Look
We’ve come to the end of month two of our birdwatching and drawing adventure! Here are a couple pages from the sketchbook :)
I watched a documentary this past week called Final Straw: Food, Earth, Happiness which was inspired by the work and philosophy of Masanobu Fukuoka, the natural farmer and philosopher I’ve been sharing about this past month. A fellow artist and writer I recently connected with on Substack, Patrick M. Lydon, co-directed this film with his wife, Suhee Kang. Through it, they explore the stories of natural farmers in Japan, Korea, and the United States. Beautiful scenes of nature punctuate thought-provoking reflections of the farmers. Jarring scenes of urban life humorously critique the excessive consumerism we take for granted. I was moved by how the farmers and filmmakers seemed wide awake to the beautiful world we live in and mindful of nurturing their connection with the soil beneath their feet. Watch the full documentary on their website or the abbreviated version on YouTube.
Listen
A soundscape of us pruning citrus trees at Masanobu Fukuoka Natural Farm.
Arley and I celebrated two years of marriage this month and he created this instrumental for me as a gift. Visit his YouTube channel to continue serenading yourself.
Experiment
We finally began our own experiments with small-scale natural farming in our yard this week by scattering some nendo-dango (seed balls). This method of enclosing seeds in clay balls and sowing them directly onto the surface of the soil was developed by Masanobu Fukuoka. Enclosing seeds in clay protects them from animals and rot and allows them to germinate when the moisture and temperature conditions are right. Some people also add compost to the clay mixture to provide the seeds with everything it needs to grow. Watch this tutorial for more details if you’re interested in trying this for your own yard or balcony planter.
Our first two attempts at forming the clay balls were unsuccessful. Each batch started cracking within a few hours of drying, so we kept on adding clay and water until they finally held together. Our over-mixing, however, seemed to crush a few seeds, and a couple of the balls started germinating before we could even toss them outside. Then, a few of the balls that we scattered outside were accidentally smushed when a family member was walking around the yard. These laughable moments have lowered our expectations a bit and reminded us that trial and error is an essential part of the natural farming process. For now, we’re just excited and curious to see what may grow.
We planted four types of seeds: daikon, radish, crimson clover, and borage. I’m hoping the daikon and radish roots will loosen up the compacted ground, and the clover and borage will build up the health of the soil. I’ll be creating a new chat thread in Substack to keep curious folks updated on our experiment!
For paying subscribers, here is the wallpaper of the month—the Blue Rock-Thrush I drew a few weeks ago!