What’s Happening: May 2012

Land Day

East Winders celebrated May and the 38^th anniversary of purchasing our land on the 1^st of this month.  Our Land Day celebration was complete with a maypole, bonfire, mud pit, drumming, and musical talent on our stage and around the fire.  Nature smiled on us by giving us a beautiful sunny day for our celebration, and a good time was had by all.

Garden

Tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, and melons are soaking up the sun in our new Mulberry Garden.  Thousands of mulberries ripened on the mulberry tree in the center of our garden, and the first delicious blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries were harvested.  In our upper garden, strawberries were harvested daily during the first few weeks of the month.  Fresh broccoli, snap peas and snow peas, and greens and garden salads were greatly enjoyed in the kitchen, and the first of the summer garlic harvest is beautifully braided and proudly hung in the dining hall.  Caldendula, echinacea, chamomile, bee balm, hyssop, and milk thistles bloomed in our herb gardens, while the enchanting pink flowers of the mimosa trees continue to bloom into June.

  
Elections

May is the time for East Wind’s annual managerial elections.  Members of East Wind are able to run for year-long terms in positions such as Garden Manager, Ranch Manager, Membership Manager, Kitchen Manager, Recreation Manager, Food Processing Manager, etc.  The term ‘manager’ is used very differently at East Wind than in most places.  At East Wind, managers do not have the authority to hire or fire or give commands.  Managers are just East Winders who volunteer to see that a job gets done, and are given access to a budget agreed upon by the community as a whole.  Managers aren’t bosses here; they’re coworkers.  Some managerships are very big jobs and can become overwhelming, and managers often need a lot of help and teamwork to accomplish their goals. There was a lot of community participation this year with over forty members voting in the elections, and new managers take on their positions on the 1^st of June.