Sowing The Moon Teahouse

Poems by Julian Orr

Thanks to Julian, who sent these poems commemorating the New Years Tea Gathering during the January Intensive at Green Gulch 2012.

Green dragon kettle rests in the sunken hearth
gently steaming dominating the spare, elegant room
of tatami, plaster, cedar, and bamboo
the alcove with its scroll, flowers, and incense box
And so we take tea slowly,
carefully paying attention to motion, artifact, and flavor
Thinking carefully before we speak
The dragon's presence requires ours.

~~~~~~~~~~ Yu Jo (Friendship) ~~~~~~~~

Bamboo tea scoop
The shape just so
So precisely curved
so thin so light so elegant
almost not there at all

Hatsugama - January Intensive Retreat

Participants in Green Gulch's annual January Intensive Retreat attended a New Years Tea Gathering on January 10. Thick tea and the traditional Urasenke New Years sweet - Hanabira Mochi - was served. See pictures in the Photo Album

HATSUGAMA 2013

Green Gulch Tea Students + family and friends celebrated the beginning of the
Year of the Black Water Snake

7th Annual Tea & Zen Seminar

The 7th annual Tea & Zen Seminar was held at Green Gulch from August 8 - 12, 2012. Participants came from Nova Scotia, New York, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Georgia, Texas, and Illinois, as well as California.

Teahouse "Nameboard"

The teahouse finally has a nameboard. The name - Shugetsuan - Sowing the Moon (or Moon Seed) Hermitage - was given by Suzuki Hoitsu Roshi many years ago. Hoitsu Roshi calligraphed the name, and sculptor Takayuki Zoshi carved it on a board which had been prepared by Hiroshi Sakaguchi. The nameboard now sits below the teahouse roofline, overlooking the roji. Our deep thanks to the craftsmen, and especially to Hoitsu Roshi.

Roji Reconstruction Project - Weekend of 5/5/12

Landscape gardener Mark Bourne make great progesss in the roji, with help from Jamie Morf, Qayyum Johnson, Johan, and Sarah Carter. The front (standing) stone for the tsukubai was set and a drain created. Now we just need to find local rock for the "ocean." New plumbing was installed, giving access to both geeen water and to drinking water for the tsukubai. Trenches were dug throughout the garden for pipe for pop-out sprinklers, a few trees moved, and more sasa planted outside the front gate.

Wedding Tea

Don and Heather were married in Sowing the Moon Teahouse by Meiya Wender on March 14, 2012. After the ceremony, Don offered koicha for everyone and then Heather made usucha.

ROJI RENNOVATION 2012

Re-construction of the roji by master gardener Mark Bourne has continued intermittently over the past several months. Stepping stones including a section of nobedan, have been completed as far as the koshikake machiai (waiting bench) and through the middle gate and path lights have been installed by the main pathway. Another big change is a new tsukubai (stone water basin). Mark has found and installed a large piece of granite and has carved a basin. The next steps will be to construct drainage and install a 'standing stone'.

See additonal photos in Tsukubai Construction Album.

New Front Gate and Entryway