permaculture

[scakya@lobo.net]

Hi,
  I'm generally a lurker but with Stellar jays and chickadees visiting my 
high desert farm, thought I'd add my two cents. For those of us who live and 
breathe Permaculture change is part of Nature and we learn/adapt.
  I've planted hundreds of trees on my twenty five acres, along with many 
shrubs and herbs useful to not only myself, but the plants themselves. A 
forest garden needs to be cared for, but in a way that meets simply what the 
forest/humans needs. Trees may need pruning after a storm and not to do so 
may cause harm to the tree, but may also benefit its environment through the 
fungi and other life forms that are part of the ecosystem. It is out role as 
caretaker to make that decision.
  The trees talk to me, if I'm in a "space" where can hear them.It was they 
that suggested I interplant my garden in their alleys(orchard trees). This 
worked well and also showed me what was lacking in the local environment. 
Which once I knew, knew also how to fix the problem.
  From what I've observed, ideally, we need to learn to work with nature. 
I'm in the process of turning my little farm into a forest garden,and 
designing a new home that is more suitable to working with Earth in a 
balanced way-including not only how its powered, but also how wastes are 
treated.

Have a great day,
Pat
Earthwalker Farm
NM 




Message: 13
Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2007 08:23:42 -0500
From: "Andrew French" <alienbuddha@gmail.com>
Subject: [permaculture] Wood
To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
Message-ID:
        <24a28c040710090623x696a5a14re32743c30b4d1214@mail.gmail.com>
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I think Trees are an amazing organism, probably one of the most amazing
examples of life on the planet. Old Growth forests and giant Redwoods leave
me awed and close to tears. Trees are essential to our lives. So is krill
and fungus and bacteria and worms. But I don't see anything "wrong" in using
selectively cut trees to heat a small space, like a home. If your heater is
efficient, you don't need that much wood, even in a cold climate like
northern Minnesota where I'm from, maybe a cord or two. There is a lot of
dead wood out there, some of it is essential to the ecosystem, but some can
be used to warm us in the cold weather. Aren't we apart of the ecosystem?