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News from Reevis Mountain School
October 2009
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A Division of the PAAK Foundation, an Arizona 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
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 About a week ago Bigfoot was in back of the house and heard the sound of a mother turkey trilling at her babies. Only we didn't have any babies on the farm, that we knew of. He looked all around the back of the house, around the walk-in cooler, didn't find the source of the noise ... and finally looked up. There was Sweetheart, our year-old standard hen, on top of the cooler, with six babies! Sweetheart couldn't figure out how to get her little ones down the eight-foot drop to the ground, so Peter helped.
Our fall class/event season began with a mini-Homestead Living class the second weekend of the month, a one-day survival skills class that was part of a Scottsdale Community College course, and an overnight program for a high-school group from Gunnison, CO. October also brought us much joy in visits from many friends, including three from Australia! Sven and Karen Tonisson lived here when Reevis first started and constructed the Grapevine teepee, which still stands ... and Timothy from Australia and his wife Adela from Nicaragua were of much help with installing a stove in the Boulder cabin and with chores while Patricia was away visiting her mother in Tulsa.
Mary, our intern who arrived at the beginning of September, was a blessing, keeping the garden beautifully cared for, taking care of the ducks and turkeys, and helping out in a million ways that went above and beyond. She left at the end of the month, and we miss her presence.
Bigfoot has been working on small projects all around the farm. The Boulder cabin, which we announced as complete a few months ago, still needed a woodstove and window hooks, and with the help of Tim and Andras those are finished now. While Sven and Karen were here to assist, we began the construction of a low masonry wall around the apple trees beside the duck pen, to keep that corner neater and provide a place to sit. Peter also built a cold frame within the greenhouse where we are curing sweet potatoes - unlike other veggies that like to keep cool after harvest, they require being held at 80 to 90 degrees and 80 to 90 percent humidity for several days after they are dug up. To provide those conditions, Peter rigged up an enclosure inside the greenhouse with a glass front and insulated sides, and we have the sweet potatoes stored in crates under damp towels. The sun heats them up during the day, and then we cover them with a blanket of insulation at night to keep them warm.
Speaking of turkeys, we have a few still available for Thanksgiving - please email if you are interested. They will be provided ready for roasting, and we have reduced the price this year to $2.50 per pound. Our smaller birds weigh in about 35 pounds, the larger ones are around 45 pounds, and the largest will weigh upwards of 50 pounds.
For more information (and pictures!) about the farm, Peter Bigfoot's herbal remedies, and classes and events, please visit www.reevismountain.org. |
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| Coming Events
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oriental Touch Healing, at RMS, Nov. 5-8, $198 Reduced from $268!
Wild Edible, Medicinal, and Useful Plants, Catalina State Park, Nov. 14, $85
Celebrate Thanksgiving at RMS, Nov. 26, $40
Please see below for more information.
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Oriental Touch Healing, at RMS, Nov. 5-8, $198 Price reduced to match our falling economy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A doctor may not be available when you need one - now you can learn to
take care of yourself! Oriental touch healing (jin shin jyutsu) is a simple and
profoundly effective healing art founded on the understanding of the human body
as animated by life force energy that constantly flows through meridians in and
around the body. Most illness is caused by a restriction in the free flow of
life force. OTH is an art designed to reestablish that free flow and return us
to our natural state of being: painless, joyous, and loving. You will learn the
philosophy of OTH, the meridians and pulse points, diagnosis through reading
the pulses, techniques of touch healing, and first aid with OTH. This is a hands-on class - you will get lots of practice reading pulses and giving treatments. Includes Bigfoot's
Book of Ancient Natural Remedies. Three days. We have reduced the price of this class from $268 to $198 to make it more affordable to interested students with stretched budgets.
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Wild Edible, Medicinal, and Useful Plants, Catalina State Park, Nov. 14, $85
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Our Sonoran desert plants, bushes, and trees harbor many secret treasures, from healthy nourishment to remedies for illness, injury, and venomous bites and stings. We make it easy and fun to learn ... and, of course, you'll get Bigfoot himself and his fascinating stories of healing and survival. You will receive a personal plant study book that contains information on more than 150 medicinal and edible wild plants (a $20 value!) plus room to add actual samples gathered during the class. Easy hiking through the desert, exploring plant life as we go. Dress for the weather, including a wide-brimmed hat for protection from the sun. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. |
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Celebrate Thanksgiving at RMS, Nov. 26, $40
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  You're invited to join us for Thanksgiving dinner and a day in
RMS's magical wilderness sanctuary. We'll serve turkey raised here, side dishes
from our organic garden, homemade whole-grain bread, and fresh pies. Relax in
our beautiful valley or hike through the surrounding mountains, then gather for
the meal at 2 p.m. Overnight option for camping ($10), cabin ($35), or yurpy
($20) includes breakfast. Complimentary shuttle from Roosevelt (leaves 10
a.m.). |
| Planning to attend a class or event?
