Growing

A couple of weeks ago we visited Foothill Farm, where Julie and her family grow vegetables, hay, and meat. With a beautiful location at...you guessed it...the foothills of the Mission Mountains, they have a good deal of garlic and tomatoes growing for the cooperative and plenty of other produce for market. Up until this year, Julie used her work horses to tend the fields. Her passion for using animal power as opposed to petroleum was clear, but as her husband works 45 minutes away and her daughter is still quite young, the constant practice the horses needed proved too much. She has an amazing deal going, though. Her parents have recently retired and joined her to work part-time in the fields and a young sharecropper lends her hands as well.



We also recently brought Mabel up to the PEAS farm to have some free-roaming leashless time (over 9 acres of it!). She did quite well. Turns out she has some secret running skills and is still trying to figure out what to do with cats.

Deliciously Edible

A few months ago I had the pleasure of visiting several people in and around the Twin Cities involved with the food system. From a dahlia and tomato grower, to an educator, to a bike-powered veggie delivery service, each person had their niche in bringing good food from dirt to home.

Short articles (in the 'notable edible' section) about each entrepreneur appear in the latest edition of Edible Twin Cities.

Online, you can find the one about what Lisa over at Two Pony Gardens is doing to bring food and flowers to people who desire them, to educate urban youth about nature and the source of their food, and to host harvest dinners at her farm in partnership with filmmaker/chef Daniel Klein of Perennial Plate.







In the magazine (which you can find at your local co-op, brew supply store, farmers market, or vineyard), you'll find out more about Velo Veggies and the FriendChip Farm Program.

They're doing great things! So are you!

Ten Spoons of Wine Makes the Wine Go Down

This is the first time I've ventured on a field trip with my PEAS Farm compatriots and already been to the place and tasted the fruits of labor poured out there.

About a mile and a third up the Rattlesnake (the big creek that runs North-South into downtown and the namesake of our northerly neighborhood...we can hear it in our living room) from our home and a wee bit west is the farm I work at every morning. About two miles up the Rattlesnake and a wee bit east is Ten Spoon Vineyard and Winery. John and I checked it out a couple of weeks ago. It has a great view of the surrounding mountains and very affordable sample flights. Friday and Saturday nights they host live music.



Andy, who owns the business with his partner, shared with us a bit about how they came upon the place and the idea of a winery/vineyard. The organic vegetable market was already flooded in town, and their value-added tomato-chip idea was too expensive and didn't have a big market. But wine! Missoulans love their beer and breweries. They love their wine, so it was clear they needed someone to grow and process grapes within city limits. A gorgeous 5 acres of hybrid French-American varieties flourish during the short growing season and produce a fine house wine. Other grapes are sourced from the Pacific Northwest (as are the glass bottles that they purchase and reuse) and fermented on site. It's a dangerous place to have just up the road, but I don't think the occasional tandem bike ride up the mountain for a sample will do us much harm.

It's been one of the first sunny weeks on the farm for us (and of course, there was plenty of rain, too), but it allowed us to get a HUGE amount of much needed weeding done and it's looking great!

FURRY FRIEND!!!

OOOOOOHHHH!!!

We have a new family member!

We brought Mabel home from the shelter about a week and a half ago. It was carefully described to us by the staff there that she is "special" and a "project dog."


Found living below a trailer and caring for her young puppies, neighbors made sure she was fed. The whole lot of them was eventually brought into the shelter. Although the adorable little ones were soon adopted, her extremely fearful behavior (she cowers to the ground in reaction to most new noises, places, and people) kept her in the care of the humane society for longer than they would like. We knew we could give her the patience and love she needed. She's come a very long way (wagging her tail and licking us to pieces) already. She's really smart and although we have plenty of basic training to do, she is a good walker, listener, and may secretly already know "sit." What else might she already secretly know? I'm not sure, but we're excited to find out!




