Wednesday, October 26, 2011


"Vinteri" property, 17.9 ha. Photo fall 2010. Road in forefront under reconstruction.
Temple Black John in memory of forests
is offering for sale “Vinteri”
17.9 hectares of prime land

Location: Braslavas pagasts, Alojas novads, Riga Region, Latvia.
Legendary Burtnieku Lake is about 10 km north of property.
Lake Khegums is within walking distance
Two sides of the property are edged by roads in good condition.
One road was finished rebuilding this year.
"Vinteri" property from the crossroad looking west. Note hedge of spruce bordering hayfield.
The roads meet at a cross road.
Easy and quick access to asphalt roads leading to Matiši, Aloja and beyond.

Description of property: Originally land was zoned as 15.9 ha of arable land, 0.7 ha of forest. The southern edge of the property borders on a ditch beyond which begins a swamp. For the past twenty and more years the land has been let go fallow and has been planted by present owner with trees. Originally a well to do farm, “Vinteri” became a collective farm during the Soviet times. Upon the demise of the Soviet Union, the property was abandoned and was subsequently bought by the present owner. The old buildings on the property, located in the center of the property and surrounded by a row of oak trees, have been raised by owner because of their state of decay. One corner of the land at the cross-road has been used for a number of years as a source of hay by a local farmer.
Old road leading to old homestead "Vinteri". Tractor tracks from removing remains of  fallen trees.
Description of area: About 1 km to the west along one of the roads is Temple Black John. Across the road to the north of “Vinteri” are “Dzerves”, also a collective farm during the Soviet days. The name “dzerves” means “cranes”, of which a number continue their thousand year long residence in the area and can be heard calling during the spring, summer, and early autumn days. Area has an abundance of wild pigs, deer, moose, and stork. More distant, but still in immediate neighborhood, are the small villages of Khegums, Braslavas Park, and the pagasts administrative center at the village of Vilzeni. A recent new owner to the area plans to build and develop a rabbit farm.

This is a reluctant sale, one necessitated to keep the Temple operating.and agitating on behalf of the forests and wildlife. Ideal buyer: one who more than respects nature.

Ask: Ls 30,000
Due to the present unstable financial markets, price may fluctuate.
Sale by Owner. Interested parties may communicate via email at this blogsite or contact
Inguna at +37125979406



Saturday, October 22, 2011

The association of a human body with the body of a tree has a long history. While sculptures have been carved of stone for thousands of years, the first sculptures no doubt were of wood. The material surely is more easily to work with. Moreover, some wood has a close resemblance to the human body. For example, an apple tree when debarked and saturated with linseed oil.

The Temple of Black Johns dedicated to lost forests has an annex where the trunk of an apple tree (see some of the photos in my previous blog), with an ax stuck in one of its crevices, hangs below the pole of a hazel branch. This trunk of the apple tree is the sacred body, an imitation of Black John (oak), but remains unpainted. If you look closely, you are likely to see that the trunk suggests both the body of a tree and the body of a human being.

The photos below give an idea of the setting, the stage, or if you will our 'altar'.

In the photo below, we see the body of the tree on the steps that lead to the foot of our outdoor temple. A creative dance group from the village of Matishi and onlookers perform a "greening of the tree" dance.

The following photo is of the visitors room and the altar space dedicated to the body of a tree, which we see as that of a human being as well.
The bodies of trees with humanlike bodies fill the stage/altar of the visitors room at the Temple of Black Johns.
We invite the reader to participate--by way of his-her subjective self--in the exercise of mimesis (imitation), which experiences our bodies as that of a tree. The next time you then need to cut down a tree, you will think twice whether you really need to do so, and if indeed you need to do so, then say a small prayer.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Coming upon the scene of murder.
Another angle on the murder.
The photos are of the victim, the trunk of an apple tree, to the deforestation rage now going on in Latvia. This phenomenon is directly related to the debt imposed (rather than forgiven) on the Latvian people by Swedish banks and their lobbyist in Latvia, the President of Latvia, Andris Berzins.


We have taken the murder victim and placed it on the steps to The Temple of Black Johns. This is our temple to the memory of destroyed forests.
The forests shall rise again and human beings will live peaceably with them again.