The Newsletter

WEEK 8 – AUGUST EMPTINESS

This Week’s Harvest

Poblano Peppers, Bel Fiore & Sugarloaf Chicories, Fresh Cabernet Onions,Fairytale + Asian + ItalianEggplant, Slicing Tomatoes, Lorz Softneck Garlic,Red Russian Kale, Loose Carrots, Summer Squash & Zucchini, Olympian Cucumbers, Lemon Cucumbers, Salad Mix, Rosaine Little Gems, Arugula, Bok Choi, Rainbow Chard

U-Pick

• Pickling Cucumbers (See below for tips and instructions)
• Amethyst Green Beans
• Albion Strawberries
• Purple Snow Peas (Gleanings)
• Sugar Snap Peas (Gleanings)
• Frying Peppers (See our Week 5 & 6 Newsletter for harvest tips)
• Jalapeños
• Herbs: Rosemary, Thyme, Dill,Tulsi Basil, Italian Basil, Thai Basil, Purple Basil, Oregano, Marjoram, Tarragon, Onion Chives, Garlic Chives, Vietnamese Coriander, Culinary Lavender, Culinary Sage, French Sorrel, Lemon Verbena, Lemon Balm, Perilla & Purple Shiso, Chamomile, Cilantro, Mints, Anise Hyssop

Thoughts

I’ll be sure to check out the Chicory this week, and I’m looking forward to the Poblanos – I’d love to do a gluten-free Chile Relleno – perhaps baked instead of fried – along with some fresh farm salsa.

Harvest Time!

What’s Cooking

The chile rellenos are great – I take off the tops, insert some manchego cheese (not stuffed with it), oil them up a bit and bake them at 350. I’d like to see if I can get them a bit softer, but this is a super simple way to go and very tasty with some fresh farm salsa. Soaking some dried sprouted pinto beans for tonight.

The post CSA – Week 8 appeared first on Owl and Bear.

The Newsletter

WEEK 7 – THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

This Week’s Harvest

Bel Fiore & Sugarloaf Chicories, Cipollini Onions, Fairytale + Asian + Italian Eggplant, Slicing Tomatoes, Lorz Softneck Garlic, Farao Green Cabbage, Purple Daikon, Dino Kale, Loose Rainbow Carrots, Summer Squash & Zucchini, Olympian Cucumbers, Lemon Cucumbers, Salad Mix (with Mizuna, Baby Bok Choi, Little Gems, and Frisee), Summercrisp and Red Butter Head Lettuces

U-Pick

Albion Strawberries, Sugar Snap Peas, Purple Snow Peas, Frying Peppers, Jalapeños and all the herbs from last week plus an abundance of flowers for the pickin’.

Thoughts

I’ve been so busy with work, cooking has been fairly utilitarian, but at least filled with the freshest possible vegetables. Also making a constant flow of veggie stock adds to the larder.

Harvest Time!

Love the Purple Daikon, the Cipollini Onions and the different Cukes. Missed the Chicory though, shoot. Next time!

What’s Cooking

Got home, made some baked cod with Daikon, Summer Squash and Carrots, along with a nice mixed green salad. An omelette tonight. Basic stuff, but so fresh.

The post CSA – Week 7 appeared first on Owl and Bear.

The Newsletter

WEEK 6 – ODE TO THE ONION

This Week’s Harvest

Bunched Rainbow Carrots, Fresh Cabernet Onions, Purple Daikon, Red Russian Kale, Celery, Summer Squash, Olympian Cucumbers, Persian or Lemon Cucumbers, Arugula, Salad Mix (Mustard Greens, Frisee and Radicchio), Mixed Little Gems, Romaine Lettuce, Greenhouse Tomatoes, Eggplant

U-Pick

Albion Strawberries, Purple Snow Peas, Sugar Snap Peas, Frying Peppers, Jalapeños and all the herbs from last week plus an abundance of flowers for the pickin’.

Thoughts

A remarkable amount of diversity, freshness and abundance. I’m going to hold off on the Pickling Cukes until I can read more about how to do that. Probably need to pick up another flat of mason jars while I’m at it.

Harvest Time!

