Equinox Hash

Equinox Hash

When : Saturday 9/21/2013 3:00pm

Where : 2687 N. Loesch Rd., Bloomington, IN

http://goo.gl/maps/CXV54

From Bloomington follow about any road west that crosses Rt 37, to Curry Pike. Find the intersection of Curry Pike and Woodyard Rd. (Woodyard is about one half mile south of Rt. 46) and about 1 mile north of west 3rd St.) Turn west onto Woodyard road and follow less than one half mile to the first left which is Loesch Road but unmarked and easy to miss. Follow Loesch down the hill and across the dangerous unsignaled RR tracks (caution!) to the first or second drives on your right. You’ll see the cars. “

 

It’s the Autumnal Equinox! The day in the fall where we have 12 hours of light and 12 hours of night as the nights get longer and the days get shorter.

Scientifically speaking, it’s the time when the plane of the Earth’s equator passes the centre of the Sun. At this time the tilt of the Earth’s axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun. At an equinox the Sun is at one of two opposite points on the celestial sphere where the celestial equator (i.e. declination 0) and ecliptic intersect. The equinoxes are the only times when the subsolar point (the place on the Earth’s surface where the center of the Sun is exactly overhead) is on the Equator.

According to the Greeks, this is the day Demeter leaves Olympus to live in the underworld for 6 months. The ancient Druids called it “Alban Elfed” and celebrated it as a day of balance and harmony. In China, it’s the Moon’s birthday. Native ‘Mericans celebrated it as a day of thanksgiving for their crops.

Regardless of whether you give a shit about the scientific or mythic principles involved, the Autumnal Equinox is celebrated in most cultures around the world with food, drink, and bonfires. And as hashers we are all about that. Therefore, we are piggy-backing on Cums With Beer’s annual Equinox Celebration.

The hash will start an hour early at 3pm in order to accommodate the start of the party afterward at 5:30pm. Join us for a beautiful romp through fields and past herds of water buffalo as we celebrate and perform all kinds of ancient fall rituals.

New aspirants are free, old ritualists are $6.

If you would like to attend the party afterward, here are the details from Cums With Beer:
“When…Saturday September 21th, 2013 5:30pm.
Where?…2687 N. Loesch Rd. 11 minutes from downtown Bloomington
What?…A celebration of the fall Equinox and Nature’s bounty. Including fabulous food, some by us, some by you, a fine selection of local beers from the Bloomington Brewing Company, roast pigs from our fields, The Sitar Outreach Ministry, Jacob Latham, The Wizard Pants Party Band, Bonfire, Drumming, Dancing, Hayrides, playful vibes, camping.
Why?…Because the Gods have been good to us
Here are the details
The Luau is a Near Zero Waste event. Please BYO plates and tableware if you can (we will have loaners and compostables if you forget). We’ll have reusable keepsake Pizza X cups for beer and soft drinks (including BBc Root Beer) or bring your vintage Pizza Express cup. Special prize for the most vintage Pizza Express cup at the Luau.
We’ll have seating but probably not enough so camp chairs are welcome.

This is a working farm with lots of resident domestic and wild animals, please don’t bring pets, they may get injured or injure others.

At your arrival, we’ll have a host to greet you and direct you to fill out a quick little tag for your dish listing key ingredients, potential allergens and it’s appropriateness for vegetarians. Please take a moment as you arrive to do this.

Don’t Drink and Drive—If you’re planning to drink more than one or two beers over a several hour period, please plan ahead and make alternative transportation plans. Cabs are available and camping is welcome. If you wish to leave your car at the farm and retrieve it later it will be perfectly safe.
Schedule of events

5:30-6 pm …You show up. Don’t be late for dinner!
6pm…Feasting
7:00p-10p Hayrides and conviviality. Equinox Invocation. Music by the Sitar Outreach Ministry, featuring Nick McGill. Creatrix Wizard Pants Party Band featuring Andy Cobine, Linda Manus, Steve Mascari, Nate Johnson, Tim Moore, Curtis Jackson, Slats Klug, Laura Lashbrooks, and Mike Coletti. Wow!! Bonfire procession by the Jefferson Street Parade Band. Lighting by Scott Larson and Chris Ramsey.