Update: She's sneaky and very much like any other dog when we're away. Exhibit A: the half loaf of bread on the counter wrapped in plastic is missing. Exhibit B: the tears in John's sandal straps weren't there this morning. Exhibit C: Both plastic bag with crumbs and sandal were found in or near her guilty paws within the last two days.

SHE'S A REAL DOG AND IT'S WONDERFUL! Thankfully she only hates scoldy Grace until it's time for another belly rub.

Diversification

Homestead Organics was the site of one of our recent trips. In Hamilton, we met Laura Garber. On a farm she's been tending for the last 5-6 years, much is now in flux. Much of what she and her now ex-husband put together is changing. Her soon-to-be husband is building a barn and with his experience in the Berlin Zoo, is bringing more animals onto the land. This closes the loop a bit, and as they live, eat, and poop in various areas around their farm, nutrient-rich fertilizer enters the soils. A fantastic plan saving resources and money, the pig, duck, goose, turkey, and chicken pens are moved once they've mowed down the cover crop and left behind some great products of their digestive systems. Flowers line the path down to the greenhouses (several of them), and an above ground river (new and not entirely expected) leads down to a small pond at the end of their land, perfect for waterfowl.



Laura is lowering the number of CSA shares they produce, while upping the ante on the store they sell their food through the market stand on the first level of the commercial kitchen/bunk house near the road. They also visit a few local farmer's markets and advertise the availability of their live chickens, which they are often kind enough to "butcher as a favor" for their friends/customers. A little store or restaurant on the horizon? Maybe. Laura has a plethora of ideas and the right team to make them happen. The diversification and closed systemness of it all is refreshing and exciting. As is the slightly drier, warmer weather for all of us up on the PEAS farm.

Montana Agriculture and Rural Communities: An Investigation in the Field

Mid-June I went on an excursion with ten other people that brought us to ranchers, farmers, community organizers, chefs, and other characters involved in the food system here in Montana. It was over a week of driving across this great reaching state and it brought us to the homes, lands, and workplaces of many an interesting soul.

Day 1
Two hundred miles brought us to Montana State University in Bozeman, where we met several professors, undergrads, and post-docs working under the freshly minted Sustainable Food and Bioenergy Systems Degree. Another 90 some miles through rolling grasslands brought us to the Moe Ranch. With their house beautifully set beside the Musselshell River, the Moes are trying to diversify beyond their already successful ranching enterprise so that they can continue to make a living on the land and make that an option for their children, something most families can no longer do. They're leasing land to a wind energy entrepreneur and have purchased a Montana grain and cereal distribution company with another couple.



Day 2
We visited a nearby Hutterite colony to check out their garden, cement mixing plant, wind turbines, and kitchen/water recycling complex. It was intriguing to see the way they too are trying to diversify and use their resources wisely to maintain the lifestyle of the 143 people, just over 30 families, living on the colony.



We then toured the Cream of the West operation (an almost 100 year old business here in Montana) the Moes (and business partners) have brought to Harlowton to provide a few jobs in town and more diversity in their business plans. Following our time with them, we set off for Shepherd, about 35 minutes north of Billings, to the Charter Ranch, where we set up tents for the night. Watch out for rattlesnakes and cacti!

Day 3
Our morning with the Charters was full of animated discussion about coal mining, cattle ranching, decentralization, carbon sequestration, and sustainable food production activism. As you have probably guessed, this isn't the average ranching conversation in rural Montana. Nor are these your average ranchers. With a deep sense of connection with the land, the cattle, the neighboring ranchers, and a desire to fight for and work hard to promote what is good and right, the Charters make differences every day with the way they have chosen to stay on and treat the land.



