summer 2013

dosa summer 2013

Farmers’ markets greet the arrival of summer with overflowing crates of fruits and vegetables. I visited my first farmers’ market as a young adult in New York more than two decades ago. Over the years, I have befriended many local farmers; their passion for the daily work of growing organic food inspires me and reinforces the importance of having integrity in one’s process – whether growing food or making clothes.
 
In the early 90s, I met Kathy Klein. An artist of danmalas (Sanskrit for “giver of garlands”), she reminds us “to be present, to be aware, and to listen to the mysteries of nature.” As an organic farmer, Kathy lives her summer days by the rising and setting sun.
 
Sunrise: meditation, 50 chickens free-ranging in the sun, sheep and pheasant feedings, tend to 400 plants and 100 fruit trees, pranayama, walk to Sinagua Indian ruins. Breakfast. 10:30am: prepare a sacred place, collect flowers and leaves, create danmala to the sound of a cardinal’s love song. 1:30pm: lunch, meditation, build an outdoor project, walk and swim, see a baby king snake, admire the hawks and coyotes, take 9 Jacob sheep to graze, sun gaze, collect eggs, close the hen house, laugh. Sunset.  -- Kathy Klein. Beloved Gardens, Cornville, AZ
 
 
danmalas: Kathy Klein