this is actually a severe weather alert... it will be sunny this weekend in the northwest!

...HOT WEATHER ACROSS WESTERN WASHINGTON THIS WEEKEND...

A STRONG RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST FRIDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND. TEMPERATURES ON FRIDAY WILL BE NOTICEABLY WARMER ACROSS WESTERN WASHINGTON UNDER SUNNY SKIES. OFFSHORE FLOW WILL STRENGTHEN OVER THE WEEKEND WITH MUCH HOTTER TEMPERATURES EXPECTED. SOME SPOTS MAY FLIRT WITH RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES...ESPECIALLY LOCATIONS AWAY FROM THE WATER.

TEMPERATURES ON FRIDAY ARE EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM THE 70S ALONG THE COAST TO THE UPPER 70S AND 80S INLAND. ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY MOST AREAS SHOULD REACH INTO THE 80S...WITH SOME LOW TO MID 90S POSSIBLE. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT A FEW SPOTS COULD APPROACH OR BREAK THE RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR THE DAY.

MARINE AIR WILL ARRIVE AT THE COAST MONDAY BRINGING COOLER TEMPERATURES. HOWEVER...IT MAY TAKE A COUPLE DAYS FOR TEMPERATURES TO MODERATE OVER INTERIOR WESTERN WASHINGTON.

EXCEPT FOR THE SHORT HOT SPELL IN MID MAY...IT HAS BEEN COOLER THAN NORMAL THE LAST COUPLE MONTHS. THIS WILL BE A RATHER ABRUPT TRANSITION TO HOT WEATHER. BE CAREFUL OF THE HEAT IN THE COMING DAYS AND CHECK UP ON THE ELDERLY. STAY HYDRATED AND AVOID VIGOROUS ACTIVITY DURING THE HEAT OF THE DAY. NEVER LEAVE PETS IN A PARKED CAR.

video...

So... uh the video upload didn't work... I'll try again later... :)

love,

m

This is that boy I've been talkin' about... he's a good one, that Vincent. We're going to Portland this weekend to hang out with his sister. I'm sure it will be a lovely change of pace.

Sorry no video of Melvin and I, she was feelin' shy about her first performance. She did a great job though, and now she can't hide her voice! I'm glad that other church folks will try and get her to open mics too. If you're really excited about it all, my friend Chris is making cds of the open mic as well as my (and other folks') sermon about Caring for the Dying. I'd be glad to share them with anyone interested.

love to y'all!

grateful list:

-music, friends of all sort who sing with me

-accupuncture

-really good sleep

-the great community of friends that has sprung up here in Seattle... it feeds me

-hearing from old friends

-clean water

-the arboretum

-blooming tulip poplars

-cartoons... this morning one had a woman standing in front of an informational kiosk. The only information there were the words "You are here". I loved it.

-learning

...and what you thought you came for
is only a shell, a husk of meaning
from which the purpose breaks

-T.S. Elliot

well shoot... here it is 6am already...

So... I've not slept in 12 days and this past night was my final evenin' on asthma meds that keep me up... Hooray!  I know I'm overdue for an early morning reflection... so here I am... I've been out on the porch since 4:45am, couldn't sleep... and thank goodness.  The morning has been beautiful.  Cloudy yes, but cozy.  The birds started in just after 4 and the rooster down the road not long after.  I'm overcome with appreciation for this day.  Since I've already surfed the internet to my heart's content, watched every movie I wanted to see, and read until I couldn't focus in the past 11 nights, this one was just for reflecting.

 

I've learned a lot this year!  Shoot!  I can't even sum it up, but for some reason feel obligated to make an attempt....

-I've gotten to have space to create my own spiritual routines and rituals, and this has been greatly supported by RVUUC, I am so so so grateful for that congregation.  Solstice means a lot to me...and here we are, near the summer one already... what a crazy world this is that turns on itself and these seasons that spin us so. 