A short drive through Billings and into neighboring Laurel brought us to a century-old corner diner, the Owl Cafe. As you might expect, this restaurant had become a cornerstone of the community. So when a hometown boy returned from culinary school with the idea of bringing real, good, and local food to the menu, not everyone was pleased. Dirk Frickel brought us back into his kitchen and for the next hour, he and his friend, Eric Trager of Bridgecreek Backcountry Kitchen (another local food advocate and chef, although located in upscale Red Lodge), stepped us through the cooking process of the entire meal. And man, was it delicious! Grilled local asparagus salad with organic cottage bacon, smoked almonds, and Parmesan cheese. Grilled Sweetgrass lamb skewers with garam masala, creamed lentils, and fried organic goat cheese croquettes (new favorite!) with local rhubarb chutney. Tomato basil granita. And to round it all off, organic ricotta goat cheese crepes with Grand Marnier and fresh berries. OooEee.

Day 4
We had the pleasure of seeing and discussing the massive Sysco distribution enterprise in Billings (it's strange to think that there are hundreds more warehouses like it around the country). It brought to home the importance of sale and transportation of food, weather it is grown locally or traveling thousands of miles to your plate in a restaurant, hospital, school, or other institution.



A short afternoon drive to Billings brought us to the beautiful LEED Platinum Certified offices of the Northern Plains Resource Council and the Western Organization of Resource Councils, organizing and leadership training ordinary citizens to protect their water quality, family farms and ranches, and rural communities.
220 miles (and a stop at the famous Montana bar in Miles City) to Makoshika State Park to sleep with the dinosaur bones.



Day 5
In Glendive, we spent the morning seeing the myriad projects an extension agent and local food supporters were working on. From a community garden, to a food and marketing co-op, to hopes for a commercial kitchen, restaurant, and cooking school. Very inspiring and overwhelming.



We spent the afternoon and evening at the Hoff farm, visiting in their garden and beside the Yellowstone river. Alvin grows beans, Dena tends the gardens. They have various ducks and chickens and at least one hundred sheep. He loves projects like his rhubarb wine and showing off the latest graft on a tiny apple tree.



They've raised a houseful of kids and plenty of good food. You wouldn't know she is off in far flung regions of the world representing family farms through Via Campesina and as president of the National Family Farm Coalition (her involvement began with local and regional organizations like those in Glendive and Billings). We all enjoyed a nice dinner in a little cabin on the other side of the vast bean fields at the edge of the river before heading out.



Day 6
We arrived at the Waller's farm in Circle, about 70 miles northwest of Glendive. Helen welcomed us to sit at her table and on the floral sofas in her living room. We had sandwiches and lemonade while we waited for her husband to come in. They'd been married for...was it 59 years? The sense of grandparent calm and familiarity was broken when after we finished our lunch and sat around her and his armchair she cut through the cool room with a booming, passionate voice about her involvement with the last several farm bills, the corruption riddling those who should be creating policies to help the people growing the nation's food (instead, loyalty and power goes to the corporation that lobbies and donates the most), and the ineffective structure of current farm policy. Intense. Frustrating. She's a great surprise of a woman, and she's proud of the photo of her and Willie Nelson on the fridge.



Day 7
We spent a stormy night at Fort Peck and spoke with the American Prairie Foundation, facing much strife in the community around Malta and their project site, in the morning.
Our evening was spent on the Matador Ranch with the Program Director of Northern Montana Prairies, learning about how the Nature Conservancy is partnering with local ranchers to promote habitat and wildlife conservation of some of the most contiguous mixed grass prairies in the world.



Day 8
Our original plan was to visit Prairie Heritage Farm in Conrad, where a young couple is making a good go of it, but it will have to wait for another day. We went home to Missoula. :)

What Rain Brings

Another wet week on the farm has brought plenty of water to the vegetables, but also to the weeds. A challenge we often face, good comes with bad. It is what we make of it.

