This week at the hostel saw not one but two sweatlodges. The first was our regular full moon sweat, attended by mostly first-time participants – only two of our guests had been in a sweatlodge previously. Despite several challenges, such as initial overbooking, difficulty procuring rocks, and Tom having just returned from a vacation, everything came together that morning and there was much joy, celebration, and release in the lodge. Our manager Papillon poured water for his second time, and firetender Peaches went on a ninja mission to a quarry, getting us rocks the night before we were to sweat. Thank you to all who sweated, and if you are coming from an area that has non-porous, two-fist-sized rocks that have not lived in water recently, please bring us some for our next sweatlodge ceremony – we prefer to use new rocks for each lodge.

The following day the staff had a sweatlodge ceremony, poured by our garden tech Carlyn. It was a time for us to come together and renew our spirits after a long hard spring season, which is slowly winding down, and to say goodbye to Jonathan Fellis, our compost tech and big smiler. Thanks Junebug, and keep smiling out there.

This Memorial Day weekend was our last super-busy weekend, and we actually had a record number of last-minute cancellations, due to sickness, death of pets, and (we assume) rising gas prices. Of course the slots were filled as fast as they were vacated, as the weather here has been beautiful and we had many others calling to see about cancellations. Due to both the number of folks coming here to do some personal healing work and the arrival of a massage therapist to do work exchange for 3 days, we declared the weekend to be “Healing & Feeling” with extra hugs and foot massages encouraged. The glass house became a center for all kinds of healing work, including massage, reiki, yoga, and pilates. Thank you all who attended for helping us to wind down out of an intense busy season and move gently into the summer. This week also brought bountiful gifts from guests, including a gift card from Dan from Valdosta for the Hostel to use for things we need, and several pounds of venison burger from Jerry from Athens. Thanks y’all!

The yellowflies have arrived and are hungry for blood, but despite the heavy rains the last few days, the mosquitoes are notably absent. As the yellowfly season is short, lasting only a few weeks, it doesn’t seem like a bad trade-off so far.

This week the Hostel also made several advances in our mission to become ever more sustainable and conscious of our impact on the environment. Our first change is to stop ordering t-shirts made in other countries and instead to buy clothing at the local thrift stores. Not only does this stop giving money to questionable practices, it also emphasizes recycling and reusing, which is fundamental to our mission. Eventually we intend to silkscreen them ourselves, though for now we are having them printed locally. Also we are moving away from recycling plastic. Not only is it an energy-inefficient process, but plastics are melted down and then added to other hard plastics or petroleum products that eventually end up in a landfill anyway, unlike glass or newspaper, which can be recycled over and over again. So please be aware of the plastic containers (such as boxes of 24 tiny water bottles) you’re bringing to the Hostel when you do your shopping, as soon we will not accept them in our recycling bins or our trash. More information, including some links to research, will be included soon on our website as we institute these changes.

Lastly, our manager Papillon had a birthday on Monday, and Tom’s birthday is this week, so if you can’t be here to throw us in the pool, send us your best wishes.

Quote of the week: “I say it in my mind and then send it like a secret message.” Will Wallace, age 7, on how to effectively play single notes on the banjo.

May The Forest Be With You…