Busier. Than. Ever.

Tags

Canning, DIY, sustainability

Note:  This blog may be my sloppiest ever as I’m starting it at 9:30 Monday night to meet my weekly Monday deadline for blog finalization.  My excuse is that we had unexpected company yesterday which was AMAZING (likely to be next week’s blog topic) and today had a full To Do List… most of which was not accomplished as I tend to underestimate the amount of time things will take.

Winter prep continues, but mostly along the lines of food prep.  Dan is now contemplating a build of shelving for our growing food supply… We lost a couple days heading down to Alexandria to visit. And I had to work at the Hostel this weekend after spending the day helping prep for Farmer’s Market.  But we still got quite a lot done.

This past week we:

• Canned 12 quarts of tomatoes.  Thanks, Connie!!
• Continued with our Corn Cob Wine recipe.  It still seems to be working… though I’m not sure why I think so.  Mainly because the yeast foams up with we feed it every day.  But as this is our first time winemaking, we could be way off base.  [Comment if you have feedback or experience to share!]
• Froze two quart bags of sweet corn and two gallon bags of broccoli.
• Made a batch of granola with Harn Honey.  It is a simple recipe that produced a super crunchy, delicious munch.  The Hostel guests loved it!
• Canned 5 half-pints of roasted tomatoes.  One was mostly juice and it didn’t seal but I’ll make some soup with it for next gathering with Bruce and Bud.
• Got the refrigerator defrosted.  [This was ALL DAN… he’s a keeper.]
• Made two batches of cilantro pesto.  Who knew you could use cilantro? Boy was this basil hater happy to find that. [Though I love Mom’s basil pesto in soups.  Mom taught me this amazing skill and it really makes soup lovely, giving it a thickness and flavor kick.]  I made the first batch with 3 cloves of MGF (Merry Gardens Farm) garlic and it was SUPER garlicky.  So I only used 2 for the next batch.  They are all frozen in little ice cubes and ready to drop into soup.
• Canned 10 half pints and 2 pints of Ginger-Cardamom-Crabapple Preserves and 3 pints and 4 half-pints of syrup made from the scraps. This is the second time I’ve tried this trick of using scraps from preserve making only to get syrup, not jelly. I think I’m not boiling it to a high enough temp (220-222°F) but next time I try this with crabapples, I won’t rely on the pectin in them but will add some Sure-Jell.]

We didn’t make progress with the Wood Shed or Cobbing but mostly because of the other work commitments and steady light rain most of the week.  But we did invite people to call if interested in learning more about it.  This is a busy time of year for everyone so perhaps we won’t hook up this week but hopefully we will soon.  We did have a few new visitors to the Harn and it’s always fun hearing what people think of it all.

There were many moments of Serendipity of late and I think I will share about that next week.  Now I need to head to bed for some well-earned rest.  But here are some photos of the food adventures this week.

The group is my tomatoes and one of Connie’s (we did mine first and hers second). The 3 jars are her beautiful heirloom tomatoes getting ready to bath.  You can also see her amazing set-up for canning in the garage.  We’re planning a similar porch system at the Harn.  The pesto was brilliant!  The pot of Ginger-Cardamom-Crabapple preserves was actually the batch from Connie’s place as I didn’t take one today at the Harn; but the scraps in cheesecloth photos is from today.

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My First Honey Harvest

Tags

Bees

I have now experienced the rewards of beekeeping.  This past week was the gathering of the honey.  Big thanks to Emily Lindell (Nerdzilla) and Barb Magnuson for making this job so easy.  It’s great to have fellow beekeepers who can show you the ropes.

Some call it “robbing” and I guess that technically is what I’ve done.  But I like to think that I offered the bees something in return… that there was somewhat of a symbiotic relationship.  I did protect their home from bears and other larger intruders with an electric fence.  I provided them with frames of comb giving them a jump start on their honeymaking operation – other bees must first create their comb and then fill it with honey.  I switched the hives thinking the strong colony would give the weak colony a boost in population.  And while my efforts were futile with the weak hive of the two I purchased, I did provide extra brood frames (from the strong hive) to help increase their bee population.  It was definitely a sad day when I realized that the weak hive was just fading away and there was nothing more I could do to help.  But I still had one good hive!

Harvest day began awful cold and cloudy… I figured I would call my bee guy to ask about gathering any of the honey in the hive bodies.  He wasn’t home so I’d have to figure it out on my own.  I thought I’d call back later with more questions.

I went out about 9:45 and asked the sun to come out.  By 10:30, she was shining!  At 11, I texted Nerd (my beekeeper friend who was helping me gather honey) that we had full sun.  She arrived a short while later and we began our work.

Our first task was setting the fume board which has a stench that pushes the bees downward from the supers.  Barb Magnuson, Nerd’s Beekeeping Mentor, had loaned us the fume boards and they worked like a charm.  We were soon able to pull the top super from the hive and see if it was bee-free.  Pretty good but a dozen or so bees made our decision to pull each frame separately.  We pulled each frame from the super to a nearby empty super box that we had prepped so we could cover it once we pulled the frames.  Once we pulled all the frames, we could then carry the super to the truck where we would again have it covered to prevent the bees from finding it.  The first super was pulled with no “Oh, Shit” moments – in bee world, this means no one was stung.  We got it to the truck and covered it with towels to keep curious bees from finding it.

We pulled the second super and found it to be almost empty.  Hmmm. A month ago, this hive was FULL of necter.  Now the super I added is showing almost no activity.  This was discouraging. 😦

What we soon realized was that the wasps were robbing honey faster than we could and the hive did not appear to have a new queen in place.  We determined this hive was not going to survive the winter.  It was tough for me as I had so hoped to over-winter my bees.  Earlier in the summer, I thought this colony would be strong enough.  I had already let go the other colony which had pretty much collapsed.  But, before this day of harvest, I was still hopeful for this colony.

I had worried a couple months back when it appeared they were losing their queen, I hoped they could recover.  The bees had produced several queen cells ~ so it seemed they knew they needed a new queen.  However, a fellow beekeeper visited about six weeks ago and, thinking a queen cell was a “bad” thing and not being aware that the colony might be in need of a queen, he unfortunately grabbed the about-to-produce-a-queen cell and squeezed it.  Inside was a nearly fully developed queen bee. I was pretty devastated, especially as we continued to look through the hive and soon realized it didn’t appear to have a queen in sight.  Perhaps we should have not acted in haste.  Maybe we should have left the bees their new queen.  They say that one of the worst things for bees are… beekeepers.  Some friends swear by just leaving them to their business and simply adding supers, not “managing” at all.  I’m thinking this is perhaps the best program for beekeeping.  Next year, I will likely do less checking.

So, with hopes dashed, I continued through the harvest trying to keep my chin up.  I was somewhat consoled by both Nerd and Barb commenting that getting a new queen that late in the year likely would not have allowed this hive to survive.  Perhaps there is nothing I could have done to help this colony make it to winter.  And I guess the up side is that I will not have to babysit and feed this colony through the cold months.  And I will have all winter to fix up the equipment and prepare for a new season.

If you want to see a video… click here –> honey harvest.  I hope to have a link there to the extraction process as well soon.  Video editing takes SO LONG!!

Once we had all my harvestable frames, we headed to Nerd’s to pick up her six supers and then to Barb’s for extraction.  What a thrill to see Barb’s operation!  An amazing set-up for extracting honey and preventing bee infiltration. Nerd and Barb entertained Dan and me with stories of the innovations over the years and previous years antics, none of which we had today.

It seems each year there is a new idea like taping the windows over with plastic which this year meant we had ZERO need for the vacuum to suck up infiltrating bees.  Previous improvements include a kick-stand on the bottom uncapping bucket to allow for drainage and the use of gated buckets, which really help with filtering and bottling. And there is a new toy, I mean TOOL, each year as well. This year it was a hook scale so we could weigh our honey buckets.  My favorite tool was the refractometer which measures the moisture in the honey.  More on that later.

We pulled in our supers and hive bodies on trolleys (another innovation from a previous year’s work) and Nerd’s were rolled in first.  She was insisting that we do my honey first, in case Dan and I got bored and wanted to leave before her honey was processed.  But I’m glad we did her honey first.  It was a joy to see her harvest – her best yet it turns out – which was made up of mostly perfectly capped, beautiful honey.  It was a dream to uncap with the hot knife.  It flowed and filled buckets quickly.  And it was about 15.6 on the refractometer.

The refractometer is a tool that measures moisture content.  Barb loaded a bit of honey in the test area and then we all took a look through the eyepiece.  There is a scale inside that shows the reading and anything below 17 is good, meaning the honey will not ferment.  Nerd had a few necter frames which we bucketed separately but even that was beautiful stuff.  It tested about 20.2 which means she will need to use it quickly – or evaporate it down to the proper level.

We celebrated Nerd’s amazing harvest – 194# – her best ever!!  She said her best year to date was 130#.  Well done, especially since she didn’t think she would have any honey at the end of June.  Then we moved on to my hive body frames first.

