March began with a beautiful snow, with eaglets born in a big nest high in a tree along Red Rock Creek, a few miles from the farm. And it ended with sure signs of spring. For one, Pearl, one of the pygmy goats, learned how to get under the fence and out into greener grass. Once she learned, it meant spring fence-mending all the way around the goat and alpaca pens. It was our friend Gail Garloch, who wryly observed: "What do they say about March? In like a lion, out like a pygmy goat?"  

Ann taught the beekeeping workshop, which she loves to do. Her passion for beekeeping, for contributing to increased habitat and care for pollinators, is infectious.

Pat introduced the Mindfulness Way Through Depression to participants during a retreat. The group continues to communicate and support each other weekly as they grow in this beneficial practice. She will offer the retreat again in the fall.

Two events took us to the city. Pat was privileged to present the story of Turtle Rock Farm and the worldview that sustains our work here, during the Creative Peacemaking Symposium sponsored by the Social and Ecological Responsibility Initiative at Oklahoma City University. It was exciting to participate in the process of developing creative peacemaking projects with so many wise, gifted, committed people. Thank you, Nathaniel Batchelder, director of The Peace House, for the invitation to share. 

And we joined Transition OKC in Oklahoma City for the first annual Open Streets OKC. An effort by an alliance of several groups working toward wellness of community, people, planet, it brought out thousands of people to learn and play on NW 23rd street, which the city blocked off from traffic for a mile or so. The Transition OKC team helped hundreds of people make seed bombs, with seeds that grow habitat for bees and butterflies. We offered the Cosmic Walk--an experiential telling of the universe story--and were thrilled at the response. Parents read the story to youngest children as they walked the spiral. Adults, teens and children who made the "trip" told us how helpful it was to experience the story of the creation of the universe. Here's our blog posting: Taking to the Streets We are glad to work with the Transition OKC team, taking our work to the city! They will be joining us here at the farm, with the seed bomb project during the fourth annual Green Connections Earth Day Festival, April 19. More details below! 

Also in April, we offer the Active Hope retreat. Our friend Jana Gunnell, who we met at a Work That Reconnects retreat last August, will be joining us. Jana has studied with Joanna Macy, ecophilosopher, educator of general systems theory and author of Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We're in Without Going Crazy. We are grateful to be able to offer this material, which we find so inspiring, and we are glad that Jana, a native Oklahoman who now lives in New Mexico, can join us in presenting it. It's Saturday, April 12. Register soon! Here: www.turtlerockfarmretreat.com

May brings wonderful opportunities as well! Jane Vincent Taylor, who leads writing workshops at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, will offer her first writing workshop at Turtle Rock Farm on May 3. Pat will offer a Meditation and Labyrinth retreat on May 17. Details and links to registration are below.

We are thrilled to welcome this spring's intern! Laura Chestnut joined us this first week of April, right in the heart of spring cleaning and planting. Again, we are heartened by the young people who find their way to Turtle Rock Farm because they care about sustainability, the health of the planet. Come meet Laura as we celebrate the planet at the fourth annual...  

Green Connections' Earth Day Festival

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 19  

 

As always, Earth Day festival, an educational event, is open to the public.
Let us know you're coming, so we have a Bison Hot Dog at the grill for you!
And, so we can send you driving directions.

Ann's at 580.725.3411 - annbdenney@gmail.com 

Pat's at 580.917.6011 - pathoerth@gmail.com 

Beauty, Peace,

Ann and Pat

in support of

 

 

You may send tax deductible donations to Green Connections, 5900 CR 90, Red Rock, OK 74651. Or you can donate on the Green Connections website. Or, go to our website - www.turtlerockfarmretreat.com - and click on Green Connections, and use Paypal to send your donation.  

Meet our board members:

Green Connections: Kay Adair, Vicki Rose (treasurer), Elizabeth Box Price, Dorothy Gray, Pat Hoerth, Ann Denney, Mary Moloney, Claudia Scribner, Shauna Struby (president,) Tom Temple   

Turtle Rock Farm Advisory Council: Barbara Hagan, Bruce Johnson, Corey Williams