Number 189 Spring 2022 • $11.95 QUEER FARMINGWROD S Issue 190 / Summer 2022 WORDS OF POWER / MAGICAL WORDS Submission Deadline: April 21, 2022 www.rfdmag.org/upload Photograph: Dick Mitchell Language is the make of reality. Everyone has their own internal language that is a magical way of making it through the day, we make up phrases, we coin usages and we allocate ideas to things to create different ways of approaching life. In this issue, we’re asking you dear readers to consider how language, words and ideas have given you personally power in various aspects of your life—spiritually, sexually, communally, or in ways which are outside of definition, magical space, ecstasy, transformation. Now consider how those words which you’ve chosen to assign to yourself, to your spiritual practice, to your larger circle of friends has helped widen your understanding of power. Did a disempowering word become something of power once it was reclaimed? How has that shifted recently as we’ve tended to “de-label” ourselves, take on the “I’m just me” approach while yielding away some of the power that came with associations with words of power that came with reclaiming identities, exploring understandings and taking risks with having power, yielding power and letting go. We also would love to hear how people have had the inverse of “power of words” to “power over words” happen in their lives. How have you, the community you are in or the people you are around shifted in how they use words. Do we self-edit, are we soft peddling “who we are” so we don’t upset people or are we shifting where we use words in our life relative to specific spaces in our lives. When did my words of power/magic become power over someone else? How can we create a space where empowerment through words is not a way to create disempowerment for someone else? How can we challenge ourselves to see we are not always on the same path but we can share in the journey? If words are the beginnings of understanding, and understanding is the path to visioning, then where in the labyrinth have the power of words taken us? RFD 189 Spring 2022 1 Responsible For Dinner Vol 48 No 3 #189 Spring 2022 Between the Lines While we here in the Northern Hemisphere are plotting our way to springtime, we are taking this issue to explore our roots in growing, tending and sustaining ourselves with fruit, vegetables and meat. We asked our readers to contribute to how being a queer and farming im- pacted them, lessons they have learned, ideas to share as well as people sharing their memories of garden, a piece of their rural childhood, estab- lishing roots in a community of fellow travelers interested farming. We’re aware that so much of “normal” is still being adjusted with the COVID situation but many people are slowly trying to commune together again is safe ways, so we provide our annual gathering guide which has been absent from our pages since 2019. Please be safe, plan ahead and do check in with folks before planning a visit. We also have a number of articles about upcoming books, a new novel by Edmund White, a reissue of Gavin Dillard’s poetry book, Notes from a Marriage, which now includes photographs as well as Franklin Abbott’s introducing us to a number of poets. As the Spring awakens we here at RFD hope everyone is able to make it out to feel the dirt on their toes, to get their hands dirty planting some seedlings, re-rooting ourselves in our queer communities and nourishing ourselves for a bright summertime. We encourage all of our readers to share RFD with friends, heck buy a gift subscription, suggest they read it online—we love to be read (but in a good way). We also welcome theme ideas for upcoming issues, we want to reflect our readers interests so please be in touch if you have a theme idea. OK, stay warm, see you in Spring! From a frosty perch in White River Junction —The RFD Collective2 RFD 189 Spring 2022 RFD is a reader-written journal for gay people which focuses on country living and encourages alternative life- styles. We foster community building and networking, explore the diverse expressions of our sexuality, care for the environment, Radical Faerie consciousness, and nature-centered spirituality, and share experiences of our lives. RFD is produced by volun- teers. We welcome your participation. The business and general production are coordinated by a collective. Features and entire issues are prepared by different groups in various places. RFD (ISSN# 0149-709X) is published quarterly for $25 a year by RFD Press, P.O. Box 302, Hadley MA 01035-0302. Postmaster: Send address changes to RFD, P.O. Box 302, Hadley MA 01035-0302. Non-profit tax exempt #62-1723644, a function of RFD Press with office of registration at 231 Ten Penny Rd., Woodbury, TN 37190. RFD Cover