I was horrified at the difference.  Nerd assured me that the hive bodies are always ugly because of all the bee traffic on them.  They are the “living room” of the hive.  So I mostly scrubbed through the capped honey on the hive body frames as they were not really knifeable.  The comb was old, dark, uneven.  The wax was heavy and thick. There was one frame that was in such bad shape it was literally just nails for the ears.  That frame is now trashed – sitting outside the hive for bees to clean.  I will burn it later.  At least we didn’t have to deal with brood as we left all those frames in the two hive bodies back at the Harn.

Nerd and Barb were really encouraging as I worked my way through the ugly hive comb.  They spun it in double batches – for large frames, you load the frames (Top to the Left) and spin, then flip them and spin again.  This removes the honey from each side separately.  The smaller super frames go in sideways and thus get spun for both sides at the same time.  The bucket indeed was filling and, even though it looked pretty dark, the honey was light coming from the extractor. And it tasted nice.  I was surprised at how much honey we ended up having.  We extracted 31# from the hive body frames!  And it tested at 17 so it should be good to go.

I was able to complete opening of all my super frames before the hive body frames were spun.  These knifed better and some required no uncapping at all.  The wax was newer in these and cleaner as well.  We ended up cleaning the whole system between my hive body frames and the super frames, which I believe was a good idea.  In the end we got another 30#, though this high moisture content nectar (20.2) will have to be evaporated to become honey.

In the end, I am so glad to have had this experience.  The pulling of the honey frames – OK, Robbing! – was much easier than I expected.  Extracting honey was a lot more constant work than I thought – especially since Nerd and I had both Dan and Barb helping.  There was not nearly enough time for snacking! 🙂  But we did get some bites in which Nerd says was good as we’d basically worked through two meals, lunch and dinner.  On the other hand, it was a lot less sticky than I expected. I think this is due in large part to Barb’s well-designed extraction lab.

After all was done, we took Nerd and her stuff home and headed back to the Harn with our bittersweet results.  We still have to filter and evaporate the honey.  And while we will have no bees to winter over to spring, we did get some honey.  Most importantly, we gained a lot of experience.

Here’s a link for the Honey Extraction video: https://youtu.be/ampvs8BuLA8

 

Local News – Second Glance Farms

Tags

spirituality, sustainability, Women

Note: This article was published in the Farmers Independent last week. My second byline! Front page… below the fold. 😀

Second Glance Farms hosted an open house on Saturday, July 22^nd.  Visitors walked the many gardens, enjoyed the greenhouse that is the heart of the operation, and then gathered for a talk given by Nancy Kuhta. The presentation space, full of beautiful art, depicted Second Glance’s theme of Diversity: art, science, geometry, color, math, and even spirituality.  Everything is connected in this space where each task is done with contemplation and mindfulness to listen to the earth, the seeds, the sun.

Inspiration: An interactive contemplation area celebrating the intersection of Intention and Imagination.

Donnette Rizzo, a librarian from Chicago, spent the last few days at the farm and shared her experience of helping to create an interactive space from willow stems depicting the integration of Intention and Imagination as Inspiration.  This Venn diagram honors both the individual ideas and the confluence of the two, just as Second Glance Farms honors diversity as its key to success. Nancy once gave diversity presentations to Walmart employees but now she and her daughter Jannel are working on a diversity of tasks.

Jannel and Nancy Kuhta display an ear of Blue Eagle Corn and a jar of Rainbow Corn.

You may know the Kuhta’s from past adventures with Nature’s Gardens, which produced bedding plants.  Or perhaps you’ve seen some of their landscaping work.  If you have the new telephone book, the cover shows a flower garden they installed at Bemidji State University.  Or maybe you ran into them at Carlson Greenhouse.  More recently, they have begun to grow their farm, inviting others to share the beauty of their abundant flowers and vegetables.  After first linking to the farm-to-school program with Bagley Public Schools and working with Fireside and U of M at Itasca Park, they are now reaching out to the community at-large.

Nancy has been gardening for forty years, starting with digging in her mother’s garden in Chicago as a child.  Her focus is on protecting heirloom varieties that are nearly extinct.  Her goal is to lead by example and encourage others to replicate her efforts.  Nancy reflects, “We visited a seed bank and realized the importance of the North with the 12-hour day and we said, ‘We’ll help’.” With 1000 tomato plants in 25 varieties, they are going to offer U-pick so that people can experience a variety of heirloom vegetables at reasonable prices.  I tasted several of the lettuces and each was delicious in its own way; the crunchy, the buttery, and my favorite, the peppery arugula.

Jannel and Nancy Kuhta are passionate about seed-saving for endangered varieties like their Blue Eagle Corn.

Lincoln Lettuce, like that harvested at the Lincoln plantation, is available.  Or you can secure some Beauty Way Bean seeds to help bring these beautiful beans back to abundance. But Nancy’s true passion is Corn.  She will share with you in detail about Blue Eagle Corn, often called Peace Corn. It disappeared about the time of the Trail of Tears and in 2010, a group of Pawnee gave a Kansas farmer the last 25 seeds in known existence to plant, as his land was their old homeland.  For the first time in memorable history, that year the Pawnee ate the corn of their heritage.  It is said that when Blue Eagle Corn returns, it will bring peace.

The garden and nature speak to all ages and are wonderful places for the generations to connect.  Kathy Mitchell of Minneapolis expressed her appreciation of how nature has brought her and her father together.  A dedicated Catholic who once saw salvation only through the church, he’s begun to spend more time with trees and has found a connection that brings him closer not only to God, but also to his daughter.  Jannel shared about her experience with a child who explained to her that “the plants like you to sing to them”.  This youngster took Jannel to the Back Forty field so she could sing a song to the watermelons.  Later she let Jannel know she’d introduced the watermelons to the pumpkins.

There is beauty throughout the garden.  Flowers and hand-painted signs designate long rows of tomatoes.

 When asked about the name Second Glance, Nancy notes that the beauty of the farm will cause you to give it a Second Glance.  They are offering local produce, grown naturally, with a variety of tomatoes, squash, herbs and corn.  You can contact Nancy and Jannel at secondglancefarms@gmail.com to arrange a visit.

If you pay a visit to the farm at 19008 Highway 200, you’ll also get a chance to meet Corn Dog, about the most serene animal I’ve ever met. Found nearly dead among the corn in an Oklahoma garden and nursed back to life by Jannel, Corn Dog would not leave the garden area for months after being discovered.  He would greet Jannel every day at the garden gate.  If you see him here at Second Glance, take a moment to say hello and give him a scratch.  He will calmly look you in the eyes, and if you’re smart, you’ll follow his lead and spend some time in the garden.

Love Water Not Oil Tour 2017

Tags

activism, fun, local music, Women

What a fantastic weekend we had in Duluth!  We headed over to hit the Honor the Earth 5th Annual Love Water Not Oil Tour featuring Nahko Bear and Annie Humphrey among others.  We decided to go over Saturday and get oriented and see town before the Sunday concert.

We arrived in the afternoon and headed to the AirBnB in Hermantown.  When we arrived, Josh, our host, was building a pergola on the large patio deck.  They have a private entrance space with a living room, dining area with refrigerator, coffee maker and microwave, bathroom and three bedrooms each with a queen bed.  It’s a lovely and simple space with a nice bed and enough pillows.  Super clean and quiet.  We really enjoyed relaxing in this space late in the evening but first, we headed to the Canal Walk.

We found tremendous traffic at the Canal Park.  We finally found a parking space under the solar panels near Sister Cities Park and the Lakewalk.  We enjoyed rock spotting and seeing the wide open Lake Superior as we walked the shore but it was dirtier than the North Shore – a little too industrial for me.  There were a bunch of young men enjoying The CRIBS, also referred to as Uncle Harvey’s Mortuary, a large concrete structure of varied legend.  Like little crabs, the boys scuttled along the thin walls of the structure, occasionally jumping from the heights.

We headed inland toward the Dewitt-Seitz Marketplace, recommended by friend Anne Paulson who once lived in Duluth.  We found the Blue Heron, like a compact Crate and Barrel, to be full of lovely spices, sauces, cookware, tools and table coverings. A really fun space to explore.  Just across the way is the Art Dock, full of fun treasures.  We didn’t have time to head up to J. Skylark  but their lower level window display looked really enticing.  We were out of time and had to head to our parking space.  From there we headed up to Downtown and stopped after finding a back alley parking spot (free!) to the Electric Fetus.   It was like going back in time and I took some time to listen to the top albums – none of which was familiar and only one of which made an impression.  Sammy Brue might be worth a listen if you’re into young upcomers.

We decided to head to the neighborhood with the Co-op grocery on 4^th Street – neighborhoods with co-op groceries are usually pretty great.  We found some good stuff – raw cashews for more Ambrosia, some quick packs of Indian food for dinner, cheese curds (hey we are super close to Wisconsin here – they gotta be good!), and some organic tortilla chips (not very good but cheap).  At the checkout, we asked the guy if there was a good place for a little picnic lunch.  He directed us toward Canal Park and we said, “No, no… that’s too People-y.  You know any place less People-y?”  “Ah,” he says, “Lester Park.  There are nice waterfalls.  It’s a little hike in but worth it.”  So we put it in the Google Map and head toward 51^st and Juniata.  We get there and it’s a pump house. 😦  Just to the left, there appears to be a small parking area… and we see a Butterfly Garden (sorry no pic as we were super non-plussed) which had a couple benches among some sparse wildflowers.  We found a short trail and hiked over the flora finally stumbling upon a small creek.  We decided this could NOT be the right place – no waterfalls.  So we checked again and Google said we need to be at 61^st and Superior.  Ah, yes, this is the place!  We drove up in search of a parking place and find the entrance to The Deeps at the top of the hill. If you go in at the trail at the purple circle, you will hike a mere 20 feet and find yourself at an amazing space in the middle of town.  There are 30’ falls that pour into what is called The Deeps – a deep hole into which the locals cliff dive.  Above this space is a rolling rocky creek with smaller falls where Dan took this photo.

