11/30/2010
11/21/2010
howl with the moon, wishes in the wind
the snow is blowing hard and as i watch out the window sitting by this fire close to midnight i remember its a full moon. though hidden by the bright moving sky i feel its energy. that energy moved through me all day in waves of motivation but before my day started i was called on as a sad friend needed consolation, i remembered my own fears and faults, i saw a memory in flight. and as i sit here after the day is done, wind chimes whaling i come across this from an acquainted stranger who inspires me and everything about today, everything about everything comes together as she explains...
"Dreams floating in the air unfinished, the olden days are gone. No turning back, you can only go forward or embrace that time is folly and think outside the man-made box. Tonight’s full Moon in Taurus is about vision—seeing through the illusion of time to the other side and then bringing that knowledge back to this world. This full moon is powerful yet filled with sadness; it’s a time of moving on, of surrender and self sacrifice for the greater good and for your own spiritual evolution. There will be some healing pain as old wounds are incised and opened up, but this is when love can and will conquer all. Magical events and alchemies appear in unexpected and surprising places- open those reception wavelengths. Synchronicities abound. Put out requests to the universe and affirmations of intention and things will happen".
"Dreams floating in the air unfinished, the olden days are gone. No turning back, you can only go forward or embrace that time is folly and think outside the man-made box. Tonight’s full Moon in Taurus is about vision—seeing through the illusion of time to the other side and then bringing that knowledge back to this world. This full moon is powerful yet filled with sadness; it’s a time of moving on, of surrender and self sacrifice for the greater good and for your own spiritual evolution. There will be some healing pain as old wounds are incised and opened up, but this is when love can and will conquer all. Magical events and alchemies appear in unexpected and surprising places- open those reception wavelengths. Synchronicities abound. Put out requests to the universe and affirmations of intention and things will happen".
11/20/2010
10/19/2010
32 years later
i didn’t take enough photos on my birthday trip. the oyster boats on the bay from the windy road. the eucalyptus groves in the shaded hills. the wild thyme and fennel growing around our spot. heading into the floating city glistening, foggy bright. crowded smiles in the low light of the dance hall....there are some great ones framed in my head though and alas, a few from the wondrous botanical gardens in berkeley. it was a good time to be me.
9/27/2010
9/19/2010
what it takes people
a sustainable food system needs you:
Educate yourself:
Understand why sustainable food should actually cost 50 to 100 percent more than industrial, conventional food. Figure out how to buy food more directly from farmers and ranchers, if you want to avoid some of the transportation/distribution/retail markup costs.
Know the names of more farmers and ranchers than celebrity chefs, including at least one you can call by first name -- and ask how their kids are doing.
Understand that if you want to see working conditions and wages come up for farming and food processing workers, that you will have to pay more for food. Be OK with that.
Learn about the Farm Bill and plan to write a letter/make a phone call when it comes up for re-authorization.
Chill out:
Don't expect a farmer to have year-round availability and selection. Alter your diet to match the seasonal harvests in your area. Get used to not eating tomatoes until at least July, apples in late August to December, citrus in winter, greens in spring. Don't complain.
Realize that even animal products are seasonal because animals have biological cycles. Know that chickens produce much less eggs in winter when days are shorter and even come to a complete stop when they are replacing their feathers (molting). Consequently you may have to eat less eggs and pay more for them during that time. Don't complain.
Get your hands dirty:
Sweat on a farm sometime.
Participate in the death of an animal that you consume.
Successfully cook a roast. You don't need steaks and chops to make an amazing meal.
Save your bones for soup, beans, stock, or your doggies!
If you own land that's not being farmed, tell some farmers about it. If you rent land to farmers, offer a fair rental price or fair lease (long-term is better), and then stay out of the way and don't meddle or hinder the farmers. They are not your pet farmers nor your landscapers.
Throw your consumer dollar behind a couple beginning farmers or lower-income farmers. Be concerned about how landless, lower-income producers are going to compete with the increasing numbers of wealthy landowners getting into farming as a hobby.
