Enjoying the Moment

Year of the Meniscus

2012-01-03T10:42:00.000-08:00

In mid-December I was in Faber, VA. I had taken an pre-meeting walk to get ready for the day, and found myself laying by a river watching the water pour down and over some rocks. Not that this was a particularly new sight, but I really noticed something... the way the water sticks together. It's surface tension holds itself together, creating a sense of cohesiveness, to spite it's liquid state that makes me think it shouldn't be able to do that. It should fall apart, separate, spill... it should be chaos.

What am I talking about? well, do ya'll remember being in science class (cira 3rd grade, maybe) and learning about the meniscus?

{thanks for the image, wikki}

It's the specific curve created when you over fill a glass of water, but it doesn't spill out. This act is a fine line, just a drop too much and--- chaos!! there is water dripping over the edge and you've gotten the counter all wet (the horror). So, now that we're on the same page of the science behind my statement (err, are we?)- I'll elaborate.

This year, was the year of the Meniscus.

This year, was more packed than I ever imagined it could be. My glass was filled- past the top. But just barely, because I'm pretty sure it didn't turn into chaos (at least not the bad kind). I'm also pretty sure, that if anything more happened in 2011, chaos would be had. Or, at least I would have spent (more) time huddled in the fetal position thinking there was NO WAY i'd be able to do this. Whatever 'this' is...

I did a lot of moving around...

I lived in Rock Creek, WV (Jan-July), Machias, Maine (July-Sept), in a truck- midwest style-(Sept-Nov), and in central Ohio (Dec)!

that- is a lot of places to live, a lot of beds to sleep in, a lot of kitchens to feed people in, and a lot of places to consider home- some for the long haul, and some of them with the understanding that a sense of home is short lived there.

In that time, I've (under failry strict meaning of the word) considered myself to have 22 housemates. WAY more if you consider folks who often stayed in a house i lived in, tented in a yard i lived in, or spent more than a week living together (say Blair Mountain).

Spent time in 19 US states (Ohio, Maine, WV, VA, New York, PA, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Minnesota, Washington DC, North Carolina, TN... at the least. I just can't fully recall...

I went to Canada 3 times

Which, prior to 2011, I had been out of the country 0 times. I went once for an anti- fracking protest in New Brunswick, and crossed the border 2ce on fall tour.

I had the boarder patrol read my diary, and had the fear of god put into me (and probably for Nikki and Tyler, too) when a boarder patrol-er came from around the counter towards us, snapping on a rubber glove and asked 'which one of you had to go to the bathroom?'

Ah! none of us. not us, no sir, no way. I totally thought we were getting searched, like, really searched (we weren't)

I did a lot of work, or things I call work, or think of as work, most of the time, or at least some of the time...

WV based work...
programming co-coordinating for the March on Blair Mountain, with the amazing Becks, where we planned, scratched, replanned, canceled, planned again and mostly implemented the non-logistical schedule for the March on Blair Mountain (like evening speakers and musicians and the rally schedule and line up)
I worked on the media team- mostly pre-march- and got practice in doing outreach in new and exciting ways, with a amazing and talented group of people (did you see the media that came outta the march!?! it was SO good!)
I did door-to-door outreach in southern WV for the march. Both exciting and (at the time) scary.
At CRMW I worked in small and large ways to revamp the Volunteer process- as the (what ended up being short term) volunteer coordinator
I helped plan the programming for Mountain Justice Summer camp, and also did some work in with the group as a whole (like helping to facilitate)

Beehive...
Did over 60 beehive presentations- mostly the True Cost of Coal
Work party- i helped host and run a month long marathon workparty for... so many people. i actually don't have a number, but not including the ball, i'd say over 100 came through for at least a while. a steady 60 people.
facilitated the baking of hundreds of baked good for the bfb
helped host, organize, and throw a 1000+ person dance party (blackfly ball)
successful wrote and received my first grant- from NEST- for bringing a Klezmer band to the bfb
Beehive Meetings- I did the most intensive, aggravating, and skill pushing agenda setting, planning, and facilitating thus far in my life during the january beehive meetings; played a similar (but more minor) role for our May meetings; and was in another intense (in a different way) set of 2 week meetings this Dec. We met a lot.
i went on a mini research trip on fracking- in the Pittsburgh area. Where I learned a lot, and really began to question if i have the option of not living in ohio (i later decided, no. not really)

other things...
I was elected to the Ohio Alliance for People and the Environment (OAPE) board, and have begun doing work with them.
sent 2 million and 3 emails (thats a joke. mostly)

I also had a personal life... (a what?) like things i don't consider 'work'...