I look forward to Tuesdays – going to the CSA is the highlight of my week. Such a wonderful flow of people, nature and food.

The Cabernet Onions are amazing. A limit of two Japanese Eggplants, so that’s a nice little taster. The Purple Daikon are spectacular. Fun!

What’s Cooking

I’m working through the more perishable greens, enjoying Estiva Tomatoes that taste like real tomatoes, braising Purple Bok Choy with Cabernet Onion tops and playing with the visually-entertaining Purple Daikon.

The post CSA – Week 6 appeared first on Owl and Bear.

The Newsletter

WEEK 5 – FARM CHOREOGRAPHY

This Week’s Harvest

Bunched Rainbow Carrots, Scallions,Easter Egg Radishes, Green Curly Kale, Rainbow Chard, Red, Gold & Chioggia Beets, Summer Squash, Olympian Cucumbers, Arugula, Braising Mix, Spinach, Mixed Little Gems, Romaine Lettuce, Garlic, Greenhouse Tomatoes

U-Pick

Albion Strawberries, Sugar Snap Peas, Frying Peppers, Jalapeños and all the herbs from last week plus an abundance of flowers for the pickin’.

Thoughts

We’ve been jonesing for beets. We’ll generally steam them, but I like roasting them on occasion too. If they are really abundant, I’ll get enough to make some veggie burgers in bulk, along with garbanzos and/or black beans.

Nice, too, to have tomatoes coming into season. I’ve been making more Mexican food, but it’s not the same without fresh, homemade pico de gallo and salsa.

Recipes bookmarked: tbd

Harvest Time!

Super fun day today. Perfect weather, abundant harvest, friendly eyes behind masks.

Beets, Braising Mix, Tomatoes, Garlic, Jalapeños – everything looks and smells so good.

What’s Cooking

Tonight a quick dinner, sauteed the Braising Mix, with some refried beans and homemade tamales. Tomorrow beets?

The post CSA – Week 5 appeared first on Owl and Bear.

The Newsletter

WEEK 4 – THE FLOWER GARDEN

This Week’s Harvest

Bunched Rainbow Carrots, Fresh Cipollini Onions, Easter Egg Radishes, Dino Kale, Rainbow Chard, Mei Qing Bok Choi, Summer Squash, Olympian Cucumbers, Arugula, Tasty Town Salad Mix, Spinach, Cegolaine Little Gems, Iceberg Lettuce, Garlic Scapes

U-Pick

Albion Strawberries, Sugar Snap Peas, Frying Peppers and all the herbs from last week plus an abundance of flowers for the pickin’.

Thoughts

Really looking forward to cooking with some Peppers and Onions. Maybe we can do something interesting with the Olympian Cucumbers, be it juicing or a maybe a nice cucumber salad along with something spicy.

Recipes bookmarked:

Harvest Time!

When we return back home, it takes me about an hour to process everything – kitchen towels, bags, moisture levels, the whole thing. I am in awe and admiration of how fresh all these vegetables and herbs are, simply popping with prana, color, vibrancy. I know we are eating produce as good as anywhere on the planet.

What’s Cooking

Everything is crazy fresh and colorful. I just sautéed up some Rainbow Chard and Bok Choy to accompany some homemade veggie tamales (made with last week’s Kale and Summer Squash and then frozen). Added in a couple of Shishitos – fun to have those around again. Simple dinner but yummy.

Whipped up a socca (made out of garbanzo bean and fava flour), which has become one of my go-to’s, because it’s easy, healthy and fun to eat. Roasted up a sweet, delicious Cipollini Onion along with some Carrots and Summer Squash, tossed with organic Berbere spice from Ethiopia (note for the future – careful, it’s spicy!). Topped it all with an arugula/mix salad and a really nice lemon/mint tahini dressing. While not from the same regions, berbere, socca and tahini all go together pretty damn well.

The post CSA – Week 4 appeared first on Owl and Bear.

The Newsletter

WEEK 3 – SPRING IN THE REARVIEW

This Week’s Harvest

Bunched Carrots, Fresh Lorz Softneck Garlic, Scallions, French Breakfast Radishes, Hakurei Turnips, Curly Kale, Rainbow Chard, Summer Squash, Arugula, Mustard Mix, Spinach, Purslane, Rosaine Red Little Gems, Rouxai Oakleaf Lettuce

U-Pick

Albion Strawberries, and all the herbs from last week with the addition of fresh dill.  We’ll also pick our allotted two pints of Sugar Snap Peas.

