Connecting, encouraging, sharing...this is how we grow. Photo taken by Sarai Stevens while waiting for swap to begin.
Lighting the Dark: Swapping, Dining, Learning, Burning event, February 5th, was a perfect way to celebrate the winter and get our minds in gear to get a leap on spring. Around 70 people showed up in honor of rural resiliency.
Our first seed swap surpassed expectations. There was a wide variety of seed and handmade items. For example, I came home with the following seed: flax, Ground Control marigold, collard, sunflower, russet potato, dill, spinach, motherwort, Bordeaux spinach, French green beans, broccoli, and leek. I also brought home hand made soap, fire cider (brew to fight viruses), green tomato chutney, walnuts, apple cider vinegar, rosemary, spearmint and an IOU for wapato - an edible native plant that grows in water. My only criticism is that next year we need to schedule more time for swapping.
Art and creativity reigned throughout the evening. Before our potluck, Angelica Guillen, poet, local food justice advocate and community organizer, graced the evening with her poetry. She read three of her poems titled germinate?, one and each, and clouds. Here is a link to her poems. Terry Wilde shared her stained glass bees and flowers. I shared my Dancing Spirit Masks, made of conk, lichen, ashwagandha, wool roving, and kiwi and morning glory vines, all materials harvested and processed here in the Samish Watershed.
Chuck Nafziger of Chuckanut Transition and Sue Mitchell of Friday Creek Habitat Stewards, gave a wonderful talk on "Forgotten Pollinators". Did you know that biting flies and horse flies are important pollinators and their larva are helpful predators that eat a lot of other pests? I didn’t. Here is a link to Chuck’s complete powerpoint presentation.
John Boettcher made an amazing hummingbird sculpture that when burned lit up blue. Unfortunately, at this time the wind picked up, torrential rain and hail began to fall, and some glitch prevented Chuck's "Night Bloom" fire sculpture from lighting up. It had worked beautifully in his practice burn, but something was amiss, and in the rain and dark it could not be solved. Oh well, we had fun beating drums and wearing masks and cheering it all on.
Thank you Anette and Keith Witter, Rosemary Ryan, Trina Forest, Christopher Myer, Chris Soler, Chuck Nafziger, John Boetcher, Mike Stevens, and Jill Backus for helping with set-up and clean-up. Much appreciation to all that attended and participated.
~ Sarai Stevens
February 11, 2016
Our first seed swap surpassed expectations. There was a wide variety of seed and handmade items. For example, I came home with the following seed: flax, Ground Control marigold, collard, sunflower, russet potato, dill, spinach, motherwort, Bordeaux spinach, French green beans, broccoli, and leek. I also brought home hand made soap, fire cider (brew to fight viruses), green tomato chutney, walnuts, apple cider vinegar, rosemary, spearmint and an IOU for wapato - an edible native plant that grows in water. My only criticism is that next year we need to schedule more time for swapping.
Art and creativity reigned throughout the evening. Before our potluck, Angelica Guillen, poet, local food justice advocate and community organizer, graced the evening with her poetry. She read three of her poems titled germinate?, one and each, and clouds. Here is a link to her poems. Terry Wilde shared her stained glass bees and flowers. I shared my Dancing Spirit Masks, made of conk, lichen, ashwagandha, wool roving, and kiwi and morning glory vines, all materials harvested and processed here in the Samish Watershed.
Chuck Nafziger of Chuckanut Transition and Sue Mitchell of Friday Creek Habitat Stewards, gave a wonderful talk on "Forgotten Pollinators". Did you know that biting flies and horse flies are important pollinators and their larva are helpful predators that eat a lot of other pests? I didn’t. Here is a link to Chuck’s complete powerpoint presentation.
John Boettcher made an amazing hummingbird sculpture that when burned lit up blue. Unfortunately, at this time the wind picked up, torrential rain and hail began to fall, and some glitch prevented Chuck's "Night Bloom" fire sculpture from lighting up. It had worked beautifully in his practice burn, but something was amiss, and in the rain and dark it could not be solved. Oh well, we had fun beating drums and wearing masks and cheering it all on.
Thank you Anette and Keith Witter, Rosemary Ryan, Trina Forest, Christopher Myer, Chris Soler, Chuck Nafziger, John Boetcher, Mike Stevens, and Jill Backus for helping with set-up and clean-up. Much appreciation to all that attended and participated.
~ Sarai Stevens
February 11, 2016
RSS Feed
