In the lush fernery

peter
callesen



























































Like coffee, tea, and wine the terroir of my life is complex and magical. It's a combintation of an old growth forest and rustic village square. The ancient clay bricks meld with the soft loamy soil to pave the ground of this courtyard. The fountain in the center spews crystal spring water from some mysterious origin beneath, while spring peepers hiding in the cattails herald the coming nightfall from the waters edge. This community gathering place is scattered with a mixture of storefronts, ancestral oaks, and cafes. The soft clinking from hand blown glasses in toast, small talk, and laughter from convivial aquaintences melds with the soft songs of sparrows, the anxious buzz of a nearby honeybee, and the quiet trot of a gentle doe. Somewhere in this fantastical environment my heart swoops and soars in some passerine manner and my soul crawls and roots in the soil in a vermian fashion.

All I want is your eyes in the morning as we wake

I finally finished the Hymns for a Dark Horse album by the Bowerbirds, even though I've been listening to the music I hadn't taken the time to hear the lyrics. It's a rare event when a whole album can resonate with your center, it's as if they are taking the words right out of my mouth. This albums really prods at the question of humanities place in the world and how connected we are to the natural environment. Their lyrics are an inspiration to my own writing and the apocryphal feeling their music leaves me is unique.

Genievre

<-- Radiolarians

L'espirit de l'escalier - the act of walking away from a conversation and realizing everything you should have said

Difference between the sprout and the bean

May you find yourself blooming into your full potential and beauty, but first you must undergo a germination process and sprout!
Enjoy...

Root and branch!

These days they will find us learning that we had it all wrong, but these days they will find us unashamed because we’ve been learning all along, and the radio plays a familiar song and you are loved you are loved you are really loved.

this excerpt may be somewhat untimely, but it stirred my spirit

"When Summer lies upon the world, and in a
noon of gold,
Beneath the roof of sleeping leaves the
dreams of trees unfold;
When woodland halls are green and cool,
and wind is in the West,
Come back to me! Come back to me, and say my land is best."
-Treebeard via Mr. Tolkien

Great googlymoogly!

"I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become" -My favorite psychologist Carl

"I have long thought that anyone who does not regularly- or ever - gaze up and see the wonder and glory of a dark night sky filled with countless stars loses a sense of their fundamental connectedness to the universe"
-Brian Greene

I imagine these are what the magical healing leaves of athelas would look like.


(wintertime in the forests of Lothlorien)
"The others cast themselves down upon the fragrant grass, but Frodo stood awhile still lost in wonder. It seemed to him that he had stepped through a high window that looked on a vanished world. A light was upon it for which his language had no name. All that he saw was shapely, but the shapes seemed at once clear cut, as if they had been first conceived and drawn at the uncovering of his eyes, and ancient as if they had endured for ever. He saw no colour but those he knew, gold and white and blue and green, but they were fresh and poignant, as if he had at that moment first percieved them and made for them names new and wonderful...
...he laid his hand upon the tree beside the ladder: never before had he been so suddenly and so keenly aware of the feel and texture of a tree's skin and of the life within it. He felt a delight in wood and the touch of it, neither as a forester nor as a carpenter; it was the delight of the living tree itself."
-John Ronald Reuel Tolkien

Check your bindings

I've been perfecting my skill at book binding recently. A task regretfully overlooked. It's such a beautiful art and it's vital to the compiling of information and storage of knowledge. Everywhere I look I'm seeing hand bound books from stores, antique shops, and friends/families homes. Once something has entered the consciousness it appears to you everywhere.
So in my attempt to save money and recycle books I'm finding second hand books with nice covers to use in my own bindings. Recently I found an old French language reference book, much like a reference book you might use in class (if you were taking french), but on the inside cover I found this beautiful logo with the motto, "Je sème à tout vent," which means "I sow to all winds." I'd like to think that I'm doing that in my own life, passing on knowledge or my love to all people and all directions.

I yearn for something new

My childhood

Life is a journey,
which should happen along the journey.
We don't travel along alone,
we travel with others.
So keep those two things in mind
where are you going
and what's your influences on your companions along the way?
Keep that in mind
as you enjoy your trip

When I heard the learn'd astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts, the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the learned astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.
-Walt Whitman

Life is beautiful

Surrounding myself with natures works of art remind me of this.
The more these masterpieces are processed the less we are capable of seeing their beauty and the magic they contain.
Adorn my alter with nuts, twigs, butterfly wings and mycelium strings
While losing my self in the intricate skin of this Diospyros or the curves of your body
these pure experiences bring me closer to the source of it all.