Thoughts

Fresh-from-the-farm Carrots are SO much better than anything you buy at the store. Looking forward to more greens, and working in purslane. Having bought purslane at the Occidental Farmers Market in the past, I know it’s not AliSun’s favorite, so I’ll see what I can do to integrate it, as it is loaded with omega-3 fatty acids.

Recipes bookmarked: Purslane Chimichurri, Purslane and Avocado Tacos with Pico de Gallo, Tres Recetas Mexicanas con Verdolagas

Harvest Time!

Beautiful day out at the farm. Met Corey from the Moon Fruit Mushroom Farm and purchased 1/2 a pound of super-fresh shiitakes. Also picked up a California Pain from Revolution Bread and a couple ice-cold Gravenstein apple juices from Green Valley Marketplace.

What’s Cooking

I’ve been busy integrating fresh vegetables into everything. Tamales stuffed with Summer Squash, Arugula, Lorz Softneck Garlic and Scallions. Spanish Rice with Summer Squash. Sprouted pinto beans with Garlic and Kombu. Mustard Mix salad with the last of the week’s Albion Strawberries, along with Radishes, Carrots and toasted pepitas.

Some wild salmon (steamed in the Instant Pot with fresh Dill and Parsley), accompanied by Dino Kale, Carrots and Shiitakes.

As the week wraps up, we’ve gone through just about everything but have wanted for nothing. A little less of some things next week. A little more of others. Grateful for the bounty. Sexybunnygirl24 net worth

The post CSA – Week 3 appeared first on Owl and Bear.

The Newsletter

WEEK 2 – SEEDS OF CHANGE

This Week’s Harvest

Garlic Scapes, Scallions, German Butterball Potatoes, Fennel, French Breakfast Radishes, Hakurei Turnips, Dino Kale, Summer Squash, Arugula, Spring Salad Mix, Spinach, Komatsuna, Rosaine Red Little Gems, Red Butter Lettuce

U-Pick

Albion Strawberries, and all the herbs from last week with the addition of three kinds of basil!  And more flowers, including ornamental amaranth, strawflower, and sunflower.

Thoughts

I love it when we get something in the harvest we don’t find in the stores, and Garlic Scapes certainly fit that bill. According to Serious Eats, they are harvested “at this time of year so that they won’t drain nutrients from the garlic bulbs that will be dug up in a couple of months, plump and glorious and ready for drying.” If we’re lucky, they’ll be available in enough quantity to make a pesto.

I’ll assuredly be doing some smushing with the German Butterball Potatoes – whole in the Instant Pot for six minutes, then smushed and into the oven with some oil, salt and herbs to brown them up.

More Hakurei Turnips sound great. The turnip greens are mellow and tasty, and the turnips themselves function as pretty much any vegetable you can roast. We only got a small taste of the Komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach) in Week 1, and more of that would be divine.

Plenty of lettuces, Dino Kale and greens – good thing we like that stuff! I’m all about that Red Butter Lettuce with a nice vinaigrette.

And the Albion Strawberries from Week 1 are incredible. Can’t wait to head up to the U-Pick and gather our allotted three pints this week. Plus more flowers, which are bringing joy to our home.

Harvest Time!

June 23rd, 2020

It was hot at 3pm, but quiet. Anna was tending to the veggies in the barn. We put together a bag well-balanced with Hakurei Turnips, Fennel, German Butterball Potatoes and a remarkable amount of greens, plus Garlic Scapes, French Breakfast Radishes, Scallions and more. What abundance.

We U-Picked our three pints of Albion Strawberries from the farm. Absolute perfection, bursting with flavor, still warm from the sun.

Three varieties of Basil this week, along with thriving Cilantro, Italian Parsley and some gorgeous Shiso. Came home, steamed some homemade butternut squash and kale tamales and made a big sauté of Dino Kale and Arugula.

