A valley kin to those heard of through myths and old, old stories -- green and cascading slopes waltzing down to an intimate valley floor, home to Tierra Miguel. A ranch across the way, willow trees, towering sycamores, horses. Neat matrices of avocado and citrus in the other direction, reaching up to the frost line. Enormous, stately, white clouds slowly shrugging in sky, occasionally covering the sun and quickly turning the air cool and brisk; the sun emerging again from these gentle monsters, creating crystal vistas and warmth. Pauma Valley on April 5th, 2003.

The site coordinator from Altadena, the vibrant Wiep de Vries, organized a bus to haul all of us city dwellers from the West Side, Sherman Oaks, and Pasadena (and parts in between) down to north San Diego County. Wiep (pronounded Veep) is a brilliant Master of Ceremonies, and created a lively bus trip with passenger introductions, commentary on the farm, astute and fun observation... the two hours flew by. The bus was a bona fide touring bus, giving us passengers a great view from above (including down into the cabs of passing semis). Wild flowers illustrated much of the highway; and the further south we travelled, the more the landscape relaxed and showed its form.

We arrived at Tierra Miguel ready to stretch our legs; after a brief period of stretching, hydrating, and orienting, Robert Farmer (yes, that's really his name) talked about the history of the Tierra Miguel Foundation, introduced some of the Foundation Board members who were on hand for the Open House, and shared with us the principles and goals of this organic, biodynamic farm. He then gave a brief tour of the farm, where he talked more about their composting practices, weed control, and so on... and we snacked on strawberries we picked from the rows just beginning to offer their small red jewels. Anyone seriously interested in orgranic farming should visit and talk to Robert, as he is deeply knowledgable, delights in sharing information, and is incredibly thoughtful about his world.

A note on weed control I found particularly interesting. One method the farm uses to slowly decimate the weed-seed population is to let the weeds grow in a field made ready for planting just an inch or two above ground -- when the plants are not mature enough to produce seeds. Then, they plow over just a couple of inches of soil in that field -- deep enough to kill the little culprits before their seed-bearing period, but not deep enough to disturb the weed seeds lower down that have not germinated. The idea is to slowly, over time, reduce the seed population, hence the weed population...

After a marvelous potluck lunch of salads provided by the farm, plus all kinds of dishes provided by the visitors, we headed off to various workshops: Landscaping and Permaculture; Composting and Biodynamic Preparations; Urban Crops in Your Yard; Natural History Walk and Native Plants; Walk Through the Fields and Cook; Seeding the Future: Gardening for Kids.

Families with kids in tow (6 months to adolescent), singles, and couples -- all energized from a beautiful lunch -- all went various directions to learn more about a chosen area. For myself, I wandered into the Landscaping and Permaculture workshop, so my one-year old and I learned from Faith Moore some basic concepts of designing a sustainable landscape, using a part of the farm destined to become a welcome garden as a working project. The workshop was focused and friendly, and no one complained as my little one blabbered on about I am not sure what as she amused herself at the perimeter of the room. (Just a note on one-year old cognition: Mwi has learned to reconize clocks, and points them out, naming them when she sees them. She also recognizes dials, without hands, as clocks -- for instance, a gauge to measure blood pressure on the wall in her pediatrician's office. So I thought she was keying in on the round shape, and the numbers all around. However, there is a funny clock at the farm, where all the numbers have "fallen" from their usual location and have heaped themselves around the 6 o'clock position. The hands point to the various locations, and a slogan above the clock states "Who really cares what time it is", or something like that. Well, she recognized that as a clock too -- so her little mind is really ticking!)

While it would have been easy to stay a while longer talking with the farmers, naturalists, environmentalists, and visitors, the bus was on a different clock than the one Mwi observed, and we loaded up for the journey home. On the bus, little groups huddled together, excited and inspired, sharing ideas from the various workshops. Some napped. There were more stories from Wiep and the other passengers. I think everyone felt somewhat intoxicated from the fabulous air breathed in the Pauma Valley ... a day very well spent.

Next Open House is set for July 5th, 2003. First Saturday of each month is Volunteer Day. If you are interested in learning more about Tierra Miguel, please visit. Words and websites just do not do the farm or its people justice.