These smoke like experiences are concreted into this world through various mediums so others can share in the beauty. These range from music, sound, language, literature, photos, people and places.
These are some of those....

G. Odiorne
On the Road -Jack Kerouac
A. Ghiloni
The Books (musicians)
Education for the Individual Soul- East Forest
T. McKenna
E. Barnes
Radanath Swami
Pink Moon- Nick Drake
Adam Torres
Vegan Cooking Workshop
Reflections on a Sacred Life
Balarama Chandra Das
L. Albanese
Ram Das
M. Cheraso
P. Dowd
Into the Wild- Jon Krakauer
Brave New World- Aldous Huxley
Black Moth Super Rainbow
J. McDermott
T. Cleary
J. Herzer
J. Ron R. Tolkien
One Straw Revolution- Masanobou Fukuoaka
Stephen Harod Buhner
S. Branick
R. Herzer Jr.
Absi's
Currents
Heartbeat Farm
Goodearth Farm
Athens
P. Cantino
C. sativa
A. Grey
Crimethinc
D. Jacke
DMT
"Yawny at the Apocalypse"- Andrew Bird
P. cubensis
True Blue Whale Hearts-Kelly Latimore

Upon starting this list I realized that there are too many events, books, music, pieces of art, places, and especially people that I could not list. Do not be offended if your name is not upon this list, I was forced to limit myself to save time during this examination week.

When two souls are touched and intermingle as the world stands still

The oldest academic institution of the Northwest Territory

The 1840s marked a time of conflict between the University and the Town of Athens regarding the use of the land at the north edge of the Campus Green. During his presidency, McGuffey planted elm trees that were later know by his name. This 1925 photo shows the majestic look of the McGuffey Elms which later died from Dutch Elm disease. The view looks westward toward Court Street near the intersection with Union Street.

La Grand Odalisque

-Edward Weston

May I know the pain of too much tenderness

If we can't laugh at our great religious discoveries, where are we?

I've been focusing on moving this energy upwards,

moving out of this hole I've fallen in

for whenever it is raining I only getting muddier

But my fungal friends remind me

up is not the only way to travel...

send out that mycelia

sensitive hyphae

translocation of synergy down my trunk

toward a source of infinite energy,

or at least one of them

I think I'll feel it out

see how it goes

The room calls to me, says were all strung out
And the beat we both stomp on the floor,
While outside the leopard frogs sing sweetly.
These are the hymns that today we've ignored.
And all across the desert, and all up in the mountains:
A wind so loud that we might never mention.

And here's to my lovers hands and feet.
They are the roots that will weave through the floor.
And down in the dirt, in her wandering,
Find the snail to give us breath, to give us words.
He asks us for our patience, he asks us for our patience,
And he asks us what we have done for our souls lately.

Down by the bur oak tree, I had lost your locket in the loam,
And there fell to my knees, neath the coil and the brush of the fern.

The candles light dances across the table,
And will burn at the tip of my pen.
And lures all the moths into the kitchen
To spin tales and bend truths through the evening.
And scribe for them their stories; we scribe for them their stories,
While they wax and wax of their lives in the country.

Down by the bur oak tree, I had lost your locket in the loam,
And there fell to my knees, neath the coil and the brush of the fern

Get with it

Time has told me that these people I've surrounded myself with are quite rare finds.
Sometimes I have to laugh aloud at the place I've landed, with all of you here. It's quite different from where I'd thought I'd be or where I was just a short time ago. Yet I can't imagine my life with y'all. You are the soil to my roots, I couldn't possible stand without your support and you give me so much essential life energy by your mere presence.
With no one else could I stare deeply into your soul and be lucky enough to have that gaze returned. Nor could I stand in a passionate embrace on wet bricks whilst passerby's navigate around us. Sometimes I'm reminded of the reality of this situation and just how spoiled we are. We are capable of being ourselves with no fear of rejection or ridicule, AND that is rare. Sadly, I'm also reminded of the temporal reality of our geographic location. The curtain is slowly closing as this fantastic show is wrapping up. By no means do I believe that it is over. I'll be seeing you around the bend, I feel something deep inside that tells me we'll always be together.

