Something like a hootenanny. Hi, thanks for reading and please sign up at my new site where you can here me read and sing along with this post! Just go here: https://maryannpetersen.substack.com/ Here is the post without me reading and singing: I just rode my bike to a street fair to fight capitalism. Promote socialism.… Continue reading Kum Ba Yah
Category: sustainability
Willamette river
Can one person make a difference? Trying feels better than not trying. I spent a couple hours this weekend doing a volunteer trash pick-up for a river that is 35 million years old, give or take. The Willamette river is the 13th largest river in the U.S. It is 187 miles long. A key source… Continue reading Willamette river
Remember to play
Flotsam & Jetsam
If you don’t know what to do, pick up litter at the beach. It’s never the wrong move. At one point I am alone by the surf and this is where loud singing is released. I went to Heceta beach in Florence to pick up trash and I remembered a Mary Oliver poem that goes… Continue reading Flotsam & Jetsam
Plastic Fantastic
At first it all feels futile. Quickly, I find the connection with those who give a shit. It suddenly feels great. I agreed to to help Quakers with a modest plan to gather plastics and offer them to the plastic gods. I volunteered to be a drop-off place and ended up pulling a bike trailer… Continue reading Plastic Fantastic
Green Island
This is where two rivers meet: McKenzie and Willamette. Sometimes I think we ask too much of nature. We go forest bathing and swimming in it; walking and running through it; drinking, huffing, and gobbling it down, all the time. It gives all that we need. How do we give back? I thought this while… Continue reading Green Island
Thank a bat for that coffee
Sage grouse guest blog
Beaver State
Beavers are a keystone species. They create wetlands that support a rich diversity of life. Many animals and insects benefit from the efforts of beavers, including salmon, frogs, turtles, birds, otter, deer, elk, and dragonflies. Oregon is the beaver state. It is the only state with a two-sided flag, and one side is dedicated to… Continue reading Beaver State
Hippie haven
City parks often come from land nobody wants. Tugman park, in south Eugene, used to be a dump and a major flood zone. The park was born in 1958 with actual structures going up in 1965. It was a sweet little community park but in the late 60’s some worried about the people who gathered… Continue reading Hippie haven