On Saturday, January 21, I marched. I joined over 3 million people across the United States, and roughly another 300,000 across the globe to take a stand and take a walk in support of women and equality. I marched with my closest friends, with women I know, and women I do not know. Not all of the marchers were women. Many men marched with us in solidarity. My partner marched with ...
Inspiring People
An Elwha Without A Dam is Like a Fish Without a Bicycle
Growing up on the North Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, I spent a lot of time around the Elwha River. Whether it was hiking in the Olympic National Park on the Elwha River Trail, fishing on Lake Mills, collecting rocks on gravel bars at the various river access points, or stopping on the way up to Olympic Hot Springs, it was always a special place to visit. As a result, I think of the Elwha ...
Nettle Cake from the Good Green Earth
In case I haven't made it clear how much I love nettles, I wanted to share this amazing recipe. While visiting my home town and home ground on the Olympic Peninsula, my amazing herbalist friend Ellen made this fantastic nettle cake. Since cake, nettles and good friends are some of my favorite things, this was a very exciting occasion. I had heard about Ellen making this cake last year, and felt ...
Who are the Stewards in Your Watershed?: An Interview with Kurt Cox of the McKenzie Watershed Council
When Kurt Cox arrived in Oregon to teach, he saw that Salmon defined the Northwest and wanted to bring that into his classroom. In 1998, at the suggestion of the McKenzie Schools administrator, he joined the newly forming McKenzie Watershed Council in 1998, jumping in with both feet to restore salmon habitat through education. In the last 13 years of serving as a partner in the council ...
Old Growth: A Eulogy for my Grandfather
My grandfather passed away last week and I was given the honor of writing his obituary. In doing so, learned a great deal about the story of his life and the story of my own. I learned that family roots are intertwined and run deep. What took shape from my conversations with the people who loved him was the story of an outdoorsman, forester, determined individual, and integral member of a ...
Arctic Homesteading Documentary
Several years ago, when I was on an Alaskan homesteading documentary kick, I discovered this gem called "Braving Alaska," which I mentioned in a post: Braving Alaska: Food for Adventuresome Thought. Aside from the various high-quality documentaries on Dick Proeneke's homestead, I was unable to find anything else substantial at the time, and the Alaskan homesteading documentary kick eventually ...
Hiking the Elwha with Experience Olympic Tours
On my spring vacation back home to the Olympic Peninsula, I had the pleasure of going on a hike up the Elwha River with my friend and outdoor guide, Carolyn Wilcox of Experience Olympic Tours. I had many good childhood memories of hiking the Elwha with family and friends, and was excited to share it with my partner who grew up in the Midwest. Hiking an old familiar trail with a knowledgeable ...
The Mountains are Calling
I would like to introduce you all to an inspiring artist, seamstress, childhood preservationist and appreciator of mountains, Kristy Davis. She lives and works in Sequim, Washington at the foot of the Olympic Mountain Range (my beloved homeland), where she creates amazing dresses for her business, The Sixth Day of May. She recently posted the above photograph, and it so ...
A Homestead Tour
On the way to a day outing to the beach last week, we stopped by to visit my homesteading friends, Jeff, Taryn and Bracken on their place up the Siuslaw River. They are some of my favorite, inspiring people in this world, and it is always a treat to have a visit with them and see what they have been up to on their land. Between raising their son, making and selling art with ...
Laura Ingalls Wilder on Nature
(Home From the Hill by Fran Brooks) This is one of my favorite articles written by Laura Ingalls Wilder on the importance of nature in childhood. I am a firm believer in the necessity of the outdoors for children in developing a healthy sense of place and inter-connection with the world around them, and although they may not all be raised in the environment recounted by Wilder ...