Price: $11.95. A regular subscription is the least expensive way to receive it four times a year. First class mailed issues will be forwarded. Others will not. Send address changes to submissions@rfdmag.org or to our Hadley, MA address. Copyright © RFD Press. The records required by Title 18 U.S.D. Section 2257 and as- sociated with respect to this magazine (and all graphic material associated therewith on which this label appears) are kept by the custodian of records at the following location: RFD Press, 85 N Main St, Ste 200, White River Junction, VT 05001. On the Covers Front: "Dorian #1" by Eric Lanuit Back: "Nebraska", by Matt Bucy Production Managing Editor: Bambi Gauthier Production Editor: Matt Bucy Submission Deadlines Summer—April 21, 2022 Fall—July 21, 2022 See inside covers for themes and specifics. For advertising, subscriptions, online or printed back issues and other information visit www.rfdmag.org. Visual Contributors Inside This Issue Images or pieces not directly associated with an article. Chris Moody ...........................2, 16, 29 Eric Lanuit .................Front Cover, 9, 32-33 Emerson Gray ...............................53 Matt Bucy ..........................Back Cover "Life's Reflection," 2013, Maine, 35mm photograph by Chris Moody RFD 189 Spring 2022 3 CONTENTS Gathering Guide and Announcements ..........................................4-5 If we… ..................................Sleigh ................................7 Four Dirt Road Dispatches from the Salish Sea .....................Adam Cappuccino, CrowDog, ......................................Moe, robin hood .....................10 Evolving Balance .........................Pogo LMNO .........................14 35mm Photographs .......................Chris Moody .........................16 A Country Boy Becomes a Faerie and Meets the Man of His Dreams: A Long-winded Country Love Story .....Mark Turner .........................18 Let’s Grow Together! ......................Luke Potter ..........................22 Reflections On Being a Farmer .............Albizia Kchckrhh, Zir Tartemis, ......................................Teapot, & Twinkle Loris ...............25 A Fool's Journey ..........................Morgan Martin .......................30 The Missing Goat .........................D. Scott Humphries ...................31 Rotational Grazing & Forest Management ...Mike Grindemann ....................34 MISSIVE: New Calf .......................Scott Hightower ......................36 Love From the Mountains .................Evergreen and Miscanthus .............37 Gloryland—Our Forever Home ............Glen Morton Ganaway AKA Satyre .....40 Not By Bread Alone: My Grandmother’s Village ..............Aldo ................................42 Queer Farming ..........................Sigh Moon ...........................44 Flags, Pure Joy ...........................Elliot DeLine .........................47 Poetic Legacies: Walter Holland, Marcellus Muthien, Don Perryman, Kevin Simmonds, C. Dale Young, Steven Reigns .........................Frankiln Abbott ......................48 Flower Fag, Flower Boy ...................Emerson Gray ........................53 Notes From a Marriage ....................Gavin Geoffrey Dillard ................55 A Previous Life—by Edmund White ........Review by Leo Racicot ................58 Crocuses, The Planting ....................Raymond Luczak .....................59 Farmer’s Son, Bareback ....................Charles Springer .....................60 Memories of the D&R .....................M. J. Arcangelini .....................61 Granny’s Kitchen .........................Stephen Schwei ......................62 Pergola ..................................Andre Le Mont Wilson ................63Faerie Sex Magick 169 Jan 11-18 Spain www.faeriesexmagick.org Kink Odyssey Mar 16-20 Greenwich, NY www.eastonmountain.org Blue Heron Maple Sugaring Mar 18-21 DeKalb Junction, NY sites.google.com/site/blueheronfaeriehome/home Generate Gathering Mar 31 - Apr 4 Saratoga Springs, CA www.generategathering.net Spring Community Week Apr 10-20 Ternuay-Melay-et-Saint-Hilaire, France www.folleterre.org/en/gather Queer Forestry Camp Apr 15-29 Ramah, NM www.zms.org Spring Gathering Apr 21-24 Upper Lake, CA thebillys.org Beltane Apr 28 - May 5 Ternuay-Melay-et-Saint-Hilaire, France www.folleterre.org/en/gather Spring Love Awakening Gathering May 2-13 Paddington Farm, UK albionfaeries.org.uk Gay Spirit Visions Spring Retreat May 13-15 Highlands, NC gayspiritvisions.org Memorial Day Weekend May 27-30 Greenwich, NY www.eastonmountain.org Summer Retreat & Gathering May 27-30 Angelus Oaks, CA www.CalComMen.com Kench Hill Jun 1-5 Tenterden UK www.edwardcarpentercommunity.org.uk We Here Now–Stewardship Gatherette Jun 4-12 Ramah, NM