We lounged in the water, climbed the rocks and explored for a bit before heading back to the AirBnB taking the Seven Bridges Road ~ we’ve traveled it now!  We took Skyline road up to the top and saw the Hawk Ridge Reserve though no migrations are scheduled until fall… mid-September looks like prime time, though you’ll want Halloween time for seeing the big Eagles.

We actually watched some TV at the AriBnB – Red Green.  Nothing really worth watching on that black box.  Don’t miss TV a bit.

The next morning, we headed into Superior, Wisconsin to hit the Anchor Bar and Grill – Yep, Sunday is a busy day for this little dive.  Their menu is hilarious!  I highly recommend this super cheap burger joint.  Fresh fries and good burgers.  Dan had the Bacon Cheeseburger and I had the Cashew Burger (cashews and swiss – yum).  There was another couple looking for a quiet table – the Elvis was blasting.  Since we’d done the same thing minutes before and had room at our table, we asked them to join us.  They were waiting for their friend, “Crazy Nancy Nelson” (who did turn out to be a HOOT!), and we had room for three so the two sat.  Julie and Joey Sando turned out to be a splendid addition to our party.  She soon mentioned they were seeking driftwood for her art.  Art?  What kind of art does she do?  Stained glass.  And driftwood???  Well, you should check out her stuff – it’s pretty awesome. I forwarded her info to the Rec Lab Creative Activities committee because she’s seems like a lot of fun.  Looking forward to seeing her again sometime.  So glad we invited them all to join us as it made our brunch a super fun time.

After burger breakfast, we headed to the Bayfront Festival Park for the Love Water Not Oil show.  Arriving early again, we walked directly into the venue and found the Honor The Earth organizers who asked if we were volunteers.  So I guess we could have volunteered and got in the show free but we’re happy to send funds to HTE.  We ended up volunteering anyway and were assigned the vendor gate.  This was a happening place and I only got one F-Bomb from a lady who was really pissed she had to walk to the north entrance to enter with her ticket after walking all the way to this vendor gate already (like 100′).  It wasn’t that far a walk (maybe 100 paces further?) and I’m hopeful her day ended up going better.  The rest of the day I thanked the people we kept directing to the ticket entrance for not F-you-ing me and it gave us all lots of laughs… and perspective.  I guess that was payback for all the F-yous I’ve dished out to customer service people on the phone over the years!  I’m better than I used to be but still a work in progress.

So, the big perks of being at the vendor gate?  Got to see:

• Corey Medina ride out on his motorcycle for some wind in the hair before the show started.
• Friends Nicolette, Sarah & Keri from HTE coming in to set up tables and Cedar heading in and out for lunch.
• Greeting Winona LaDuke as she came in to begin the festivities with ceremony.
• Saying hi to Don again – he remembered me from the Futurists conference where we first met!  {Dan says I’m pretty unforgettable.  Aw, ain’t that sweet?}
• The arrival of the Teepees.
• Nahko Bear driving into the venue – AWESOME Groupie Moment. 🙂
• The adjacent and handy port-o-potties! We let several folks in to pee before they headed to the ticket entrance.  It was a super laid back show and fun to be a part of it all.

I was impressed with the ceremony that opened the show.  There were some prayers and songs and the elder that did ceremony for Winona spoke of the importance of honoring women – how we treat our women is how we treat the Earth.  So true.  It’s time for change.  She challenged us all to bring respect to how we allow others to treat us as women and to protect women assuring safety and respect for them all.  Maybe if we can find love and respect for each other, we can start to heal this planet in a big way.

The teepees were also inspiring.  They had the Keystone XL teepee and the teepee from Standing Rock.  Dan got some good shots.  The musical line-up followed:

• Elizabeth Jaakola & Family – Fond du Lac Musicians who sang great original songs with my favorite probably being Covfefe, which consisted of a bunch of mush mouth, jive talk and a perfectly understood chorus of “Covfefe”.  😉 I’d heard them doing this one at sound check and had chuckled my way to the vendor gate as I listened.  http://www.firstpeoplesfund.org/elizabeth-jaakola/ Nice songs about standing up for Mother Earth, being strong as Indigenous, and having fun too.
• Thomas X from the Red Lake Tribe – really nice Rez Rap. https://thomasx.bandcamp.com/  His tunes are all available online.  Support him if you can – he had a sweet little baby on the blanket with him when I stopped by to give him props.  Welcome to the Rez is a nice mix and I had my fist in the air for Standing Rock.  TOTALLY love this dude after giving more of his albums a listen today.  Check him out.
• Two for One – a South Minneapolis hip hop rapper. Couldn’t find him online anywhere but he had some good lyrics and seemed like a nice kid.
• Maria Isa, a self-described SotaRican, rapped her way through a set. I thought it was a strange sound – kind of all over the place – couldn’t really get into it before it changed into something else.  https://www.facebook.com/pg/iammariaisa/videos/?ref=page_internal
• Two short stints by the Sunshine Boys and a guy from California – both presented indigenous songs from their traditions – really nice stuff.
• Annie Humphrey – first time FINALLY getting to see her play live. What a powerful woman!  Here’s a great video perfect for this Love Water Not Oil show which is all about celebrating riding horses against the flow of the proposed pipeline… in case you didn’t know, Horses can Kill Snakes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd6wsVgWoUI  It’s so interesting to see her perform – she is such a blend of her mother and daughter, both of whom I know better than I know Annie, that it creates a wonderful feeling inside me.  Thomas X mentioned that he first saw Annie perform when he was 13 and her performance brought him to tears.  I can definitely relate.  Beautiful voice, lovely music.  Definitely find your way to listening to some of Annie’s work.  Here’s Edge of America.
• Corey Medina and Brothers. FANTASTIC.  Great blues/rock sound.  Dan kept watching them thinking they looked really familiar… until we decided Corey reminds us a lot of Alex Crankshaft.  Here’s a Tiny Desk Concert they did (though the two cats with Corey in this one are much younger versions of the two on stage this weekend, Gary Broste & Eric Sundeen).  Ah, here’s one with them playing Want it All at Rail River Folk School.
• Nahko, AKA Nahko Bear, leader of Medicine for the People.  This was the artist that brought us to this show.  He spent most of the afternoon hanging out with the crowd… giving bear hugs, taking photos, chatting.  I was astounded at the variety of people coming out to see him.  I expected the hippies, the water protectors, the Indians but not the young white moms, old white ladies, three older white dudes from the Cities.  All ages from toddler to seniors, all colors.  I guess the only ones not represented were oil men and dumbass rednecks.  Dan and I were grateful to be the final photo op before he headed in for some lunch and pre-show preparation. And he remembered me as the one who welcomed him at the gate!

Definitely check out his music.  Here are a few videos:

• Love Letters to God: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPVhnlZaZWs
• One of my faves… Vultures of Culture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P__iE8ISF5c
• And this one… super fun!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd1CHFfym1s
• Well, I just don’t think there’s any better ending for the blog than that.  Unless it’s this…  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHMsOXgSb9o

This Week for Me – Busy as a Bee!

Tags

Bees, local

Wow.  I continue to be amazed at how life fills all the time you have!  I really thought when I retired from the rat race that I’d have too much free time and might even get bored.  Especially when I headed to the Harn on my own, I thought there could be a chance of feeling like I was too isolated and alone.  But that is SO FAR from my reality.

What’s been happening in the past week for me? 

Last weekend Dan and I were down in Alexandria.  Dan helped do some electrical work for a friend and we got to check in with Mom and Tom a bit.  We took a bit of a day off Monday as I think I got exposed to a cold virus while in the Cities.  It was a cold, rainy day anyway and, while I didn’t really have yucky cold symptoms, I did have some morning congestion and just felt like resting after a few busy days.  So there was lots of cuddling with Lucky and some napping.  I did check out the pond Dan dug while I was away and that was pretty cool; loaded videos on that and the potato planting the next morning as we headed to Bemidji.

We were able to finally secure a cistern to replace our broken one.  Kind of bummed that we are going from 1500 gallons to 500 gallons but it’s better than just losing all that water back to the land.  It’s been a pretty dry spring so we need water for the gardens.  Even with hugelkulture, we still have to water some of the time when we go for a long stretch without any rain.  Plus we are nurturing the orchard plants a bit and I continue to plant more stuff!  Connie and Mom, and now Sherry and Char are making the Harn grounds GROW.

