Dharma Festival in the Dandenong Ranges & CERES Market Garden in Melbourne (Dec. 16-20, 2006)

G’daye my dear friends & relatives,

... Happy Solstice, Happy Hannukah, & Merry Christmas

It’s been a while since my last post & I finally have a chance now to update you on my time in Melbourne ... & I have GREAT NEWS!! It looks like I have finally figured out getting my pic's added in to these BLOG postings :) It takes a bit of time to get the pictures downloaded but I have it worked out ... YIPPEE!!

I arrived into Melbourne Saturday afternoon, Dec. 16th ... after Bec & I met up in the morning before Bec dropped me off at the Sydney airport ...

Bec taking me to the airport in Matilda ... the 40 year old Holden car :) (Dec. 16, 2006)

... where I was met by Adrian (Glenda’s husband) and he helped me figure out transport out to the Australasian Buddhist Festival 1 hour east of Melbourne ... through the mobile phone passcodes he shared with me to tap into the wireless ‘puter connections at the airport. I had planned my Melbourne time to overlap the timing of this festival, on the off chance it would work out for me to catch part of the festival ... & it did, particularly since my Seed Mates in Melbourne were not so readily available until the latter half of my time in the state of Victoria!!

After Adrian dropped me off at the Southern Cross Train Station (a big one similar to the ones I have seen in Europe but much more architecturally interesting (& expensive) with its undulating open air roof top (this is true of many of the buildings in Melbourne, ... a much more creative architectural community has been involved in the building of this cosmopolitan city than in most others). The timing worked out so that I had a chance to buy my train ticket, grab a bit of lunch to take with me, and then the train arrived heading toward Lilydale (for those of you in Edmonton, I actually transferred off before getting to Lilydale, so I am not sure if there are heaps of chickens living there or not, as one might think was possible given the Lilydale chicken processing plants around Alberta :)

After an hour long wait at the train/bus station at Belgrave, I caught the bus I needed into Monbulk & had a very generous bus driver offer to drop me off quite some distance past her only stop in Monbulk, to help me get closer to the Kadampa Meditation Centre www.kadampa.org.au/kmca.html How very kind of her to do this for me & what a splendid bus route to get out to Monbulk ... I enjoyed looking out the windows at the very splendid rainforest with tall eucalyptus trees in their sky reaching grandeur and tree ferns in their fanned out & spiral sprouting greenery. I believe we entered into the first part of the Dandenong Ranges as the landscape so magnificently grew up around us.

splendid tree fern frond in the sunlight ... near the creek at the KMCA (Dec. 17, 2006)

After the bus driver dropped me off near the blue KMCA sign, which indicated it was 2 km along the gravel road, I headed off in the late afternoon with my green MEC week-end pack on my back and the sun shining quite warm in the patches between shadows of the nearby forests. It was great to not have anything to carry in my hands, since I had sent my small suitcase, ‘puter, & snorkel bag with Adrian, which I retrieved when I visited with Glenda & Adrian in Melbourne. I am looking forward to learning the art of travelling lightly through the course of my Outward Bound training :)



Although I arrived at the KMCA just as the final teaching of the day was over, I did catch the Wishfulfilling Jewel chanted prayers (also called a “puja”) that evening & again the next evening after the full day of teachings. It was great to see so many folks that I had met at the Australasian Festival that I went to at the start of my 1st trip “Down Unda” ... it was also fun to notice the reactions of some folks who did a bit of a double-take, knowing that they recognized me & seeing their expression as they remembered how & when they last saw me. The Dharma community & its visitors at the KMCA are able to enjoy a most splendid 20 acres of rainforest along a hillside that runs down to a creek. What a great location for a retreat centre and Dharma residence! How fortunate the Aussie’s are to have this new Centre, I do hope to make it back for another visit sometime later in the year when my training schedule permits. To any of my Dharma friends from back home, if you are planning to go to the Singapore festival in October, the KMCA is the great venue that will host the Vadrayogini retreat that will be offered the week after the festival.

