The Farm :: Summertown, TN

Ellie was a colorful elephant at the edge of the jungle. As the only patch of color in a sea of gray, she was understandably quite self-conscious. Luckily, she had charisma and a wild sense of humor.

The other elephants loved Ellie’s jokes, but still she felt like an outcast. One day, she figured out how to disguise herself by rubbing her body around in elephant colored berries. After finally seeing through the ruse, the elephants erupted in celebration. They all decorated themselves in Ellie colors while Ellie was dressed in elephant color. The parade was beautiful, marching boldly forward to the music of The Beatles.

The kids were absolutely adorable, wearing those foam wacky noodles strapped on their noses for little trunks and constantly forgetting their lines. They were all dressed in drab gray, except for one little girl who wore tie-dye. Parents gave a standing ovation, aiming camcorders and flashing cameras at the stage. As the two-piece jam band began their set, parents slowly dispersed, disposing of several untouched burritos in the compost bucket. Meanwhile, the film crew from Animal Planet hovered in the back, aggressively trying to angle their way into The Farm’s more juicy pockets for a possible reality show.

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Idyll Dandy Acres

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Everything moves more slowly now. People sleep more and work less. The weight of winter would continue to press down on us for a few months, but tonight was symbolic. The bitter cold would persist, but from here on out the days would slowly grow longer, minute by minute until we’d finally shed all these heavy layers and float with the colors of spring.

It was the longest night of the year. The sun had sunk behind the ridge before 4:00, and our evenings had been spent huddled near a wood-fire stove with ten or so others at IDA, eating homemade meals and falling asleep encased in goose down. The Winter solstice was little more than another cold, dark night here. Right over on the mountainside though, the Radical Faeries were preparing a pledge of renewal, remembrance, and rebirth.

We got in the car with Phil, who made his home in the area with The Faeries almost two decades ago. Phil has a zen-like jolliness about him, confidently calm and always grinning at an inside joke. And the icy roads were no match for his gleeful disregard for conventional concepts of safety. Floating between the lanes and blazing through stop signs deemed utterly ridiculous, we finally arrived at the potluck, plopping our dish with the rest before joining hands in the circle.

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