education through food & film
hyperlocal empowerment 
Just a small dog, wrapping up 2012.
this is beast. she is cute and she is sweet. and she is tiny. She came to visit us with her human, Mr. R. WE hope she comes back and plays with us some more. Our dogs, Bhalu and Inoli, hate her because she got to be in the house and they never get to unless we accidentally leave a door open for too long.
nothing like a carwreck to brighten your perspective 12.18.2012
i am happy to be here. i am happy that all involved walked away with only minor injuries. feel dumb and pissed at the expense, but all in all I feel that my daughter and I are two of the luckiest people in the world.
Constantly improving and needing to!
I am officially excited by upcoming event. It all seemed simple right up until committing to bringing this plan to life. And my timing is blessed by the arrival of Willie Nelson. Don’t ask just yet. It will all be revealed!
It won’t be complicated, but it will require even more energy. And my “big thing” right now is converting the adequate system in place into a much more tight affair. It takes practice, like a dance being choreographed, to get everything in organized, sorted, packed, delivered. And I could not do it without Jenny, Lisa, Codi, and now Sara too. And I could not do it without the core group of hearthholders that have stepped in and connected with this local farm supporting grocery! In return, I am powering up a blurry monkey event that I hope proves to be a super shiny affair. With lots of beer and fabulous food! I am beginning to get the hang of the need to constantly improve without feeling damaged by the pressure to do so. It is the result of the improvements that are so inspiring to me.
an imperilled watershed, region, planet.
not hyperbole, not a baseless rant, not made up. dire. the scale of operations is so vast that most people cannot even begin to consider it. nonetheless the consequences of the operations over time.
inconsiderate to say the least.
Back from Seattle, Sunday, 4.8.12
Sometimes entries are as natural as can be. The miracle of sun in seattle. It is a great city. As far as cities go. And Aunties named Amy from Alaska with home caught sockeye! We love tante amy!
week of wow 2.17.12
This week has been stunning is many ways. My gal is 7, no small deal around here. I believe that hearth is about to make a major and important transition to being a wider community effort. I got up the nerve to ask for help from friends who have offered to do just that. And they seem really enthusiastic about what we may be able to do!
The work I do for CEI/ BEN is allowing me to get back into grant seeking – and I am loving it all. I have several skeletons of applications that can finally get polished up. I am really, really looking forward to learning and doing more of this for my group.
The whole corporate driven government of this nation/globe is being revealed for the psycho power money freaks that they are, and it seems many are finally ready to engage this system and tear it down. Making the world a better place for my girl as she passes 7 years old into the rest of her life.
while my ukelele gently sleeps 2.10.12
I am playing my ukelele today. Really. It being February, and all. And after I said that I would play three times a week minimum for 2012 and I have only played it once.And all.So now, after a pot of coffee, I play.
getting coordinated. again 2.4.12
I have been experiencing successive waves of organizing. And i have to say that i love it. i have a new persistence based on efficient motion. it applies to moving bins of popcorn as well as getting everything else done. not new, just an increase in frequency that it crosses my mind to do a little more with a little less. or a lot more with the same. In any event and on every scale, I am enjoying the results of the anti-entropic work. More of the chop wood, carry water but applied across some motions that I never incorporated into a rhythm before now. We will just have to see how long I can maintain this energy level. It feels like I can do it!
Meeting Neighbors and Friends 1.26.12
I had the best time this last Tuesday seeing the turn out for the Vancouver Watersheds Alliance showing of Queen of the Sun. It was a packed house and tremendous to see the active bee and VWA community talking and listening. Energizing all around. It really did give a boost to WestVanBeeStewards and I am shortly off to start the BFZ – Bee Friendly Zone project. More info on that will show up on the WestVanBeestewards site!
I used to love public speaking and then I didn’t. I preferred all the back issue stuff like fact checking and information gathering or materials prep. Or even the physical labor of building, doing hauling. After that long hiatus away form talking and “teaching” (ha!), I realized that it is necessary, needed, wanted, and part of the overall community dialogue. And that to skirt around that public dialogue makes the gathering of information a bit useless. Not only that, but I get to meet likeminded folks!
I look forward to more engagement with my neighbors and co-conspirators about how powerful a group of people can be in creating cleaner, better, stronger communities. Bee Friendly Communities!
p.s. the picture is of me talking and talking, but not at the bee event….. 
It was taken last year by Abby Harris. (The fabulous Abby Harris)
p.p.s Go see Dirt! the movie. on February 28th, 2012. It is awesome.