around the farm as the cold season comes to an end. Trees are pruned and seeds started. Swales dug…
15 Years of Labor Data
The middle of winter is a perfect time to do reflect on the past and engage in some indoor computing work. At the end of each year at East Wind the ‘Annual Labor Report’ is printed for the viewing public’s pleasure. This report looks at all the various labors that…
Mid Winter
Winter is ambling along here in the heart of the Ozarks. The days are growing longer and spirits are rising. As an Erie, PA native it has been wonderful to see my first serious snowfall at East Wind in the three winters I’ve lived here. The weather this winter has…
Latest Documentary on East Wind
The latest documentary on East Wind has just been published. It is a short film created by TRT News. My voice was used for much of the transition narration (I was provided with a script, but the documentary producer did allow us some amount of editorial control). This is the…
Late Summer Garden Update
The moderate summer is coming to an end and the height of the 2017 season is over. Although cooler than last year, this summer’s harvests were large and plentiful. The tomatoes are starting to wind down and the pepper’s are currently peaking. Honeybees buzz among the buckwheat while large carpenter…
Solar Eclipse 2017
As you may be aware, there was a total solar eclipse across much of the US today. Here at East Wind we experienced 96% of totality. The world dimmed and cooled. The shadows cast by leaves all turned to crescents. Venus could be seen in the sky at the ‘height’…
New Pantry
Stocking a kitchen that serves the needs of over seventy people requires a lot of space for food storage. Steps away from Rock Bottom (our community’s main kitchen and dining hall) we have two stand alone buildings for food storage: a walk-in refrigerator (‘the walk-in’) and dry storage. East Wind…