What’s Cooking

After dinner, I made a Pesto with French Breakfast Radish Greens, Shiso and caramelized garlic. For the nuts, I used homemade almond meal, made from the pulp leftover from almond milk. The pesto is delicious, although not as buttery and sweet as that from fresh basil.

Throughout the week, everything we eat has green and herbs. It accompanies omelettes, roasted potatoes, lentils, wild salmon and more. Sautéed kale, arugula and spinach. Fresh salads with mustard greens, butter lettuce and more arugula. Basil on top of almost everything.

Turkey burgers topped with pan fried Scallions, manchego cheese and a big mound of Dino Kale, with roasted German Butterball Potatoes and Sage, Garlic Scape & Miyoko’s Vegan Mozz Polenta. Yummy.

The post CSA – Week 2 appeared first on Owl and Bear.

A CSA, which stands for Community Supported Agriculture, is a direct connection between farmers and consumers. I say “our” CSA because we’re one of 120 families that has a farm share. We’ll be going to the farm weekly from mid-June through early December.

Our friends gifted us a week at this farm last year while they traveled. It was a revelatory experience, inspirational. We got on the wait list and paid in full this last February, maybe a week before COVID-19 took hold.

We’ve tried CSAs in the past, where you pick up a pre-packed box of produce, and inevitably an abundance of the things you don’t love.

But Green Farm? We’ll fill our bag at the barn and put that in the car. We then head up to the U-pick garden, where there are herbs and flowers to harvest. Beyond that is the farm, where we might see a marking to pick snap peas or tomatoes or blackberries.

So what I’m going to attempt to do is blog the season. The intention is to be mindful. We know ahead of time what will be available that week. So I will have a few days to think about it. Googling varietals, recipe planning, pantry items, prepping, cooking, freezing, the whole thing.

With no further ado…

The Newsletter

WEEK 1 – WELCOME TO YOUR 2020 HARVEST SEASON!

This Week’s Harvest

Freshly Harvested Lorz Softneck Garlic, Hopi Blue Corn Meal, Arugula, Mustard Mix, Spinach, Flowering Purple Bok Choi, Fennel, Pink Lady Slipper Radishes, Hakurei Turnips, Summer Squash, Green Little Gems, Panisse Oak Leaf Lettuce, Storage Carrots, Desiree Red Potatoes

U-Pick

Albion Strawberries

Herbs: Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, Marjoram, Parsley, Tarragon, Onion Chives, Garlic Chives, Vietnamese Coriander, Culinary Lavender, Culinary Sage, French Sorrel, Lemon Verbena, Lemon Balm, Shiso (limited), Chamomile, Cilantro, Tulsi, Ginger Mint, Strawberry Mint, Mojito Mint, Julep Mint, Chocolate Mint.

Thoughts

I’m most intrigued by the Hopi Blue Corn Meal, which was harvested last fall, ground a few days ago and frozen to preserve fats and oils. GV has provided a blue corn pancake recipe that looks great. I’d love to do some salmon fish tacos with the wild salmon we get delivered.

Some recipes: Blue Corn Atole, Blue Cornmeal Pancakes, Hopi Blue Corn Tortillas, Traditional Native American Recipes

I’m already salivating for the Lorz Softneck Garlic. I’ll keep the skins on the cloves, chop off the little hard bit at the end, and roast them until you can suck the clove right out of the skin.

Considering how infrequently I go to the store in these Coronavirus times (once every three weeks), we haven’t had greens in quality or quantity like we normally do. I’m looking forward to the Mustard Mix, the Panisse Oak Leaf Lettuce and Bok Choi for a stir fry, which I haven’t done in a while.

I’ve cooked with Shiso (aka Chinese basil or wild basil) before, but I’m going to be more intentional about it, as each part of the plant is traditionally used in different ways. Certainly topping the fish tacos and perhaps in some salmon hand rolls the next day?

Hakurei Turnips are new to me. They’re the only turnip that can be eaten raw, but sauteing them up along with the turnip greens is more my speed. Bookmarking this recipe (using Miyoko’s Butter): Miso Glazed Hakurei Turnips

Some Desiree Red Potatoes are destined to be pan-fried up with mustard seed and cumin seed and top a socca with a tahini sauce on top.