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Classes held at Reevis Mountain School include: meals (arrival night meal is a potluck party - bring a healthful, natural dish to share!),
class supplies, hot showers, and campsite. Camping is free, or stay in
a yurpy ($10 per night) or cabin ($25 per night) (availability
permitting). Yurpies and cabins have beds and pillows; bring your own
sheets and blankets or sleeping bag. Complimentary shuttle service from Roosevelt, 10 miles one way - or caravan in your own 4X4. Shuttle pickup is at 5 p.m., first day of class, at M&S Marine, Hwy. 188, Roosevelt (between milepost 233 and 234). Early Registration: 10% discount if you register with full payment 30 days prior to class date. To Register:
Send your name, phone number, postal and email addresses, and a 50%
deposit to the address below. Indicate whether you will need shuttle
service from Roosevelt and/or wish to rent a yurpy or cabin instead of
camping. Balance due prior to class.
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| What We're Growing, Harvesting, and Eating
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  We'd like to share with you what's going on in the garden, the orchard, and the kitchen - the vegetables we're planting, the bounty (fruit, veggies, livestock, and herbs!) we're harvesting, and how we turn our harvest into nourishing, delicious meals.
What We're Growing
Last week we had two nights of freezing temperatures, which wiped out our summer vegetables, like squash, tomatoes, peppers, and beans. We also finally lost the cucumbers, and for us that is a sure sign of the end of summer. We now have fall and winter crops coming up, including broccoli, parsnips, brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, garlic, and spinach ... and still have lettuce, arugula, endive, chard, rutabagas, leeks, beets, and onions! The winter squash is curing in the garden.
What We're Harvesting
We received seeds for the indian corn pictured here from a friend at Winter Count last February. Hoping that this corn could provide food for us and feed for the chickens and turkeys, we planted a test crop, and we're very pleased with the results. The ears are drying on the stalks now, and we have an antique cast-iron corn sheller on order for removing the corn from the cobs.
We dug up the sweet potatoes last week just in time before the frost would have damaged them - about forty pounds in all. And we are just beginning to harvest persimmons!
What We're Eating
Every meal at RMS is built around greens, whole grains, and meat or eggs. This time of year we are starting to eat more steamed greens than salad, and turkey tends to be the meat on our plates. We are eating more root veggies, which we either roast or dutch oven ... or we make the delicious beet soup described below. Patricia is experimenting with sourdough breads in addition to our usual grain choices.
Un-beet-able Beet Soup
Peel beets and chop them into half-inch pieces. Saute in butter until they are tender, and then add water to the pan and simmer for another fifteen or twenty minutes. Puree in a blender or with a handheld blender, and season with sea salt and pepper. Serve warm or cold with sour cream and chives. |
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How to Purchase RMS Remedies
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peter Bigfoot's herbal tinctures and salves are available to order by email (orders@reevismountain.org), phone (928) 467-2675, on our website (click on Country Store), by mail (7448 S. J-B Ranch Rd., Roosevelt, AZ 85545), or at retailers in Phoenix (Healthy Habit, 6029 N. 7th St., and Total Body Awakening Legacy (602-774-0160), Scottsdale (The Natural Medicinary at Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, 8010 E. MacDowell Rd.), Mesa (Preparing Wisely, 144 S. Mesa Dr.), Tempe (SWIHA's bookstore, 1100 E. Apache Blvd.), Flagstaff (New Frontiers Market and Village Healing Center), Sedona (New Frontiers Market), Cottonwood (Mt. Hope Foods), Camp Verde (Healthy Thymes), and Globe (Back to Basics, corner of Broad and Cedar).
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| Wilderness Retreats at RMS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  RMS is a sanctuary free of most modern-day distractions and pollutants (including television!), a place to reconnect with Earth and Spirit, while enjoying the school's organic/whole foods cuisine and wilderness surroundings. Yurpys and cabins are available for overnight, weekend, or longer retreats, for individuals, couples, or groups. We provide meals, shuttle from Roosevelt, a meditation lesson, and suggestions for local hiking. Please visit www.reevismountain.org or email us for more information. |
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Quick Links...
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We Welcome Donations
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RMS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization; donations may be tax deductible. We're currently wishing for the donation of a commercial-grade riding lawnmower, and a second solar water pump to replace the gasoline pump. We also appreciate prayers for rain! Cash donations are always welcomed with deep gratitude and will help us with the costs of feeding our work-exchange residents, who are not required to pay for their room and board.
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"To be satisfied with a little is the greatest wisdom; and he that increaseth his riches, increaseth his cares; but a contented mind is a hidden treasure, and trouble findeth it not." - Akhenaton~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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