Tag Archives: nature

the sky it was gold, it was rose

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I spent this past weekend hiking and climbing with my longest bff, and then of course got home and busy and back into the swing of work and barely have though about it again.

Except, I should, because I had a great time in Red Rocks Canyon and that deserves to be mulled and thought about and acknowledged.

Lauren is one of those friends that knows me deeply, and supports me even when I am unsure of myself. There were a couple moments this weekend of “I cannot do this” when Lauren said, “You can.” (Spoiler: turns out I absolutely could.) It was nice to have someone that supports me more than I support myself, and understands who I am and who I want to be without saying any of that.

I loved being in nature and having no service and no responsibilities other than sitting and walking and eating and sucking in the sunshine and living. Laughing, and smiling, and doing things that terrified me a little that weren’t even that hard. I loved being windswept and having no mirror and just loving life without thinking about everything before and after, but just being in the moment. I loved earning my dinner by climbing up and over terrains that look as alien as Mars.

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It was a great return to the wild. It was an adventure meeting new friends, trying something I haven’t done a lot, and being still. It recharged my batteries as I rush into another week and weekend and month of being so busy I can’t see straight, crashing to bed after a full day and waking up with a list to attend to. It was necessary. It was right.

Thanks, L, for keeping me on track. Thanks for pushing me when I needed to be pushed and letting me open my arms to the sun and just be. Love you. xo

Unusual Bloom

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This year the Joshua Tree’s are blooming, something rarely done in such large numbers. Last week, Jeff and I drove to Joshua Tree National Park to see them in bloom; although the bloom may represent the plants distress at being without rain this year, a sort of last-ditch effort to procreate, it was beautiful, and a reminder of the fragile ecosystem of the desert and this planet.

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Thanks to Jeff for the majority of these beautiful photographs. Happy Earth Day, everyone. (PS – here are some more!)

your honey ain’t just honey, honey

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This weekend I saw the documentary Queen of the Sun. While I felt like the movie was lacking a clear story line and perhaps message (other than the fact that trying to control agriculture may leave us with none) the content of the movie, the facts and the images to prove those horrifying facts were incredible.

The one that resonated the most with me was the fact that bees are often fed High Fructose Corn Syrup. And you guys know how I feel about that (see number 9). They feed the bees HFCS to help them grow strong, to get through cold winters, etc. But what do bees normally eat in the winter, you ask? Why, honey, of course! You don’t think they just make honey for us, do you?

So here are some bees, making themselves foodstuffs for the winter, and some beekeepers take that, sell it, and feed the bees HFCS instead. Which, to me, is already deplorable. Couldn’t commercial beekeepers just leave enough honey for them to get through the winter and take the rest? But, as the movie pointed out, it’s mostly about finances. The commercial beekeepers can’t afford to do that.

And, in some cases, if the beekeepers are feeding the bees HFCS, the HFCS is getting into the honey they produce. Which means your honey ain’t just honey, honey.

There are many other atrocities that are happening with bees that should alarm you. Monoculture is one of them, which basically boils down to only one crop being produced in a large area, which doesn’t leave much for the bees to eat. Which leads back to feeding them sugar, etc.

Another is moving bees to pollinate monoculture crops, such as almonds, which leads to death in transport, more sugar feeding, and cross contamination of disease among the North American population of bees.

And why should you care? Because, in case you didn’t know, bees pollinate most of the food we eat. So no bees, no fruit. No vegetables. No nothing.

I encourage you to see Queen of the Sun. To do some research about bees. To advocate for natural beekeeping. To advocate for an end to monoculture. Because we all love fruit and veg, right? And we’d like to keep that around. Here’s some more information.

 

 

5 perfect days

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Summer is here. And to celebrate, I spent some time yesterday day dreaming about perfect days of my life, ones that have mostly happened and ones yet to come, that hopefully will happen this summer…

Perfect day 1: To start, you’re there. Of course. We’re at the beach. We have books, a volleyball, a magical supply of iced coffees, a bathroom so close by we could throw a stone at it, an umbrella, and crossword puzzles.

Perfect day 2: You and I decide to see Third Eye Blind (or insert your favorite band.) In New York City, of course. So we spend the day wandering around the city, iced coffees in hand, walk Central Park, maybe go to a museum, and then head to our concert, where we are in the front row in seats, none the less, and there are Sam Summers to be had by all.

Perfect day 3: We’re at the winery. In Malibu. All of our friends are there, east coast, west coast, middle america, southern, everyone. And our families, if you’d like it that way. Private party, winery to ourselves. Have a set list of Mat Kearney, Jason Mraz, and a DJ. Celebrate all afternoon, into the night when the twinkle lights turn on and we dance under the stars, white wine in bulk, spinning under the clear sky until we’re tired and simply must sit down and eat some birthday cupcakes.

Perfect day 4: Farmer’s market. Then yoga. Then we head home, to our sprawling backyard where we can barbecue on our outdoor built-in grill. Burgers, corn, whip up a quick potato, macaroni salad. We swing in the hammock until our friends arrive, serve sparkling lemonade and pitchers of sangria, sit at our over sized picnic table and laugh while music plays in the background. Later, we all jump in the pool, then enjoy a bonfire in our fire pit, nestled in the backyard surrounded by old couches, and our friends jam for a bit, old 90s songs everyone knows the words to.

Perfect day 5: We get a huge group of friends together, and we hike into a national park that has climbing. We climb routes we can complete for hours, and hours, music blasting on someone’s boom box, shaded from the sun but enjoying the heat, stopping only for bagged sandwich lunches, and iced tea from our water bottles. We don’t hike out, but rather find a lake to camp next to for the night, and take a long swim before cooking dinner over a camp fire and then heading to bed. The next morning we hike out slowly, taking pictures of the flora and fauna on the way.

Don’t those sound delightful? What sounds great to you?