2 new babies were born in my family! i'm the aunt of 5! holy shit!
Started dating someone- who is really amazing.
some ohio friends came ALL the way to maine to see me- holy smokes- that's so great!
i got to dance over bad little falls and experience the magic of celebration (bfb)
traded vehicles, and now have a car that- for now- runs smoothly.
made new amazing friends from all over the county- and feel incredibly lucky and blessed to know so many folks who i love and care about.
i screen printed something! me! i did that (and will continue to, i think)
made a zine for my nephews- and shared it in a public way
actually started to learn the banjo- then forgot and will re-learn in 2012
i made 13 blog posts (many of which, have more details about the things listed on here...)
my aunt and uncle moved to central ohio- win!
my grandmother moved away from central ohio- not win.
mama went to dc to stop the xl pipeline (ok, i didn't have anything to do with it, but it's just SO dang cool!)
i read some great books:

The God of Small Things (Arundhati Roy), Bossypants (tina fey), Prodigal Summer (barbara Kingsolver), Girl with the dragon tattoo (0% recommended), The Dispossesed (ursula k le guin), Percepolis: the story of a childhood (again; marjane satrapi) Parable of the Sower (octavia butler), Flood! (Erik Drooker), sister outsider (audre lorde), Blankets (Craig Thompson), Kindred (Octavia Butler), Off the Map (crimethInc), The Red Tent (Anita Diamant), the Gnome Lexicon (illustrated by my friend, nate!), and read lots of zines.

i finally filled the journal i've been writting in since early hs- the first date being '4/23/06 3:02 am' the last being '9/9/2011' Actually, there are about 20 blank pages, but I wanted to start a new one so i could bring a smaller book to journal in on tour-- which i did- and successfully made a entry EVERYDAY of tour. wham!

Looking back through my old journal, i found a page, where i am struggling with the 'why bother?'-ness of the world. I actually wrote, that i wanted 'a cause to believe in, a reason to be here...' (3/9/07) During that time in my life, I wouldn't say I was happy. These days, I continue to struggle, much of which is a similar internal debate about life and what I will do with it. But the tone is different, and at the beginning of this year, i made another entry (1/19/2011, NYC), where I spoke to the struggles in my life, but how i was happy. Actually happy.

Today, that remains true.

I went to my first church serivce (that is not a UU- which, I enjoy and doesn't quiet seem to fit into the category of church, in some ways) It was the United Church of Christ in Machias... I went to hear my inspiring friend Cole speak at the service that day.
I found out my mother is planning to sell the house I grew up in. Smart, and sad.
I have lots of new music to enjoy and listen to. According to my Itunes, the most listened to music that I added in 2011 is: Thao and Mirah (self titled), Jessica Lea Mayfield (tell me); Big Tree (self titled). Itunes says I listened to 2,614 songs in 2011, and my most listened to song? Wild Young Hearts by the Noisettes. (Though, I'm pretty sure that is an inaccurate read of what I actually listen to...)
117 horizontal drilling permits granted in ohio (ok- that isn't really my list of things that i did... but... fuck.)

Looking back through my journal entries from the past year, and generally thinking about 2011, I think I learned one really important thing for myself. I have- on a fundamental level- accepted that my life is a choice. I am the only one who gets to choose what I do, how I do it, when I do it. (of course, there are exceptions to this, and in my opinion, saying there are not is a major act of privilege. for most things in my life, i have that privilege). While I have personally debated this for myself, for much of the year (and probably more), I really had it driven home by a conflict mediator who worked with us this Dec.

This is my life, and I get to choose what to do with it. Everyday, every moment.

It's like having access to a compass rose. I can see where I am, and see whats around me. I get to make the choice where I move, and accept the consequences of that choice, both the foreseen and the unforeseen.

