I have been keeping up with the Her Deepest Ecologies writing prompts and last month I returned to the Jack Straw Cultural Center’s studio to start recording season two of the podcast. However, I haven’t had a lot of time for updates. Isn’t is always that way? Late March to early May, a blur of rain, mud, and then you look up and the world is green and in bloom? How has spring been treating you?
I wanted to give you a little recap of some spring transition highlights. In early April, I took a walk at my new Writing the Land location outside of Stanwood, WA. Leque Island is under the bridge going out to Camano Island and is owned and managed by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. I brought a friend with me and we walked the short, public trail, which also serves as a man-made levee. Then we trudged out into the muck. With the tide out, we has a good stroll along the Stillaguamish River and a visit from a curious seal.
A local painter and friend, Lisa McShane, asked if she could use a few lines from my poems (“this fragile delta,” and “these unbroken days”) to use as titles for her current art show at Smith Vallee Gallery. Lisa’s work is stunning and this collection of paintings is a very accurate representation of place and the potential earth changes we may see here in our precarious position by the sea. It will be up through the month of May and you can see more of her work and ceramics by Brian O’Neill on the gallery website.
Over the past few weeks, I have also been digging in the garden and birthing lambs. My snow and snap pea seeds have not popped out yet, but we were fairly late getting them into the ground. I will be planting a lot more vegetables and flowers around Mother’s Day. This new life on the farm is keeping us busy and, speaking of moms, all our ewes are doing a great job with their lambs.
Since April was also National Poetry Month, I had several readings and enjoyed the chance to connect with new and old writing friends. The Get Lit! Festival in Spokane was a highlight and I also picked up quite a few new poetry books by Diane Seuss, Subhaga Crystal Bacon, Faisal Mohyuddin, Ann Spiers, Clem Starck, Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, and more. I will report back as I read my way through them.
Finally, after a week of driving by this wild pink blur along Chuckanut Drive, I decided to stop. There is a row of ancient rhododendrons at Larrabee State Park and seeing them all in full bloom (they are at least 20 ft tall) was quite an amazing thing to witness. I am so grateful I decided to stop.
“The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.”
RACHEL CARSON