Help your local farmers do their job:
Bring your kids/grandkids/nieces & nephews to the farmers market and to real farms as often as possible
If you ask to visit the farm, also offer to help out or spend some decent money while you are there. Otherwise, wait patiently until the next group farm tour. Don't expect a farmer to drop everything just to give you a special tour.
Consider making a low-interest loan, grant, or pre-payment to a farmer to help her cover her operating expenses. Stick with that farmer for the long haul, as long as he continues to supply quality product and can stay in business.
Give more than just money to a farmer or rancher -- maybe a Christmas card, invitation to a party, offer to spiff up their website, or watch their kid for an hour at the farmers' market.
Really put your money where your mouth is:
Don't complain about prices. If price is an issue for you on something, ask the farmer nicely if he has any less expensive cuts (or cosmetically challenged "seconds"), bulk discounts, or volunteer opportunities. But don't ask the farmer to earn less money for his hard work.
Don't compare prices between farmers who are trying to do this for a living and those that do it only as a hobby (and don't have to make a living from what they produce and sell).
Share in a farmer's risk by putting up some money and faith up front via a Community Supported Agriculture share. And then suck it up when you don't get to eat something that you paid for because there was a crop failure or an animal illness.
Buy local when available, but also make a point of supporting certified Fair Trade, Organic products when buying something grown in tropical countries
Buy organic not just for your health, but for the health of the land, waterways, wildlife, and the workers in those fields
Figure out the handful of restaurants that buy and serve truly sustainable food and become loyal to them. Occasionally give them feedback and thank them.
Don't buy meat from chain grocery stores, not even Whole Foods. Understand that for them to get meat in volume with year-round selection and availability, they have to work with large distribution networks and often international suppliers, and don't pay enough to the producers for them to even cover their costs.
Get the majority of your produce, meat, eggs, dairy, bread, dried fruit, nuts, and olive oil from farmers markets, CSAs, U-pick farms, and on-farm stands. Try to buy from the actual farmer, not a middleman. Get the rest of your food from the bulk section, dairy case, or bakery of your local independent grocer.
Pay for your values. If it hurts, don't have fewer values, just eat less food (sorry, but most Americans could stand to do a bit of this).
I admit, this is a lot to digest.
What I am saying is that we can't be casual about the food system we want to see. If more people don't show some commitment, and take part in some of the hard work that farmers, ranchers, and farm workers do on a daily basis, then we cannot build a sustainable food system.
You don't have to be a passive consumer. You are part of this system, too. Don't just eat, do something more!
Rebecca Thistlewaite
Educate yourself:
Understand why sustainable food should actually cost 50 to 100 percent more than industrial, conventional food. Figure out how to buy food more directly from farmers and ranchers, if you want to avoid some of the transportation/distribution/retail markup costs.
Know the names of more farmers and ranchers than celebrity chefs, including at least one you can call by first name -- and ask how their kids are doing.
Understand that if you want to see working conditions and wages come up for farming and food processing workers, that you will have to pay more for food. Be OK with that.
Learn about the Farm Bill and plan to write a letter/make a phone call when it comes up for re-authorization.
Chill out:
Don't expect a farmer to have year-round availability and selection. Alter your diet to match the seasonal harvests in your area. Get used to not eating tomatoes until at least July, apples in late August to December, citrus in winter, greens in spring. Don't complain.
Realize that even animal products are seasonal because animals have biological cycles. Know that chickens produce much less eggs in winter when days are shorter and even come to a complete stop when they are replacing their feathers (molting). Consequently you may have to eat less eggs and pay more for them during that time. Don't complain.
Get your hands dirty:
Sweat on a farm sometime.
Participate in the death of an animal that you consume.
Successfully cook a roast. You don't need steaks and chops to make an amazing meal.
Save your bones for soup, beans, stock, or your doggies!