We visited Ploughshare Farm this week, in Moiese (not to be confused with Ploughshare in Parker's Prairie, where I apprentinced summer 2007). Two former PEAS students moved to the 18 acres with their young son and now have an adorable daughter to help with the work of growing tomato starts, shallots, Jerusalem Artichokes, Indian Corn, and a variety of greens and things for markets. A few goats and chickens add to the fun, too. They are members of the Western Montana Growers Co-op, and Homegrown, the Montana Sustainable Farmers Union. Both of these organizations help with the steep financial investment and logistical issues associated with organic certification (or lack thereof due to cost and how well it suits tiny operations), produce distribution, and sales.



After another good soaking this weekend, we were left with a gift atop our neighbor, Mt. Jumbo. If you look closely, there is a second, lighter, larger rainbow.



This is our garage, house, fantastic Subaru, Charlie's kayak (shall we take it down the Rattlesnake and into the Clark Fork?), and Mt. Jumbo across the way.



We're pretty happy, double full rainbows or not.

Woohoo Missoula!

A mountain outside the living room, a rushing creek next door, a 10 acre farm every morning, and plenty of work to do.



We're settling in in Missoula, MT, where I've come to study and practice writing, ecology, and sustainable agriculture in an environmental studies graduate program.

This summer, I spend my mornings working at the PEAS farm with about twenty other young people, and my afternoons working on a quilt of other projects.



John has moved out with me and secured a sweet job at a local nonprofit that gets high school students involved in research and field studies in Yellowstone, the Galapagos, Mexico, and Costa Rica.

We hope to spend our weekends hiking in the mountains, but so far it's been unusually rainy (my Wellies from the Grand Marais Recycle Store were well worth the quarter I paid for them and have kept at least my feet quite warm and dry in the muddy beds), so we've done things like can tomatoes (to ready ourselves for the big fall harvest ahead), make mozzarella (because it's so easy and delicious), and wait for our homebrew to be trucked out to us with my parents when they come out to visit us in July.



Every Friday, instead of working in the fields, we have a bit of classroom time about a certain aspect of farming (soils last Friday) and visit a working farmer or other member of the food system (Lifeline most recently). This past field trip was such an inspiring experience (something I tend to feel whenever visiting the homes, lives, studios, and lands of a practicing craftsperson or foodgrower).

Lifeline Produce has been functioning in some form since the late 1970's. Now run by Steve Elliot and Luci Brieger and two apprentices, they grow 9 acres in mixed vegetables, flowers, and herbs, plus 8 in hay for livestock (manure makers!), 29 acres in permanent pasture, a greenhouse, a hoop house, chickens, ewes, and a few beef cattle. Between them and a related, but separately-run dairy, stores in and around Missoula are stocked with delicious, local, wonderful food and plants. Hard work, ingenuity, and pursuing real, good things makes for a great life.



Fun!

Where Delicious, FRESH Meals are the Norm

Bryant Lake Bowl, a trendy theater/bowling alley/restaurant in Uptown Minneapolis is many things to many people. It’s easy to walk by the narrow benches lining the windows out front, where people chat and snack, or the small wooden tables one navigates upon entering the multipurpose space. It’s easy because there are destinations beyond them…a night of raucous bowling with friends at the back… or a performance, book club meeting, or concert in the theater tucked off to the side.

Today, however, the food was my destination and the restaurant definitely stopped me in my tracks. With locally sourced meats listed on the blackboard of specials, I sat down with a couple of friends and a menu, daring it to get the best of me. A note on the first page reads: “Bryant Lake Bowl is proud to be a composter..." and goes on to describe what and how they compost, in addition to listing community resources to learn more about composting and a list of other restaurants who have hopped on the wagon. This week, celebrating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, Bryant Lake Bowl isn’t going out of their way to have (buzzword!) sustainably-sourced menu items; it’s the norm.

My friend was delighted to see that most meals were prepared meatless and included a surcharge for the addition seafood, chicken, beef, or pork products. “I always feel like I’m subsidizing meat-eaters! This makes so much sense,” she delighted, glad that her vegetarianism found a fair home.

