Very fun, but also very wet. We started with plaster casts and skulls and moved on to some teethmarks and a super cool foot that fell from the sky (tree). We also looked at turned over grass and scat and scratches on trees. Ravens visited and a baldie. We saw a lot.
This is an amazing project for a food co-op, educating about the Food Bill and how everything is connected. A system that is corrupt and harmful.
Found the corresponding children's book at Powell's a couple days later, where Raven brought the sun to the people after a long winter.
Coyote had to compete in a serious of challenges (sit spot, animal forms, improv, bow drill, Brooke's Nature Museum, awareness) and earn the power of tools and resources. YES, we picked THE shovel in the morning. All to make good use in a balloon fire making competition (we won third place) before taking the fire on a little swim through the pond. We took first. Yip!
I AM FROM
where the hills are alive with the Sound of Music where beer is consumed in big heavy mugs with pretzels where chestnuts are covering the old mill's creek and the nauseating smell of red geraniums nestled in planters on a balcony overlooking the town center. I AM FROM a home I am scared to be alone in, feeling in danger, hiding from the evil, who's ashes are now spread all over Hawaii in stark contrast to the sweetness of the warm buns 'finger-dick' topped with Nutella - oh, so forbidden - cut up in little bit sized squares with unconditional love by my grandparents, followed by Grandpa peeling potatoes for a big family dinner to the sound of Formula 1 engines ravving on TV. I AM FROM a lake where the nightly summer storm is announced by flashing red lights, alarming everyone to get busy, taking laundry of the umbrella clothes line dryer, rushing home, the air electrified in excitement, the first heavy raindrops releasing the warmth of the asphalt - and in this mix my best friends familiar smelling fish hands. I AM FROM a place where we are pretending to be a happy family - then & now - like so many. The endless bickering reminding me of my own shortcomings and how we are all one driven by the power of love and kindness. Where our piep-piep-piep rhyme is captured in a book about nurturing family rituals, called Heart Tending. We must do something right. I AM FROM a soul inspired by all my tree hugging friends who are giving the best hugs ever, likely from years of practicing on trees and how I miss them. I AM FROM from many landscapes traveled with others equally passionate about being alive and part of something bigger. I AM FROM the lust of adventures running deep through my veins for centuries. I AM FROM random kindness making my heart skip a beat, thriving to witness these moments every day! Today our Anake session was to connect with our sit spot land in a deeper way. We set some intentions in the morning before going out for about 2 hours. Tending, listening, offering, touching, beautifying,... inspired by the 5 Love Languages and aware what we offer might be not what the land asks for. My intention was to listen to the land. I started with taking the trash out. I had a pile collected at Fairmount and was meaning to get it out for a while. It was a rainy morning and I enjoyed getting soaking wet. I cut my way through a lot of blackberries on my way to the little Madrona I planted with David 2 years ago. She looks very happy with her glossy wet leaves. I also freed up the little Thimbleberry and Gooseberry Patch close by. A woman played with her Golden Doodle in the Park and they sounds they made where very different from all the other Dog/human-pairs that frequent the field. I looked up a couple of times but could not really figure out what was so special about their play. I continued my blackberry cutting east of the Cherry log and listened to the birds chatter about me. There wasn't much else going on, so I was pretty sure it was about me. I wondered if they are annoyed by my actions or if they can feel my intention of bringing more diversity and food sources for them instead. I could feel their energy and started whistling the melody of 'grateful to be' but didn't connect the song with the lyrics at first. I just felt like their alertness switched more to curiosity and general chatter and away from my presence. Like the birds in the sky Like the dragonfly Like the trees listening What lives in them lives in me I am grateful to be Breathing, heart beating, joyous, and free Even though hard times are all around me I am grateful to be When we met on Zoom again after our dirt time, and shared about our experiences. I was completely soaked but very happy. Cutting blackberries is meditative and very satisfying for me. I can listen to all the sounds and rediscover plants hidden under 15 feet of blackberry canes. Later I looked up the song online and loved how much meaning the words had to my morning. It was the second day after the 2020 Election and we were all waiting for the call who will be the next US President. There was a general heaviness in the air. I worried a lot for the future of the planet if the US leadership would continue under an evil person that lacks any sense for stewardship and the importance of a healthy ecosystem for human survival. Happy little Madrona
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February 2024
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