Standing around in 38-degree weather is a little painful but it’s worth it to learn stuff about nature while on a guided Eugene First Saturday Park Walk. Things learned on the group hike: 1. It is unnaturally difficult to control nature. 2. Staying on trails is environmentally respectful. 3. Vote to fund parks and public… Continue reading Mt. Baldy (Ridgeline trail)
Category: wordpress
Newport
This is between Toledo and Newport. It is quiet here. Oysters lived here, native to this place, many decades ago. They become hugely popular, even shipped to San Francisco. They don’t live here anymore, they were all eaten. The Yaquina tribe also doesn’t live here anymore. 80% died from smallpox. The remaining survivors faced other… Continue reading Newport
What are you responding to?
My friend loaned me a washboard to play with. The Zing King, Lingerie washboard: “do not rub hard, the board will do the work,” is printed on the front. This is the best thing that’s happened to me in months. I guess I’ve always wanted to play a washboard. We are making songs about voting.… Continue reading What are you responding to?
Generosity
This is a pitch for helping others. Generosity means being kind. Generous also means plentiful or large. It takes expansion to be generous. Magnanimous, a synonym, means “great soul.” I like the feeling of generosity, when extended to me and when I extend it. One form of generosity is being supportive. It would make a… Continue reading Generosity
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
What makes this a sacred moment?
This won’t be a linear story. When it was over, I walked away and saw a rainbow between two clouds. I went to the Oregon Pain Summit 2020 this past weekend in Lebanon, which is surrounded by pastures of sheep. A bunch of healthcare professionals got together and talked about how to take care of… Continue reading What makes this a sacred moment?
Needs of the people
Yesterday I served Quaker Oats to Quakers! I’ve always dreamed of this. It started as a joke, as most good ideas do. Me and Penny, of the hospitality team, made an oatmeal bar, a place to put oatmeal into a bowl, then add toppings. Choices were: peaches, raisins, chia seeds, bananas, walnuts, apples, brown sugar,… Continue reading Needs of the people
The Yew
(Published in Take Root magazine, Winter 2020) The Pacific Yew is a quiet, understated tree. In fact, it is considered an “understory” tree. It doesn’t get that tall and is beneath what are called “overstory” trees (the tall ones). Maybe you are reading the recent novel about trees, The Overstory, by Richard Powers. Throughout history… Continue reading The Yew
Developing images in the the darkroom with my dad
My dad taught me how to dodge and burn when developing black & white photographs. I was just now blending liquids, making something in the kitchen when I noticed my hands dodging and burning as if making pictures. I was fascinated watching him use his hands lightly,dancing, improvising. He let me do it by myself, my own hands,… Continue reading Developing images in the the darkroom with my dad
What are we turning into?
Under the right conditions, we change, transform, become something else. I didn’t read Ovid’s metamorphoses, but I think the take away is that everything is turning into something else. I take this literally, like maybe things are and do change right in front of us and inside of us. Change is happening around me right… Continue reading What are we turning into?