Author Archives: Jason

June Gardening Update

In June the garden was filling out and growing fast with plenty of rain and warm weather. The peas really took over and I discovered a whole new world inside those tiny green pods. I had never really known what a pea tasted like before June 2009, but I made up for it with kilo after kilo smothered in butter and a bit of garlic… The Zucchini plants began to flower; There were some tiny green tomatoes forming, and peas, cabbage, beets, and carrots were not long from harvest time. Continue reading

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A Walk in the Village

Some photos from around the village in early June. The weather was finally starting to really warm up, the grass was green, and the gardens were growing. Continue reading

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The House in Spring

But the sun shines bright and warm this first spring morning, re-creating the world… -Henry David Thoreau

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One more time, in Harmony.

Things have developed very rapidly over here. There’s a lot to say, but little time, and words are difficult.

It seems that I will be or will soon be leaving Le Vignaud indefinitely. I won’t go into the details of the situation (as some of you already know, to varying degrees), but will only say that this was a very difficult decision to make. Continue reading

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Home (A Photo Study)

Last November, I moved into a house I had never seen and did not intend to inhabit very long. Without realizing it, that place became home. It happened so suddenly, and when Home comes- things begin to change. No longer is the space around you simply the space in which you live. The space in which you live becomes loved. It becomes part of you. You care for it as Self; You come to know it, and you accept it faults along with its praises. Continue reading

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May Gardening Update

May was a big month for gardening. The last of the frosts were finally past, the weather became warmer, and the plants (along with the weeds) started growing quickly. Tomatoes and Peppers were in the ground, we ate more salad than anyone cares to remember, and already peas, radishes, and carrots were growing fast.

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John Preble, This One’s for You…

Back in junior high, I worked for this guy out in Abita Springs. He was this crazy old guy who had bought an old gas station and started collecting things. He covered the walls and the ceilings with crap he’d found in the trash or things people left on his doorstep and called it a museum. It could be anything though: Old computer parts, driver’s licenses, paint by numbers, broken dishes. For me, it was bottles. Thousands of them. Continue reading

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Roofing Round Two

Dirty Darren and Alex get together to help tear the roof off the house- once again. These photos are from back in May, but things haven’t progressed since then. Just after we began, we ran into a few problems- Money, time, injuries, Paddy… So now, three months later, the roof is still uncovered, the tarps are torn, and the rain keeps falling. Continue reading

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Lac du Vignaud

Alex and Jessica ditching work at the lake one beautiful spring day in early May. I was the only one brave enough to jump in that day… it had been five years since I last had the chance and I … Continue reading

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Cold Frame

Gus helps me build a new cold-frame for the tender spring seedlings. I had been looking for some old windows to use for a long time and finally some happened to come my way. Gus helped with the painting, and even the grass looks a little cheerier thanks to the Le Vignaud Blue that ended up everywhere… Continue reading

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