Hello from the wilds of Oregon! I have transplanted myself from the tropical sandbanks of the Southeast to the luscious, intoxicating-ly green mountains of the Northwest. For the month of July, I will be working and living on the Tryon Life Community Farm, just within the city limits of Portland. What is TLC Farm all about? Well, it’s a nonprofit organization which works to link the city to it’s precious surroundings, offering workshops and fieldtrips to the farm, as well as remaining open to any of the general public who wishes to visit. There is also an eco-village on-site. Cedar Moon is home to 26 full-time residents: 20 adults and 6 adorable (and lucky!) children, soon to be 7!! (One of the mamas is superbly pregnant with her third). As an “intern,” I get to follow my fancy and plug into any projects of my choosing. Of course, my fancy draws me to the gardens - acres of burgeoning fruits, veggies and herbs, tended to by Matt G and Bonsai Matt, and now, me! It’s like witnessing a mini miracle each time I walk down the rows, observing how the garlics bulge out of the earth, or how to green balls act like heavy Christmas ornaments, weighing down the tender tomato plant. Yesterday, I cut off the first of the broccoli heads and left them as a lunchtime offering on the cutting board in the kitchen, to a delightful chorus of approving oh’s and ah’s. Our supermarket aisles are outside in the sunshine and oftentimes need weeding.

My tent is bordered by 600 acres of fairytale forest on one side (Tryon State Park) and the TLC gardens on the other. The residents here are all extraordinary people, from all different walks of life. Brenna, the director of the community, works as a part-time lawyer when she’s not leading school groups on the farm or feeding the goats with her daughter, Ember. When she found out I was from Miami, she told me with a wry smile, “I was arrested once in Miami.” She had been on the legal support team during the FTAA protests of November 2003, my very first protest experience as a high school junior. Matt G, the garden guru, also plays in several “Zim” bands; he’s been playing bass for Zimbabwean bands all of his life- he even toured Australia in April! He’s at the Zimfest right now in Tacoma, with several other residents on the farm who also have various connections to Zimbabwe. (They follow the events in the country very strictly, as a lot of them have friends involved in the revolution…) There are several West African drummers and dancers on the farm and I’ve been invited to attend a class in town next week. Some nights, you can hear the sounds of their drums echoing into the quiet sky as they practice under the stars.

They may be a bunch of dirty hippies equipped with all of the usual - hairy legs are the norm (ha! finally a place where I can feel at ease, instead of shunned as I was in Miami), herbal remedies line the shelves, nutritional yest, or”hippie dust”, gets sprinkled on everything (I have yet to understand what exactly is nutritional yeast, except that it’s nutritional!). But somehow, I can’t see what’s wrong with this lifestyle. I was warned by several family members and friends back in Miami that I should not become “brainwashed” by these people. Oh no, I’ll make sure not to pick up any of their peaceful ways, nor their deep concern for the land on which they live and the humans with whom they share it with. It may not be the easiest of lifestyles, but I’d rather be “working for a paycheck, then waiting to win the lottery.” In other words, their days, relationships, and activities are deeply connected to the world around them, and that appeals to me.