10pm…Bonfire and drumming into the wee hours. Bring your drum!

Important things to know…
We will roast several pigs. We’ll have a nice variety of fresh ales from the Bloomington Brewing Company. We’ll also have BBc Root beer and drinking w
ater.

Please bring a dish to share and, as this is a harvest celebration, make it as local, seasonal, homemade and full of soul. Be advised that we confiscate Kroger melon trays and rotisserie chickens at the door. BYO if you want something besides good beer.
Mind your waste—Food waste, paper plates and napkins and compostable flatware all go in there. Your cups will be reused again, so don’t toss them. We’ll have separate bins for mixed recycling and a very small trash can for the landfill. Please don’t bring petroleum based plastic disposables.
Kids are welcome–There’s lots for them to explore and plenty of space to run and BBC Root Beer for them to enjoy.
We’ll have port-a-johns, but pee wherever you’re comfortable. Your urine is 17% nitrogen and good for the plants.

Camping
Camping is welcome. There’s PLENTY of room. Find a spot anywhere that appeals to you other than inside the 5-wire electric fence but please no fires in the woods. Our 69 acre property is bordered by Loesch Road to the East, RR tracks to the North and the other sides are fenced so you need not worry about inadvertently wandering off the property.
Campers will be treated to a fabulous Sunday campfire br
eakfast of our own home cured bacon, Farm eggs, and a BIG pot of Brown County Coffee. Tents recommended, or sling a hammock and brave the dew.

Rain or Shine –We hope for shine, but if rain, wrap up and come out anyway. The pigs have already given themselves, and somebody needs to drink all this beer and the bonfire will burns. Plus, It feels good for us to play in the rain once in a while.


Don’ts
No Dogs-Our farm has a resident population of dogs, cats, pigs, chickens, ducks and water buffalo. Unfamiliar dogs can cause havoc resulting in possible injury or death. Please leave any pets at home, they won’t be allowed at the Luau.

Don’t feed the children our beer-They don’t appreciate it’s against the law.

Don’t bring fireworks-In the interest of not causing a stampede, we won’t be blowing anything up this year.

Don’t drink and drive—Did I say that already? Camp instead. Intoxicated guests will be tackled and their keys confiscated.

Please Respect …
House-The farmhouse on the property is a private residence and NOT part of the LUAU. Please don’t venture there. Personal relief options abound at the farm, to pee find a tree, or locate the port-o-johns near the Quonset hut.

Electric Fence- The white rope doesn’t look like an electric fence, and only 3 of the 5 are electrified. Encourage a friend to figure out which 3 😉

Hornets nests-No hornet’s nests located this year, but tell me if you find one.

Safety—There are many ways to get hurt on a farm. Be cautious and watch your footing.

About our Luau pigs
We’ll be roasting quarters from 4 Pigs this year for the luau, 3 were large Black Hampshire crosses raised organically on our farm and slaughtered earlier this summer. One was a Tamworth cross that I purchased at the 4-H livestock auction in late July. All will be dry rubbed and slow roasted and served with Tad Delay’s wonderful Mount Pilot BBQ Sauce.
A few things about pork in the 21st century…
Just try buying hog feed at the local farm stores. Last I checked, they do not sell any hog feed not laced with drugs. We feed our pigs hog feed from a small mill in Medora which does Not contain antibiotics, but much of our pig food comes our vegetable trimmings from our restaurant kitchens and copious amounts of day old bagels that are donated from the Bloomington Bagel Company.
People familiar with our situation have asked if it’s hard to slaughter these pigs, attached as we are to them. In our culture, killing animals for meat is done primarily behind the closed doors of large factories by workers who may slaughter hundreds of animals in a day and can hardly be blamed for bringing little consciousness to the process. And this after the animals have been packed in a truck and suffered their first trip off the farm, on a noisy smelly highway for many hours, only to be dumped in a crowded lot of other stressed, squealing animals awaiting the inevitable.
People sometimes ask me about the “hog business”. I tell them in reply that “ I really wouldn’t call it a business.”. I like to relate a thing that my dad used to tell me about those personal pursuits done more for pleasure than profit. He’d say, “Certain things are too expensive to sell, you’ve got to give them away.”
Blessings—See you at the Luau!

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