What's Happening: October 2012

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.

On November 1^st, 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.

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.    

Wine cellar before renovation

After renovation

Homemade wine racks & table

Wine to be enjoyed in 2013

First Frost

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 26^th  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.