Sarah and I, in the County Journal

The article is titled “Learning From the Land” and it is about our journey from living in the city to living here at Potters Farm. It’s written by Susan Amundson, who is a Potters Farm board member, and lives in the area. We thought it was a thoughtful idea for subject matter on her part, and it is nicely written. We hope it will inspire everyone to “Be the change you wish to see in the world”.
The County Journal Webpage: http://www.washburnwi.com/

Just go to:

http://musicbyjim.viviti.com/

Enjoy!

One of two identical paintings of the DeLaForest Coat of Arms. (Oil) 24" x 30"

A collage with pencil drawing done from photo of Cadzi Cody, Native American Artist, 1866-1912. 9" x 12"

Portrait of Sisu sleeping. (Pencil) 9" x 9"

Jim playing guitar. (Charcoal) 9" x 12"

Deer in the early morning snow. (Pencil) 9" x 12"

Trees at the Como golf course. (Oil) 35" x 45"

White Pines in Northern WI. (Ink, Watercolor) 9 1/4" x 12 1/2"

Foggy fall trees at Potters Farm. (Ink, Watercolor) 9 1/4" x 12 1/2"

Wet trees at Potters Farm. (Ink, Watercolor) 9 1/4" x 12 1/2"

A tree outside our trailer on the Chesapeake Bay in MD. (Ink) 9" x 12"

Trees about to kiss. (Ink) 3 1/2" x 6"

The 2007 Brimson Sisu 4.4 mile race T-Shirt illustrated and designed by Sarah.

Comments are appreciated and encouraged. To contact Sarah about seeing more of her work, or about sales or commissions, just leave your contact information in the comment box (it will not be displayed to the public).

“…rather than civil disobedience being an undesirable “last resort” for socially disenfranchised groups, it is in fact the most natural and reasonable means of expressing protest. For when they are denied a fair share of the benefits of social living, the disenfranchised are in effect released from the contract that otherwise would require them to support the arrangements that make those benefits possible. This is the deepest reason that justifies civil disobedience, and it is to the credit of the Social Contract Theory that it exposes this point so clearly.”

Although I can’t entirely agree with the Social Contract Theory, I found this reasoning very clear and to the point. I hope it is not too out of context.

“We have not solved the problem of living. Far From it. But our experience convinces us that no family group possessing a normal share of vigor, energy, purpose, imagination and determination need continue to wear the yoke of a competitive, acquisitive, predatory culture. Unless vigilante mobs or the police interfere, the family can live with nature, make themselves a living that will preserve and enhance their efficiency, and give them leisure in which they can do their bit to make the world a better place”

From the chapter “We Search For The Good Life” where they are reflecting on the transition from “summer folk” to “year rounders”:

“Only the well-to-do can go to the country, buy a farm, install a water supply, a bathroom, a refrigerator and electricity, tear down the chicken coop and pig pen, convert the barn into a studio and garage, paint the entire place white, leave on Labor Day and return the second week of the following June. We were not well-to-do, and we had burned our bridges and moved to the wilds on a year-round basis. How were we to keep going?”

They thought about selectively cutting trees from their property a little at a time for an income, but ended up learning how to collect Maple sap to make Maple syrup and Maple sugar with, and decided to make the money they did need by doing that, which worked out quite well for them.

More quotes from this wonderful book to come!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIz98TItuJ4

These brave animals didn’t let the storm bother them.

http://www.archive.org/details/SongsMeantToInspire

There you can choose to download a zip file of all the tracks at once, or you can download the tracks one by one.

You can always listen online without downloading anything by going to…

http://musicbyjim.viviti.com

Songs Meant To Inspire by James Bour-Schilla is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

* North winds of 20 to 30 mph will continue this evening… with
some gusts to 35 mph near Lake Superior. The powerful wind will
cause blowing and drifting of the new snow… creating local
whiteout conditions at times. Another 2 to 5 inches is expected
this evening before the snow tapers to light snow or flurries
after midnight with a total storm accumulation of 16 to 28
inches expected.

Our feeder was a busy spot today even though the snow hasn’t stopped. We are keeping ourselves fed with delicious garden produce preserved in warmer days.

“Statement as of 9:25 PM CST on December 08, 2009

… Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until 6 am CST
Thursday…

* storm total snow accumulations from 12 to 18 inches are
expected… with the greatest amounts across the higher terrain
of the Bayfield peninsula and the Gogebic Range. Accumulations
in western Douglas and southern Bayfield counties may be
slightly less… in the 7 to 11 inch range.

* Northeast to north wind will increase to 20 to 30 mph with
gusts to 45 mph tonight and Wednesday. The wind will cause
widespread blowing and drifting snow that will create whiteout
conditions at times.

* Travel conditions will deteriorate rapidly this afternoon and
evening due to snow and blowing snow and very dangerous Road and
travel conditions are expected tonight through Wednesday night.
Travel may become nearly impossible during the peak of the
storm late tonight and Wednesday.

* The strong wind may blow down some tree limbs that may affect
some power lines and area roads. In addition… cold Arctic air
will spread across the region as the storm departs… with wind
chill values dropping into the teens and 20s below zero
Wednesday night and Thursday.”

We will be snowed in for a while as it takes the city two or three days after it stops snowing before they plow our half mile long driveway for us, hopefully we’ll get dug out by Saturday. We love it here! We have been waiting for some signifigant ammount of snow for a while, and now we’ve got it.