If you own land that's not being farmed, tell some farmers about it. If you rent land to farmers, offer a fair rental price or fair lease (long-term is better), and then stay out of the way and don't meddle or hinder the farmers. They are not your pet farmers nor your landscapers.
Throw your consumer dollar behind a couple beginning farmers or lower-income farmers. Be concerned about how landless, lower-income producers are going to compete with the increasing numbers of wealthy landowners getting into farming as a hobby.
Help your local farmers do their job:
Bring your kids/grandkids/nieces & nephews to the farmers market and to real farms as often as possible
If you ask to visit the farm, also offer to help out or spend some decent money while you are there. Otherwise, wait patiently until the next group farm tour. Don't expect a farmer to drop everything just to give you a special tour.
Consider making a low-interest loan, grant, or pre-payment to a farmer to help her cover her operating expenses. Stick with that farmer for the long haul, as long as he continues to supply quality product and can stay in business.
Give more than just money to a farmer or rancher -- maybe a Christmas card, invitation to a party, offer to spiff up their website, or watch their kid for an hour at the farmers' market.
Really put your money where your mouth is:
Don't complain about prices. If price is an issue for you on something, ask the farmer nicely if he has any less expensive cuts (or cosmetically challenged "seconds"), bulk discounts, or volunteer opportunities. But don't ask the farmer to earn less money for his hard work.
Don't compare prices between farmers who are trying to do this for a living and those that do it only as a hobby (and don't have to make a living from what they produce and sell).
Share in a farmer's risk by putting up some money and faith up front via a Community Supported Agriculture share. And then suck it up when you don't get to eat something that you paid for because there was a crop failure or an animal illness.
Buy local when available, but also make a point of supporting certified Fair Trade, Organic products when buying something grown in tropical countries
Buy organic not just for your health, but for the health of the land, waterways, wildlife, and the workers in those fields
Figure out the handful of restaurants that buy and serve truly sustainable food and become loyal to them. Occasionally give them feedback and thank them.
Don't buy meat from chain grocery stores, not even Whole Foods. Understand that for them to get meat in volume with year-round selection and availability, they have to work with large distribution networks and often international suppliers, and don't pay enough to the producers for them to even cover their costs.
Get the majority of your produce, meat, eggs, dairy, bread, dried fruit, nuts, and olive oil from farmers markets, CSAs, U-pick farms, and on-farm stands. Try to buy from the actual farmer, not a middleman. Get the rest of your food from the bulk section, dairy case, or bakery of your local independent grocer.
Pay for your values. If it hurts, don't have fewer values, just eat less food (sorry, but most Americans could stand to do a bit of this).
I admit, this is a lot to digest.
What I am saying is that we can't be casual about the food system we want to see. If more people don't show some commitment, and take part in some of the hard work that farmers, ranchers, and farm workers do on a daily basis, then we cannot build a sustainable food system.
You don't have to be a passive consumer. You are part of this system, too. Don't just eat, do something more!
Rebecca Thistlewaite
9/14/2010
no root no fruit!
“Kids don’t have a little brother working in the coal mine, they don’t have a little sister coughing her lungs out in the looms of the big mill towns of the Northeast. Why? Because we organized; we broke the back of the sweatshops in this country; we have child labor laws. Those were not benevolent gifts from enlightened management. They were fought for, they were bled for, they were died for by working people, by people like us. Kids ought to know that. That’s why I sing these songs. That’s why I tell these stories, dammit. No root, no fruit!”
the words of utah phillips. i had the pleasure of seeing him in the flesh back in Colorado and i was all smiles. the entire time. he was tall. he was wearing a red flannel and overalls, a cool hat and a big grey beard. he had tattoos from the war and from the trains. he was someone you could not ignore. and when he started telling stories and playing his guitar i couldn’t sit still-i was giddy.
the words of utah phillips. i had the pleasure of seeing him in the flesh back in Colorado and i was all smiles. the entire time. he was tall. he was wearing a red flannel and overalls, a cool hat and a big grey beard. he had tattoos from the war and from the trains. he was someone you could not ignore. and when he started telling stories and playing his guitar i couldn’t sit still-i was giddy.
