Music for the earth

I've started talking to folks in Stockton about doing some sort of permaculture meetup, a monthly gathering with a presenter. Someone would talk and/or show how permaculture works, a project, a vision, lessons learned, wisdom to impart. I had a chance to visit Boggs Tract Community Farm on Saturday and met some of the folks there doing the morning farmer's market, and I thoroughly enjoyed the spirit of the place! Farmers! They smile! They're optimistic! It's morning and all is groovy and the produce is laid out on the stand looking gorgeous. Honey made from bees on the property. Jars of preserves, including my favorite, apricot. Delicious, wholesome loaves of fresh bread. It all was laid out with love and I enjoyed chatting with these folks, salt of the earth!

As always I had my recorder with me and with the kind permission of these farmers I played songs on the property, while wandering among the plantings, goats, pigs, chickens, kids, and all kinds of folks working on vegetable plots. People expressed their appreciation and I felt glad to be among them.

I have a theory about music and plants, specifically about my flute playing and plants, because I've had a lot of experience playing for plants. One time I was living on a permaculture farm in the Hudson Valley and we created a no-till garden in very good soil and planted an abundance of vegetables. They were bound to grow well because of the perfect climate and soil, so I can't take full credit for their amazing show, over the growing season filling our lives with a vast array of vegetables and some flowers. But I spoke musically to those plants from the time they were shoots in the ground until they were full-grown vibrant vegetables. I sat on the porch of the old country house we lived in and played songs for those plants every sunset. I possess no scientific evidence that my music inspired those plants to flourish, but the farmers I lived with assured me that it was my music that caused those plants to grow so mighty.