As for what 2012 will bring, I just don't know, but I know I get to decide. I intend to be in Ohio- to live here. Work here, take care of myself and those i love here. At least 6 months. I am having a hard time making a plan for myself, but am picking up a habit i used to be in- creating a wish list for the winter. A list of things I would like to hold myself to, a way to commit to myself (and others) to being more interested, interesting, and having more fun. Here's what I've got- for Jan, Feb, and March.

- ohio rocks presentation

- one book a month

- martial arts once/week

- bread 2x a month (and give one loaf to someone else!)

- love letter to non-here friend 1x month

- stretch 5x a week

- go to one 'new' event a month

- screen print something!

- uphold my commitment made to myself in a PSU workshop

- don't accidentally watch tv

- research organizations in central ohio i can do support work with, that actively fight racism (directly or indirectly)

So, here goes!

full speed ahead

2011-12-24T11:40:00.000-08:00

All being said and done, tour was 74 days long, and we presented at least 55 times (i actually can't quite tell. but for sure that many)- plus general tabling (sort of like all day presenting) at several places. It was an epic tour. Here are some additional highlights from where I last left off...

first... a quick jump backwards to the first part of tour with a couple photos tyler took...

{In the twin cities- we had done a presentation at Boneshaker Books... which... my aunt and uncle came to! Here, Gordon is adding to the shareback from his breakout group about the poster. SO COOL!}

{more from boneshaker.}

Ok... now... after Columbia (where the last blog photo set left off), we headed to St Louis...

{A small presentation at the GIA gallery in St Louis}

{We also did a quick presentation at Occupy St Louis and got a chance to see one of their General Assemblies--- it was a cool learning experience to be around and something that provided a good point of reference as we saw more occupy spaces and talked with lots of people about their experiences working with occupy things in their town.}

{We headed to Urbana to do a presentation in the EPIC community center- the IMC (independent media center). the post office rents space FROM them (what!?), they've got a great costume closet, computer labs with lots of media making ability, a bike co-op... so rad.}

{Governors award for Books to Prisoners? Woah.}

{Presenting at the IMC}

{From there, we headed to the Heartwood Reunion, outside of Bloomington Indiana. It's an annual gathering of folks working with Heartwood- a forest protection organization. It was hosted at The Lazy Black Bear. It is such a beautiful, funky place.}

{Meals, together.}

{We did a workshop about storytelling and intergenerationality. It was pretty cool, and it was nice to spend a weekend with (mostly) our elders.}

{Once heartwood was over, we stayed with some friends from there at their amazing old opera house, turned lovely apt in the back and wild and mostly unfinished project space in the rest.}

{Exploring the opera house... we could empathize with the project (ehem- the grange). it's a very cool building...}

The evening after heartwood we tabled at a showing of Low Coal and Coal County- a fundraiser. I've seen both films before, but I found myself being moved and inspired by my friends and allies I was seeing on this big screen. It provided a space for me to reflect back on my time in WV- and I found myself writing a love letter to a friend, about how amazing he is... and that i feel so damn lucky to know some of the best people on earth. i really do.

{Our presentation in Bloomington, was maybe our most magical presentation of the tour. Outside, backlight banner, plus a really engaged crowd sure does give us the energy to do it right.}

{Nikki!}

{After our magical presentation- our friends from Heartwood invited us to a community screen printing and art studio they run in Bloomington- called Paper Crane. It was the first time nikki and i did the full process of screen printing. clearly- the totally amazing levels of the space stressed nikki out (?)}

{Putting screens together to get ready to...}

{print!
Super cool- and now I feel totally inspired to make myself a little screen printing set up and print lots of cool things. be on the look out for it...}

{After two classroom visits at GRVU, we did an evening presentation. Bret, our super cool host, introduced us for an evening presentation by standing up and saying
"I'm going to start talking now"
Hahah- it was perfect.}

{Super packed presentation that night. Standing room only.}

After that- we went to Cincinnati, Hiram, Oberlin, Columbus, and Delaware for presentations. Plus- I got to be home for a few days and be at Kaylas birthday party. Of course, to spite this being MY FAVORITE part of tour--- i didn't take any photos.
dum dum.

