Can't Spell June without "un" and "un" plus "F" equals FUN!!

 I've been on Island for about two weeks now. I work 8 super awesome hours 5 days a week. I'm dead tired at the end of each day and it's sooooo gooood! Also, for the past 2 weeks one of my bestie buddies has been here, Table. On the first day she came I walked in the kitched cabin from work and there she was with a few mini avocados!! Check the scale! The seed was precious. We've been roomies in the Nest for her stay here. It's been really heart warming to have a friend like her around this awesome place. It is great, Table, Pamela, Suzanne and I all became a little family. I'm so lucky to have a loving house hold to come home to everyday. We have an orchard in the back field and berry starts, and a new shop. We put a linseed oil finish coat on the earthen floor next week. Another sweet thing: Pamela and Suzanne are both seasoned (like a fine cast iron) natural builders.

 For work, we're (Me, Coen, and Cedar) are putting these side roofs on all of the houses. There have been some moisture issues in the East walls. Working with these two guys is lots of fun. Coen is from Holland and Cedar grew up here. They are so great to work with. Lots of laughs are had. Most days are Scottish or pirate accent days. We've been stapling up these wiggle boards called "Purlins", with the accent we pronounce them PAR-LONS. They are also great because they never talk down to me. Its a very healthy work environment. Today I had a long conversation with Cedar's small daughter and she was so great. She could articulate ideas and concepts like a pro.

Yesterday, we all went to the community dinner at the k-12 Lopez School. It was put on by a local food group. All ingredients were grown/raised on Lopez. Yum pork! Yum rhubarb! After dinner the middle school gave their end of the year band recital. It was so interesting/cute to see middle schoolers interacting and being that age. That was such an odd time for me (Im sure for many people).

I never got this picture last year. It's the magical place I called home, the Bed Shed. I just took this the other day. It's on the same land I'm staying on now, just a couple hundred feet from the Nest. So many good times had in there. I ate dinner there tonight and it was surreal to be in a spot where so many interesting things and thoughts occurred. And now it's empty.

 It's rhubarb season and we make a rhubard treat (usually a crumble) every single morning. I LOVE RHUBARB! It's so plentiful and perfect.

Don't mind the odd face.... i really wanted a shot while holding the 'barb.

I just made some granola. 'Nola!

 Here's Table on her first day here.

It's been different being here. When I came last year my heart was in such deep hurt. It's so crazy what can change in a year and how fast it goes by. A year ago I couldn't see me heart mending at all. Life! Just finding the swing :)

Hope you are happy healthy and rested!

Sprout Out!

Lopez: Part II

 Y'all know how I like to start first blog entries in a new home with a picture of the actual home :) This is my home for the summer. It's a little, natural component cabin on the North side of my Lopez family's land. Like I mentioned in last year's Lopez posts there are a few living spaces on the land (for guests) and one main kitchen for a good degree of interaction and private space when needed. It's great. Pictured at right is the smallest little functioning wood stove you'll ever see. It gets the mini party started for sure! I wish I had something next to it to give it scale. I found a picture from winter time, pictured below (obviously).

Out my door

Out my window

the path to my space

 So I totally forgot I had to move out of my room (mostly) the night before I left on my way North. I have a subleter in my nook :) She's cool, working for the Friends of the Dunes this summer. The point of telling you I moved out was to say that I brought all of my room with me, in my truck. It was a pleasant surprise to see the efforts of my whittling down of all my material goods in the past few moves over the last year have actually worked!! yes! It was a grand journey up here, figuring out my truck more and more. I went to Eugene one night to stay with my uncle. The next day I rallied up to Portland where I stayed at my new friend's abode. We went to see a cello show in a living room in a co-op house space. It was awesome! PDX truly is a larger Arcata. So many cool things going on there. Ahhh the allure of a city like that :) But I'm still thinkin big cities aren't for me, Portland is sweet though. I arrived on Island on a ferry I just caught by the hair of a turtle's chin. When I got in it was the first farmer's market so I hopped on my lil' bike and rode into town and I hadn't eaten all day so I was stoked to get a delicious salmon wrap at Vortex. Since this is an amazing eatery I saw at least 4 of my good buddies there. It was such a great way to start the summer!

Sunday mornin' is Qigong Brunch at this rockin' pair of ladies' house. I'd say Lopez is run by the women of the island (there are so many cool, strong, amazing elders here). Qigong is very peacful. It was a very nice day.

Sunny day!

Zuma

Most primped chicken in town...

Today was my first day at work. It was great. I'm at the Land Trust doing some cement work with a few other people at the moment. Nice!

Still trying to find my right and left totems......

I hope you are having a wonderful day. Thanks for reading. Love.

Sprout Out!

May I....

Two weekends ago my buddies and I went to a local drag night at Nocturnum BarClub. Our guys ran the gamut. We have a prospector, rancher, boatman, middle-aged rando, and an all around gangster punk! hah. This was a great night. My friend and amazing queen, Mantricka, was the host for the night.

Its been going well though. Working on a cold storage room at my friend's farm (first slip straw cold storage room out there). I stopped working at the remodel place, I think I bit off more than I could handle on that one, but it was worth a try :)

Here is how the tile turned out:

I learned many lessons from doing this project pertaining to my limits, communication, and general time management.















Last week, I went on a bike ride with my pal Violet and we had a wonderful ride towards Blue Lake. We stopped at Pump Station #2 to chill on the river for a while. Violet writes comics and is a part of this group called Comix-Trip. The comics are printed on transparencies and projected in front of an audience. At the end of the ride Violet showed me a super magical spot in Arcata, a giant cement whale in a sweet little neighborgood. Inside the head is a cavernous room. I will sculpt a similar thing at my place after summer. She inspires me to make my shadow puppet thing happen. Here are some pictures from that adventure:

It's been CRAZILY warm here lately. Very uncharacteristically so! Sunburns. Warm nights. Sunny windless days. All of this is opposite to how it usually is here at this time of year. The fire risk is as high now as it usually is in July. It's nuts, but very ideal for outdoor activity. Might as well enjoy it right?






We had a Sunday Brunch and it was just amazing. My roomie had some musician friends over; magical cello sounds. I'm almost done building a 7ft tall platform in our marsh so we can sunbathe and moongaze. wow its been nice hanging at home more.

It was Belatne on Saturday. CCAT (Campus Center for Appropriate Technology) had a rad celebration from 1pm to 10pm. There was a dance around the May pole, free yoga, free food, a really fun worm sex workshop, woodfired pizzas, and a wealth of fun/chill folks! Then percussion ensemble was than night too....so much going on. We have some amazing percussionists coming out of HSU, thats for sure.

 CCAT

 Brunch time

 Gabe is hiding in the marsh!!

Earlier today, I went with a new friend, Gretchen, to Stone Lagoon. We canoed around its perimeter and found a boat in campsite (no motors). It was kinda surreal and definitely prehistoric feeling. New adventures...yes! This place is rife with 'em.

Sprout Out!