We gave our presentation on the Harn for the Leech Lake Tribal College and it was good to present our story as a couple of new homesteaders focused on sustainability and living in harmony with Earth, Water, and Other Beings in Nature.  We were able to discuss some of the things that we are doing to live more lightly and one of the attendees noted that making a commitment to changing just one thing can be a step in moving forward.  I agree.  So, what’s the one I recommend?  OK, my pet peeve is watching someone wash dishes or brush their teeth while the water runs continuously.  So my suggestion is to change how you brush.  I use a glass of water to brush my teeth.  I dip the brush in the water and suds up my teeth.  When I’m finished with all the brushing, I take a mouthful of water and rinse, spitting the rinse water over my brush.  I do this a couple times and then rinse the brush with water from the glass a final time.  All the water is used.  None just runs down the drain without doing a job for me.  If we all did this, we could save thousands of gallons a year!  I also use a plastic tub when washing dishes for wash and rinse water which drastically reduces the water needed.  Any water I run is over these tubs so it is used a couple times.

I spent a couple days working with my bee hives.  On Wednesday I checked the hives for the first time since receiving them.  {Every day I’d hoped to check up to this point had been windy or cold and just not optimal for checking on the bees.  It was still windier than I’d like but it was sunny and far too long since I’d gotten the girls, so I went for it.}

First I opened up the weaker hive and saw kind of what I expected… low population and little brood.  There was honey and pollen being stored but it just seemed like not a lot happening.  Also, I noted lots of dead bees on the bottom board under the frames and it just seemed sloppy – quite un-beelike.  I was not able to find a queen and wondered if they had one.  Next I went to the active hive.  This hive had a damaged bottom board so I’d gotten a hive box with bottom board from Angie at Split Oak Farms and planned to transfer all the frames from the old hive box to this new box.  The old bottom board on the hive box had a space at the back lower corner where the bees seemed to love exiting and entering the hive.  Luckily, the new hive box from Angie had a hole in the back which I knocked out to hopefully give them a similar situation for access.

I began by pulling the hive box with bottom board from the pallet and then I put the new hive box on the pallet where the stronger hive box had been.  When I opened up the hive, I was ecstatic to find a hustling, bustling bunch. I started pulling frames to see how things looked and there were LOADS of bees.  I pulled each frame and placed it into the new hive box.  There was a little tightness but everything fit. This hive box hadn’t been used in a while so I had to squish the frames in a bit at one point.  I was trying to check for the queen but mostly I just wanted to see what was happening and get them re-housed in the new hive.  It was obvious there was a queen as I saw LOTS of brood (workers and drones).  I kept moving frames and ALL the frames had activity.  I thought there might be a queen cell developing (which can be a sign of pending swarm – the hive will start to raise a new queen so the old queen can take a part of the colony and head out to find a new space while the new queen continues in the old location).  With all this activity, I knew it was time to add a second hive box for the bees to expand their operations. I again did not see the queen but, since I was working on moving them, and I was struggling with the smoker staying primed, I just got them moved with the new addition and closed everything up.

I planned to call Lewis when I got back to the Harn but… as is typical, something distracted me.  I don’t know what I did really with the rest of the day but I kept busy.  I spoke with a retired friend in Alex this weekend and she agreed that this is how life works for her too.  She is constantly busy but couldn’t tell you with what.  That is totally it!  Maybe it’s cooking, cleaning up, reading, getting a call – whatever, it definitely makes for staying busy!  And I’m super happy.

Thursday I called Lewis to ask his advice on the bee situation.  He noted that he’d given a frame of brood to the weaker colony prior to giving it to me, which he had told me when we picked up the hives, but we agreed that didn’t seem to have done the trick.  He suggested moving a second frame of capped brood (mostly developed and ready to hatch worker bees) from the strong to the weak hive.  BUT… if I did this, I had to be SURE not to transfer a frame with the queen from the strong hive into the weak hive. I questioned whether that queen would be in the top hive box, but Lewis was sure the queen would still be in the lower hive box, since I’d just added the top box yesterday.  Since I was going to be heading to Alex to meet with Mom the next day, I knew I needed to do this that day.  I tried calling in a beekeeper friend but couldn’t get in touch with anyone so… I headed out to give it a whirl!

I pulled the weak hive top cover and checked a couple center frames – smoker working better today but I was still nervous about how much time I’d have so I worked quickly.  I was able to find the queen on the weak hive right away!  I pulled a side frame with almost no activity and put it aside.  Then I headed to the strong colony and pulled the top cover and flipped it over.  I set the top hive on the cover so just in case my queen was in top, she wouldn’t drop into the grass.  I pulled a frame and checked it for brood and didn’t see the queen. As I placed the frame into the weak colony, Dan asked about the bees on the frame… I hadn’t asked Lewis about that so, I hope those worker bees are OK in their new location.  🙂 A fellow beekeeper thinks that perhaps those bees will fly back to their home hive.  We’ll see.  I looked at some more frames (spent more time than I realized…) but didn’t find her.  I am sure hopeful she is still in the strong colony hive box!   I did confirm a couple queen cells developing in the strong colony so, I should be OK regardless but it definitely will lose me a few weeks if I put the strong queen in the weak hive box.  So much to learn…

Here’s a couple videos:

• First Check of the Hives: https://youtu.be/Dxp_bTV8hmU
• Changing a Frame of Brood: https://youtu.be/eDmO4rZopS4

In addition to beekeeping, I also started some seeds that afternoon.  I know, I’m WAY behind schedule.  But, we’ll see.  Some people aren’t putting out plants until mid-June.  I figure we’ll see how things go and I’ll probably get a few plants from the nursery or friends.  Char says she’s got a few things for me.  God love her!  She’s really helping this homestead to start out with a lot of help garden wise.  Oh, and we watched the Bee Movie – you know, the one with Jerry Seinfeld – and I realized how much of a load of crap that movie is!  I mean, the main character is a BOY BEE!  And so much of the film focuses on guys doing all this work.  What BULLSHIT!  It’s the GIRL BEES that do ALL the work!  I mean, besides that donation of sperm from the drones, everything that happens in the hive is done by the females.  Ah, so frustrating.  It’s definitely an interesting experience to watch this movie now that I know so much more about bees.  It’s fascinating to see all the social aspects of that film – the mosquito is a black dude (Chris Rock – a fave!) and there is so much on that topic I could spout off about too.  Anyway, if you watch it, look for all the conditioning.  It’s annoying but helps you realize how we socialize ourselves with film.  Guess I expected more from Jerry.  Oh, and we saw lightening bugs tonight when we went out to pee.  A little phenology for you.

I started off Memorial Day weekend (holidays mean nothing to me anymore) with a trip to Mom’s.  I was getting the truck title transferred and was gonna go with her to the doctor.  I am SO GLAD I got there in time for that as I think it was a help for me to be with her.  She did SO much better getting this shot than she’d done in the past.  I think part of it was being a tough momma in front of her baby.  🙂  I was also able to sneak in a visit to Cherry Street Books to see Anne and that was wonderful.  I am so glad she was hired to take my vacancy – I definitely feel like she’s a well-read and customer-focused person.  I was able to see book club buddy Mary too and that was fun.  I really miss everyone from the book store world.

I also stopped by Special Memories to see Marlys. She’d just put away a puzzle so I didn’t get a chance to find a few pieces but it was really great to catch up with my old friend.  And then I headed to 2 Guyz Pizza for my favorite GF pizza.  Mom’s favorite is the 2 Guyz Favorite – so that’s easy to remember!  They are top notch!  http://www.2guyzpizza.com/ I think Tom was happy to have pizza too so we had a great evening.  Even opened up a bottle of Sauterne – definitely Tom’s fave!   After dinner, Mom and I headed down to the lake shore for some plant gathering – she had some iris and a French lilac she wanted me to have.  Plus we had to burn sticks!  (Mom’s second favorite thing after mowing the lawn on her rider.)  All in all, it was a relaxing and fun evening.

Saturday I packed up and then Mom and I grabbed a couple of “Rita’s Hostas” for me to take up to the Harn.  She threw in a few more things that had grown into the driveway while I showered.  More planting!  And then I headed north as Mom got on her mower. 🙂

I was headed to the Nemeth Art Center for the Beagle and Wolf Bookstore’s book signing for Amy Thielen’s Give a Girl a Knife.  This is a fun memoir of her adventures in NY and in coming home to MN.  She really recommends coming home.  I hope to read it soon.  So, anyway, I was hoping to hook up with new friends Bruce and Cheryl and also to see Amy’s husband Aaron again; we’d met him briefly at Bruce & Cheryl’s.  He adorable.  He had a load of colostrum for Amy.  The only reason I knew this word was because I nursed my son so I was a little concerned about what she might be making with it.  I had to ask.  I introduced myself to her at the end of the gig and she said she actually froze that, took it to NY, and made them a pudding out of it!  (It was cow colostrum.)  I also explained to her about how her show gave my mom hope for me to be a TV star when I moved out to the woods – not gonna happen – and how my husband was tired of hearing about how adorable Aaron is.  Not sure that was what she wanted to hear so I didn’t tell her that he’s now going to get tired of me talking about how adorable SHE is.  And she is!!  She is so tiny!  But she’s a giant bubble of personality. The event was Standing Room Only. She did a short reading from the book on arrival and people who were late missed it.  It was a cute story on working in NY while pregnant.  She’s super cheeky!  I realized her short reading was so she could spend the majority of the time socializing with her fans.  She was so happy to see everyone that I swore she knew them all for years.  Aaron assured me she didn’t know the people she was with when I mentioned to him how she seemed to know EVERYONE.  She is just a super fun and hospitable Midwestern girl.  Just don’t call her a Homestead Honey… or so says Bruce. 🙂

