The honeysuckle and jasmine all around the Hostel and in the Secret Garden are filling the air like magical elixirs and intoxicating us with their heaven-on-earth perfumes. Thanks to the constant dedication of our gardeners Zachary and Carlyn and all the help thrown down by the rest of the staff and guests, the garden has fully shaken off the sleep of winter and as new beds have been cleared and old beds upgraded, our summer crops are almost entirely planted now. Colorfully stained hands is the newest fashion trend around the Hostel thanks to the wild raspberries and blackberries that are springing up all over the place, and we are still patiently awaiting the ripening of our blueberries. I hope you all have been practicing your blueberry baking recipes. Speaking of recipes, if anyone knows any good chicken dishes, we still have some hens we need to let go of. Just joking! Seven of our chickens have been adopted by our neighbor Floyd who owns a petting zoo where they are being taken great care of and children and adults alike are enjoying them. If you are interested in owning a Hostel chicken, you can still email us or stop by.

Since Carlyn and Zachary have joined the Hostel team, we have been blessed to have yoga classes in the Glass House almost every morning as these two share their knowledge and practice with us. Jonathan has been exploring and teaching how to make didgeridoos and other instruments from natural materials. We are always finding new ways and means to enable, educate, and enlighten on all things environmental, cultural, and spiritual. ‘Everything important is already known, the only thing is to rediscover it,’ so said the mysteriously unknown Greek philosopher Anon. We are very interested in getting some grants written for the development of our infrastructure and our continuing development as and educational ecocenter. David and Natalie from Atlanta and Lauren from Tallahassee have given us some great advice so far. If you have any advice or skills in this area, we would love your help.

May The Forest Be With You…