So harvesting wild rice was all of these: fun/hard work/emotionally stressful/rewarding/a time of spiritual growth. I don't even know where to begin. I thought tonight I'd start by talking about what I learned about the give and take between us and the environment, us and other people, us and plants, and animals, both domesticated and wild.
We camped at a lake called Moose Lake in a beautiful patch of woods in Northern Minnesota. I have to say, Minnesota is so beautiful, a rare treasure I never would have guessed from listening to A Prairie Home Companion. I thought, for some reason, that Minnesota would be a lot like the rest of the mid-west; flat, farm fields; not the amazing lakes and wonderful woods everywhere; gosh I've just been crying with the beauty, I've been waking in the woods to the sweet sounds of swans and geese and feeling the same type of ecstasy I felt when I was rolling around on the beach smelling an Evening Primrose. (I fell in love that night, I've decided I'm married to Evening Primrose...she's my lady.) Anyway, the woods we slept in where enchanted, birch trees and patches of "fairy woods" (you know, moss and ferns and little boggy areas everywhere,) and right next to our camp was the most beautiful forest meadow you can imagine, complete with little blueberry bushes and blackberries and baby oak trees everywhere. That meadow was where we spread our wild rice to dry in the evenings, so that it didn't mildew while we waited to process it. Oh yeah, and also right next to our camp was this beautiful little swimming hole with a sandy beach and everything, so that after we got done with work in the evening, we could wash all the work away with a little naked swim. Perfect paradise, if you ask me. It was really hard to go back to crazy, noisy Minneapolis after all that wonderful beauty. I told the people I was with that we should just stay out there.
(To be continued..the people I'm hanging with just made a huge amount of Banana Scream!)
Love ya,
Carrot
I thought you were becoming a rice missionary? You're back from the woods? Really? You must be crazy to return, Carrot...the Minnesota winter isn't that bad... :)
my documentary...
Wanna smile on the spot?
I'm going back to midwifery school this fall, but I'm starting to agree with you, Green Underbelly, that it is crazy to return to so-called "civilization." Last night I got to sleep in a punk house on a busy corner of Minneapolis, and all I heard was sirens, cars, someone mowing their lawn at like 2 in the morning, punks leaving for a canoe trip super early, dogs fighting and all the other noises that make up "civilization." As a very noise-sensitive person, I'm ready to run back to the woods! At least the only noises you hear there are some predator pouncing on mice around your camp at night!
At the moment, I don't feel I have all the necessary skills to survive in the wild, especially not alone...I mean, did you see the movie Into the Wild? That is what happens to people when they are cocky enough to believe that they can just go out into the woods with a rifle and survive...ultimately, they starve. I don't even know the basics of tanning yet, or tracking, or trapping, or hunting, or wild edible plants, or herbal medicines...in short, I don't really know anything I need to know to live in the woods of anywhere at the moment. This winter I plan to make friends with some hunters and get skins they don't want and work on tanning; that is my first lesson.
Secondly, I don't have a tribe...and I think this is possibly even more essential then knowing everything myself...(although I do plan on learning as much as possible myself.) I'm also working on this part of the puzzle...I'm making as many "rewilder" friends as possible, talking with them about community and tribalism, feeling people out for the possibility of collective/tribal living. I've got a few friends back in Portland who are into the idea; I may be moving to Northern California with them at some point and starting our "tribe." Or, I may start a band of my own, and move them to the land I just inherited in Upstate New York, which is a really rich, biodiverse ecosystem and would be a great place to go completely feral in. I'm really thinking once midwifery school is over, I'm gonna slowly move back to the east coast, possibly living in Minnesota for a year or so because I'm so impressed with the state now.
One way or another, I'm gonna eventually be completely land-based; my dream is becoming more and more clear to me, and it looks surprisingly the same as the dreams I had for my life when I was seven.
Love ya,
Carrot
I find that very comforting--many old poets and Wordsworth have stretched their limits to examine the romantic vision we have as children. I think it's great that you're able to realize them.
If you're into the collective feralness gig, you should check out the 2006 documentary, Commune. Actually come to think of it, Midwifery school sounds silly. If yer goal is to seriously reach out and develop skills while meeting capable collaborateurs, you might want to think about traveling back to Montana and either becoming an apprentice to an outfitter or simply going to an outfitting school. A corpsmember this summer told me he was pondering the latter. I'll find out more if you're interested, carrot...
my documentary...
Wanna smile on the spot?
That's really interesting. Is there a website where i can find out about how do get involved?