I have to share that this Nemeth Art Center is a hidden gem.  http://www.nemethartcenter.org/about.html  They have a standing Gabor and Edith Nemeth Study Collection that includes 42 European paintings, some dating back to the 16th Century.  They accompany this with amazing contemporary art. There is also a quaint historical museum downstairs.  What a fun place.  And the guy who runs it, Michael Dagun, is pretty amazing too.  Friendly and welcoming – you need to check this place out.  There’s an upcoming Opening Reception & Symposium June 24th from 2 – 5 pm for their current exhibition.  I’m hoping to make it…

After that fun I headed to the Mississippi Headwaters Hostel to talk with Sara about work schedule plans.  I stopped by Rock Creek to fill up on gas, pulling in right behind Kelly.  I think I came around the corner a bit too fast for her…  I swung wide at the corner so I wasn’t RIGHT on her butt but I’m thinking it was a little too close for a momma with kids in the car.    So much for not tailgating people anymore!  I guess it is rare these days but I definitely see how when I’ve got a TON of stuff happening, it’s easier to slip into driving a bit faster too.  Have to watch that…

I ended up spending quite a bit of time talking with the guests at the hostel and checking in with Sara – it had been a while since I’d seen her.  I imagined, years ago when she was about the only person we knew up here, that once we lived here, we’d see her all the time.  But she’s so busy and we’re so busy that it’s lucky if I see her once a month!  We talked about everything that’s been going on since we last chatted and then put in some screens and moved storm windows down to the basement so I earned a few bucks too!  I really love working at the hostel; it’s fun meeting people from all over.  There are loads of great stories to hear.

Lucky was happy to have me home to feed him later that evening.  He whined and cried to me about how lonely he’d been.  And then he curled up with me a kept me warm all night long.

Dan’s coming home from his weekend at the Boundary Waters for Cliff’s Bachelor party – sounds like they had a super time.  It will be good to see him.  And we’ll start another busy week.  We’ll be heading to Char & Wyatt’s for a cookout Memorial Day but will likely also sneak in some Yarn Basket shop organization and maybe putting up some light fixtures.  There’s always something to keep you busy once you’re “retired”!!

 

Rec Lab 2017… and We’re on the Radio!

Tags

DIY, fun, Rec Lab

Well, Rec Lab 2017 was another wonderful week of seeing people I love and making Polymer Clay art.  But a big thrill mid-week was listening to the Call of the Wild show about the Harn.  https://beta.prx.org/stories/203798  What a thrill to hear how Milt Lee made a beautiful show of the much longer time we spent interviewing and touring at the Harn back on April 7th.  In 8 minutes, he covers a lot about our place.

It sure was nice to have a piece of home during Rec Lab.  The week at Lab is SO FULL of activity that I had to listen to half the interview before Tuesday’s Write Your Bio session and the second half just after class.  The Write Your Bio Fireside presentation of stories written during this Creative Activity session was just beautiful.  One of my favorite parts was when Ann read her story about her Uncle Galen (a long time Rec Labber who is sweet and funny) and she became so overwhelmed that another classmate came up to finish the reading for her.  Mimi started out strong but within a couple sentences, she too became overwhelmed.  Both finished their portions of the reading in tears but it was one of the most beautiful moments when they hugged at the end of it.  It was a wonderful example of how the beauty of writing can not only help us retain our stories but also find connection with each other.  This seemed to be a strand of continuity throughout this week at Rec Lab.

Our opening night of Lab included a Fireside of Stories giving various perspectives on how Rec Lab has impacted our lives.  Among the speakers were Lynn and Rhoda who spoke on the origins of Rec Lab, Gretchen on how a class can affect you by reading an A-Z poem she wrote during a previous Lab, Jane on how being a great creative artist is not a requirement for attending Lab, Mike on how we receive help and offer help to each other, and Katherine on how we can find acceptance just where we are in our lives.  I think it was a beautiful representation of the many ways that Lab brings us joy.  Colleen’s Joy for the Journey theme for Fireside this year made for many lovely nights spent in contemplating our joy before we headed to bed.  Or… as a brief, quiet respite between dinner/dancing and MORE CRAFTING!  I spent most nights in the Polymer Clay room continuing to work on my projects.

One of my favorite projects this week was a Fairy Door made for friend Char’s new Yarn Basket shop.  This photo shows it prior to baking and before I got the “knitting needles” (two little straight pins donated by BJ) in place.  I loved the mixed color I got with the lavender and metallic blue clays, the wood grain effects I copied from an example on Pinterest, the sweet roses, and the little yarn balls as a door decoration which were a perfect addition for a Yarn Shop Fairy Door!

Laura Burlis is an excellent instructor and helps each of us learn new techniques that we can use to continue instruction with people when we head back home.  I’m looking forward to having some friends over to make some lovely little turtles, ladybugs and other fun charms.  This year many made fairy houses and little gnomes and wizards as well in Polymer Clay.  This class is so fun that we often have visitors who stay to watch our work or check out our progress through the week. You can read more about Laura here: http://lolaartistsmn.blogspot.com/2014/07/laura-burlis-turns-polymer-clay-into.html?m=1

The one project I didn’t bring home was a Bottle of Hope.  The Polymer Clay Guild Laura belongs to does a project where they gather empty chemo vials and decorate them with clay, returning them to the hospital for patients to take home to brighten their days.  I used my favorite colors to decorate a whimsical jar that I hope someone will love.  The photo with me and the bottle was taken with my instructor and friend, Laura.  I also included a photo of Gretchen who made a lovely gift for her friend Alan along with a beautiful fairy house.  Everyone’s projects turned out so lovely!

Here are some photos of Friends’ work (Jenny’s painting and Will’s Clay and costumes by Jami, Christine and Tina):

There were lots of new things this year at Lab and some were a great success and some I know will be improved even further in 2018.  We had a LOT of information on classes prior to arriving at Lab and, once at Lab, had lots of info on where/when classes would take place.  Our implementation of Craft Talk (in previous years we did a Craft Walk) was OK but we hopefully will make that better next year.  Opening Night “Northland Derby” was tremendous with amazing food, games and decorations.  And the theme made for a laugh-filled Closing Night presentation created by Laura Burlis with loads of improv by the many Labbers in the show.  This show is our chance to poke some fun at the new Instructors and Discussion Leaders for the year’s Lab.  I really loved the bit on Paul’s Fly Tying class by Mike and Russ and the sister act of June and Gail on the Nature Pendants (by Kim) and Nature Hikes (by Dianne).  Ryan brought levity with his documentarian role (his REAL LIFE job).  The Basket girls (Amy, Hailey & Heather) were hilarious as were Lutz, Nick and Jacob as the “Horses” on their brooms and vacuum cleaners.  But my faves were likely Tina and Jenny who depicted our Energy Discussion Leaders Tina Simonetta-Samuels and Christine Simonetta.  They had me rolling on the floor, as were Tina and Christine!  You can see more about the Eden Energy Medicine the Discussion Leaders shared here: http://www.innersource.net/innersource/

Funny things I learned this year at Lab:

• There is an uncanny a resemblance between Jane and Nancy. (Also between Linda and Anita and apparently between me and Krista and Heather…)
• Lots of people enjoy dressing as poop collectors. (There were 6 of us at the Derby party – no fancy hats for us!!  Poo Crew from Iowa, me, Alan and the Discussion Leaders all donned our worst and swept up the Chocolate Bit-o-Honey poops!)
• Earthworms are BAD. (They eat all the duff – leaf matter – leaving nothing to protect the little seedling trees!)

Our week ended with a display at Art Show.  I will say this was a quite nice part of the week.  This had little to do with it being my committee and more to do with the many hands that jumped in to make it wonderful and, of course, the stunning array of art presented in the show.  There were several folks who helped set up and host the event (Mary L, Jewitt, Hailey, Jenny, Mary R, Vanjie – and whomever I forgot in all the hustle!) and the music truly made us look professional with Harp by Jacob and Keyboards, Guitar, Violin and Singing by the Jam Session crew (Jean, Jewitt, Marti, Nancy and Rhoda).  Thanks to Marti for getting that all in place for the Show.  I was so tickled with how it all fell into place.  I hope to get a video up soon of the event but editing my footage is still in process.  Watch for a link in next week’s blog…

There is just never enough time to do all the crafts you’d like.  I spent most of my time in Polymer Clay with a couple days in Write Your Bio and Yoga.  I also got in a Nature Walk with Dianne that taught me much about spring flowers, birds and worms.  A Naturalist by training, she gives a professional take to this Creative Activity!  And I made one of the two Book Group sessions as books are a BIG love for me.  I only taught a one-session class on Vision Boards / Dream Pages, but with First Day and Bulletin Board work, as well as Art Show and Tech Support, it seemed I didn’t have time for as much Creative Activity as I’ve smashed into the week in the past.  I wish I’d been able to check out the Jam Sessions with Jewitt and Marti, the Loom Weaving with Hailey, Paper Crafts with Amy, Heather and Paula, Cooking with Gail, Caning with Kathy, Silverwork with Alan, and Woodworking with Gerry and Abby.  I LOVE lathes.  But there is the Notebook (done this year by Heidi and Katherine with photos by Paul) that gives details on all the Creative Activities so I hope to be able to try some of these things on my own.