9/01/2010
amigoisms
for me, one of the interesting dilemas of having a blog (worst word ever!) is that people might actually read it. i willingly share with the world but in doing so i set myself up for judgement, stalking, weird comments from my sis, etc. but it's part of the whole deal, i accept that. it's funny though because sometimes i'll censor myself or i'll find myself writing for someone else and i hate it when i do that. anyway, it's a fuckin blog-it's so self masturbatory and nerdy and i can't take it too seriously. that is, until i find out that i've shared something totally untrue! no not the post about the crapper-that shit's legit. but the post about gold lake. the lies! the lies!
just so we all know some real history here-not the bullshit that father like figures sometimes tell, the song "camptown races" (camptown ladies sing this song doo-dah doo-dah) was written by stephen foster. he was not from camptonville california and he most definitely didn't write the star spangled banner. that was written by francis scott key, a distant relative of the cutest fact checker i know. truth be told. truth be gold.
just so we all know some real history here-not the bullshit that father like figures sometimes tell, the song "camptown races" (camptown ladies sing this song doo-dah doo-dah) was written by stephen foster. he was not from camptonville california and he most definitely didn't write the star spangled banner. that was written by francis scott key, a distant relative of the cutest fact checker i know. truth be told. truth be gold.
8/07/2010
8/06/2010
5 am in the pinewoods
i'd seen
their hoofprints in the deep
needles and knew
they ended the long night
under the pines, walking
like two mute
and beautiful women toward
the deeper woods, so i
got up in the dark and
went there. they came
slowly down the hill
and looked at me sitting under
the blue trees, shyly
they stepped
closer and stared
from under their thick lashes and even
nibbled some damp
tassels of weeds. this
is not a poem about a dream,
though it could be.
this is a poem about the world
that is ours, or could be.
finally
one of them-i swear it!
would have come to my arms
but the other
stamped sharp hoof in the
pine needles like
the tap of sanity,
and they went off together through
the trees. when i woke
i was alone,
i was thinking:
so this is how you swim inward,
so this is how you flow outward, so this is how you pray.
-mary oliver via the sweet sweet paris miller
their hoofprints in the deep
needles and knew
they ended the long night
under the pines, walking
like two mute
and beautiful women toward
the deeper woods, so i
got up in the dark and
went there. they came
slowly down the hill
and looked at me sitting under
the blue trees, shyly
they stepped
closer and stared
from under their thick lashes and even
nibbled some damp
tassels of weeds. this
is not a poem about a dream,
though it could be.
this is a poem about the world
that is ours, or could be.
finally
one of them-i swear it!
would have come to my arms
but the other
stamped sharp hoof in the
pine needles like
the tap of sanity,
and they went off together through
the trees. when i woke
i was alone,
i was thinking:
so this is how you swim inward,
so this is how you flow outward, so this is how you pray.
-mary oliver via the sweet sweet paris miller
8/03/2010
400 years later
Tuttles, the oldest farm in america is shutting the big barn doors and calling it quits. worst news ever! it’s been nearly 400 years from the beginning of it all in this country, an historical landmark, an emblem of our past, a lived long family tradition. and now after all of those years it’s going to be just those things-a place to visit and take a tour around, a place to see tinted photos of tractors and dirty hands, a fading reality young Tuttles will keep to themselves as they meet their peers in college.
in a time when family farmers are being raided by government agents all the while struggling to compete with corporate rule and public demand for cheap food it should come as no surprise. when i ask my boss for advise on what to do on my own farm, if it would be best to have a CSA or just do farmer’s markets his answer sums it up, “neither! there’s no money in farming”.
now he knows damn well that i’m not in it for the money and though his answer bursts my bubble a bit as i realize more and more how hard it truly is to be good, do good things, and expect to survive in a world full of rotten, i know that places like Tuttles-not even places but models like Tuttles are important reminders of where we came from and where we’re headed.
