Inhabiting the Habitat

From Yokna Bottoms Farm, it was an 11 hour drive to our next host farm – Habitable Spaces, a “sustainable farm & artists residency,” growing in spaces carved from the scrubby oaks, mesquite, and cacti of Texas, out beyond the outskirts of both San Antonio and Austin.

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We arrived in the darkness of the new moon,  in the first hours of the longest night of the year – winter solstice, time for openings and new things – and immediately ran aground and became happily stuck (Huey Lewis style) upon a rooted tree stump. How metaphorical! I liked it.

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Although I wouldn’t completely feel good about it until I was sure the transmission hadn’t been damaged or something …

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(this uploaded upside down but I’m just going to leave it as is.)

We cut the stump down the next day and drove to a more convenient dock.

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Our dogs got along great with their three girls (Mina, the giant; Lola, the sweet; and Lily, the wild). Our cabin – “El Casa De Escorpio” – was awesome, and surprisingly similar to the Rust Shack back home in layout. It, too, was a pallet shack with a loft – but slightly bigger and significantly more finished than ours, with insulation, wallpaper, a heater, and meticulously and artfully applied interior wall paneling. And a bottle window!

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"The House of Scorpio" - until they'd finished the walls, the place became home to dozens of scorpions .
“The House of Scorpio” – until they’d finished the walls, the place became home to dozens of scorpions .

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They had a good junkpile/supply, the native rock poking up everywhere was a sexy glassy flint, and animals and evidence of active construction projects were everywhere.

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rainwater collection system – totally going to borrow that sediment trap design back home

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– needless to say, we immediately felt at home, and were excited to wake up to the reborn sunshine of the first lengthening day of the year.

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While helping out with projects, we met the ducks and chickens, the cats and kittens, the friends and family, the pig and the place.

clockwise from foreground: Widget, Cleo, M, Lola, and Lily)

clockwise from foreground: Widget, Cleo, Mina, Lola, and Lily)

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Shane throwin & Sasch shootin
Shane throwin & Sasch shootin

 

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We also did a lot of scavenging; a friend’s family had moved away from their farm, and left behind a rich and satisfying array of plunder for Habitable Spaces to pick through.

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We ate great food and closed down the the only bar in town and got to know good people, human and otherwise.

It was a damn fine week.

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Cleo is not amused

Kris the bartender trying to animate the singing deer
Kris the bartender trying to animate the singing deer

 

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And today Habitable Spaces got the letter announcing that they are now legally a Non Profit organization, with all the benefits entailed!

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