350 Action

As we now enter the next stage of the collective evolution in awareness, neither to simply smile (our sign's message in May), nor to frown (change in mood as of mid-summer) may serve us adequately in meeting all the challenges ahead. Thus, we had best learn how to maintain inner calm, a centre from which to spring into appropriate action.

The peace symbol in this last version of our sign represents both -- the poise amidst climate-caused chaos and also hope that the growing tension on the scene of international politics will not result in yet more resource-related wars.

A note to those who followed the link from 350.org to this website:
Yes, we did help our animal friends to enact their activist desire -- by using scythes to refine the design. All this, after all, is cooperation in action, something we all have to learn more about in the days to come.

For any future sign-mowing activism, here are some practical hints:

There are two basic approaches to sign-making with the scythe, both of them functional but one decidedly better than the other.
(A note added later: There's actually a third method -- and it is the easiest one. See how we recently made the 350 artichoke and potato garden.)

The first approach is simply to cut "350" into a field of standing grass, free-style, so to speak, without much measuring, staking, drawing strings etc. If such a sign is not too large and the mower(s) have a good sense of proportion/geometry, they can work without a pattern and get it done, more or less. Doing it this way takes less total time but it requires more scythe competence as well as a more select group; with other words, a smaller number of mowers (relative to the size of the design) can participate. Also, at least some of the tall grass surrounding the letters will inevitably be trampled in the process.

The second approach calls for more planning and somewhat more time overall. The difference is that, as opposed to cutting the design itself, you cut the area surrounding it. Its foremost benefit, however, is that at the very day the sign is to communicate its message, more people will be able to take part in "making it come alive" than in the case of the first, simpler approach. The three-dimensional touch also makes the message somehow more "real"; thus this is what we recommend you all do on October 24th.

The somewhat more involved process by which we have made the large and semi-permanent signs on this farm is communicated further below. While making the first 350/smile sign (shown above), we took a combination approach: only quick drawing/measuring and a little more freelance work than usual. Altogether it took three of us approximately three hours. But the sign is a rather miniature in comparison to our four large designs (shown below); the area where we placed this one (a fenced-in pasture) is only 70' (21m) wide with the numbers only 24' (7m) tall.

As you see, we didn't mow the actual surface of the sign per se, but rather the area around it. It is easier not to "mess it up" this way because the bulk of grass can be cut -- starting from the edges -- without first trampling it. That is, you gradually work towards the still undefined letters from all sides until the approximate zone of the letters themselves is reached. Then the exact shape is defined (by measuring or just stepping off the outline, placing a few stakes and or strings) and mown more carefully.
(See photos)

Two weeks later: Dandelion blooms have turned to white fluffy seedheads. (photos taken 1 day apart)

June 18: With the hay harvested, we quickly trimmed the design's outline. (This will make it easier to redefine after most of its first growth is transformed into flesh... and further fertility.)

Later the same day the activist site is turned back into a pasture:
The sheep raced over from another part of the farm ahead of their guardians (the donkeys) and quickly read the whole message. Then, interestingly, they congregated over the "0" as if to suggest that they are set on zero SOMETHING. Could it be zero emissions? Hmmm... they wouldn't be that naïve... Or, practicing some positive philosophy of living in the NOW -- as long as green grass is still available at their mouth's reach -- they perceive zero problem? But, we wonder, are sheep this smart? Could they have actually studied the fundamentals of Buddhism, for instance and grasped the essence, or are they just fooling around and reiterating the rhetoric? We really don't know.

The donkeys, as you see, prefer not to make hasty moves. Instead they take their time to consider the options, while taking a nibble here and there. This, as all "donkey people" know, is very much in line with their contemplative nature. (We used to keep upwards of 20 donkeys for many years and are firmly of the opinion that whoever came up with the expression "dumb as an ass" was very uninformed, perhaps even outright dumb... Donkeys, in fact, may well be the wisest of all domestic animals and if we humans were as humble, undemanding and as considerate as they, this planet would surely not be in the mess it is now!)

But what exactly these three donkeys are now thinking while reading this design, we also do not profess to know. They may indeed consider it a joke, or alternately, feel that any attempt to raise awareness in general is a worthwhile pursuit. Perhaps as the season evolves, we'll get some grasp on the issue -- because they will have "re-made" that sign and contemplated its message at least a couple more times before Oct. 24.

It took three days for those few animals to "erase" the design and graze down the rest of this one-acre pasture. We didn't take a photo on the day they were moved, but 4-5 days later the fast-growing white clover was beginning to bloom a little in the area surrounding the numbers.

As the next step, we mowed the design itself for the first time; even though it doesn't appear as if there was anything that needed cutting, there was. As all farmers know, when livestock are offered abundance (of which on the first day this pasture was an example), they treat it like many children do a dinner plate with more on it than they need to get a bellyful: they waste some of it. Thus the overly tall grass comprising the sign was not grazed completely, but partly trampled.

We still consider it worthwhile to trim the leftovers because doing so will encourage new growth. The sign in this photo is more visible because the trimmings were spread to dry which provides the colour contrast. Even though they amount to very little storable dry matter, removing the trimmings will make the mowing of it next time around easier. (Most beginners, by the way, may have some difficulty cutting grass so very trampled and laid upon, simply because of the way their scythes are "set up" and sharpened and the technique used. I wish to emphasize that with a good scythe, well wielded, any growth can be trimmed literally to ground level ...the notion that a scythe is suited for the cutting of tall grass only is simply humbug!)

Another note of relevance:
Large designs, especially if made on a relatively flat surface, can only be fully seen from the air. But to fly a plane in order to photograph a pro-environment slogan is a somewhat hypocritical thing to do - in principle similar to Peak Oil/Climate Change (or for that matter scythe-promoting) activists flying around the globe to participate in what they perceive are meaningful events. The question of if and when "the ends can justify the means" has not to my knowledge been sorted out by anyone to the point that the answer has a straightforward and universal application. Still, that very question -- and attempts to answer it -- must never cease.

With pertinence to slogan-making we therefore urge everyone to consider mowing the signs in places where they can be well seen without the need for a plane. Some of the birds-eye views of our pre-2005 signs were air photos, but thanks to Ashley's monkey-like tendencies, many of the photos in this extended section were taken from the tops of surrounding trees. (A hot-air balloon or a glider would be another great alternative to hiring a private plane!) The small 350/smile design was photographed from the roof of a nearby barn. Here are some shots to provide a perspective.
(photos)