Overwhelmed by so many local, organic, and otherwise delicious options, I asked my waitress what she recommended in the vein of healthy-for-the-earth, healthy-for-the-community, healthy-for-me options. She noted that although most produce wasn’t in season yet here in chilly Minnesota, the majority of it was organic. We settled on the Asparagus Risotto with fresh herbs and arugula and I never looked back.


It came out heaped in a shallow bowl, all ivory, fresh, and green. The combination of herbs and greens lent the dish an unusually great depth of flavor, while the risotto’s smooth creaminess could only be attributed to some form of heavenly dairy. It didn’t last long. I was scraping the bottom of my bowl when across from me I saw a poster hanging on the window from another restaurant in town advertising their special Farm to Table dinners this week. I was pleased to see that they were supporting a partner in the movement for good real food, but I smiled at the fact that here, there is no need to advertise that type of special.

And finally, a note on their website gives credit to several of the producers that are an integral part of their business:
“BLB strives to present locally sourced products on our menu, from farms such as Alexis Bailly Vineyards, Silver Bison Ranch, Moonstone Farm, Pastures O' Plenty, Tim Fischer Farm, Star Prairie Trout Farm, and Larry Schultz. We have been in a process of moving toward making our business as sustainable and earth-friendly as possible for many years now. If you have any suggestions for us, please send us an email, we'd love to hear from you!”


So stop in, give it a try, and let them know what you think. www.bryantlakebowl.com

FRESH

A whirlwind weekend of events surrounding the return of the award winning film FRESH fill mid-April in Minneapolis to the brim with farm-to-table dinners, lectures, workshops, screenings, and all sorts of other fun things.

To kick it all off, a discussion at LOCUS Architecture brought MPR's Mark Wheat, the Birchwood Cafe's Tracy Singleton, and Riverbend Farm owner Greg Reynold's together in Northeast Minneapolis.



Sunday morning was a true spring day in the Seward neighborhood, with tulips yawning open all yellow and pink. An intimate brunch hosted by Tracey of the Birchwood attracted a fantastic variety of guests (mayor? yes! state representative? yes! filmmaker? of course! lunatic farmer? how could you not!), good food, and conversation.



The Bell Museum of Natural History on the U of M campus attracted a lecture hall full of interested citizens, farmers, students, mothers, and everyone in between. Joel Salatin, of Polyface Farm and Omnivore's Dilemma fame, gave two animated lectures. A reception between them was held in a gallery fittingly showing a special exhibit of Hungry Planet: What the World Eats, an exhibit that combines beautiful photographs concerning food culture all over the globe and a bit of history about how that has changed, particularly in Westernized countries, toward processed and fast food.



And that's just the start! Head over to www.freshthemovie.com to learn more about the film, Joel, and all involved.

Don't miss any of this week's events or screenings. Check out the Minneapolis itinerary! There is something for everyone and plenty of good real food.

Policy & A Pint

Minnesota Public Radio's the Current is heading up to my alma mater tomorrow night to collide a couple of my worlds and hold a very important discussion on the culture of food.



Gary Brever of Ploughshare Farm, which was named 2009 Edible Twin Cities' Local Hero for Best Farm, will be speaking on air with Diane Veale-Jones, who has recently moved from the nutrition department at CSB/SJU to the growing environmental studies department, before everyone's favorite DJ, Mark Wheat, spins a few tunes and Chris Koza performs live.

Whoa!!!

I worked on Gary's farm and lived with him and his family in Parkers Prairie, MN one summer not so long ago, getting my hands dirty and my mind into the practice and business of organic/sustainable farming. The days and weeks were long, but so rewarding, and my time at Ploughshare has instilled in me a dedication to the communities of people working hard for healthy food, ecosystems, and local economies. Additionally, Gary brought to it his passion for social justice, something that was clearly intertwined with food and poverty in the senior seminar course I took with...you guessed it...Diane Veale-Jones!

