We wanted a small corner of earth to tend.
Hillary sought land to garden that she might grow her own Chinese and
Western herbs & food and ultimately apprentice others to do likewise.
Jeff sought woods to connect with trees and stone and animals and
ultimately bring others in deep connection with this natural world. We hoped for a place, too, where
we could further study how practices of the heart, spirit, and imagination
entwine with serving the planet and humanity.
We have found that place. It includes a simple barn, the birth of modest gardens, and a farmhouse all situated on 4 acres in one of New York's oldest farming communities, Accord (accent on the first syllable).
In 150 years, people have interacted with this land in different ways -- farm, camp, home, sanctuary. Originally the Osterhoudt's farm in the 1800s and early 1900s, we suspect the Dutch family laid out the stone walls, farmed what used to be the back meadows, and built the pond. At least by the 1940s to 1970s, kids and teens found respite and summer love here as Camp Shangri-La. During the last twenty years, two retired teachers & local activists from New York City found peace here. From hay in the 1800s to sleeping bags in the 1900s to yoga mats & zafus now, the barn has served a rich history of people seeking deep connection to the land. We hope that 21st-century teachers, artists, & practitioners of all kinds will relate to the earth in ways fitting for our times.
Day by day, we have cleared debris & garbage,
planted seeds, turned walls into paths, and listened. We call the barn & gardens WEN.
In Chinese history, WEN absorbs many concepts & phenomenon--nature, constellations, animal tracks, bird flight patterns, weather patterns, writing. WEN includes a series of ancient ways of reading nature's languages so that we might live more deeply connected to the way life flows and unfolds.
"The wen person is someone who can read not just human language, but the languages of nature as well. There are patterns and secrets throughout the world - the rings of trees, and tracks of animals, and the traces of water down the sides of a valley are as clear as any scripture. . . . We all need to experience more and more, strive to know life on deeper and deeper levels, and give consideration to all that happens to us. Such understanding must be ongoing, and those who revel in wen never tire of exploring what is around them. They always read the patterns of life." - from Everyday Tao by Deng Ming-Dao
WEN Barn & Gardens is not a school of thought or religion. We have years of complementary training, education, experience, reflection, and study without dogma. We have traditions without rigidity. We have teachers without gurus.
We have a safe, simple place to study, to explore, to expand. We open this place to anyone interested in becoming more awake in heart, through art, and with earth.
- Hillary Thing & Jeff Davis, Stewards of WEN B&G