www.zms.org Faerie Sex Magic Jun 7-14 Ternuay-Melay-et-Saint-Hilaire, France www.folleterre.org/en/gather Summer Solstice Gathering Jun 19-29 Ternuay-Melay-et-Saint-Hilaire, France www.folleterre.org/en/gather Faerie Sex Magick 169 Jun 25 - Jul 2 Wolf Creek, OR www.faeriesexmagick.org Summer Splash Weekend Jun 24-26 Greenwich, NY www.eastonmountain.org Summer Gathering Jun 28 - Jul 4 Upper Lake, CA thebillys.org Gay Freedom Camp Jul 1-5 Greenwich, NY www.eastonmountain.org Movement and Mindfullness Jul 1-3 Unstone Grange UK www.edwardcarpentercommunity.org.uk Bonobo Experience Jul 2-10 Ternuay-Melay-et-Saint-Hilaire, France www.folleterre.org/en/gather Spiritual Gathering of Radical Faeries Jul 3-10 Wolf Creek, OR www.nomenus.org Faerie Sex Magick 269 Jun 7-14 France www.faeriesexmagick.org Faerie Sex Magick Full Spectrum Jul 9-16 Germany www.faeriesexmagick.org GAYLA Jul 16-23 Ferry Beach, ME www.ferrybeach.org/gayla.html Midwest Men's Festival Jul 19-28 Eastern KS midwestmensfestival.com Sun Clad Jul 25-31 Greenwich, NY www.eastonmountain.org 4th Global Radical Faerie Gathering Jul 26 - Aug 4 Estonia faenet.org/gatherings/gg4-registration Telling Our Stories Jul 26 - Aug 2 Unstone Grange UK www.edwardcarpentercommunity.org.uk "Sound Of Faeries" After Global Gathering Aug 13-21 Hochkonig, Austria radicalfaeries.at Summer Gay Spirit Camp Aug 15-21 Greenwich, NY www.eastonmountain.org Radical Rest Gathering Aug 20-29 Ternuay-Melay-et-Saint-Hilaire, France www.folleterre.org/en/gather High Close Aug 23-30 Lake District UK www.edwardcarpentercommunity.org.uk Blue Heron Gathering Aug 29 - Sep 5 DeKalb Junction, NY sites.google.com/site/blueheronfaeriehome/home Bear Your Soul Aug 31 - Sep 5 Greenwich, NY www.eastonmountain.org Faerie Tales Sep 1-8 Ternuay-Melay-et-Saint-Hilaire, France www.folleterre.org/en/gather Faerie Sex Magic 169 Sep 10-17 Ternuay-Melay-et-Saint-Hilaire, France www.folleterre.org/en/gather Tantrastic Gathering Sep 20-30 Ternuay-Melay-et-Saint-Hilaire, France www.folleterre.org/en/gather Gay Spirit Visions Fall Conference Sep 22-25 Highlands, NC gayspiritvisions.org Coldwell Sep 30 - Oct 3 Burnley UK www.edwardcarpentercommunity.org.uk Singles Weekend Oct 7-10 Greenwich, NY www.eastonmountain.org Samhain Gathering Oct 10-20 Northumberland, UK albionfaeries.org.uk Faerie Sex Magick 169 Oct 22-29 Australia www.faeriesexmagick.org Kink Odyssey Nov 2-6 Greenwich, NY www.eastonmountain.org Gay Spirit Visions Winter Meditation Jan 13-15, 2023 Highlands, NC gayspiritvisions.org Alto das Fadas Faerie Tea Party Wednesdays 17:30 UTC / Online www.altodasfadas.org Global Online Faerie K(no)w-Talent Show Third Saturday of each month / Online faenet.org/pages/1528-global-online-faerie-k-no-w-talent-show Gathering Guide As you can see we have a shortened list of gather- ings and events for this year’s gathering guide. Below you’ll find the gathering dates we could find from contacting sanctuaries and gathering sites as well as checking www.radfae.org as well as individual websites. But please contact each gathering site beforehand as these dates could easily change or be cancelled. If you don’t see your usual gathering community then consider it still closed for gatherings or they were not in touch with RFD in time for publication. Every community needs your support, so please consider being in touch with them to see if they have needs outside of the gathering where they need sup- port – work weekends or fundraising needs given these difficult times. Meanwhile there are several online heart circles, talent shows and virtual events, we recommend looking on either www.radfae.org or www.faenet.org for details. RFD 189 Spring 2022 5 Calling all queers interested in learning high- desert forestry practices! Zuni Mountain Sanctuary is hosting it’s first ever Forestry Camp in order to manage a major tree die-off in our region. Years of drought have made the piñon population vulnerable to the native bark beetle, causing massive swaths of trees to pass on. This first year of camp will focus on mitigating the fire risk from these deceased trees. You’ll learn (if you didn’t know already!) how to fell and process trees, build swales and other water catchment improvement techniques, and you’ll be introduced to the local plant populations by our neighborhood knowledge keepers. We will be camped out between the outskirts of Zuni Mountain Sanctuary and it’s downtown area. It will be cold so please pack accordingly. Snow is al- ways a possibility up in these mountains with average last frost the beginning of June. Bring winter camping gear, a pair of gloves, loppers, a hand saw, any forestry equipment you may have like chainsaws/chaps/PPE/oil and a food contribution if possible. We will be pro- viding meals but if you are able to