-as I've said before-I'm a country mouse, and I actually (much to my surprise!) have roots back east....

-Life is probably all about healing.

-Music is in this heart of mine, and a music community is a necessity in my life.

-I didn't outrun my asthma.  It turns out that's one I'll have to accept and work with... okay.  I've got some work to do in this area but I'm glad it's out.

-I've had some bad experiences with fellas in the past... all of which have taught me something... for which I am grateful... but I learned recently that there is some healin' to do in this area.

-song writing is some kind of magical thing... I'm not sure if I'll have kids or not, but shoot if I can just write songs and grow a garden it might work out anyway.  I've been delighted by the new form of reflection and how lyrics unfold over time... I didn't even realize what I was talking about half of the time... and then all of the sudden, it means something different.

-"Don't ask what the world needs.  Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it.  Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." -Howard Thurman...and what makes me come alive is environmental work... so I'm off to go do it!

-When I look back, I wanted to join LVC to do some kind of service and let the world get some use out of me while I wasn't sure what to do with myself.  This is exactly what has happened.  Heck yesh!

-Love calls like the wild birds.... If you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.
Kahlil Gibran
The Prophet, On Love.....umm...I can't even tell the details of this silliness that has come over me... but I'm grateful for wild hearted people wondering into my life....and no, I don't understand the timing of things like this... but maybe I don't care.

 

....well that is my grateful list... love to y'all

megs

Here's a photo from a really great date.... sandwiches at the docks courtesy of Vincent. I was on my way to giving him the thumbs up when he snapped this one. Notice on the orange we have a three pronged schizocarp that we brought down to the water with us... for good luck of course.









The sandwiches! Enough said.










grateful list:
-sunshiney days
-salad from our garden tires for dinner (picture to come soon....) with sun tea too
-health, and its return
-coming soon--sleep!
-folks takin' care of me while I've been sick
-this bearded boy who visits me to sing to me and tell me his stories... :)
-music
-clean water to drink from a camelback because I'm lazy
-intuition
-butterflies!
-Iron and Wine's song "Resurrection Fern"

I figured since I can't sleep... or go to work these days... may as well post a few old photos...
Melvin and I after running through the fountain at Folklife.
Cool bluegrass band at Folklife... I won't tell ya their name, because it would make you blush!
"Sandwich Anything" hair salon... she looks happy... I look like I'm up to no good....
At folklife there were little kid puzzles and melvin and I found Melissa and Megan ones.

Rosemary and I had chocolate covered cherries... remembering when we met three years ago at CCAT and borrowed a ladder to pick stranger's cherries in Arcata.
There's a movie called Meg coming out... you should look it up...

This is the prettiest porch I ever picked on at Holden Village.

Here's Melvin and I on Easter... I think I told y'all about this already...

a short little snip-it

Just saw this link on NPR, it is a This I Believe story "Our Vulnerability Is Our Strength" by a man who is as assistant for adults with developmental disabilities... it sure rings a bell...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91244099

 

the grateful list:

-musical potlucks!  I think our living room had the best day of its life yesterday!  There were three banjos, an accordion!, one mandolin, a flute, two guitars, on fiddle, a kazoo, lots of voices, and one pair of dancin' shoes...it was dreamy (pictures to come soon-ish if I can talk Sarah into sharing hers)

-baked oatmeal with mangoes, figs, and nectarines and nectarine cobbler for breakfast

-visitors!  Rosemary, Eli, Bub and Linda

-sleep, all three hours of it

-my sleeping bag

-clean water

-Thelma, my friend from Berea who I hope to play music for again

-plants... even when it's cloudy for a long while they remind me there was (and will be again) sunshine

 

heck yes!

Hey folks,

    Just a short message to tell y'all I've officially accepted the Energy Empowerment in Appalachia AmeriCorps position, woot!  I'll be back in the bluegrass this August :)

love,

m

 

ps-so that means y'all need to get ready for a rip-roaring bluegrass house-warming party!

