July 12, 2022 Gus, Skies & Sunset

[envira-gallery id='4813'] Gorgeous hues in the skies this evening and the clouds were moving swiftly above the mountains. Bird highlights of the day: Swallows catching and eating insects in the air as they dive and swoop in the distance. Seagulls flying low and near to the rooflines. A finch that...

July 12, 2022 0

July 10, 2022 Dusk

[envira-gallery id='4722'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nQC2mToC8A

July 11, 2022 0

July 1, 2022 Suffering In the Moment

Exhaustion. Tension.  Congestion. Fogginess. Inflammation. Itch. Heat. Heaviness.  This the silence in my body that screams.  This is the trauma I carry in my cells and consciousness.  It’s all that I carry with me through my physical being.  It’s trauma from the past carried into the present.  It’s all that...

July 6, 2022 0

July 2, 2022 Food Garden Updates

Hanging baskets are doing amazing! Tomatoes, tomatillos and cucumbers seem to love the baskets (maybe it's the soil?) because the same ones we planted in the veggie patch are not doing so well. [envira-gallery id='4427'] In the last photo, Papa planted beet and lettuce seeds as an experiment to see...

July 5, 2022 0

Nootka Rose Petals

From Chef Robin's Swallow Tail Culinary newsletter: Nootka rose petals are blooming, edible and beautiful.  When harvesting flowers, I tend to gather them from the ground rather than picking the flower from the bush, leaving the rest for the struggling bees.  Rose can be used in Iranian dishes both savoury...

July 4, 2022 0

Papa’s Blumen

Capturing the beautiful mid-season blooms from Papa's flower garden. [envira-gallery id='4421'] hanging baskets, planters and trellises! [envira-gallery id='4418'] The gorgeous flowers of every hue, shape and texture in the heat of July. [envira-gallery id='4396'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z4sEMO9zJY

July 2, 2022 0

Deception Pass State Park on the Coast Salish Sea (Skagit)

For some 13,000 years, Whidbey and Camano Islands have been inhabited by the Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest - the Coast Salish Peoples including Snohomish, Lower Skagit, and Kikiallus tribes. Included on Whidbey Island is Deception Pass State Park, where we went camping. We started by looking for some...

July 2, 2022 0

A Writing Practice

“Stefi! I have a writing practice now!,” I yelled up the stairs to my husband out of nowhere this evening. “You do?” He inquired in response. “Yeah!” I exclaimed gleefully.  There was a slight pause and Stefan continued, “What does that mean?” I took a pause, inhaled and sighed loudly....

June 26, 2022 0

June 25, 2022 Dusk

[envira-gallery id='3239'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97KtfbpctMQ

June 25, 2022 0

in·ter·sti·tial

in·ter·sti·tial /ˌin(t)ərˈstiSHəl/ adjective adjective: interstitial of, forming, or occupying interstices."the interstitial space"ECOLOGY(of minute animals) living in the spaces between individual sand grains in the soil or aquatic sediments."the interstitial fauna of marine sands" Intrigued me when I read the essay by Hima Batavia, #72 - why I write

June 24, 2022 0

Listening: 99% Invisible – The Rights of Rice and Future of Nature

From 99% Invisible Podcast - Episode 496 "The Ojibwe name for wild rice is Manoomin, which translates to “the good berry.” The scientific name is _Zizania palustris_. It’s the only grain indigenous to North America, and while it might be called rice, it’s actually not closely related to brown or...

June 23, 2022 0

June 18, 2022 Rooftop Updates

The rooftop is feeling more and more lush with all the plants (hopefully some vegetables and fruits soon too). Transplanted a bunch of basket stuffers from the hanging baskets we bought for the wedding last year. The hanging baskets have now been repurposed for tomatoes and cucumbers, so all the...

June 19, 2022 0

June 18, 2022 Garden Updates

House garden seems to be have a tough time. Many of the plants look like they're struggling (limp, yellowing) or the direct sowed seeds aren't sprouting at all. Today at the house we: transplanted tomato & cucumbers into hanging planterstransplanted zucchini (this entailed me putting the zucchinis in different areas...

June 18, 2022 0