When we design, we are always building for future floods, future fires, future droughts, and planting a tree a few inches tall that will be future forest giants, throw future shadows. Future populations will need future soils and forest resources, shelter, security. So somebody needs to range ahead in time, scout out the next century. […]
Author Archives: Milton
Permaculture Flower II
I’m feeling really good about my new thinking on the permaculture flower, my thinking has congealed a bit since I first posted on it. All of a sudden I see what I previously perceived as a mundane categorization, as a valuable tool when examining and balancing any system. David Holmgren, the co-originator of permaculture says […]
Ninja Training – Zone 00
I do this and then cry…
Don’t “Drop Out”, Participate in Replacements To
It’s not about “dropping out” of the system or removing yourself in any way. While that’s the end goal we actually need to “drop into” something first. What we need to do is create the things that will replace the system by meet our needs, from the place where we live. Only then will we […]
Thanksgiving Synchronicity
I had a small synchronicity leading up to and over the Thanksgiving holiday… First, I showed up to harvest microgreens Tuesday before Thanksgiving and ended up listening to J. H. Kunstler interview Chris Martenson. Kunstler is a bit of a cranky but eloquent old man, Chris Martenson is behind the Crash Course and has sort of […]
Frost as an Indicator of Microclimate
How would you change where you plant things if you knew the places that escape the first or second frost of the season? Little things can add up to make a big difference!
Step Forward, Into the Future
Are you just holding on till tomorrow? Or, are you taking a step, no matter how small, forward. The more steps we take the further we go. It’s a long journey ahead but we’ve committed to it, there’s no going back.
Leveraging a Job
“…Although people deeply involved in a system often know intuitively where to find leverage points, more often than not they push the change in the wrong direction.” – Donella Meadows This morning I had a realization that having a job is a very important leverage point; there is so much effect that we can create by how we work […]
Design Intention
Permaculture seeks to impose thoughtful changes on both us and the land. Often these changes can require continual upkeep and burden us with chores. Perhaps that’s the lure of modern life, trading many little chores for a job and shopping. Creating systems that work on their own or very easily cuts down on the to […]
Iterative Design Process
Simple in it’s form, complex in it’s function. The iterative design process (IDP) works recursively and is best used fractally. Fundamentally it is observation of all interacting parties to find leverage points that move us in the direction of goals, the greater the depth of the observation the more accurate the design. Goals & Ethics […]