I almost forgot to post this.... I'm not sure how many friends in Seattle read this, but just in case I forgot to tell any of y'all you're invited to come hear a sermon that I'll be a part of at church:


June 15 10:30 am
Facing the Light in the Dark — Giving Care to the Dying
Chris McEwen and friends

Hear from several individuals who by chance or occupation have given care to someone who is dying or facing serious illness. Giving strength to someone who is weak, finding joy on the road to loss, saying good-bye, and moving on to care again — these are mysteries that Chris McEwen, Megan Bott, Shae Brennan, Angelee Dion, and Megan Naseman will shine a little light on from their own experiences.

For more info or directions visit our website at http://www.rvuuc.org/

...and a small p.s. that I'll be giving a sermon all by myself July 27th on "The Spirituality of Botany"... and for folks not familiar with the Unitarian Universalist Church, it's not like most churches. Sermons aren't about the one way to live your life, but more so about one piece of one person's spiritual journey that they'd like to share. While I'm at it you're also invited to our open mic:

CHALICE PALACE
Performing Arts Coffeehouse
Friday, June 20 at 7:30 pm
It’s your last chance this year to join fellow arts enthusiasts at RVUUC’s performance venue for all aspects of the creative arts. Grab a bite at the Juneteenth party in the backyard, then come share your poetry, song, stories, and other art in a supportive space. Invite your friends! All ages welcome. Performance sign-up is in the great room at 7:30 pm. Chalice Palace is a fundraiser for the music program, and donations are gratefully accepted. (but not required if you're a volunteer!)

Hello friends!

I've been slow on the postin' because it's sad not to have pictures... but since I am just about to talk your ear off about plants anyway, I decided I'd just add photos of them. It is a good time for flowerin' trees around these parts. When I walk around the neighborhood I work in I can find (all in bloom, mind you) Empress Tree (Paulownia tomentosa):

Which I've noticed smells like cherry cough syrup (the Empress Tree flowers, that is). You can find this tree on the corner of Harrison and 17th, as well as in the arboretum when you leave the visitor's center area and walk toward the docks etc. It is just on your left after you cross the road (way before you get to the bridge that smells like goat cheese).

On my walks I also see flowering buckeye and horse chestnut trees (Aesculus sp.) There is a good one on the corner of 17th and Aloha, as well as a bunch of 'em along 18th between Thomas and Madison. The buckeye tree is of course the Ohio state tree, and reminds me that I'll be seein' the familia again soon (within their native range--Shelby County).

Bub and Linda stopped by Seattle this weekend on their way home from their honeymoon. Eli, the ol' SENS housemate (and future housemate next year) is also out here he's doing an SCA internship out on Vashon Island. We all went canoeing in the Arboretum and were surrounded by the fairy-tale like cottonwood fluff along with these wild yellow irises. It was a delight! It reminded me of Peter Mayer's line from his song "The Play":

"When I try to grasp the simple fact of this existence And think of all the fantasies and fairytales and wishes None strike me as more unlikely or magnificent than this is "... how funny it is we were all out here in this far corner of the country, from which none of us hail. If you're in the Seattle area, I recommend a canoe trip in the arb here's the link: http://depts.washington.edu/ima/IMA_wac.php#wac

Also on the Capitol Hill walks I find one beautiful blooming Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera). Which is the tallest tree in the Eastern decidious forest and the state tree of Kentucky (and Indiana, I believe). This fine tree is located on the corner of 16th and Aloha, and it is a Seattle Heritage tree.

So, this musician Peter Mayer is friends with David Wilcox and produces equally touching/cheesy folk music. I, of course, love it!

