(Transcript from video)

Sue: So this is a tire retaining wall. We made it by taking off one of the walls, one of the sidewalls of the tires, and then turning them inside out. So they look more for the same. And I planted them with succulents and various kinds of herbs, like Thyme and Rosemary and so forth.

Courtney Brooke: So how long has this wall been here?

Sue:  Well, I would say it’s been here maybe two and a half years or so. Or maybe three years. I’m not sure. Every year I have to weed it. In some years, I have to put more stuff in it. Somethings die, but I try to keep it up.
Courtney Brooke: How long did it take you to make this wall?

Sue: I don’t remember. I don’t remember a long time, I guess. They call it, tire wrestling, turning the tires inside out, it’s really hard.

Courtney Brooke:  Where did you get all these tires?

Sue: From the tire dealers.  They have to pay to have them recycled, so they give them away.

Courtney Brooke: So beautiful.

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Everything is soooo green!

This view of the Village Green from Council Hall Plaza in May has lots to say about how much warmer and earlier Spring and Summer came this year. Still, it’s hard to complain about beautiful weather. Down on the Green, ball game lovers of all ages congregate on weekends and after potlucks for soccer or volleyball or for tossing corn sacks and frisbees. The courts move around to minimize wear and tear on our one big lawn for outdoor picnics and celebrations as the beautiful weather carries on.

Behind the camera in the shot of the Village Green (above), old-timers, new members and students have all worked side by side several times a week rebuilding paths, evolving the stone seating and gardens in the plaza outside Council Hall, and upgrading infrastructure for the outdoor dining scene.

At right, John and Juan Pablo wrestle the concrete bottom step into place at the entrance to the storage container kitchen. 

Sue Stone (below) continues to glorify the view with flower beds that practically glow!

Green is a color of the heart, where the green meme of caring and sharing presides. This season’s cusp from Spring into Summer, with its peak at Summer Solstice, has been showing us in dramatic ways how love can survive and spread through many years of community life, its promises, its challenges, and its rewards. May the blessings of Summer abound!

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Geoff Stone’s wife, Sue, had been reading about intentional communities for years before he paid much attention. He already considered community to be an important part of his life and had always been active in community groups, local festivals, and church groups. When his corporate career was about to end, he realized that his lifestyle was going to have to change. “I was in the corporate world and I decided that it was not for me, and I started to think how we could make that work financially if I left.” That’s when Geoff decided to think seriously about intentional communities.

Geoff and Sue paged through the communities directory, made a list of potentials and then systematically visited them to narrow down the options.

Geoff can often be seen tooling around the village on his solar-powered golf-cart.

“It was a process of learning that was kind of interesting and fun…learning about ourselves and matching it up with what was out there.”

They decided on Earthaven and arrived in 1999. Initially, they ate three meals a day in the Hut Hamlet Kitchen and got a real taste of community life.

“I had a lot of romantic notions of what community life would be like, being all together, cooking together. We became aware of how important it was for us to have a little more routine, more control over our own lives. It was communal living and that is an experience everyone should go through to understand themselves a little bit and say, ‘Gee this is something I love’ or ‘I need some boundaries here.’”

Sue and Geoff Stone beside their tire wall.

Geoff and Sue decided to build an Earthship (house of tires) based on a workshop they took years before. Geoff said the process was pretty straightforward with detailed instructions from the architect. “I said to myself, ‘I’m not a builder but I can do this.’ I am proud of what we built. I feel that what we did is something other people can take pieces of to maybe build their own and make the world a little better.”

After twelve years of living in community, Geoff feels fortunate to have his own space and at the same time, be a part of something larger. “We’re so wasteful here in the United States and I see Earthaven as being a tiny step in the right direction. We’re walking our talk to some degree and that feels good.”

Davene Wasser came to Earthaven in April 2010 with her family to simplify her life and live more closely to nature. She is a writer, editor, educator, and artist. After a year and a half at Earthaven, Davene and her family have moved on—to Central Virginia.

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