Halloween & Day
of the Dead
East Winders enjoyed one last hoorah down by our creek this
Halloween, where there was fun to be had by all. Kids and adults enjoyed a haunted hayride to
the party, bobbing for apples, pumpkin carving, and a costume contest. East Winders built a bonfire around the
maypole that we erected on May Day (six months earlier), and set it aflame at dusk. Costumed East Winders celebrated throughout
the day, and craziness ensued late into the night.
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On November 1st, some of us gathered in our
cemetery to remember and honor East Winders who are no longer with us. We tended to the land where they are buried
and adorned the graves with photos. We
found the last wildflowers and marigolds in bloom and placed them on each
grave. We then dug a hole in the center
of the cemetery where we will be planting a weeping willow tree this
month. East Winders took some time to
sit and reminisce in the cemetery, and left at sunset.
Waiting List
East Wind reached population capacity last month, and there are currently ten people on a waiting list for open spaces. November visitors will be asked to leave at the end of their three-week visitor period (until space opens up), due to lack of bedrooms and limited accommodations and facilities. There are currently over eighty people planning to call East Wind their home this winter. We expect to see a full house throughout the winter with space opening up in the spring.
Waiting List
East Wind reached population capacity last month, and there are currently ten people on a waiting list for open spaces. November visitors will be asked to leave at the end of their three-week visitor period (until space opens up), due to lack of bedrooms and limited accommodations and facilities. There are currently over eighty people planning to call East Wind their home this winter. We expect to see a full house throughout the winter with space opening up in the spring.
East Wind has not had a waiting list in effect in a number
of years, so we have had a series of community meetings to discuss how to
handle our current situation. We have
yet to decide if we want to expand and raise our population capacity or to
limit the size of our growing community.
Many East Winders feel that we need to focus on expanding our current
facilities, especially our cooking/dining areas, our showers, and our laundry
facilities. The majority of us are
currently sharing three showers, two washers and dryers, and eight stove
burners (though there are small kitchens and showers in two of the dorms as
well).
Hunting Season
East Wind encompasses over 1,000 acres of mostly forested
land, and we share this land with many other animals. Many deer live in the woods around our
community, and deer sightings are by no means uncommon. This year, some East Winders are taking
advantage of this opportunity to provide wild game for community. Some hunts have been successful, and East
Winders have already enjoyed venison in a number of community meals this
fall.
Wine Cellar
This month, we renovated our wine cellar and installed wine
racks that will one day accommodate 760 bottles of aged wine. We currently have nearly 300 bottles of
homemade wine, ranging from one month to one and a half years in age.
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| Wine cellar before renovation |
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| After renovation |
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| Homemade wine racks & table |
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| Wine to be enjoyed in 2013 |
After weeks of beautiful fall colors and weather, autumn is
turning to winter as plants and animals move their energy inward and underground. The first hard frost of the year hit on the
26th of October, and East
Winders scrambled to harvest or reemay any crops and herbs that otherwise wouldn’t
survive the night. Every last pepper,
tomato, and leaf of basil was saved for the winter ahead.
Growing Peanuts
East Wind successfully grew a few rows of peanuts in our
garden this year. While our nutbutter
business ships in peanuts by the truckload (tons, literally) and has sold
millions of dollars worth of peanut butter, we haven’t grown any of our own
peanuts until now. This year’s crop was
successful and will be enjoyed in community, but would not supply even a
fraction of a percent of the amount of peanuts our business uses in any given
year.
Herb Garden
Many green and flowering herbs have died back down to the
roots this month, leaving our herb gardens looking tidy but gloomy. Herbs that cannot survive the cold winter
like basil, holy basil, lemongrass, borage, and nasturtiums have all been
harvested or moved inside, or died.
Autumn is the time when a plant’s energy moves into its roots, and we
take advantage of this opportunity by harvesting the highly medicinal roots of
echinacea, elecampane, astragalus, and marsh mallow at this time. We have also harvested many important wild
roots such as dandelion, chicory, burdock, and yellowdock. We are sure to keep ourselves stocked with a
variety of dried medicinal herbs and tinctures as we head into the winter and
cold season this year.