I hope you too are busily creating as we make our way through Spring.  Us Minnesotans are mostly still just waiting for the snow to stop…

Busy First Week of Homesteading at the Harn

Tags

Freedom

Dan and I have made it through our first week of retirement at the Harn and it seems we’re busier than ever.  I have told many people that once you retire, it’s not about taking it easy.  Instead, life seems to be busier than it’s ever been before!

Dan says he not really retired, he just has a new boss. He claims to be the Head Maintenance Technician and Assistant Grounds Keeper at the Harn (working for me!). You need to be sure to read that as the Technician of Head Maintenance.  So far, it’s going good.  Pretty sweet job as he gets to sleep with the boss AND after a grueling day, health care benefits include shoulder rubs… from that same boss!  I’m pretty sure there will be no sexual harassment claims.

Since we’re still seeing cold temps most mornings, I continue to let him sleep late.  This is a real treat for him after the last few years of O-Dark-Thirty workdays.  Dan is NOT a morning person.  Once the weather warms, I foresee us hitting the bricks, actually the dirt, EARLY more often than not. But time will tell on that one.

Though we’ve had some later starts to the real workdays, we’ve gotten much accomplished.  Since Dan’s retirement we have:

• Hung baskets on the ceiling to free up shelf space in the kitchen.
• Cleared the frost heave at Garage Door and Porch Doors, replacing the pallet at one and adding rocks at the other.
• Spread clover at both Porch Doors and in the Driveway.
• Gathered wood in the forest as we went out to check mail.  [This is a becoming a daily routine.  See below.]
• Built a bonfire and stored a box of wood for inside.
• Moved all the furniture in the living room again to put the sofa back where it was… As Dan says, “We move things at the Harn.”
• Built our humanure station and dumped nine buckets from the last six months.
• Interviewed for a local radio show to talk about the Harn (which is airing in a few weeks so keep your eyes peeled for that blog post).
• Pulled dozens of dead trees from the forest for firewood and kindling.  [Can’t prepare for winter too soon here in the hinterlands.  See above.]
• Walked the property line with our neighbors to the south and everyone is pretty happy with how much space we seem to have.

Oh, and I won the Rewrite Your Life essay contest sponsored by Wellness Retreats for Women!!  My submission, should you want to read it, is here: https://womenwellnessretreats.com/news/2017/3/22/contest-entry-jami-gaither-leaving-the-rat-race The objective was to write a letter to your current self from your future self about the book you’d written.  And I won!  Big thanks to the many people who took the time to vote for my submission.  With my prize money I am Super Stoked to be participating in Jess Lourey’s Rewrite Your Life Online Course.  Ever since I heard about Jessie’s new book on writing your life, I KNEW I’d be getting a copy at Cherry Street Books and I really hoped I would be doing a workshop with her on it as well.  And here it is!  My dream coming true.  If you’ve ever wanted to write a novel, or help yourself heal from some life experience, I’m betting this course could help you as well.  Check it out here: http://learnhowtowriteabook.teachable.com/p/rewrite-your-life

I also got a communication from the Editor at Permaculture Design Magazine that there’s potential for me to write some articles about our Homestead experience for them!  Check them out here: https://www.permaculturedesignmagazine.com/  It just may be that my childhood dream to one day be a writer may result in more than just my blog.  Maybe even some income?

Dan’s already helping a friend with electrical work – Char’s new Yarn Basket Shop is in progress and I’m looking forward to its grand opening.  And he has a couple more local people interested in talking with him about their own projects that need done.  Things seem to really be falling in place for us to potentially create some income to help that nest egg last a bit longer.  We’ll see how it all develops.

But I definitely think the Universe is telling us we’re where we’re supposed to be.  🙂

Happy Birthday to Me!

Tags

Freedom, fun

What a great week!  I have now embarked on my 49^th year and it was sure a sweet birthday.  I got lots of calls, including the official Birthday Song call from Mom and Tom and a lovely call from my brother Rob.  FB was full of happy wishes and it’s so nice to see all the wonderful people thinking of me, people I think of often as I see their posts on social media.  It’s amazing how big the Social Media world can be and while I’ve probably wasted more time than I should on Candy Crush, I really appreciate being able to connect with so many people all over the world.  And I got some nice cards (a handmade from Momma Chris – she’s the bestest!) and a few gifts too – 5 books (they know me!), some cash (always come in handy) and a couple adorable family photos.  I am feeling so loved.

I also began Knitting!  Mom brought me an afghan a couple months back that was in need of repair – she was sure that Char and I could fix it back to good.  It’s a beautiful melba peach color and I would love to have it whole again as it’s really pretty.  I actually ended up working on it with Bernis at Knitting Club, first taking off the ruined part back to one level, and now adding back a finishing edge.  It’s tough but I’m getting used to the process.  It will take some time but I can soon add Knitting to my list of crafts.  I will admit to trying to impress Dan Saturday evening and realizing I just could not be sure about how to start that next row… so the impressing will have to wait!  I’m sure with the strong encouragement from the Knitting Ladies, I’ll be getting the hang of it soon.

And I joined the Garden Club.  Got started with these folks at their March Seed Swap – another early birthday gift?  I will say YES.  I scored dozens of seeds and look forward to getting them planted as we start our gardens here at the Harn.  Met some really great folks here, including Jeff and Angie from Split Oak Farm who have invited me to come over and see their “kids” (baby goats!).  I plan to stop there often when I’m heading to Bagley as they are expecting baby pigs any time now as well.  Everyone was friendly and it was a fun way to spend an evening talking about plants and phenology.  What’s Phenology?  It is the study of cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena, especially in relation to climate and plant and animal life.  There were a bunch of great reports: lots of swan sightings (including Trumpeters); pussywillow, rhubarb sprout and crocus sightings; and my favorite first hearing and sighting of Sandhill Cranes.  My neighbor Connie (new Garden Club friend) and I both heard them – she is around the corner but her back yard and mine are closer than our driveways.  I got a lovely offer for some lily starts which I will surely be taking her up on this spring.  Oh, plus I met a Death Doula (Lorrie).  How cool is that!?!?  Can’t wait to spend some time with her.

I share this birthday week with some friends and Dan and I were able to gift one of them with a present on her big day.  The other I had gifted with her present weeks earlier but I will from now on be sure to give her a gift on or super close to her actual birthday as it’s really special to have the specific day recognized.  This year having so many wishes truly made my day special.

Dan and I are keeping busy with helping friends in the neighborhood and getting to know more of the locals.  It’s really feeling like “our town” the longer we’re here.  Only a few more days until he’s here for good!  I am enjoying getting settled and look forward to lots of fun the more people and plants we get to know.  We had the neighbor from around the corner stop by… his wife had said to him, “That driveway has been getting lots of use!” So he came by to introduce himself which made me happy, happy, happy as I’ve been meaning (for months) to take a walk over to their place.  It will be an easier decision to head their way now that I have a standing invite to visit.  They are home bodies like us.

I spent most of a day with Anne to look at possible cabins and that was a bunch of fun.  We hit every resale shop along the way and I scored BIG finding not only a couple good books I have wanted (Mists of Avalon, Lee! And Cutting for Stone, KP!) but also a new set of 8 ohm speakers for Dan ($3) and a replacement crock for my crock pot ($2.50).  I also scored a nice pair of new house shoes for Dan ($3) and some ribbons and fabric (of course).  Anne took me to her favorite place in Grand Rapids for lunch, Sammy’s.  https://sammyspizzagrandrapids.com/ and I took her to my favorite place (which she LOVED)… Aldi’s! https://www.aldi.us/  They have a brand new store in GR and it’s the biggest Aldi’s I’ve ever seen – yes, I think it’s even bigger than the St. Cloud one which was the biggest in the state.  Now if they will just get one put up here in Bemidji…  I truly see them as life savers because they bring affordable and quality food to the area.  I was talking with a couple in front of us in line who have been astounded at their food bill reduction, which really helps having 5 kids.

I will say, the best part of the trip with Anne was probably Nigig running from the house with her arms spread wide.  I thought she was so happy to see Gramma home and I was smiling big as we watched her approach. But at the last minute, she came to me!  I got the first Big Hug!!  Just made my heart burst!  I think to her I’m this lady that shows up unexpectedly but it tickles me that she’s so happy to see me when I visit!  Later I taught her how to swing herself on the porch swing and told her she is powerful.  I think that’s a pretty good trade.

We had a visitor from Mann Lake Bees [They’re having a big sale but it ends soon! https://www.mannlakeltd.com/]. Our friend Patrick showed us a couple good places for bees.  It was great walking the land with the warm sunshine!   We will need to put up an electric fence for the bears but I think we’re gonna start with bees this year. This will be a good fit as we don’t have anyone close by doing honey.  We have egg people, meat people, yarn people, and flower and veggie people, but no one we know for honey.  This will make a great product that we use a LOT and give us something to give for gifts.  I have friended a couple bee people here locally online and hope to learn a lot from everyone.  Patrick was interested in the Rocket Mass Heater so we gave him an explanation of them and had a fire and some conversation.