{We were hosted by a lovely friend- who set up three presentations for us in her studio- Red Hydrant Press. It was a magical and lovely place- and all the events were really fun.}

{After, there was a dance party with a live band. Because... we have to celebrate, right?}

{For the second night at Red Hyrdrant, we did a collaborative image making workshop- where we did some serious mind mapping and metaphor pushups with a packed room- to figure what should go on the banner we decided to make for Occupy Grand Rapids... using a stencil.}

{what do you get when you mix group input, collaborative drawing, mosquito net and masking tape?

a great stencil! (duh)}

{fun.}

{we also made small stencils on the side while we waited}

{For our third show at Red Hydrant, we did a kids focused afternoon. I spent most the time coloring on a poster... which somehow became a scene of zombie Apocalypse- and the zombie disease spread quickly... before i knew it the whole poster was green and there wasn't an animal left that had not been zombie-fied.}

{group photo- take one!}

{And take two- outside on the roof.}

We stopped in at a really great collective space and visiting some friends- at Root Force- in Muskegon, MI- and then headed over to Ravenna HS to do some presentation in art classes- with a super rad 1st year teacher. We don't have any photos (idthink... do we?) but the teacher had sent us some reflections from the students after the presentations... including these gems:

{image a photo kids doing cool things}

“I think those guys had a strong message that has a strong purpose. I think that it’s cool that they used drawings to show us how mountain top removal is bad. It was awesome when they told us that each of these drawings has a story to tell. The thing that I liked the most is that they talked to us about it and they are people just about our age. It encourages any of us to stand up and use our voice no matter how old we are.”

“I just really appreciate how they worked together and put their time in to make it here to Ravenna High School.”

“I learned to use issues in real life to be displayed through my own artwork.”

“The BeeHive Collective’s presentation changed the way I look at things. I’m not saying I’m a tree hugger, but every time I turn on a light or use the stove, I will think of the people’s stories.”

Dang. this shit is totally worth it. (thats not a quote from the students... to be clear)

{After Ravenaa we headed into Canada- where we did a presentation at University of Waterloo, McMaster University, then headed to Toronto to hang with our bee friends who were there. We did a presentation and day of tabling at a farmers market- at a place called Brick Works.}

{Sponsors (of the space, generally, not our presentation specifically)... walmart.

my life is so weird.}

{We also did a presentation about austerity measures and Free Trade- with some HS students- which- i think was my first time heading lara present. which, rocked.}

{and we got to see brea! (and nate- to spite not having photo proof of such things)}

After Canada- we took another whirlwind to some favorite places- again without any photos (which- i have to say- isn't a lack of wanting or thinking of taking photos but due to the fact that i left my camera in canada... oops!) Including going to Skidmore to visit Becks (and do a presentation...) which was SOOO GREEATT! and a stop in Berea, Ohio.

The last time I made a post- we were in Ann Harbor. Due to a mix of mid-tour tired and being sick- i have no photos from being there, even though it was a GREAT stop. We went there to go to the NASCO conference- which- was totally amazing!

I got a chance to participate in two workshops by two organizations i had crushes on. The workshops have turned those crushed into full blown love attacks.

One was a facilitation workshop (my first ever?) by AORTA collective (check out their points of unity, by scrolling over About Us. It's SO DREAMY). It was so good, and has proven very helpful to me as I continue to learn and grow how to be a better facilitator. (ok- truth time- i have day dreams about working with them. like- lots of day dreams)

and I went to a training lead by Philly Stand Up- a group from philly dedicated to

'practicing transformative justice to confront sexual assault through community accountability.' they are mind blowingly great, and i'm so stoked to continue to think about the work they do and figure out how to learn from them in the future.

Plus- while in Ann Harbor- I got to stay with Elias. Who is great. Just look at this guy...
{photo stolen- without permission- from his blog}

{We presented at a co-op bar in Milwaukee, Public-House. It's one of only two in the country- and in addition to serving excellent beer (and coffee)- they also have community events. at the bar. it's super cool. Plus, I met some really great teachers- who were all kinda of fired up about unions, and life generally. It was awesome.}

{And tylers brother lives in Milwaukee and came to the presentation- plus we got to hang out with him- which- was great.}

{One of our bigger presentation of tour was in Appleton, WI. Folks were SO into it... bam! amazing post show conversations.}

Additioanlly- other photo free places Kalamazoo, Chicago, Beloit, Ripon, and back to Chicago- for the Teachers for Social Justice conference. It was SO great to be there, and be surrounded by really rad folks working in the public school system. so cool. I definitely walked away feeling super inspired to figure out ways to work more with students.

