Thank you chicken

For our Christmas dinner we wanted to eat turkey but we really didn't have the money to afford one.

One day our neighbor who is is part of a local NGO doing sustainable living projects called us to join on killing some chickens. A farm near where we live has chickens but the old man who owns it doesn't have the guts to kill them and so he gave us 4. Whoever had the guts to do the whole process of killing it could have them. Mark and I gave it a try. For me it was my second time but the first time I spent most of the time clearing my tears. 

We try not to have meat at home because if we don't know where it comes from and who is doing all the work for us we don't buy it.
So here are some pictures that my neighbor took of me doing it.
I recommend once in your life time to do it, it just makes you realize how greedy we are for wanting to eat such a living being without any consciousness of what kind of life it lived, what it was fed and how it came beautifully packed to your supermarket.
I don't think meat is something to be had everyday in every meal. 

Just in special occasions when you are celebrating some special event or when you have too many chickens that you can't feed anymore. 

Thank you chicken for your contribution, we are very grateful to you. 

Some of the pictures are a bit difficult to see but if you cannot see this or do it you should consider not eating it. For those who can't see blood... don't roll down anymore. 

Wax Poetic

I was doing a bit of research on similar artists of my long time favorite Norah Jones.
I found out she used to play with this funky band.

Check it out!

Black and White

It has been a very strange winter, is what people say around. 

"Last year you could see cracks on my front yard but this year you can see puddles"

(after having a harsh drought this summer)

Every 5 days we are lucky to get a full sunny day.
For a girl like me who loves being at home that is just good news but I do love the sun. 

One of the things I love the most in life is the sun!
It is the first thing I do when I wake up, I look through the shabby windows of our loft and if I can see a blue sky my coffee tastes better, but when it is cloudy it is like my life is black and white. 

There is nothing wrong with black and white though... you start looking at the beauty in shapes and details.

nature

warmth in my skin

On a cold day the warmth of the sun was touching my skin and giving me comfort and peace.
The wind was blowing on my face and my hair was tickling my lips, I used my teeth to scratch them as I noticed the patterns that the wind had made to the sand just in front of me.

The first sun of 2012 in Ogasawara

Happy New Year
Thank you universe and mother earth for year 2011, may 2012 be full of positive and conscious energy.

crazy mushroom

what would happen if you ate one of these?

Tree trunks 2!

The textures and sizes of trunks in the forest are wide in variety.
It is like looking at the range of human faces of the world.

4:50pm

It is 15 seconds lighter than it was yesterday! hooray!

The longer days are the more heat goes into our solar showers.
Not only that, life is more beautiful with the sunshine.

Hawaiian wedding

Mark and I were asked to sing a Hawaiian song for our neighbors who were getting married. We both are not particularly known for singing ( I myself could say that it is my weakest point). But, I had just come back from a very inspiring permaculture course were everyone could sing; so I thought it would be a great challenge for Mark and I to learn to sing.

It was a very long and slow process. Sometimes it was so much fun but sometimes I thought I was being dragged into a black hole.

We sang it in front of 100 people. We had a wonderful time getting to know our neighbors and getting to know our own voices. They even asked us to sing it twice, it must mean something.. :)

BE GREEN

Black Bird

Where have you come from? And what are you doing here?
Black bird, free traveler, no passports nor frontiers to cross, the world is all one to you.
You are welcome to go anywhere you want, but when it comes to humans (our own species) we have to create all these rules that give us power over others. How silly isn't it?
I wish you the best. Be careful with those fast running cars, good luck crossing the streets, good luck with your mission, good luck with your journey.

Tree trunks!

I am back my blog. Had a really awesome trip to New Zealand but now I am back to the normal slow rhythm and challenging forest life. Back in the forest with new eyes, here are shots of my new eyes.