Hello World,

My dearest friend Caroline Pond, an amazing singer/songwriter, fiddle player and just one of the sweetest people you will ever meet has been egging me on to write a blog for a while now and I finally broke down, so this ones for you Caro! You can listen to her music at carolinepond.com or read her blog on here. Caro thinks I know a bunch of stuff and I’m full of stories and need to share information with all of you. I don’t know how I feel about this but I’ll do my best. I’m a terrible writer and I have poor grammar and I might even curse here and there, so bear with me. Caroline and her band mates from The Snake Oil Medicine Show actually gave me the title “BroccEli” after I fed them fresh produce from my garden. They are all vegetarians and fond of tasty green food, they said it was the best they have ever had. I was tickled. Still am.

So I sit here on my mac in a delirious state of fatigue. I now work 2 jobs and play in a band. We installed our 4th farm here in Jacksonville, Florida today. Roger, a good friend of mine, and I started a business planting organic farms in peoples backyards and maintaining them on a weekly basis. We call it Urban Eco-Farms. I have inherited an exceptional green thumb and have been farming since the age of 8. Things are going good so far. Folks are eating super fresh yummy organic produce right from their backyards and this is a good thing. This is the way it use to be and the way it should be now. Bringing the farm back to the Homestead is what we are going for. It only makes sense. Our food quality has declined over the past decades and most people have backyards. Do you know your farmer? or where your food comes from for that matter? I am doing my best to fix the problem on a community level. There are not a whole lot of takers as of yet due to the fact that Jacksonville, FL is way behind on anything Eco friendly. People don’t know what to think about what we do, it seems to be a very confusing concept to them. This city is the mecca of the urban sprawl and we do alot of driving to maintain these micro farms. I will be purchasing a 1983 Mercedes Diesel next week and hopefully have it converted over to veggie oil this summer! How cool will that be?

Our business has been up and running since the first of the year and we keep meeting very interesting like minded people. Our clients are great and very supportive of our mission. We’ve met a great couple Steve Sadler & Michaela Miller, who had their beautiful home on the St. Johns River destroyed last summer during the onslaught of Tropical Storm Fay. They are rebuilding 100% green! As a matter of fact their home will be the only Platinum certified L.E.E.D Home on the East Coast of Florida. Go Steve & Michaela! We will be installing them a garden later this month. This is very exciting for us, theres lots of buzz around their home, media, TV, Home and Garden Network etc. To top it off, they live in my neighborhood, about a 10 minute walk from my house! I believe in synchronicity and this is no coincidence. Their website is builttotallygreen.com.

We also met a native landscaper named Kevin Songer who is working on steves house and builds green roofs. Green roofs are a great option for cutting down your cooling costs here in the sweltering South. They look good, prolong your existing roof, and require no maintanence. Go Kevin! Kevin wants to work with us on developing an edible green roof that will work here in Florida. This will be challenging but I’m excited. Heres a link to his blog.

http://www.kevinsonger.blogspot.com/

We have good friends here in Jacksonville doing good things trying to make this place better. One of my dear old friends Gretchen Ferrell moved back to town from Lake Tahoe, CA about the same time I moved back here from the mountains of Northwest Colorado. Gretchen (Pookie) is an amazing individual and a bundle of good energy. Gretchen and her partner Jonathon (Jona) started The Beaches Local food Network, The Atlantic Beach Green Market, and The Atlantic Beach Community Organic Gardens. She has a way with people and the city. It’s a blessing to have her back down here. Go Gretchy! If you live here you must go to the Green Market, it’s every Sat. 2-5 in Jarbo Park off of 3rd Street near Fletcher High School. Good vibes, good produce, green homemade products etc. I might even be out there pickin the banjo from time to time.

www.BeachesLocalFoodNetwork.org

Jacksonville now has an all vegan raw food restaurant, Wow!
The restaurant is called Shakti Life Kitchen. If you live here you need to go there and eat. The food is super fresh and amazing. My friend Valerie is the head chef up there and she will hook you up with some tasty super nutritious green food. She is also a Raw Chocoholic and loves to make divine chocolate treats for all to enjoy. If you do not know the health benefits of Raw Chocolate (Cacao) you better do your homework. It’s the ultimate super food! Please support Shakti Life Kitchen. It is a new concept here in Jacksonville and like my business there are not alot of takers as of yet. Things will change, consciousness will expand and people will wise up. I do believe this. Their web page is.

http://www.shaktilifekitchen.com/

I’m really bummed I did not make my annual pilgrimage to the western mountains to snowboard this winter. I got busy and it was not snowing when I could go. Playing in the Mountains is what I do! I spent 500 days on a mountain carving it up and jumping off of stuff and it was the best thing ever! I miss it so so much. I miss all my friends out West who are still living the dream. Keep doin it! I will see all of y’all soon.

One last thing to all the peeps out there who actually care. The Homesteaders, my band, are regrouping after a long break. Our Dobro player and mandolin player bailed on us due to lack of interest. We met a new guitar player named Evan Dehner who just moved to town recently. Evan has brought a new flavor to our music from Piedmont Blues to traditional bluegrass, he is solid and we are blessed to have him. Music is my life, I play the banjo, write tunes, play the Uke and some guitar. Making sounds on things made of wood and metal with other people is one of the most sacred and ancient of all things you can do. It is a very healing thing and learning the banjo has changed my life. Actually, the person who inspired me to write this blog has inspired me the most. Maybe one day I will be able to hang with her musical chops and her family of beautiful musicians.

Thanks for putting up with my first Blog ever! I will write more soon.

Much love,

Eli

P.S. my dog Rusty (The Rustafarian) is snoring so loud right now it’s cracking me up!