I find the canyons to be utterly sublime, no matter the season — the inverted ruggedness, the rock formations, the secret nooks, the stony outlooks, the chukar calling, the quail thrumming, the way the wildflowers pour forth from crevices and burst into color and form. The plain rises up to meet volcanic rock, deep black fissures excavated by spring creek, wind and thirsty roots. A meeting of minds. Wide open space marries cloisters of stone and the ruffled edge of the liminal stretches across time and place. The sagebrush sea has never been holier to me then it is now, to know it is to love it, to adore it, to esteem it. I shout into the sky to hear my own voice above the wind, to know I am alive, alone, but not lonesome. The steppe covers the distance as far as I can see and is Gregorian in nature, plainsong, a singular soaring chant, many voiced, rising to meet sky and rain shadow in continuous gratitude and praise.

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https://www.thenoisyplume.com/blog/2021/05/26/15954/

On a whim, I watched Long Way North last week while sipping a few cups of tea in the evening. This animated movie is by the same director who created Song of the Sea (which I adored enough to buy). What I love about these animations is that it’s like watching moving art. In the case of Song of the Sea, the animation is styled like a watercolor painting. The first time I watched it I was astounded. Likewise, A Long Way North is animation that is stylistically painted — the color palates are incredible in this movie and the storyline is interesting. I enjoyed the entire movie visually but the second half of the movie is set on a ship in the Arctic with icebergs and sunsets and blizzards and it’s just so beautiful. There’s a strong message of anti-fragility in this storyline which I would like to see more of in Western culture contemporary storytelling, especially in children’s literature and films. Raise them up to be resilient! Watch it if you are so inclined and report back to let me know what you thought of it!

Visit Derwood Paint Co. for unique linocut prints and stationary. I’m always in the market for stationary because I have a vibrant relationship with the US Postal System and penpals all over the USA, Canada, and in far away countries. I handwrite a few letters a week and I like to use beautiful cards and stationary that my friends and family will treasure. I picked up a set of notecards from Derwood last week and look forward to sending them out to my pals. Handwrite a letter this week. Bless a mailbox or two with a thoughtful note. Most importantly, holler at me in the comment section if you know of a paperie or letterpress I might love!

For your equine and canine health needs — Silver Lining Herbs. This Idahoan company is doing such a great job! I’ve used a couple of their salves on my horses and am planning on switching over to their herbal wormer for equines. They also have supplements for dogs if you have an old campaigner who needs some tender loving care.

Red Ginseng Iron Goddess Oolong — thank me later.

River of No Return — incredible images of rural Idaho.

Are you suffering from seasonal allergies? This is a quick reminder that local, raw honey is not just a sweetener, it’s medicinal. Pick up some local bee pollen or raw honey to add to your daily meal and beverage routine and see what that does for your itching and sneezing and scratchy eyes! And I have one other seasonal reminder for you, please consider popping out to your local farmers markets as they begin to open for business across the Northern hemisphere — your local farmers and ranchers are already working long hours to bring fresh, nutrient rich foods to market for you. Go out and support local agriculture and please consider investing in CSA shares. CSA shares are finite and I predict they will begin selling out faster and faster until it’s impossible to buy in to established small farms. Get your food secured while you can! Eat well and be well.

In other life news, the 2021 fire season is chugging along now. Robbie is able to make it home for 30 hours on the weekend (16 hours of which we spend sleeping) and we’re scrambling to get the farm up and running for the growing season. With the help of friends, we managed to set out all our irrigation handlines in the hayfield and the water is on. It’s amazing how fast the hay begins to come up once the sprinklers are sprinkling! We’re already pretty tired and I am trying my best to not wear myself out. I have so much to do here everyday between the studio, the farm, and general life tasks. I simply set out to do my best everyday and when I reach a point of fatigue I try to allow myself to stop. The idea is to not rob myself of the energy I need for tomorrow. It’s a fine line to walk and it requires some self control and discipline…and some triage. I find myself categorizing my daily tasks and then tackling what is urgent and necessary before I take care of everything else. The other thing that has become increasingly important to me is my sleep hygiene — turning off all screens at least two hours before bed, shutting off the WIFI so I don’t have that big EMF disturbance humming over me while I sleep, no caffeinated teas after 11AM, and allowing myself to lean into rest when I feel myself getting sleepy. When I hear Ernest raising hell in the dark of night I stay in bed with my eyes shut and trust he has everything under control on the farm and that all the little hearts in my care will be there come morning.

Something else I’m working on is asking for help when I need it. We have so many friends who have made it genuinely clear that they have hands ready and eager to help us with our workload here and I’m going to start calling on those friends on days when I look at my to-do list and want to crawl under my bed and cry and hide. I’m not one to ask for help, not out of pride, but because I never want to be a burden to others. However, I am beginning to see how much joy it brings our friends to be on our farm, to help out, to weed, to plant, to move dirt, and I realize now that their presence and efforts can be a gift to me and a gift to them. This summer, I’m going to start asking for help. I can see this is a beautiful way to have people connect with food and animals and the beauty of our farm, a way for them to get out of the city and breathe the fresh air and be in the sunshine. Helping me, helps them, and we can all get by with a little help from our friends.

We just arrived home from a whirlwind trip to Grass Valley, California, where Robbie was born and raised. We zipped home to help Rob’s parents with some moving details. After spending fifty years of their life in the home they built themselves in the beautiful foothills of the Sierras they have sold their house and are moving South to San Diego. We’re so sad to see this chapter of their life, and ours, come to a close because Grass Valley is such a wonderful place to visit but we’re also excited for them to begin this new chapter of their lives together! It was truly glorious to see all the dogwoods and flowering trees in bloom, to see springtime in the Sierra Nevada, and to remember so many wonderful memories together. What a great time. We’re thankful we were able to race down, enjoy some quality time with family, and then race home again. It was a whirlwind of love.

I’m going to sign off now and go outside to plant some trees — aspens, maples, pears and cottonwoods! I hope you are all off to a great start this week. If you aren’t, tomorrow is a new day.