Last season, the very first thing I cooked was braised Fennel that was so naturally sweet and perfect. That was October, so I’m interested in the spring version.

So many herbs! Some Onion & Garlic Chives will be fun to work in, and Vietnamese Coriander (aka rau ram) is wonderfully fragrant. Perhaps I can make nasi kerabu (blue rice), if we get lemongrass and kaffir lime leaf later in the season.

Harvest Time!

June 16th, 2020

That was so fun. David led the 1/2 hour orientation. We filled up our bag with amazing produce. Put that away in the car in cooler bags with ice packs. Headed up to the U-Pick and gathered herbs, flowers and strawberries.

First Impressions

Everything is so fresh and crisp and plump. The pound of Hopi Blue Corn Meal came in a nicely done package, and will make a great Atole. The one-per-share Lorz Softneck Garlic is giant. The Hakurei Turnips and Desiree Red Potatoes are bursting with prana. The greens of all sorts are just perfection.

We bought a loaf of bread and a gluten-free brownie from Revolution Bread (said brownie lasted under two minutes). Picked up an apple juice and elderberry elixir from Green Valley Marketplace, and checked out Bramble Tail Homestead dairy and creamery.

Picked 1/2 a dozen herbs. All those plastic bags we’ve reused from grocery trips came in super handy. AliSun picked a few vases of flowers, full of purples, whites and oranges.

What’s Cooking

We’re just overflowing with fresh greens and herbs. I made Butter Miso Harvest Vegetables with most of the Hakurei Turnips, some Carrots and Turnip Greens.

Made an herb omelette stuffed with Spinach, accompanied by roasted Desiree Red Potatoes with mustard seed and cumin seed. Topped those eggs with Pink Lady Slipper Radish Greens Pesto with carmelized Lorz Softneck Garlic.

I had big plans to make some Ethiopian food, including the teff-based Injera (a gluten-free savory pancake that underpins all the dishes on top). However, I soaked actual teff instead of teff flour, and that was a non-starter. So I pivoted to making a socca, along with Atakilt Wat and some Green Lentils. I’m really loving the Desiree Red Potatoes from the farm.

I found the Lorz Garlic was under-dried (perhaps in a rush to prepare for Week 1?), and the skins separating the cloves were turning. So I separated the cloves, roasted them all up, and now I’ll use that roasted garlic over the next couple days. The garlic itself has a nice, mild taste and good texture.

The post CSA – Week 1 appeared first on Owl and Bear.

Large pots sizzle, burp and spatter on the six-burner stove. Cumin seeds roast in olive oil, then onions, then coriander, garam masala, fenugreek leaves.

Demetrios says fenugreek grows wild many places in India, but not so much here in the US. He’s a stout Greek septuagenarian. He laments that his best cooking days are behind him, but he is fully in command of this meal for ten.

I clean, I wipe, I observe. A large handful of cashews and hot water into the Vitamix form a creamy base, to which Demetrios adds sizzling spices, onions and a big ladle of crushed tomatoes. He pours the sauce into the sautéing green peppers and adds the paneer.

This dish joins gobi aloo, toor dal, basmati rice. A common meal in India, he says, but impressive to those coming in for their workshop.

He says to me, “you’re a good sous chef,” as we wrap up. How nurturing it is to be of service in this way, mincing, slicing, chopping, cleaning.

A prayer is said, om’s are uttered. We sit cross-legged around low tables, the portrait of the guru’s guru above the glowing wood stove. Those with the oldest knees sit in chairs with TV trays in front of them.

We mostly eat in silence, with a few whispers of appreciation. The thali trays are taken to the kitchen. The cycle is complete.

I’m at Sonoma Ashram. Day 2 of a four day personal retreat. Ostensibly a digital detox, I’m here to let something go – what that is I’m not yet sure.

My days are usually filled with LED screens of various sizes. From morning to night, devices in front of me. On the nightstand, at the desk, on the couch. It’s been this way for years, decades even.

I needed a break from it. Forced exile as I take an exit ramp off the information superhighway.

And so. My days have been filled with different things. Reading, writing, yoga, a six-mile walk down a country road. So much space and time when there is nothing digital to distract.

