Joyfield Farm

acres of hand-dug organic beds

a colorful array

you could probably eat the soil

but you don't have to--lots of other options!

yurtfolk

berry patch

homemade golf course

serious woodpile

foliage

sunset over Joyfield Farm

good friends

a lovely evening out at Joyfield farm
where I played music and caught up with good friends
shared really good food and homemade ice cream

amidst berry patches and chickens
a field-turned-golf course for the boys
and acres of hand-dug organic gardens

got some great info for getting library music gigs rolling
which is how these folks make their living
traveling and teaching

they made time tonight
on the porch outside their yurt
before their journey tomorrow to Wisconsin

-----

yesterday I met with an old friend
whose husband had passed last year

they had put me up last time i was in town
five years ago

we shared a moment of grieving
and celebration

i played music with her son-in-law
on her new deck under cicada-laden foliage

and stories began to come forth
amidst the folk music

of the good old days
some laughter and tears

as I saw my friend Mike relax
for the first time since I arrived

-----

these are good days

I have eaten freshly-picked melons
ripe cherries and apricots

peaches are coming soon
and tonight i saw

fireflies

back roads

a beautiful morning
meditating in the hills above santa fe
after sleeping under the stars

transendent afternoon
in deep conversation with a dear friend
in the shady grass of the rose park

an evening gathering of community
at the hospital where he got stitched up
after a bike accident on his way home

burque travel prep for the grinding
1200 mile trip through the alienation
of bible-belt billboard unreality

armadillos tossing cornflakes
and oats throughout my car
liberating me from delusions of sleeping
in empty 90-degree midnight campgrounds

additional motel expense
and a speeding ticket
but arriving safely

to the gentle back roads
welcoming cornfields and thick musty smells
of muggy indiana in july

tiny farmers market offering
instant community

which somehow vanishes

a sick friend is suffering
amidst confusion

and great despair

vacation day one: Santa Fe reflections

well not the worst start to a vacation

catching up on correspondence over too much yerba matte

where i saw a facebook notice from a new old friend

inspiring me to head up to santa fe

for a memorial service

for a recently deceased musical friend

i reconnected with several old buddies

in a good way

as we mourned the passing of a very creative soul

who some of them were very close to

and with whom i recall the timeless heart connection

that followed upon a particularly empathic

honest and forgiving conversation

-----

when people asked how i'm doing

i kinda shined them on

how do i describe

how my entire karass

nearly everyone i am close to in this world

is transitioning in seismic ways

preparing to leave this plane

or dramatically reckoning with its increasing density

in hospitals and on the streets

or with blood and brain disorders

why bother to talk about personal dramas

like suffering torn muscles

and miraculous healings that follow?

there is no context for anything

i am currently experiencing

-----

and how can i explain

my immense frustration

that i feel similar to a pipe carrier

of an ancient tradition few people know

that is proving vibrationally precise and powerful

in shifting manifestation around me

and offering healing

but i can barely explain even on a good day

without edging toward mania?

-----

what of my car which will likely

get me nowhere this vacation

disappointing precious hopeful-faced kids

already depressed siblings

dearest friends struggling to survive

and 30-year mentors

seeking my healing input

and who i may never see again?

-----

amidst the familiar faces i see around town

on the plaza and at the railyards

i wonder if perhaps it is part of my dharma

to make grand plans only to have them fall through

perhaps personal or generational karma

is in my way

simple ineptitude

at getting auto repair scheduled

or maybe i just struggle too much

with wanting to escape entirely

from participation in the american war machine nightmare

and the increasingly obvious indictment of the money system

in perpetuating the violence

but try explaining that

to your nine year-old niece