Back to the Woods

My fourth and final home, Sky Meadow Retreat, could not be a more ideal place to end my summer vegetable expedition. I conclude my journey at a Buddhist-based meditation retreat in the northeast kingdom of Vermont, surrounded by trees and mountains and raspberry patches. Around every bend in the seashell-marked forest trails lies a swimming pond or a teepee or a meditation gazebo. Or more fruit trees that call to be explored.

Every morning begins with 30 minutes of meditation followed by 30 minutes of yoga to prepare our minds and bodies for a day in the kitchen cooking vegan meals or in the sun working in the garden.

I'm transitioning from living room couches to a cabin of my own. A cozy cabin in the woods, with running water and electricity, a rocking chair and a gas stove on the porch, a lofted bed, a mini kitchen. And lots of windows that stay open all day to let the cool Vermont breeze in.

And......TAAA-DAAA, the garden. It's quite beautiful. Well kept and manicured, but still lots of wild spaces. Highly organized system of planting, lots of mulching, mounds, and love.

There are actually 2 gardens. Wait, no, soon to be 3. Dubbed: the upper garden (pic below), lower garden (above), and lower field (a soon-to-be garden, which I will delve into at a later time).

OK, time to meet the faces behind this beautiful place. Miles bought the piece of land and began Sky Meadow about 25 years ago, and since then, has built every building and pond on the property. He teaches meditation, communication skills, and generally runs the place. I curse myself for not getting an adequate photograph of Miles, but here he is with Cella and Emma, cheeks stuffed, trying to find the most effective way to eat an overstuffed burrito.

Cella, his wife, and her 3 daughters moved here from Quebec about 3 years ago. She is the kind soul who apparently took a virtual liking to me and convinced Miles to let me come to Sky Meadow for a couple weeks, because they usually only take interns for a whole season. I am enormously thankful for her kindness.

The girls have only been speaking English for 3 years, but you would never know it from their impeccable accent. They are 11, 12, and 13 years old, but at times I feel like they're my age. They are self sufficient, live in separate houses from Miles and Cella, any one of them alone can cook an entire vegan meal for the whole community, and they happily work alongside me 6 hours a day without a complaint. We've had some awesome weed-talks ("Weed Talk" definition: the process of talking about anything and everything while hand-weeding. Stories, riddles, philosophy, problems, spontaneous song, anything is fair game).

Lydia and Emma:

Cassandra:

Jon and Amy, the long term residents, have been at Sky Meadow since February, and plan on staying indefinitely.

Amy, yoga instructor, masseuse, also a prime weed talker:

Jon, the main cook and weed-wacker extraordinaire:

Ben, one of the summer interns:

And Carolyn, another summer intern who has taken me under her wing, told me the secrets of the place, and fed me hummus, which is the way into my heart.

An intro for now, more stories and garden tales to come!