Dreaming state

Time to grow.

Laying down I am awoken to a different locale.

Standing in a room I've visited before, with people I know yet they look nothing like their waking selves.

I'm visiting my other life in the dream world.

Are these experiences future encounters?

Are they metaphorical life lessons?

Is it all nonsense?

It doesn't bother me unless you're there

Some experiences, I'm anxiously waiting to come to pass in my waking life,

while others I dread may actually be right around the corner.

I still don't know.

I suppose I'll just journal my dream life and hope I can piece the puzzle together

without the box.

Intimate community

Cook. Serve. Eat. Clean.

...is the mantra we bless our food with.

Prepared with smiles, chances, and laughter.

New spirits and new connections in tandem with the re-stabilizing of familiar faces and common characters.

This room continues to contain and protect the energy manifested here, recharging each individual with the proper vibration that they should reverberate.

If hugs were illegal we'd be a terrorist organization. We certainly bear arms.

This season of cooking cruelty free (or at least the best we can manage) is sounded off with a bang. No stress, no worried faces, or at least it appears that way.

I love you VCW

Mogging from the party

Do you hope to find new ways of quenching your thirst?

A friend reminded me of the awakening power of autumn. Just as everyone and thing gets ready for the long hibernation and reflection of winter there is one last hurrah and explosion of life. This will be evident in the weeks to come, not just in the color of the leaves, increased animal life, the parties, or the explosion of fungal bodies...no, listen to your body and the feelings that emanate from within. What is being evoked by this change in the season?

Mog from the celebration of summer and abraid into autumn

Ashtanga

Yoga

union

listening to myself

the environment

those around me

it's challenging and rewarding

tapas remedy

willful determination

working through

burning out

weeding my garden

to give preference to

the plants i want to foster

i'm transitioning

from the physical to the

spiritual

this meditation

is going deeper

less distractions

as i distinguish and become

aware of all around me

no longer a mere observer in this

world

taking back the environments

i inhabit

and transforming

my world

eight limbs

with which to do so

Thunder Moon

Body wet from countless dips in ponds, pools, and lakes

drying quick in summer sun

I couldn't ask for more...

well yes I could, but

to not enjoy the present moments that I'm given

and hope for something more would be wrong.

This is more than enough and I need to stand on my own two feet

This fire sign i'm assigned to leads to fiery passion

Good and bad

I am all over the tasks that spark my interest

but I overwhelm those that aren't ready for my heat

I don't like to scorch the earth I love so much.

It's a boys summer, at least for me

maybe it's good I'm seeking to strengthen that left side

that feminine

that yin

sigh

Suspire

I'm exploring this new place....it's so warm
Not unpleasant
cleansing
My familiar weeds (peers) aren't here to hold up my stalk
but i just continue to follow that light
track the father sun
till i regain the strength on my own
i just need to keep
suspiring

Get me back to the foothills of Appalachia...

Four

The four parts of my self ebb and flow to create the entity that is Ron/Josh
My body chisels out space in this reality and provides a vessel for the rest...
my mind is the logic, reason, and order in all the actions I perform...
my emotions provide feeling and passion..
and my spirit is the spark and fire burning strong and bright within
it is uniquely my own yet
belongs to the Great Spirit who inhabits and flows through all of the life around me

Going through the four stages of my life (birth, adolescence, adulthood, death) I learn from those who have walked before me and from those who walk behind me. When I am lost in the deep forest these guides provide trails and paths for me to follow.

I'm also guided by the four elements (Earth, Water, Fire, Air) and the four directions (North, South, West, East)...each one, no more important than another

This path that I blaze sometimes treads on worn trials and dusty roads with age old wisdom, but more often than not I'm walking on wild soil with leaf litter and countless seedlings striving for a chance
it is these moments that I feel more confident than the leo/aries that I am....yet equally scared and nervous on this uncharted land

Ephemeral madness and permanent bliss

Remembering to walk with mindfulness among the miracles of life, I ground myself in this alfisols i call my home. Losing myself in the environment that engulfs me, discovering everything anew.


fresh wild cat tracks imprinted in the rich earth zig-zag to and fro
transient moments with close companions ingrained in my mind's eye

summer breeze whispering of change to come
I'm content in the madness of this academic nightmare
but,
these moments of sanity are slipping through my fingers
like sand through the hour glass