AliSun said we could do a digital detox at home. I was called to come here first. Now I’m ready to weave this into my life.

The morning’s light showers have passed and now the afternoon sun illuminates the garden. A man carts a wheelbarrow full of weeds. A woman collects some greens for the evening kitchari. Two others dig a bed as spring takes hold after a dry, dry winter.

I breathe and follow my breath. I have the precious commodity of time. I believe I will go to the temple and do some yoga before I gather my knife and return to the kitchen. In serving others, I serve myself. In this moment, it is enough.

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I am enlivened by wind. It enraptures me. I feel a special aliveness and surge of energy in the singing of the winds, inspiring great movement and creativity.

Sitting at my desk, I scan the room inviting inspiration. I make contact with my paintings and drawings. I engage with the spirit of each one. They are much more than just paintings. They are alive with spirit, one with the earth and cosmos. They are part of my family. The Ones I have chosen to birth into the world.

I am in my flow. In my creative space. Excited for my journey ahead. I have planted potent seeds witnessing them blossom in beautiful new ways.

On my computer, I am typing and putting the finishing touches on my new blog that is about to go live soon. A place to inspire and awaken reality by sharing transformational tales for these inspired times, as well as offering art medicine pieces in various forms and more.

I hear the sound of footsteps moving across the floorboards in “Upper Tree,” above. Footsteps are drawing closer. And closer. Tyler stands at the doorway.

“No need to panic, but there is a fire close to St. Thomas Aquinas. We should gather some things.”

Feeling calm, I say ok. Kind of tempted to go back to work, I take a moment to integrate this information. Suddenly, I realize the potency of this message.

Casually, I get up from my chair and walk upstairs. I slide the sliding glass door open and step outside to see for myself.

Yep. Confirmed. A reddish orange glow lights up the horizon on the blackened sky.

Hmmm. Really. Is this really happening? Oh sh@t! I am really in my creative flow right now!

“We really should start packing up our things,” says Tyler. Agreed. “Grab the passports, I call to Tyler. Do we know where they are?” Yes, he calls back. “Oh good…”

Drawers opening, spilling over with clothes, I grab only a few choice threads that land now in the bottom of my suitcase. I open the next drawer. I gather more. Enough for a few days to a week. Not even thinking of it, I totally miss gathering our clothes in the hamper. After all, they will be waiting for me in just a few days. Right?

I fill my backpack with a few tinctures, herbs, salves and medicinal tonics. I go downstairs to my growing apothecary of herbs and tinctures. I gather a few medicinals off the shelves. There is no way I can take them all. Just a few. As I will return.

I run upstairs to “Upper Tree House,” and go outside to assess the progress of the fire. Wow, the fire appears to moving close to Ojai Valley School. Located directly above the Mount.

A wave of urgency moves me, my heart now picking up at a heightened pace, I feel swept up by the excitement of it all and hurry along the process. I say to Tyler, “It’s really not looking good. We need to roll.”

I gather my desktop computer. Tyler kindly and safely puts mine away in its case.

I run downstairs to gather a few crystals that were sitting out in the moonlight all charged up by the Full Moon and Sun, just days before. I see my drum and two rattles. I gather those too. My yoga mat. I run back upstairs and I see my book Anastasia from the Ringing Cedar series. I toss it in my bag with Plant Spirit Healing by Pam Montgomery along with Thinking Like A Mountain.

I gather one small art piece from our travels.

I run back upstairs. Electricity goes out. Ok. That’s it. Clear sign. Time to go soon. We have enough stuff.

We pack the car feeling at peace with what we took and what we left behind.

We now shift responsibilities and tend to our community to see if we could be of service before we lift off. We are asked to navigate the parking lot as several cars are finding there way up to catch news of the fire. We do so for about 45 minutes.

I go back to the house to use the bathroom. In the dark. Flashlight in hand. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a photograph of my mom taped on the refrigerator door. I take the photograph off the fridge in addition to another one of me wearing a super woman swimming suit sitting in lotus position on the sand with the waves crashing in the distance. I love this photo!

