sustainable spirituality

DaVinci has a one of the largest cob bench in the city of Portland. It was built 4 years ago by myself and several classes . The bench is over 45 ft in length. Since my retirement Andrew Butterfield the ceramics teacher at DaVinci has taken on the role of maintaining the bench. Since we live in the North west we get a tremendous amount of rain. This excessive moisture tends to breakdown the outer coating of the cob bench. Every year Andrew with the help of several students reseals the bench. All the cracks in the plaster are resealed and then oil is applied to make it water proof. The following photos show the recently oiled bench.

I have been very busy this summer and only yesterday did i visit the water garden. The pond has floating clover all over the surface. The living machine is cleaning itself due to the addition of water hyacinth. Everything is growing. Notice the size of the wapato near the ponds edge. Its quite a sight.

Its been raining like crazy in the Portland area. But that doesn't seem to faze the art students at davinci arts middle school. Its amazing to see these students handle this very hot material and the results are spectacular. Kudos to their teacher Andrew Butterfield.

the water garden is more than a natural garden.  It is set at Portlands art magnet school Davinci arts. Today it was raining but that did not hinder the ceramics class from firing their latest pieces out side in the garden. the technique is calleds raku. It results in a metalic coloring on the glaze.  This is accomplished by heating the ceramic s and then placing them into newspaper , causing a fire and then reducing the oxygen. Check out these films .

Today I saw a new flower in the garden. It was a japanese iris. It was growing beneath the solar panel. This is also the home for strawberries and day lillys. Another interesting adventure involved the witnessing of a bee working the lupine flowers. The lupin are of the pea family and feature a flower that resembles a slipper. Inside the slipper are the pollen laden stamen. When the bee land on the flower its weight pushes down the the slipper section revealing the stamen nectar areas.. Check out the movie

The sun was shining bright today and i ventured into the garden. The lupine are very tall and in full bloom. As soon as the temperature gets warmer the bees will arrive and begin to harvest pollen and nector. The garden is also getting very lush. Notice the bright blue camus flowers. finally the living is living again the water is cleansing itself in less than a week. I added a butter cup plant that loves a watery nutrient rich environment.

Yesterday I added air pumps to the living machine. the following is a movie about the machine.

Today I added 2 air pumps to the living machine. The living machine is composed of 6 50 gallon drums filled with water and plants. The machine is fed liquid waste from the cafeteria and this materials is digested and cleansed by the plants and fish. The original system had one pump but it was inadequate for the size of the tanks. Over time the system became anerobic and started to smell. We will wait for several weeks to allow the extra oxygen to break down the dead material before we feed it.

Monday I was at davinci subbing for the drama teacher Tom Becket. I happened to venture into the garden and saw a shooting star in full bloom. The lupine are about to bloom also they have start ed stalks of flowers.

The water garden has an April migration of pacific green tree frogs. 10 years ago i released some frog eggs in the pond. The frogs from that first bunch have spread out all over the neighborhood. For some reason they come back in April to the pond where they croak and mate. Play the video and hear them sing.

The temperature is rising into the 50's and 60's and the flowers are starting to bloom. The daffodils are done but the tulips are vibrant. they were a gift 10 years ago and were the first flowers in bloom at the opening on earth day 2002. I am amazed at how strong they still are. the lupine are getting bigger almost a foot tall in places. Also the wild flowers are starting to pop. Notice the purple shooting star. There is also a begining s of camas flower. This plant was a starch staple for the natives in this region. Finally the monkey flower is in bloom. It grows at the mouth of the streeam where the rain water exits the pond and flows into the the wet land. Check out previous posting for pictures of the flooding.

On Monday i wandered over to the water garden. It had been raining heavily in the Portland area. I wondered how the garden was doing. I found that the stream was flowing heavily and the wet land was flooded almost to the over flow pipe. This is the first time in years that water has flooded to that point.

Today is March 19th . The weather is fine warm and sunny. I went into the water garden and discovered the flowering cherry trees in full bloom. Notice how much bigger the lupin have gotten. The song birds are every where they flit and fly from bush to tree. The currant are in bloom they put off a distinguished odor. The pond is also coming top life. The monkey flower near the mouth of the stream are just starting to bloom. I can hear the sounds of some brave pacific tree frogs. They will soon start croaking.

There are many examples of art in the water gardewn. as theflowers bloom the beauty changes.

The water garden is blooming now. The scent of the flowering currant is every where. The daffodils are are coming in strong. Even the calfs foot is in bloom.

For the past 2 weeks i have been teaching biology back at DaVinci. Its been interesting getting back into the routine of teaching. We are studying cells and protists. This week I ventured into the water garden to check on the plants. Unlike the rest of the country the ground is warming up around here. The daffodils are about to bloom and the lupin are returning from a winter retreat. I love the shape of the leaves on the lupine. They are like inverted umbrellas catching the dew and rain. Lupine are scattered around the pond and along the paths. By May they will be 2-3ft. tall with spikes of purple flowers. Here are some pictures.

The plants are stirring and growth is starting to open up. The earliest things are the buds on the flowering currant. They will soon turn into pink flowers that drip from each stem. Since it is so wet here in Oregon the mosses are moving from a leafy stage into a spor stage. On the ground in the wet land is an interesting plant called colts foot. I guess it resembles a young horse in its infant stage. What do you think? Finally the nine bark is pretty now with its split bark against the twigs.

It is starting to warm up in Portland. The garden has daffodils around the pond. They are starting to poke out through the soil. In addition to bulbs the flowering currant is starting to open its buds. the flowers are pink and white . they are the first things to bloom in the garden.

The Portland rain often causes a beautiful light and reflects things differently . Notice how the dragons shines. The pictures show the head, then wings that are seats, the leg and finally the tail.