Tuttles closing down is a cultural metaphor that i don’t want to see or believe as i take the leap into this farming world, a dreamy place of past and necessity for the future. farming for me answered all of the questions i finally figured out how to ask and it holds big hope not only for me but for you as well, whether or not you realize. it brings up some bigger questions and large concerns. where are we headed in this era of “progress” and big business monopolization? what are the real values of life?
i know that i’ve always resisted progress in the technological form-where do all those cell phone parts come from? what does that reception do to your brain? where do all the old computers go when the new mac comes out? mining and landfills and satellites are not in my utopian vision but even more importantly, i know that i value family, community, friendship, love and good food. i mean, is there anything more important in life? don’t those just all go together so nicely?! don’t forget the real value of your life. it’s easy to forget when we have to check our email and text everyone about dinner. we’ll all soon forget about the Tuttles legacy but god damn if we keep letting big business and government control our health and happiness. “fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.”
read the sad story here
in a time when family farmers are being raided by government agents all the while struggling to compete with corporate rule and public demand for cheap food it should come as no surprise. when i ask my boss for advise on what to do on my own farm, if it would be best to have a CSA or just do farmer’s markets his answer sums it up, “neither! there’s no money in farming”.
now he knows damn well that i’m not in it for the money and though his answer bursts my bubble a bit as i realize more and more how hard it truly is to be good, do good things, and expect to survive in a world full of rotten, i know that places like Tuttles-not even places but models like Tuttles are important reminders of where we came from and where we’re headed.
Tuttles closing down is a cultural metaphor that i don’t want to see or believe as i take the leap into this farming world, a dreamy place of past and necessity for the future. farming for me answered all of the questions i finally figured out how to ask and it holds big hope not only for me but for you as well, whether or not you realize. it brings up some bigger questions and large concerns. where are we headed in this era of “progress” and big business monopolization? what are the real values of life?
i know that i’ve always resisted progress in the technological form-where do all those cell phone parts come from? what does that reception do to your brain? where do all the old computers go when the new mac comes out? mining and landfills and satellites are not in my utopian vision but even more importantly, i know that i value family, community, friendship, love and good food. i mean, is there anything more important in life? don’t those just all go together so nicely?! don’t forget the real value of your life. it’s easy to forget when we have to check our email and text everyone about dinner. we’ll all soon forget about the Tuttles legacy but god damn if we keep letting big business and government control our health and happiness. “fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.”
read the sad story here
8/02/2010
7/29/2010
weeeeeeeeeeeeee
the four of us took a day off and went sailing. on a canoe made special-a trimaran. made the drive to gold lake and though i was a bit apprehensive about being on a wee boat on a wee lake- it was pure heaven. there is nothing like sailing the ocean and i have too many good memories to ever forget my time on the san diego bay but i’ve come to the conclusion that sailing-whatever and wherever is the shit.
i would have posted some photos but i had left my camera aside popcorn kernels and gum on the sticky theatre floor. wouldn’t you know. neither photos nor words however, could ever capture the magic of that lake; an untouched wonderland of mossy ornaments; timber for miles fallen and scraggely, new and all knowing, the water so perfect in temperature and color i had brief visions of “the blob” and jason voorhees coming to get my ass, coming to wake me from this surreal fantasyland. the only creatures to stop by were a pair of ducks and later a pair of geese.
the canoe story is a long one built from many years and many parts and is one in a handful of successes. a really beautiful work of wood and a vehicle for speed, agility and wet butts. we trolled the lake for dark waters or upcoming gusts of wind and at the right moment i would jump up and out to balance for the ride. faster, faster! come on wind, come on! i didn’t want to leave but i know i’ll be back to this little gem in the mountains.
and on the ride home we spotted really rare, wild azaleas that smelled like perfume fit only for goddess’. we drank out of a natural spring-so cold and delicious and sang “camptown lady sing your song do-da do-da” that song writer was from camptonville and he also wrote the star spangled banner! (amigo is full of facts-i know he gets tired of my hundred questions a day but, he humors me, thank god!)