I'll try to make it, but I'll be dropping John off at the airport for his spring break in the Mountains for the first half, so I hope you catch it all and fill me in. It will be fun to catch up with old friends...and maybe sneak in some syruping in the Arboretum's sugar bush for old time's sake.

See the MPR page about the event, co-presented by the Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/about/press/releases/release.php?ftrv_ident=2010/03/15/currentnight

Spring Catalog Out

A welcome sight to see! Twice a year, North House sends out its catalog of traditional craft courses. Want to make your own mukluks? House? Boat? Not on the mailing list? Go here: http://www.northhouse.org/catalog.htm to get thorough class listings, a calendar, instructor bios, and detailed photos of projects in action two times a year. Or just visit the website.



I took quite a few photographs when I was living there and continue to do so when I return for visits and courses. It's been fun to see which ones Scott, who does an amazing job with layout and design...big project(!), decides to put in for the last few editions and this time to see my name beside acclaimed photographer, Layne Kennedy, on the list of contributors!

Making Things

We've been busy for the last year making things in Minneapolis while John finishes up grad school part 2 and I finish up my year of AmeriCorps service (in addition to spending time with family and friends, traveling, and making loads of food and music).

Rings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:


Beer:


Bread:

Vermont

After departing from North House and before beginning my year of service with AmeriCorps VISTA, I attended the Wildbranch Writing Workshop in Craftsbury Common, VT. It was co-hosted by my favorite magazine, Orion, and a beautiful, small college called Sterling. We spent the week with editors and contributors of the magazine and our workshop-mates, discussing the intersection of nature, culture, and place (and writing). I was impressed by the school's dedication to sustainable agriculture, environmental studies, and hands-on learning, I immediately felt akin to their interdisciplinary programs, and I hope to return someday and keep up on the good work they're doing.

Traditional Crafts

My apologies. It's been a couple of years.

I departed from Japan after a year of teaching and exploring. I spent October 2008-April 2009 living, working, and learning at North House Folk School, a nonprofit learning center focused on traditional crafts and sustainable living. My home was a little yellow house right on campus, beside Lake Superior. It was an amazing winter and although I'm no longer living there, I don't think I will ever leave. I remain involved with occasional visits, classes, volunteer opportunities (check out the new website John and I built at www.northhouse.org!), and what have you.



While there, I spent my time assisting with work around the school (from taking photographs to writing and editing publications to hosting visitors to washing toilets to taking lots of classes), as well as picking cranberries at the bog to make fresh sauce, playing music, skiing, dog sledding, and so much more.

The past month has been a mix, a chyampuru. School has been busy, I was a bit under the weather for a while, and the weekends, short as they are, fill up quickly.

At the end of May, a friend from Minnesota was in town. Heidi's visit was a great excuse to revisit those things that were at first quite novel and have since become regular ingredients in my life this year. A visit to the neighborhood izakaya, 居酒屋, for the island's local beer and some kimchi yakisoba and edamame (a popular and tasty soybean appetizer). A bus ride to the enormous aquarium housing whale sharks and manta rays and turtles and dolphins and an amazing botanical garden halfway up the island, Churaumi. Chura, beautiful in the old Okinawan dialect, and umi, ocean. Those, and other things. It was lovely to spend some time with her and also be reminded of the special things, be they Japanese, Okinawan, or just exactly what they are, that surround me while I live and work here.



A week and a half ago, I spent several days, along with one of my coworkers, preparing ten students chosen to attend the G8 Summit's Science and Technology Minister's meeting discussion of current Environmental Issues. After long days at school, sometimes exhilarating, sometimes draining, and usually with the first and second year students that I primarily work with this semester who are still trudging through early levels of English conversation ability, it was an enjoyable challenge to work through a topic of interest to me and some students I've known for many months now. Students who constantly try and ask and invest energy in growing and stumbling and making great advances in their journey of learning. With nerves, last Monday, we reviewed major topics and points of individual interests. Nao asked me, just before leaving, what I would ask if I were in her position. I was caught a bit off guard, but I said I'd inquire about the next plan of action. Of true motion toward change.