World Peace Cafe at the Kadampa Meditation Centre Australia (KMCA) ... 1 hour east of Melbourne (Dec. 17, 2006)

In addition to reconnecting with my Dharma friends & making new ones, ... other highlights of the festival were the teachings that Gen-la Samden shared, the production of the play about the life of Buddha Shakyamuni that the Sydney mob offered on the last day of the festival, plus the food which was quite delicious & the hot chocolate & brownies served at the World Peace Cafe during the festival were definite highlights of the festival as well. Also, despite the warnings on a few notices about the possibility that leeches might want to join along on any hikes near the creek, I managed to enjoy my morning walk without any uninvited invertebrates.

Dharma friends from Aotearoa (New Zealand) ... Jill, Lizzie, & Rebecca (Dec. 17, 2006)

After the festival was over at lunchtime on the Monday (Dec. 18th), I stayed to help clean up after the festival with many other folks. After supper & the evening puja, I headed back into Melbourne with a carload of Kiwi’s (Nichole, Andrew, & Sara) & Tony from Melbourne. It was soooooooo very lovely to seeing Glenda’s beauty-full beaming smile when I arrived at her home. After bidding the Kiwi’s (New Zealanders) & Tony adieu, my visit with Glenda & Adrian began ...

We stayed up a little while to visit over tea and as we did, I came to understand more clearly, the excellent renovation project that Glenda & Adrian had undertaken to rebuild the back half of their home and make it as energy & water efficient as possible, while maintaining the heritage integrity of the front end of their home (a requirement of the heritage district they live in).

What a great house!! ... 7 solar panels, a greywater system for reusing water from showers, dishes, and laundry for toilets and plant watering, as well as a 24,000 litre rainwater storage tank for use in the dry season, and various other details, including the newly arrived extremely energy efficient refrigerator. Sunpower Design www.sunpowerdesign.com.au/SPDFrameset.htm is the firm that undertook this project for G & A and their home is featured on the website under “projects” at: www.sunpowerdesign.com.au/SPDFrameset.htm

Glenda is majorly active with local food security, GMO free food production (Genetically Modified Organisms), and community garden organizations.

Not surprisingly, the gardens Glenda is nurturing in the raised beds made of various recycled materials (corrugated sheet metal & PVC pipes) make the backyard a gardening wonderland!

In addition to Glenda’s raised garden beds, on the other side of their backyard is “Luscious Lane” the community garden space that Glenda & Adrian share with some of their friends in the North Fitzroy neighbourhood of Melbourne.

”Luscious Lane”

On the 19th, I went with Glenda to the CERES market garden to help with her volunteer shift,... we picked spring green onions and tied up tomatoe plants which were about 1- 2 feet high.

Gorgeous Glenda ... the stylish Garden Womon ... in her butterfly hat, an “Op” shop (thrift store) find ... just say "no to GMO's!! (Dec. 19, 2006)

CERES Market Garden near the Merri Creek (Dec. 19, 2006)

You can find out more about their market garden & all the other excellent & amazing things they do at their Community Environment Park at: www.ceres.org.au/index1024x768.htm We visited this park briefly that afternoon (after stopping spontaneously at a house near the market garden that had a sign that read:
“Please pick the yellow plums” and picking a third of a grocery bag of yellow plums, yummy!!) Dec. 19, 2006).

We also went to the CERES Env't Park the next morning so that Glenda could get her veggies & fruits from the final Wednesday market of the year.

