Hot & long days, occasional thunderstorms and a booming moskito population: We´re in the middle of the Green Season. During this Moon phase, the major berries of our area – blueberries and raspberries are ripening, and the local Natives oftentimes called this the Blueberry Moon since those small delicious berries harvested and dried in quantity for the coming winter. So far most of the berries are still green though…
As of late our clan has been focusing on repairing the major group structures of our camp – the summer arbour and the lean-to. Some of the horizontal poles that were supporting the roof of the summer arbour started sagging, and some of the vertical support poles were on the thin side, so we started out with replacing those. Some engineering effort was necessary as we replaced individual poles while leaving the roof intact (we moved the peat away from the roof section we were working at so there was less weight on the poles). The roof was also leaking in some areas, so we added a new layer of birch bark and added more peat on top of it. The peat helps to cover and weight down the bark so it doesn´t curl up in the heat, and it also helps to soak water.
Close-up of the summer arbour. The forked upright post supports the horizontal beams which hold the roof (the wedges fill out the space in between)
Alex and Chris add peat on top of the new birch bark
Speaking of peat -in order to create a solid, thick cover on the roof, we needed to dig upmore peat in a nearby bog. Picture yourself being in the water up to your belly, pulling at roots and chunks of peat while moskitoes and blackflies are looking for opportunities to feast on blood…
All of this group work has brought us closer together as a circle, and I really appreciate getting to know my campmates on a deeper level. Joy and challenges, reactions and empathy and support – it´s all there. Something else that has been very helpful in this process is sharing our Dreams. Every morning – usually around breakfast time – we get together for Dreamsharing, and provide each other with mirroring and feedback whenever it is necessary in order for us to flesh out the messages that our Dreams provide.
The summer arbour roof provides a nice vista of the pond...