This reminds me that I have a few more on my desk of my mom, who changed cosmic addresses a long, long, time ago. I make a conscious choice to leave my one memory box behind, as it rests below two heavy boxes and if the fire really does take our home, I will want to travel light.

I walk out to meet our friends and Mount residents. Laughter and comic relief fill the ar. For a moment, we offer ourselves a temporarily pause from this auspicious event.

I quietly step away from the circle to connect with the land. My heart is calling me forth to to make a visit out to the elder oak tree that is on that back end of the land and to connect with the spirits of the east. The direction from which the wind is coming.

The land still and quiet. Eerie and mysterious. The calm before the storm sets in.

Feeling compelled to walk out to the most eastern point, I pray and face the spirit of the eastern wind.

Spirits of the East..Please be gentle. We feel your pulse and it is strong. We feel you are here with great purpose. A purpose that is not known to us yet. May the people of this land, community and town be safe, including the earth and animals, plants and trees. All of life.

Imagining a circle of love and strength protecting the land, structures and homes, I continue…May everyone be safe from fires way. May the Ojai Valley be protected and cared for. May we grow from this experience, held and nurtured in strength and love. I then offer a few more silent words…Thank You spirits of the East.

I then turn and head back up the hill. It’s dark. It’s quiet. It’s just me. Human wise. Just like in my dreams. Me and the open road. Forested. Quiet and Mysterious.

Walking back up the hill, the winds suddenly pick up. Feeling the winds upon my back, I am propelled forward. The pulse, strong and steady, I take another step. Then one more. Swoosh, my feet lift me off the ground. An inch or so, I am propelled in mid air. Winds blowing through the trees, shaking the branches to and fro in a melodic symphony of vibrational sounds and tones.

Literally swept off my feet, the power of the wind pushes me forward, then drops me gently on the ground, where I can touch the earth again. I slide forward uphill on the path, keeping an eye out for a tree to hug in case I start blow away. Like, really blow away.

“It’s time to go,” I hear, as the trees wave on to me as I pass.

A potent moment. Eerie and mysterious. I travel on up towards the parking lot to gather with everyone, once again. There is no one in sight as I make my way up the hill in the dark.

I realize. This is not a dream. I dont have wings to fly in the way that I do in my dreams. I must stand and face these currents of change and transformation with my feet on the ground. Head on. Heart open. Open to my fate and my future destiny!

Trees shaking, branches beginning to crackle and pop, I carefully walk the land to find everyone. Dodging limbs and fallen branches, we gather and culminate outside the garage of our fellow residents place. Protected by the full breathed spirited trees.

One by one, we look down to our phones to see that we no longer have cell service. Then ding, ding, ding, we receive confirmation that Meditation Mount is now under mandatory evacuation.

That was confirmation enough for us to move forward, share hugs and set sail! Except for our two Mount heroes, Tim and Art, who stay until dawn to fight the fires.

We make our way across the parking lot to our cars. Tyler gets in his car, and I prepare garnet pearl, my little red truck for our great escape.

The winds howl and shake lightly rattling our vehicles, as we forge along.
Safely journeying forward, we wind down the mountain slope into the valley floor.

Gigantic tumbleweeds fly in the air, landing in front of our cars. Gentle and light enough to pass. Wave after wave. We pass through with great care.

Several blocks past, we make a right hand turn, then a left, followed by another right. We make the turn up the road towards McNeill to greet our friends here on the East End.

Our friends greet us at the door. “Hey you guys. Come in. You are welcome to stay but just so you know we may be evacuating, too. We just got notice of voluntary evacuation.

“Come in, Sabine and Greg offer. We visit for a few minutes and connect, while they gather and pack. We decide the best option for us is to leave the Ojai Valley and make our way out, while we can. Before the roads get heavy with traffic or blocked due to fire. Feels like a wise choice. We jump in Tyler’s car and we leave garnet pearl, my little red truck behind.

We scan the hillsides on the way out. Fire dancing along the 33, all the way from Ventura to Oxnard. We can’t believe our eyes. We had no idea the fire was this BIG.

Relieved to be out of the valley, we travel light holding our dear Ojai community in our hearts and hoping for the best, prepared for the destiny of which was waiting to meet us on the horizon.

LOVE,
ALISUN TREES

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