so just picture your ideal secret hideaway with a gorgeous lake to swim in and lots of trees to hike around in, where you would take your loved one to get away from it all. that is gold lake and you better not tell all your friends.
i would have posted some photos but i had left my camera aside popcorn kernels and gum on the sticky theatre floor. wouldn’t you know. neither photos nor words however, could ever capture the magic of that lake; an untouched wonderland of mossy ornaments; timber for miles fallen and scraggely, new and all knowing, the water so perfect in temperature and color i had brief visions of “the blob” and jason voorhees coming to get my ass, coming to wake me from this surreal fantasyland. the only creatures to stop by were a pair of ducks and later a pair of geese.
the canoe story is a long one built from many years and many parts and is one in a handful of successes. a really beautiful work of wood and a vehicle for speed, agility and wet butts. we trolled the lake for dark waters or upcoming gusts of wind and at the right moment i would jump up and out to balance for the ride. faster, faster! come on wind, come on! i didn’t want to leave but i know i’ll be back to this little gem in the mountains.
and on the ride home we spotted really rare, wild azaleas that smelled like perfume fit only for goddess’. we drank out of a natural spring-so cold and delicious and sang “camptown lady sing your song do-da do-da” that song writer was from camptonville and he also wrote the star spangled banner! (amigo is full of facts-i know he gets tired of my hundred questions a day but, he humors me, thank god!)
so just picture your ideal secret hideaway with a gorgeous lake to swim in and lots of trees to hike around in, where you would take your loved one to get away from it all. that is gold lake and you better not tell all your friends.
7/15/2010
7/12/2010
whirlwind
things are a happenin and i feel like there's just too many stories to share so, some random words to sum up what's been goin on lately...
honeybees and marionberries, ‘squitos, paris, runaway goat.
hot flash waterfall, rock dive, bikes, national’s balcony, uruguay and spain.
kale chips, bear, o positive, sungolds.
mac the draft horse, santa cruz, sauerkraut.
violas, ferraris, utilikilts and sweet williams.
in living color, outdoor kitchen, king snakes. onion blossoms and ice cream.
fishing pole, arrow and bow, buckeye, rose massage.
eagle, beards, mountain road, outdoor wall. climbing up...
7/07/2010
7/03/2010
6/25/2010
6/23/2010
6/18/2010
6/17/2010
6/16/2010
wish it was a vampire instead
i gave blood today for the first time ever!!! i finally weigh enough-
oh god! all muscle though baby all muscle!
i have good veins and i didn't even get light headed!
fucking champ y'all!
osiris might have malaria from his travels to syria so he wasn't able to bloodlet. but while i teased him about the real reasons why he wasn't allowed (you know, all of the man sex and shooting up back in '76) he was good for stuffing junk food and power ade in my bag while we waited for my blood pouch to get full. good boy! we never get junk food on the farm!
anyway, we finished the day against nurse orders and got some beer and painted a new banner for our first farmers market on saturday. thank the vegetable gods! i need some socialization!
my rogue d' hiver. the blood red lettuce awaits you!!
oh god! all muscle though baby all muscle!
i have good veins and i didn't even get light headed!
fucking champ y'all!
osiris might have malaria from his travels to syria so he wasn't able to bloodlet. but while i teased him about the real reasons why he wasn't allowed (you know, all of the man sex and shooting up back in '76) he was good for stuffing junk food and power ade in my bag while we waited for my blood pouch to get full. good boy! we never get junk food on the farm!
anyway, we finished the day against nurse orders and got some beer and painted a new banner for our first farmers market on saturday. thank the vegetable gods! i need some socialization!
my rogue d' hiver. the blood red lettuce awaits you!!
6/12/2010
live free!
"we still remember that we cannot be free if our minds and voices are controlled by someone else. but we have neglected to understand that we cannot be free if our food and its sources are controlled by someone else...
one reason to eat responsibly is to live free."
-wendell berry
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