bring provisions that we can cook with that is very helpful! Please contact our resident kitchen witch, Spacey G ~ spacegirlg@ gmail.com to let him know of any food restrictions or allergies, and what (if any) provisions you will be adding to the collective larder. Forestry Camp will begin April 15 and go until April 29. Please arrive the day before, April 14, to get settled in. We will circle up the following morning and head to the forest together for our first lesson. Participants will be limited to thirteen with some locals in the periodic mix. Registration is required and pandemic protocols will be in effect (to be updated as needed). Priority given to folkx who can stay two weeks, all are encouraged to stay at least one week and shorter stints may be offered depend- ing on general interest. Can’t wait to see you all there! Contact lucawalk- to@gmail.com and zunimountainsanctuary@gmail. Radical Faerie Global Gathering Dear Faerie Friends From Far and Wide! We are so happy to announce that we have just now officially secured a retreat center where we will convene the 4th Radical Faerie Global Gathering! Mark your calendars and please save the date! When: July 26-Au- gust 4, 2022. Where: Estonia. Of course you have many questions and we will do our best to answer them all, in due time. The official Gathering Call/Invitation and Registration will be available to you in January 2022! Faerie love to you all! G4 Team. For more info contact Hammer: terrypcavanagh@gmail.com. Queer Forestry Camp at Zuni Mountain Sanctuary6 RFD 189 Spring 2022 RFD 189 Spring 2022 7 I f we build it, they will come…Then, they will want lunch. Cuz, “Everybody Wants Lunch”, to quote our wize trancestor, Crazy Owl… If we grow it, they can eat it…without driving one hour to Safeway or Walmart in Gallup, or two hours to La Montanita Co-op, Natural Grocers, or Costco in Albuquerque. Here and Queer at Zuni Mountain Sanctuary there is the potential to grow an abundance of food by getting our collective hands dirty. Wouldn’t necessarily think it’s so possible in the remote high mountain desert at 7200 feet near the Continental Divide. Yet, by the accounts of my anthropological betters, the nomadic and agricultural cultures of the region sustained greater populations than live here now. No doubt: cultural lifeway disruption and population devastation brought to the conti- nent since 1492…as well as the standard-of-living shitshow trailing behind this late-market capitalistic zombi economy addictively focused on materialistic accumulation while lurching towards agricultural and ecological collapse. Focus creates reality. As a Steward of Radical Faerie sanctuary adjacent to Cibola National Forest - I gently walk in beauty, as best I am able - upon the lands of the A:shiwi (Zuni), Diné (Navajo), Indé (Apache), Háák’u (Acoma) and the other descendants of the Ancient Puebloans and indigeneous peoples of the region. The land beneath my feet was literally a crossing ground for the ancient ways that connected pre-colonial peoples between Pueblos, the Zuni Mountains, the El Morro Valley and Chaco Canyon. The Sanctuary was founded in 1996 and persists as a very special place for our queer rad fae culture to grow collectively in communal magic and earthy prayers. Humble humans humming to the humus. Hum. Us. Beyond the millenia, the Sanctuary’s auspices have been tended by intermittent fae gardeners for a couple decades...Fae have come and gone. Beds made, sporadically grown, and then laid fallow for the next gen to come along, sometimes, some years later. Buildings were built and then passed on - not always with the best of handoffs. Entropy - as ever - persists. New buildings are nearing completion in 2022 and will sustain the Sanctuary for decades to come. Though Zuni Mountain Sanctuary has mi- raculously continued, I can’t exactly say it has sus- tainably thrived. Gardening, animal transparenting, maintaining unfinished buildings, systems, running a non-profit and sustaining healthy community pro- cess on top of the cooking, cleaning, provisioning, etc…ALL takes consistent work. Stewardship has ebbed and flowed. I have lived here for five+ years in devoted and mostly joyous service. Many hands and hearts can make light and bright work. Here’s the deal folkx. The Sanctuary has one of the best quality and quantity wells in the area and can grow lots of food inside and outside of green- houses. We are nearing completion on an 864 sq/ ft walipini greenhouse designed by community elder and local market gardener Camphor (who has sustained and paid for his farm in Taos with a profitable decades old greenhouse grow). A simple 111 sq/ft hoophouse also exists on the land and If we… by Sleigh…aka Slay, Link Kin Logs, or Layard Photographs courtesy of the author.Next >