Several of the students came up to me on Tuesday, after attending the meeting, slightly disappointed but extremely thankful. They were proud to have been part of the “discussion” and happy to have become more aware of topics that they had only heard bits of, whether in their native language or English. Only two had the opportunity to ask questions and it was perhaps more of a practice in listening than discussion. There was much less participation on part of the students than they had hoped. While Nao and I were conversing about the results of the experience (she was one of the two students from our school who was allowed to ask questions), she said somewhat disappointedly, “I asked your question, Grace”, but she and the other students weren't particularly impressed with the response of their nation's minister. “What matters is what is in your heart” was the translation. Not moments later, I was talking to Arisa, who told me that this experience had made her even more sure that her minor in college will be Environmental Studies.

Amidst all this, I also took the opportunity to see the cliffs on the northern edge of the island during a rare two-day weekend. Cape Hedo on a cloudy day was perfect. The heat and humidity, the high and hot sun, which are inescapable at this time of year, were staved off for a a refreshingly less-hot (although I wouldn't say cool) weekend. Mushiatsui (humid-hot) has been the favorite word of many these days. Although a bike ride around the island would be ideal, time doesn't allow it at the moment. A friend and I rented a car and drove up the east side of the island on slow and winding roads. It was a strange feeling to be in control of my own motion on the road again. We stopped by a coffee farm and walked around the cliffs of Hedo, peering down to the aquamarine blue splashes below white crashing waves.



A splurge on a Japanese hotel (ryokan) was a very good choice (yay! public baths!). Although finding the road that climbed up Nikijin, a small mountain/big hill halfway down the west side of the island, was not easy, it was entirely worth it. As the little Toyota purred up the path, all we could see ahead of us was misty fog. By the time we made it to the top and exited the car, we were heading toward a ryokan in the clouds. After dropping my bag in our entryway and I walked through the small and comfortable tatami room to the big window facing the edge of the mountain. I opened it wide. Thankfully it had no screen. I sat on the sill and watched as the clouds moved, revealing bits of farm here and ocean there, islands and lower hills, each being ever-so-slowly exposed and covered, hidden for minutes by unhurried soft white until another scene was to be divulged. All the while, the rolling green hills, covered with thick brush and trees below, buzzed with sounds of life. Not the sounds I've become accustomed to in Naha: the twittering of the crosswalk safety beep, cars zooming, motorcycles roaring, or campaign buses announcing. Instead, it was a buzz of green. Tiny legged and winged and small and large and hidden in the thick rolling foliage like I was hidden, sitting in the thick rolling clouds.



More recent photos at the end of this photo album.

After a couple weeks teeming with tests, the students are exhausted and everyone is back on schedule.

Yay. I'm kind of tired, too, so I'm not going to say anything of much consequence today.

In lieu of photographs of school hallways and student uniforms, the images that fill a good part of my days but usually not my camera, I will give you a sampling from recent excursions.

First, a few weeks ago we celebrated ensoku, a school 'picnic' day where everyone goes to a giant park and plays games, sports, and otherwise runs around for hours on end--a change of pace much needed for the students. There were spandex/masked soccer games, intense volleyball matches, dangerous bicycle races, and all sorts of shenanigans that are made available when walls and notebooks are absent.



Second, a long weekend trip to a small, sub-tropical island within ferry distance some friends and I took over Golden Week (camping, swimming, jellyfishing and so on).





味の素=ajinomoto=MSG
I think I eat it often.

My chair guffaws.
One of my laughs is inaudible, but with this one my upper body moves. My desk chair squeaks in joyous communion as my shoulders silently rise and fall.

I've been collecting things.
Mochi in my belly, moments, skills, songs, uncertainty, words, sunsets, convictions (of the non-felonious type), ants, calluses, rainwater.....and in this manner I hope to continue.