Fear: An Update

Remember this post? Man, I can be such a jerk when I’m afraid.

I went, I was scared, it was awesome packed with awesome covered with an awesome syrup. I met some great ladies, learned a lot, and set up my tent perfectly without assistance.

More specifics (and photos) later… I just wanted to share that I put aside my fear of doing something new all by myself, and it was an extremely positive experience.

(And for the record, I wasn’t even CLOSE to the youngest or least experienced person there!)

Sunflower FAIL

Did you know that I’m going to be featuring the projects that I f**k up, in order to force myself to embrace failure as a means of learning, growing, and becoming a better person all-around? Okay, cool!

This blog post is about sunflowers. I planted them from seed and watched with giddy fascination as they sprouted into tiny stalks, grew into monster stalks, had to be staked, babied, watered, staked again, then grew to be over 6 ft tall (I’m pretty sure some got real close to the 8 ft mark) and sprouted their massive, bold yellow heads. Joy!

Sunriver Trip

Here are a few photos from a trip we made to Sunriver, Oregon, last month.

Penelope and her “Sunriver toy”

Penlope is concerned.

We tried to take a picture of these deer and one decided to be crude.

Failure

I have a problem with failure. I am not a great perfectionist (my husband can attest to this when it comes to baking, laundry, etc. I’m not a rules-oriented person!) but I do not like to lose. Upon failure, I often become angry with myself – “Why can’t you just DO it?” even when attempting brand new feats (i.e. hiking).

I know, it’s terrible, I’m working on it.

Fear

This weekend I am going to the Washington Outdoor Women’s Fall Workshop. Alone. By the time WP publishes this post, I’ll likely be on the road, following a hand-drawn map to the campsite where I will meet loads of strangers, likely be one of the youngest women there, and will not only be alone, but will probably have no cell reception.

Waptus Lake Backpacking

T and I went on our very first backpacking trip together last weekend! We went to Waptus Lake, in Central Washington, about a two-hour drive from Seattle.

Using ultralight principles, we got our bags down to ~18-20lbs each, including food and water for two days.

After all our research around going lightweight, we were finally ready to hit the trail. Nine miles in and nine miles out – all of it beautiful.

You Don’t Need To Buy [that thing you’ve been eyeing]!

I stumbled upon (or, rather, reddited) this video today, and found it very fitting for the end of this vacation (read: unemployed) summer: You Don’t Have To Buy This

What really makes you happy? My tendency to spring for retail therapy has been waning this summer, but as the holiday season approaches, I know it will come around again. How do I feel content looking polished and put together but not fashionable or trendy?

I had a goal of learning to meditate this summer, but the days flew by, which means I should focus even more on such a goal!

What do you think of the sentiment in this video? Could you reduce your level of consumption the way he describes?

Yarrow! Jackpot!

This afternoon I went to the True Value and the West Seattle Nursery to look for a few household things and check out the garden sale at the nursery. I pulled into a curbside parking spot and lo and behold, there among the fuzzy cat’s ears, a JACKPOT of yarrow. Wild, dirty white, medicinal, beautiful yarrow.

I harvested the leaves and flowers, washed ’em off at home, and they’re now drying in the sun.

I think I’ll make a tincture, because I don’t have a ton of olive oil on hand, but I do have a ton of distilled white vinegar. I don’t have any Everclear, though, which would be perfect! 🙂

Seeds! Seedy seed seeds! Many of them!

No, not sunflower seeds yet (those guys are still drying on my kitchen windowsill, getting all ready to be harvested).

Today I went through Perennial Vegetables by Eric Toensmeier and got a lot of great ideas. Some I already knew I wanted from tasting, cooking, and making tinctures at Alderleaf. So I made a list of plants I want for my plots, the location where I think they’ll thrive, their uses, and when to plant them (OCD works for me…)

I went to Nichols Nursery online and I found some things I wanted, plus a couple of other plants that seemed useful for a couple of problem spots.

Lifestyle Changes

Much of the reason I started this blog has been to process some major life changes that are or will be happening this year.

I’m more than halfway through my 9 week summer off – my last day of work was July 12th, and I had a weekend to spend at Alderleaf  before heading out to Michigan and Boston. Immediately before I left, I sold my car. Two major parts of my every day life, gone in what seemed like the blink of an eye. (Never mind the fact that I also quit facebook that week!)

So now I have four weeks remaining in my Epic Summer Off, before starting my PhD program in mid-September. I think it’s plenty of time to work on the lifestyle changes that I’ve been thinking about for a while now.

First, eating closer to the land. For me this means growing more, getting more fresh produce, and being more connected to the food that I eat. Refusing to eat toxic food. Eating out less, but patronizing restaurants that practice sustainability when I do.

Second, walking more. This may seem obvious, since I just sold my car, but Seattle is very hilly and sometimes I’m tempted to just take the darn bus instead. But, walking doesn’t take as long as you might think, and it always provides such a deep connection to the neighborhood. You see people out and about, you stop and talk with neighbors, you see when shops close, you talk to store clerks – when you don’t just go from A to B, you can take in a lot more.

Third, creating a closed loop system. This is a long-term goal, but one that I think is achievable. I want to create a closed loop system in my home and land. Reducing waste to almost nothing, and building a healthy system that doesn’t *need* any input (like fertilizer). I’ve started on this a bit – ripping out some invasive plants, starting a big compost pile, companion planting flowers, herbs, fruits, and vegetables in places that make sense for the micro-climates in my front and back yards. I’ve got a big fat reddit bookmark for all the homestead/live off the land-type sub-reddits.

This summer hasn’t been huge for production – we’ve got a small blueberry bush and will probably yield a pint or two over this month, two small apple trees with two or three big fruits each, multiple rows of corn on which I’ve recently (finally) seen one ear sprout, a couple of bean plants that I’ll end up harvesting the seeds from and re-planting next year, and some hardy herbs that have done well all season. But I’ve got to be patient and know that the steps we’re taking create a healthier back yard in the long run!