Published in Connotation Press
My somewhat snarky essay on misadventures on a cruise ship has been published…
Arizona Trees
Funny to arrive in Arizona in early April for a much-anticipated break from tree-rich Oregon and take pictures of trees. But how could I resist these?
Between Wet and Dry
I love the Pacific Northwest, even west of the Cascades through our wet, gray winters. And this winter was grayer and wetter than usual. And though I still resist the call of snowbirding elders, I’ll confess I do crave at least one trip each year to a brighter, warmer place. This year, I flew to [...]
Mossy Forest
A post-Thanksgiving walk through fog, rain, and slushy snow on the edge of the Opal Creek Recreation Area in the Cascade Foothills:
Gundruk Saves the Day
Rain. Day before last, it was relentless. We had a reprieve yesterday, and I got some planting done, but most of my garden is flooded and impossible to work. I’m already a week or two behind. In this short season, that could mean a lean year for vegetables. So when I woke at five this [...]
Rocks I Have Loved: Two Photos for Earth Day
I’ve been going through old photos to pick out some that might be appropriate for an album (or maybe a series of blog posts), tentatively entitled, “Rocks I Have Loved.” It struck me this morning how well that metaphor suits Earth Day….
Memories of International Women’s Day in Nepal
Four months after I gave birth to my son in Nepal, I celebrated my very first International Women’s Day in 1988 in Gunjanagar, a village in western Chitwan District. It was also Gunjangar’s first time to organize an event for that day. I describe the scene in Sacred Threads, my ethnographic memoir-in-progress….
Waking to the New Year in a Treehouse
I woke to the first day of 2007 in a treehouse in Northern Laos. That set a standard for New Year’s celebrations that I’ll probably never live up to again. It was just me, my partner Jerry, and all the wildlife of Bokeo Nature Reserve. We could have joined eight other travelers at the main treehouse for a night of revelry, but we longed for solitude….
Ama: My Greatest Teacher
Growing food this summer in northeast Oregon, I relied on all that I’ve learned over the years from books, conversations, observations, and personal experience. But I probably heard Ama’s voice more than any other….
Website for Ajamvari Farm
I finally finished the website for Ajamvari Farm, a family run permaculture project in Nepal that hosts volunteers. I helped develop the farm fifteen-some years ago while living in Nepal and discovered a passion for growing food that still runs strong today. The website provides information on opportunities for homestays and volunteering at the farm [...]
Images From Zumwalt Prairie
Here’s a small taste of Saturday’s hike on Zumwalt Prairie, the largest Nature Conservancy reserve in Oregon and the last remnant of bluebunch wheatgrass/idaho fescue-dominated prairie in North America. Thanks to the Wallowa Land Trust for organizing a great outing and to the local Nature Conservancy office for leading it. Looking east over section of [...]
Waking to the Wallowas
We’re heading out to our property in Flora, Oregon. We stayed the night in Enterprise to avoid navigating our muddy, mile-long driveway in the dark and also to sort out exchanging our tractor for another model that starts better. While my partner works on the tractor issue, I’m taking advantage of views of the Wallowa [...]
Ocotillo: Species of the Week
I suppose it’s inevitable that a temperate forest-dweller like me would be amazed by the oddities that grow in the desert. It’s been two weeks since I returned home to Portland, Oregon from a brief trip to Arizona, and I’m still sighing over the blooms I saw in the desert…
Horned Lizard: Species of the Week
Lizards, lizards, lizards. I love lizards. I’m not sure which came first: my nickname – Lizzy the Lizard – or my love for reptiles. I like snakes and amphibians too, but lizards make me especially happy…
Mystery Web: A Tarantula Lair?
A Desert Tarantula Lair? In anticipation of a visit to Central Arizona, I featured the desert tarantula on my blog last week. I didn’t see one, but my partner Jerry snapped a photo of this amazing web. We found it off Highway 89 just as it descends from Peeple’s Valley towards Wickenburg. I’d love some [...]
Desert Tarantula: Species of the Week
Out of some 850 species of tarantulas worldwide, the genus Aphonopelma includes the four dozen or so species native to the United States. Aphonopelma chalcodes – the Desert Tarantula – is the one I’ll be most likely to meet in Arizona…
Trilliums in the City
I craved trilliums yesterday but didn’t have the energy to drive far. And with 92,000 acres of green space in Portland, Oregon, I didn’t have to. I drove ten minutes across town and entered 645 acres of trillium heaven in Tryon Creek State Park. A washed-out footbridge detoured me onto a horse trail, but I [...]