The highlight of my birthday week was Sunday evening.  I did a writing workshop with Jamie Lee (not Jamie Lee Curtis as I reported to Anne the day before…) at Farm by the Lake (https://www.facebook.com/farmbythelake/).  You can find out more about Jamie Lee here:

• www.jamieleeonline.com (blog)
• www.thebeadpeople.org
• www.patriciajamielee.com (consulting/training)
• www.manykites.com (publishing)

I was full of writing ideas by the time we wrapped up and I’ll have lots to practice as I continue to pursue my writing.  I may yet publish a book as Mom foresaw when I was young.

I was also able to get in a visit to new friends Jeff and Angie at Split Oak Farm in Bagley on the way home.  They gave me a tour of their sustainable farm with pigs, goats, chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese.  Oh, and cows (who we didn’t visit… next time!). Their goose eggs are HUGE!  And they just had baby goats so I got to hold the little girl and she was so soft and sweet.  I’m really looking forward to their little piglets which should be here any day! https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009080365262&hc_ref=SEARCH&fref=nf  They’re super fun and we had a great time chatting.  The only thing that would have made it better is if Dan was able to join us.  But that will happen soon, I’m sure.  He moves up here this week!!!

Public Hearing on the Enbridge Line 67 Border Crossing

Tags

activism, communication

The Department of State held a Public Hearing in Bemidji last week.  I attended along with hundreds of others.  I heard there were Enbridge representatives present, though I wasn’t aware of any.  The majority of those present were in opposition to the approval of a border crossing for Line 67 (previously called the Alberta Clipper).

Earlier in the afternoon, dozens of people met at Rail River Folk School where there were several speakers including Brandy Toft, Lindsey Ketchel, Jason Edens, Erica Bailey-Johnson, and Winona LaDuke.  The final speaker – apparently ad hoc? – was Marty Cabenais but I was astonished to see him on stage as I’d met him the previous night but had no idea he was a pipeline guy (or I’m sure we’d have chatted away quite a bit more – mostly I was cooing over his new grandchild).  I found out later that he’s also my mailman.  Small world in rural parts!

While I knew Winona was going to speak – really wish I’d heard her and hope there is a link to hear the earlier talks – I arrived just in time to hear a portion of Marty’s sharing.  It was really wonderful to see the large group of people who braved the cold to walk from Rail River to Sanford Center – a 2 mile walk in blustery cold winter winds.  Sylvia and I drove to Sanford hoping to be able to walk back to meet the group and return to Sanford with them but we realized it was quite cold and we’d be walking into the wind.  We decided to drive to meet the group and see if there were any people who needed a ride to finish their journey.  We didn’t get any takers and we were amazed to see how quickly they made their way on this route.  I was excited to be able to film them coming into Sanford.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufR-qTMZeH8

There were some chants and callbacks along the march to the event and on arrival. But the real treat was seeing the jingle dress dancers and hearing the singing and drumming. Varied spontaneous chants began from a number of people with everyone joining in as we caught the pattern. We were quite cold so headed inside to see the Hearing Room.  There were a few dozen people from Duluth/Grand Rapids and close to or over 100 from The Cities there to speak their concern regarding this pipeline.

The format of the meeting was posters with representatives to answer questions which really limited the information sharing to a few people at a time with much repetition.  There was no overall communication where all participants would hear the same information.  There were a few tables over which the presenter could show papers or the Environmental Impact Study while discussing questions but most stations were simply a standing place with a poster on an easel.  There was a video presentation with a couple dozen chairs and about 12-15 round tables with chairs for people to gather and relax.  You had to wander the room and figure out who could answer what questions by looking at the poster they stood adjacent to.  Oh, and some of the representatives are actually consultants.  Security from the Department of State in DC was also flown in for this hearing.

The event had no real format other than citizens milling about seeking answers.  The only announcements were when the event was opened and when it ended.  There were displays by the people in opposition to Line 67.  There was a Native circle dance, there was a film-crew recording, several news people doing interviews and filming the crowd.  Many felt like the State Dept people were uninformed/evasive/overly positive about pipelines.  I had some disturbing experiences with a couple reps – VERY UNINFORMED & VERY DEFENSIVE – but also some good interactions.

The attorney representing on the Presidential decree seemed to have a VERY limited understanding of the issue.  She looked at me like I had two heads when I asked about the legality of the switcharoo. http://www.oilandgas360.com/alberta-clipper-pipeline-faces-opposition-keystone-xl-vote/ https://insideclimatenews.org/news/20140917/state-department-draws-fire-allowing-tar-sands-pipeline-detour   When I explained that this was the Line 3 border crossing which was used to get line 67 crude across the border prior to getting approval for its own border crossing, she said she had no idea what I was talking about and backed away from me like I was a witch or goblin, like she was so uncomfortable as to not want to be in my presence. She truly looked frightened. It was so over the top I struggled to comprehend her fear.  She said she didn’t like the way the conversation was going and she didn’t want to talk with me any longer.  I asked if, as the attorney in the room, she might have an understanding of the legality of the happenings upon which this whole event is based and she said she “only knows about the Presidential Permit”.  Then she basically was able to read the poster.  [I had several people share with me that they had a similar experience with her where she had no answers and was very defensive.]  I decided to cut bait and find a better informed and more willing representative.  I found a woman who seemed to have a level of authority in the room and she directed me to the Engineer whose company had written the Supplemental Environmental Impact Study (SEIS) for the border crossing.

I spent quite a bit of time with the Civil Engineer and consultant company Project Manager, Fred Carey, from Potomac-Hudson Engineering, Inc.  He was being challenged by three people when I arrived.  And I was piling on.  He got pretty defensive but described himself as “objective”.  I think he was in a really tough situation but stayed pretty calm and definitely answered questions, though would not answer our questions about his personal beliefs on the pipeline.  Fred was able to review the SEIS and direct us to areas on which we had questions.  The big question was how does Enbridge monitor areas that are remote and inaccessible.  There was not a real confident answer to this question.  When questioned whether he’d walked the pipeline, whether he’d been to any of the remote areas, he agreed he’d not.  It was stated that, without seeing the property where this pipeline runs, there is no way he can give an accurate appraisal of the effect it will have on the environment.

Among multiple participants, we all agreed he was probably the best person we’d found that night that was willing to try to answer questions.  About the only person really.  Mary Hassell – how’s that for a name? – is the State Department Project Manager for this work and she was the only other person who seemed willing and capable of answering questions.  She came across also as nervous.  It was really strange to see so many people exhibiting fear and pleading ignorance in this Public Hearing which you would assume to be filled with confident, well-spoken, forthright, well-informed representatives from the US Department of State.  I mean, they flew in dozens of people it seemed.  And there was a massive security presence – always a cop or USDoS officer in view. But this didn’t appear to quell fear in the visiting representatives.

I did meet John Enger from MPR News – he was preparing to talk with Winona LaDuke and I asked who he was with as he had a large microphone in his hand.  Told him I LOVE MPR and would listen for him now that I had a face with the name.  Another older woman (Emily) also came up about the same time to greet Winona and when she realized we were both in line, she started to walk away but I told her to stay – she could be after John.  So when Winona freed up, Joe grabbed her for an interview.  Emily and I chatted and I found out that she actually lived in Noblesville for 2 months when her husband was on a 2-year stint as the Director of Connor Prairie.  Small world!  I had shared with her a neat story of Winona that she really loved. As Winona wrapped up with Joe, I called to her so Emily could say hello and I walked on to my next adventure.  I ran into Winona later and she asked me to tell her the story too.  Pretty exciting for this Groupie!

Had an unexpected encounter that was a real joy. After seeing her three times and thinking, “I know this girl” (but feeling unsure as she was not with the normal associates I see her with)… I was elated when Brandy Toft came up and gave me a hug.  I asked where her partner was and she reported that she was here on official business – turns out she is a Leech Lake Environmental Advisor.  [As you highly observant folks will remember from above, she was one of the Rail River speakers.  I was doubly sorry to have arrived late.]  It was a great joy to introduce her to Sylvia who was sure Brandy would be a great contact for Sadie, her daughter who is studying oil issues and will be stateside soon.

All-in-all, I felt a vibe of not really seeing how the public viewpoint was really going to matter much.  I think there was a feeling by many that this was more a dog-and-pony show than anything that will truly be considered and possibly make a difference.  But it was good to feel the solidarity of the crowd, participate in the shout-outs and see some media presence.  It was good to see so many people participating in civic responsibility.  I did ask every representative with whom I spoke that night, “What does all this matter really? If 90% of us all say we’re in opposition, will it truly change anything?” and what I got in response was a lot of cheerleading for the process.  “This is the most exciting part of our work.” “It’s so important to have citizen input.”  “There will be a response to every one of the public comments.” [I found out later it’s every “unique” comment.  So only every topic will be addressed, not every comment.]  No one would commit to whether or not the public comments would really make a difference in the decision made by the US Department of State.

