bike rides and seed bombs

Last night C and I had dinner with two friends we've known forever but never see - we haven't been social much this winter and it was such a nice night. Good food, good friends and conversation - and we got to see their new house, which is this charming 1920s boxcar-like house in West Seattle, which is an area I keep finding myself in lately - I'm definitely intrigued by the neighborhood...

So this morning we slept in then headed to a brunch for a local organization I just found out about called the Nature Consortium. Their mission is "to teach environmental lessons through the creative arts and hands-on conservation projects." They produce a youth art program, an urban forest restoration project and the Arts~in~Nature Festival, and I was so impressed! There was as amazing youth spoken word artist and the projects and classes they do are pretty incredible. It was inspiring.

When we got home we made lunch and started talking about our land. C had all these very specific ideas so we sat down and he drew out what he visualizes when he sees our land. I never knew he had such specific ideas - it was so fun to hear about. I started reading the how-to-layout-your-land section of the book, "Back to Basics," then we got distracted with thinking about our p-patch. We put air in our bike tires and rode the 11 or so blocks in the wind & rain. It felt truly amazing.

So the bikes were fun - and it was just warm enough today to be able to be outside in the garden (with long johns and rain coats, that is). We worked on removing the 6-12" of grass that's grown into the plot along the border, put down some organic fertilizer (on the half of the garden that was ready for it), and planted carrot seeds and pole beans. The seeds were a bit old, so we'll see what happens with that. And I'm pretty sure the soil is too cold. We'll see. Anyway I can't WAIT until the summer when we're able to harvest, although in the meantime it's already been really fun!

We came back just as it was getting dark (7:30!!), made dinner and are about to watch a movie. Not a bad day at all.

The title of this post includes seed bombs, which I did not participate in today. But I am currently scheming ways to use up my older seeds in neglected neighborhood plots, and have been trying to figure out a stealth way to remove the scotch broom tree on the corner house near the park. Stay tuned..

the travelin' train & elections

I'm loving my job, I do like to travel, but honestly it's starting to wear me out. Gone two weeks, back one. Gone 2 1/2 weeks, back one. Gone 10 days, back one week. Gone five days, back five days, gone four days, back a month, gone a week. This has been my schedule since September and will go through the new year. It's too much! And I work for a conservation organization concerned with low-impact practices, not to mention my own mission to reduce my "eco-footprint" on the world. So here I am, the last full day on the east coast for a while, planning out my next year, with a new goal to reduce the amount of traveling I do. Step one: stop doing trainings all over the country. When at all possible, I need to be able to train in Seattle, or at least much closer to home. Not always possible, but as long as I have the control over this, why not try?

In other news, it's been hard to be on the east coast away from friends and family during this historic election. I keep wanting to cry when I think of the possibilities. But I have to remember that I got swept up in this election - until fairly recently I felt that Obama and McCain were really just "different sides of the same coin." Which still remains to be proven wrong. But what if it's true? What if my parents can finally get affordable health insurance that doesn't force them to continue working when they should really get to enjoy a long-deserved retirement? What if my friends and family finally get legal rights to marry and have kids? Even with recent losses, I believe it is possible during this next administration.

I'm excited to have these conversations tomorrow night with my friends & family, back on my turf, with my husband, in our apartment. Home is indeed where the heart is.

back to Seattle plan

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Here's my plan so far to drive back to Seattle after our cruise. Stop to see Joy & Tom perform, maybe stop to see Tana, but otherwise straight up to Seattle. Should be a bit tiring!

back on the blogger train

SO glad to be home. I was at the Grand Canyon for the past two weeks running corps member training. What an amazing place, a ton of work, and inspiration. Too tired to write now but hopefully will get back on this blogger train.

Oh, and I'm off to go on my honeymoon in less than a week! Too excited - a road trip from Seattle to San Diego, visiting friends and amazing places along the way, then going on a cruise - yep a cruise. To Mexico, and I'm actually pretty damn excited about it.

new plan - WATER

Riparian Ecology

- work in streams, rivers, lakes - basically freshwater focus
- OSU has a water conflict management and transformation graduate certificate
- somehow work out youth/water/teaching. what about starting up a regional SCA program?
- border ecology, not as much salmon restoration (but maybe)

resources:
water.oregonstate.edu/projects/waterconflict.htm
www.wsu.edu/swwrc/SalmonIndex.html
http://www.treesfoundation.org/affiliates/specific-20

east coast travelin'

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This is where I've been since last Friday: Boston-Providence, RI-Pomfret, CT-Middletown, CT-Boston, MA>Charlestown, NH-Concord, MA-HOME

I started out in Boston, getting there Friday night and stayed at a youth hostel - it was not great, just a bed to sleep in. The next morning I got out of there by 8am and headed to Providence, RI (I had some time to kill). Turns out the Providence Pride parade was happening, although I got there too early so I just got breakfast and sat in the park watching everyone set up their booths.

Sat: Then on to Pomfret, CT, where I hooked up with Joy & Tom, who were performing at the Vanilla Bean Cafe there that evening. We hung out all day, went to the show (which was great - I always love seeing them play!), then we went and camped at a nearby campground. It was great to see the two of them - I probably spent more quality time with the two of them in CT than I have over the last year or two in Seattle (which was ridiculous since we lived quite close to each other). Camping was great! Strange camping occurances: there were weird animal moaning noises in the woods as we sat at the campfire - Joy was convinced they were zombies and I was sure it was a bear. At one point we practically tripped over each other trying to run to the bus, afraid the zombies/bear were sure to get us. Then there was a mammoth and gorgeous moth flying around the lantern - I took lots of pictures, then left it alone, only a few minutes later it jumped in the fire and commited suicide. It was crazy to watch - the wings just sort of melted and there was no trace of it just a few minutes later.

Sun: The next morning I headed to see my cousin Katherine and her family in Middletown, CT. It was great to see them - I haven't really spent time with her since we were in high school, even though we essentially grew up together. It was fun - we went for a bike ride, got caught in a terrential downpour/thunderstorm (I miss thunderstorms!), Mike then made us lunch, then I had to go to meet my boss in Boston. Not enough time but it was still great to see them.

Sun - Wed: Onto Boston, where I met up with my boss, then drove with him to Charlestown, NH, SCA headquarters. We spent three days there, meeting with various staff to get ready for Fall teams and the coming year. All in all it was a really beneficial visit, and I feel like I know a little more about how to do my job correctly.

Wed - Thurs: We came to Concord to meet up with one of my SCA summer teams. I wish I had more time here - Concord/Lexington is hugely historic and I have hardly seen a thing. Walden Pond is only 4 miles away and I won't even have seen it. I got sick this morning and ended up staying at the hotel today, while my boss went to work in the field with the team and then went kayaking. Damn! Can't catch a break, although I'm glad I stayed to sleep.

Tomorrow is Friday and I leave to go back home. It feels like months since I was home last.

Sunshine Moments

One week in Long Island for corps member training - check.
Three days in the Tri-Cities visiting all my in-laws - check.
A stolen moment hanging out with my husband on the beach - finally, check.