From Chicago- I got on a bus and was back in Ohio for thanksgiving. Of course, lots of stuff has happened between now and then, but... one thing at a time.

sneak peak of my life in Ohio?
{baby mania}

ten states later...

2011-11-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

we left Machias, ME on Sept 9.

Since then- we've done presentations or workshops in ten states (including Ontario). Miles traveled? Meals shared? Rocks collected (for a nephew who loves rocks...)? New friends made?

shoot. who knows. Sometimes- it feels a bit like a broken record... but... it can all become part of the whirlwind.

Mostly, I haven't taken that many photos. And while in Ontario, i left my camera behind (but thanks to a great kittycat and zebracorn (aka: nate and brea), it should be to me via mail when we get to beloit). Which is to say- these photos are just some clips. From a few places along the way-- next time (when I have my camera back, when i take the time to take photos tyler has taken, when i'm not on the road...), hopefully I'll have some more from this time period, and new things too.

Here goes...

{Nikki at Chutes Park- Massey, Ontario- early in the morning on our way from Maine to the Upper Peninsula. When we crossed the boarder- the boarder patrol was not to keen to my journal stating we were camped there under not super legal conditions. I was not too keen to boarder patrol reading my journal...}

{stopping to check the truck- which turns out- was the alternator going out in the middle of the UP. no good. The photo? well- it's for miss recent... while I don't think of food in terms of nuggets, she, and apparently canadians sometimes do}

{a short break on the beautiful lake superior}

{In Minneappolis, we tried something new and totally different. At the Minnehaha Free Space- a radical community center- we were asked to do a workshop on popular education tools. Here, we're doing something called the Tree of Knowledge- which challenges us to rethink 'knowledge' and gain understanding of what our communities already know, and what we want to learn.}

{Tyler leading a mind mapping workshop at Minnehaha. Overall- the 2 hours slot- which was JAMMED full of sessions, went well I think. and- like many times when you try something new- we learned ALOT of things and hopefully can do it even better next time!}

{Lemonade and books... with our tour host Nick who set us up with a full on schedule while we were in Lincoln, NE}

{While in Lincoln, we went to a child care service offered during ESL classes. For the most part, the kids were not that interested in our graphic, but some of them are were- for sure}

{A lot of the families that go to these classes are refugees- Lincoln being a city where refugees often get relocated. Our language and cultural differences became really clear- but... beehive posters really do work as a good way to break some of those things down and... allow us to just color some pretty pictures together for a while}

{at Indigo books- we had a FULL house for our workshop}

{we had small groups- to share stories they see in the poster and share it with everyone else. we asked folks to look at connections between MTR and tar sands- as the proposed Keystone XL pipe is set to go through NE--- and folks there are working REAL hard to make sure that doesn't happen}

{At a vegetarian Cafe- McFosters- in Omaha Nebraska- a family stopped by to check us out- and their little boy LOVED playing hide and seek between the banner}

{on a day off- we visited nikkis friends Sarah and Chase- and went out to Chase's uncles farm- Irick Farms.}

{It wasn't warm anymore- but... I still made sure to get in the last swim of the season in the spring fed pond- and nikki got time to catch up with her friends}

{before leaving the farm- we had a chance to pick some food- green beans and squash. we cooked it, along with the fish Chase caught, that night for dinner}

{setting up for a presentation in Lawrence, KS at the Ecumenical Campus Ministries}

{We went for a hike on the campus prairie preserve... it was really beautiful}

{Neil gave us each a gift--- hand sewn, hand weaved, hand died hats! so we now all have matching ones}

{staked heads. all with hats}

{In Colombia, MO- we did a few small presentations- including one on the FTAA- free trade area of the americas- graphic at a Food Not Bombs meal}

{we tried to focus in on food- because like many parts of the US- Colombia is bought and paid for by a dirty industry--- monsanto. their agricultural dept at the college there--- gets lots of cash from monsanto. i wonder what their research says about it...}

This last photo- is from about a month ago. which is to say- theres a lot more (i think. either way- they are for later).

