5-8-10

MAYDAY MAYPOLE

HE ALSO PLAYED THE BANJO

ROCKIN IN THE FREE WORLD

SWING YOUR PARTNER DO-SI-DO

CALI HAS IT'S OWN ORGANIC GUIDELINES

Farmers typically work 6 or 7 days a week. The crops and animals don't care that it's the weekend, they require constant attention and care. As such, today was a work day. We tended the fields as usual and then this afternoon took in some local culture at the Lake County Community Co-op Spring Fling.

The Lake County Community Co-op is "guided by the International Cooperative Principles. The Lake County Community Cooperative envisions cultivating an evolving community by nurturing values of social, economic, and environmental responsibility." The Co-op holds a weekly farmer's market, offers educational opportunities, helps develop community gardens, and offers members an opportunity to receive CSA boxes. The event was held at Leondardis Organics, near Clear Lake. Farmers supplying produce mingled with consumers who purchase this organic produce for an afternoon of festivities and a potluck dinner.

It kicked off with the wrapping the of the Maypole. We've never heard of a Maypole before but gladly participated in wrapping it. There is a huge pole in the ground that reaches over 30 feet high and has 20 rainbow colored fabric ribbons streaming from the top. Twenty different people grab a piece of fabric and dance around the Maypole to music and in turn weave the fabric into a unique pattern and create beautiful spring colors down the pole. Usually at potlucks, most dishes focus on meat or at least have meat in them. At this event, however, which was attended by over 50 people, the veggies stole the show. It's a testament to the consciousness and preferences of the progressive, like-minded individuals who reside in northern California. There were even raw and vegan dishes, and sampling this smorgasbord was fun.

The bluegrass band took the stage after eating and dancing the night away, trying to jig and swing in time to the beats was a blast. There were some announcements about volunteering opportunities and also a raffle with many prizes. Aaron was in the bathroom when they announced his name as the winner of one of the raffle prizes. He sprinted out with arms akimbo, excited to redeem his winnings: an original watercolor depicting a semi-evil looking faerie in the woods. It was quite the letdown as some of the other prizes were pretty great. Raffles and announcements under our belts, we took the opportunity of downtime to play some games. We even got in a game of lawn croquet, which was Jen's first attempt at the sport. A fiercely competitive game with three youngsters culminated with both of us obtaining black magic/poison powers. In the end, Aaron was victorious, but only by the smallest of margins.

It was a fun evening and it was quite enjoyable to socialize with the locals.