Here is a map of where we live, NE of Springfield, Missouri,

between the towns of Fair Grove and Marshfield.

Our 21 acres is covered mostly with young oak, with a sprinkling of eastern red cedar, hickory, redbud and other native species. We have the desired goal to increase the diversity of this forest through judicious thinning and planting as we strive to implement permaculture food forest gardening, but most will be left as wild as possible to provide both food and cover for the local wildlife.

This satellite picture of the part of the land where we now live and garden was taken at least five years ago because it doesn't show construction done in the last few years.

When we moved to this land no place had been cleared for gardening. In the first couple years we tried to garden around the house but there was not enough area to be very practical. So, we moved our efforts to the lot north of the road. After cutting down trees, we first put in the herb garden - eight 8' by 12' raised beds formed by concrete blocks. Then came the vegetable garden fourteen 8' by 28' raised beds formed by concrete blocks. To the right is a picture of them shortly after they were done. Since then we have had to fence the garden in an effort to keep out deer, but it has not been very successful. We put in an orchard, but again deer have been a big problem and much of it has had to be replanted. As we plant the food forest we intend to employ herbs that deer dislike to deter them. If this works we'll do it in the vegetable garden as well.

Following the destruction of our home in 2014 we located a new house close the garden to begin the process of rebuilding the community. The house we were able to acquire is an older mobile home and not well-designed to house a community and it has taken time to make it more liveable. In 2019 we finished adding a greenhouse to the southern end of the house to increase our ability to grow our food. We have begun the next project, building a large addition on the opposite (northern) end of the house to provide more bedrooms and make the house better serve our needs as a community. We plan further additions as the population of the community increases. We would like eventually to rebuild on the site of our original home.

Here is a fire pit in one of the few natural clearings on the land. It is close to the location of our former community center and has been the site for a lot of ritual over the years, as well as just being a great place to relax outdoors.

The most important reason for living in our current location is the energy of the land. The Ozarks are ancient hills and the energy of ancient spirits is strong here. This is energy that can be utilized to further our work to create a new paradigm for a new age that transcends humanity's past.

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