Here are several links regarding the event:

http://www.honorearth.org/bemidjiclipper

News Coverage of the event:

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/03/08/hundreds-protest-proposed-alberta-clipper-oil-expansion

http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/news/4230774-pipeline-opponents-supporters-gather-bemidji-meeting-enbridge-expansion-request

Fun fact: I think I was the last person to submit public comment via the computers at the event which were logged in to www.Regulations.gov.  The gal providing tech support was Jamie and I noted that I was also Jami.  A third gal came up while we were getting me set to make my comment – she had a question – and it turns out she is Jaime.  We had to take a photo.  That’s Jaime, Jamie and Jami. 🙂

Here’s the comment I posted as the evening came to a close:

Agency: U.S. Department of State (DOS)
Document Type: Nonrulemaking
Title: Environmental Impact Statements; Availability, etc.: Proposed Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership Line 67 Expansion Project; Public Meeting
Document ID: DOS-2017-0009-0001

Comment:
With everything there is some level of risk. And this study is geared to assess the risk. Having not yet read it in detail, I will make general comments here.
What do we know for sure? We know that we got the run-around from Enbridge in using Line 3 to work around the fact that they did not have approval to cross the border with Line 67. This deception should clearly show the lengths to which they are willing to go to make a dime.
We know that water is essential for life. And we know that oil pipelines tend, more and more of late, to leak. We also know that this oil in Line 67 is some of the worst of the worst, the most corrosive of products, the most energy intensive from which to gain energy. Are we truly considering how much energy goes in to getting a product to make energy? Are we at the point of insanity where we’re expending more on this than we’re gaining?
And we should all see the changing and worsening effects on our climate to the carbon we continue to pump into our atmosphere. If we listen to Bill McKibben and Do the Math (Rolling Stone article denoting the risk of continuing to add carbon to our air), then we will see that the risk of approving this pipeline crossing, only so they can pump more and more oil out of the ground, is too much.
We also know that this oil is basically going from one country, through our land, only to be exported. We have no gain in this and only risk of losing the cleanliness of our water, the beauty of our environment.
Because we also know that, once the oil does leak, it’s impossible to contain. It’s impossible to clean up the mess. Look at Kalamazoo. Should we blame Enbridge for hiding the fact that they weren’t really cleaning up but covering up? Didn’t they have an impossible task? If you can’t truly clean it up, why not try to cover it up instead? It’s more cost effective. Have we incorporated this deceit into the report? Or are we turning a blind eye, pretending they didn’t really do that?
So, to be truly complete, this study needs to consider that we need LESS carbon in our air. We need to KEEP IT IN THE GROUND.
I don’t know that we can stop the powers that be. The big corporation that wants to make money from selling oil, no matter how cheap it gets, making those profits smaller and smaller. The thirst of the world, with America being a huge portion of the problem, for oil. The addiction we have to a fuel that makes everything so much easier.
But this is my small attempt to give voice to Mother Earth. To stand for the Water. To stand for the People whose land will be destroyed if we continue this madness.
I am hopeful that we are truly considering, in their full impact, the above concerns as the decision is made on whether this pipeline crossing is approved.

(One typo fixed from addition to addiction.)

I encourage you to also post a comment should you feel so drawn.  You can do so here: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=DOS-2017-0009-0001  I plan to read more deeply into the SEIS and post further comment as is necessary.

BTW, here’s some totally unrelated but really good news of people power.  http://www.yesmagazine.org/peace-justice/defunding-police-how-antiracist-organizers-got-seattle-to-listen-20170309?utm_source=YTW&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=20170310

Non-Fiction Book Club

Tags

books, Reading

I am so excited that the Non-Fiction Book Club I instigated in Alexandria continues to thrive.  http://www.echopress.com/life/3826611-non-fiction-lovers-rejoice  While I wish I was still able to participate with the fine people who joined in the club reading, I am glad to know they are reading and discussing together.  While they now meet in members’ homes, we began in the bookstore, a small group of non-fiction lovers.

What I say is, a town isn’t a town without a bookstore. It may call itself a town, but unless it’s got a bookstore it knows it’s not fooling a soul.
― Neil Gaiman, American Gods

I am grateful to Kathleen Pohlig, owner of Cherry Street Books, who agreed to host our group when we initiated it.  I believe that book stores are often the lifeblood of a community.  We have at Cherry Street a wonderfully supportive community and many people make the store their primary place for finding gifts and books for themselves and their friends and family.  It is such a lovely bookstore with art on the walls, and great books, games and socks.  But I can’t tell you how many people came into the bookstore, not really looking for anything maybe, who ended up just having a wonderful conversation with me and bringing joy to my life.  There were people who came in looking for a softcover book for their child, now in jail or prison, who found comfort in talking through their struggle with someone who didn’t know them or judge them, but listened with care.  One day, a woman came in last minute – I’d kept the store open a few minutes late when she called saying she was on her way – to get a book for her youngster and shared with me on the boy’s teenage sister who’d just been found after running away, perhaps saving her life.  Sorrows and joys, shared freely.  I hope I brought as much joy to the people who walked through that door.  There were tourists who came looking for the orchard or winery that was close by and I was able to give them directions to Country Blossoms Farm (http://www.countryblossomfarm.com/) or Carlos Creek Winery (http://www.carloscreekwinery.com/).  I even got a card once from a family on the East Coast that really enjoyed the place I sent them for food – The Depot for Pizza (http://depotalex.com/).

I am also grateful to Sue Gooch who, with the whole group, gave me a most surprising and delightful going away party.  It was such a blast and I was able to bask in the glory of this wonderful group of people who have taught me so much as we read books and shared our experiences. While I was with them, here are the books we shared:

• This Changes Everything Capitalism vs. The Climate by Naomi Klein  This was a wonderful starter.  Though it was filled with stories about the devastation of the planet and shocks with revelations of the green-washed environmental groups in cahoots with climate damaging corporations, it also shares much about the people and movements that are making a difference in protecting our Mother Earth.  Damning of the system of economics that currently rules in the U.S.,  it offers insights into how we can start moving in a more helpful direction.
• Capitalism: A Ghost Story by Arundhati Roy  A similar story of India’s struggles.
• Arguing for Our Lives: A User’s Guide to Constructive Dialog by Robert Jensen  A wonderfully written concise treatise on critical thinking.
• The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert  Reading like a storybook, Kolbert’s book describes previous mass extinctions in contrast to this accelerated, man-made sixth extinction in which we currently live.  She visits a wide array of diverse habitats from the Great Barrier Reef and Bikini Atoll to the Andes and Panamanian rainforest to even her own backyard, where she discovers flora and fauna in each and brings it to life on the page.
• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer  This book compelled me to finally have a Top Five Favorite Books, of which it was #1.  It was the only book on the list.  Since then I have added a Young Adult book Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys and fiction favorite, Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry.  Braiding Sweetgrass is a beautiful book which much be digested slowly.  The stories of biology are individual but weave together along themes of nature, family, motherhood, and Native values.  You will learn about plants and so much more.
• Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown  This was the only group I missed as my son Tom was graduating from Purdue in Indiana but the group loved the stories of men beating the odds and finding victory.  Weaving the lives of lower-middle-class youths and their struggles in the Depression into Hitler’s cover-up of the Nazi’s devastating deeds while hosting the Olympic games, the author brings the reader through to the victorious celebration which makes the underprivileged men into national heroes.
• The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson  A must-read which details the lives of three individuals who make the migration from the South to the North as did many American Blacks.  With the three coming from very different circumstances, each encounters much of the same racism and discrimination that are a part of the lives of most African Americans, unfortunately still to this day.
• Night by Elie Wiesel   A classic tale of what it takes to survive the most horrific of circumstances.
• Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson  Founder of the non-profit Equal Justice Initiative (https://eji.org/) in Montgomery, Alabama, Stevenson describes the criminal justice system as encountered by the disadvantaged (blacks, youth, women) and his fights to help those on Death Row who have been wrongfully convicted.
• Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty  This woman is one of my favorite people. Her Ask a Mortician YouTube channel is full of great information – and snarky fun.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTCg6PGaOkM  Her book is a wonderfully personal and insightful walk into the world of the death trade, with a focus on cremation. I found it quite illuminating and inspiring and the group as a whole mostly loved her too, though a couple just couldn’t do it…  too deathy.

I hope you take time to read some of the above books.  I’ve enjoyed sharing them with this group and I think it’s always fun to read a book and discuss it with others as it brings more depth and perspective than you can ever get reading it solo.

I am finally grateful for Deb Trumm who has stepped up with the administration of the group since I’ve moved.

Since I left town, the group has discussed Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America by Linda Tirado (I’d read this previously with another book club and it’s a frank statement on poverty in America) and one recommended by Van Gooch, Time, Love, Memory: A Great Biologist and His Quest for the Origins of Behavior by Jonathan Weiner (just finished reading this one and it is great – really gives you a look at the humanity of our great scientists and I learned a bit about genes!).  I even heard recently that Van, a retired professor from U of MN – Morris, is bringing a fellow professor to the book group for the discussion!  Now THAT is a great book club.

I feel contented to know that great books are being read and discussed and, who knows, maybe I’ll get down to Alex for the Non-Fiction Book Club sometime soon!