Rooster (or "Chook", as the chickens are called Down Unda)strutting his stuff below the CERES nursery seedling display stands (Dec. 19, 2006)

Merri Creek near the CERES Environment Park (Dec. 20, 2006)

The night of the 19th, I met up with Ruth, another dear Seed Mate, and we went for dinner at “Lentil as Anything”, a place where the menu has no prices fixed to it, ... you decide how much the food you enjoyed was worth to you & you pay accordingly. The food was quite tasty although the server was a little bit “snarky” ... most importantly, it was truly splendid to catch up with Ruth, she is such a dear, kind, compassionate, and caring soul :)

Ruth & Glenda ... 2 of my dear Melbourne Seed Mates (Dec. 19, 2006)

On the 20th, it was a treat to visit the CERES market. Most noteworthy was the real cost pricing for the corn-on-the-cob at $1.70/cob ... which accounts for the major water and labour inputs to grow & harvest organic corn in a region that has a limited water supply. Most of the signs for the produce at the market identified the area where the food was produced & how far from the CERES park the food was transported. The green onions we picked the day before were there & the sign indicated that they were from 2 km away :)

Glenda at the CERES Market (Dec. 20, 2006) ... look at those lovely green onions we harvested just the day before :)

I wandered around CERES for a couple hours after that while Glenda did some errands. What a most excellent community space!!! I have visions of Cityfarm Edmonton having the potential to grow with CERES as a model to guide their planning. (Maureen & Mair, please share the CERES website with Susan Penstone or let her know to check on my BLOG so that the Cityfarm folks can check into this great interactive and educational community place. As well, Glenda is involved with the planning committee for a conference coming up in March 2007 that will cover 4 hugely important themes ... local food security/production, community gardens, city farms, & a 4th theme that is escaping my mind at this moment.


Some of the great murals & signage on the CERES buildings ...
At the base of this “rich countries, poor countries” mural ... I came across a tiny little friend in great need ......

Mina bird chick that had hopped or fallen out of its nest but not yet ready to fledge ... I let one of the staff know & he returned the chick to its nest ... not sure if it survived the heat after such a big ordeal ... my estimate, from my tree swallow field work days, is that the little chick (perhaps about 16 days young) still needed to wait about 5 days before it would be ready to fly off, with all its feathers finally intact ...

some of Michael Leunig's work, on an outside chalkboard at CERES ... he is great & many of my Mates down here quite like his cartoons :)

After spending the better part of the 20th at the CERES Env’t Park, Glenda & I visited awhile longer back at her amazing home before it was time to get me to the airport for my flight to Perth, in Western Australia.

Thank you so very much for the great visit and your splendid hospitality Glenda & Adrian. All the best to you in the new year!!
Glenda & Adrian in their amazing backyard in Melbourne (Dec. 20, 2006)

I will share my update on my time since landing into Perth in my next post ... as I continue to enjoy a quiet time here at Gaia House getting caught up with my dear friends and family “back home”, with the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) playing a few Christmas tunes (& all kinds of lovely classical music) ... reminding me that indeed, it is that time of year ... something that seems quite surreal given the hot, sunny, 30-35 degree Celsius weather which has me wearing shorts, sunscreen, & floppy hats, instead of parkas, muskrat mitts, and fuzzy toques (sp?).

Be well,

Teresa

p.s. by the way, this time of year is also known as the “Silly Season” down here in the Land of Oz ... because of the sillyness that comes with the busy schedules and shopping frenzies that have come to be part of the festivities in many places.

p.s.s. thanks Mom, Colleen, Laurelie, & Deanna for your comments to my previous posts ... it's great to hear from you & to have the updates on your preparations for Christmas Mom ... thanks for sharing the news of the yummy festive foods that you have prepared for everyone to enjoy ... I will miss the kutya for sure & the perohy, holubchi, and so many of the other very delicious dishes that appear only at this time of year ... the prune perohy are another treat that I will miss

,,, YIKES a 1-2 inch long cockroach just caught my attention ... but I have scared it off with the vibrations of my quickly stomping feet on the cork flooring here at Gaia House ... I added this in especially for you ... Colleen, Mom, & Jill :)

"may all beings be free from suffering" & may I continue to be open to sharing this great planet with ALL the critters that call our dear Earth/Gaia home :)