Here's his website:

http://www.petermayer.net/

Another song of Peter Mayer's that has been very much on my heart in recent times is "Coming Home" (for obvious reason!):

When trees are turning

Chimney smoke is curling

Fallen leaves are swirling

I’ll be coming home

When geese are wending

Apple branches bending

When the summer’s ending

I’ll be coming home

When Autumn’s first frost

Glistens on the corn stalks

The bales of hay and sweet squash

I’ll be coming home

And hill and meadow

Are crimson, rust and yellow

When the fruits of August mellow

I’ll be coming home

CHORUS: And rest will greet me

Love will receive me

And joy, like a deep red wine

Fill my heart

I have been trodding

The furrowed fields of summer

Footsteps heavy under

The seeds I’ve come to sow

When some have sprouted

And I have hoped and doubted

And every bushel’s counted

I’ll be coming home

CHORUS

Nights will be cold then

Foxes in their holes then

Skies awaiting snow when

I’ll be coming home

When hearths are burning

Tables set with sterling

I will be returning

*****

...and I suppose I should probably explain that a bit, just in case I haven't chatted to you recently. I'm about 98% sure I'll take the Berea AmeriCorps position of Energy Empowerment in Appalachia. I'm just waiting to hear back what my insurance premiums will be (I'm staying on the same plan)... if I can afford them, it will be a done deal! Along those lines of Berea dreamin' Eli, Alix and I will be rentin' a house formerly rented by Nathan and Martina. It has a back yard (and garden!), a front carport--which will serve well as a front porch, and three bedrooms. We're going to hang a sign that we are not giving tours (after three years in the SENS house... it is perhaps about time). Cool random news-Eli was interviewed by Sierra Club for an article about demonstration homes to come out in a fall issue of their magazine. Just for the heck of it, I found old pictures of Eli and Alix (aka: Ba, Ba-child)... Alix:

And below is Eli, pointing toward our house... well actually, just pointing... but let us pretend...

So, that is the update these days... I'll be in Seattle for a little more than two months before I head on home to the bluegrass (with a quick stop in O-hi-a). Oh yeah, I guess there's one other thing... it's pretty funny actually... so last year about this time I was laid up on crutches after the half marathon because of a stress fracture. Well, this year I do not disappoint... turns out in a bike accident a while ago I fractured my shin bone (woopsy-doodle!)... The bone has since healed up just fine (said the x-ray folks) but there is some tissue damage and a smidge of pain after things like African or Contra dancing. Fret not my friends--it will only hold me back from a few backpackin' trips and nothing more. Ha!

Oh, and of course there is a garden update to share: The nasturtium is going off like crazy, as are the tators. We're doing a potato tire stack to save space and use those tires we've been collecting (from sources we will not reveal). A more detailed description can be found at http://www.43things.com/things/view/1072020/grow-potatoes-in-a-tire-potato-stack ...but the gist of it is this--plant seed tators (tators cut to divide the sprouting eyes and then allowed to dry out for a week or so to prevent rotting after they are planted) in a tire. When their sprouts grow to 8 inches add another tire and fill with dirt/compost. Keep doing this until the sprouts go to flower, at which point they'll need less water and are about to ready to harvest.

We've now got 9 or 10 mators planted (assorted varieties). I planted one of the mators in an old crock-pot found by the road. I rigged up a wicking system using old medical tubing from work and the technique I learned from Marcus, Carolyn, and Haley (when I visited their ecovillage in Australia).

We've got a few tires of salad mix. We're getting one salad a week, big enough to feed the whole house of seven.

Our mint for tea tire is doing well. Our one little chard plant is as bright as it is happy. Our basil is alright, but the leaves look like they want sun just about as bad as the rest of us (and who can blame them?).

I think that's everything as far as the garden goes... more to come.

...and last but not least the grateful list:

-water (surprise!)

-music (FYI-musical potluck/jam session at Sula house this Friday night!)

-visitors (please give a shout out if you are in the area)

-plants, especially flowering ones

-canoeing

-gardens

-sleep

-silent time

-A Course in Miracles and Eckhart Tolle

-all who have shared their heart with me and those yet to share

-this moment.