I've been making an intentional note of writing in a journal every night. I think I've actually done that, which, is pretty cool (i think). It's been really nice to keep track of whats happening, catch the small things and the big ones too. Being on the road, meeting amazing new people (which- the beehive has this trick of bringing the best, most inspiring people together from each community... or so it seems at least. its a good trick...), and working very closely with 2 others... you learn a lot about yourself. It's kinda hard to put those lessons down on paper (err- screen?), but it's kinda like being put into a pressure cooker--- things speed up and i feel like i learn more about myself more quickly. maybe sometime i'll figure out how to share those lessons...

those lessons are the small things- though they sure do have big impacts on my life- the internal thoughts and reactions, the 'next time i'll be able to react differently/communicate more clearly,' the small personal interactions that shines light on why this work seems important...

and then- there are the big things. the clear and obvious-
and totally amazing thing

When going through Ohio (a time when I completely failed to take photos... common! really??) i got to meet my new nephew- frtiz. and celebrate kaylas 2nd birthday. and have a big ol family meal (family, babies, bees, mattie... oh my!) to celebrate my mamas birthday. hung out with emma, saw her cool new job place. plus! i did a presentation in my hometown- and met some new folks- and, and, and! family. friends. connections. ohio. it's ALWAYS a big deal.

We've gotten to see many 'Occupy' whatever-city, hear lessons from those involved, see and listen in on general assemblies---- watch it all. from the outside. And of course, sharing thoughts from folks far away (like New Orleans, NYC, Boston...). It's been pretty amazing. Some days- I feel like it's all a show. Other days, I go 'holy shit,' this is for real. it's starting something real. (check this tumbler post- this isn't a campaign- that i really enjoyed from a friend)

My mama is heading to DC this weekend- to be one of over 5,000 participants in getting down with some civil disobedience to stop Keystone XL pipeline (Tar Sands). Wish I could be there- but so stoked my mama is going (may or may not have talked about that during a presentation...)

I found out Sonia is planning to stay in Ohio now that she and James are back from their year long global travels... that rocks. I can't wait to hear about what they'll be up to...

My amazing mtr stopping friends have found themselves in and out of court- for the tree sit they did this summer. And, since being on the road- I've gotten to stay with Becks (just a few days ago) and am now staying with Eli. Win, win, win!

there are probably other really big things. and LOTS of small things.

And now- I'm sitting in the University of Michigan Union (student center), blogging through a fuzzy head (i'm getting sick-- oh no!), while we wait to set up our table for the NASCO (north american students of cooperation) conference.

From here? kalamazoo, chicago, beloit... (etc). a few more weeks of tour before we settle in for our winter beehive meetings in early december....

between then and now

2011-09-05T16:11:00.000-07:00

just a quick post with some photos from the time between the Blackfly Ball and... now!

{serving food, in underwear}

{flag team dancing with Hungry March}

{long line of baked goods!}

{emma and jeremiah came for the blackfly ball- FROM OHIO! its such a big and amazing deal!}

{orange river jazz band}

{dancing on the waterfall stage. so, so beautiful}

{Ukulele Orchestra- a machias specialty)

{Shirim Klezmer Orchestra--- partly funded by my first grant!}

{Hurray for the Riff Raff}

{hungry march headed over the bridge...}

{with a line of dancing people behind them}

{we went hiking on the oh-so-beautiful bold coast}

{and Caroline- emmas friend from school- came too, it was so cool to hang out with her}

{AND mattie came!}

{pretty pools, pretty boys}

{and as quickly as my lovely ohio folk came, they went. and then i went hiking up mount katahdin- the largest peak in Maine (5000 ft or so), with some lovely bee folk.}

{agent- who scaled the mt faster than anyone else- did it with a busted appendix (without knowing it). She's doing much better now... but what the heck!?}

{we made it to the top--- pride flag wavin'}

{camping, cooking, friends}

ok! thats all I've got. Tomorrow, I'll leave for the start of a 10 or 11 week tour, where I'll be going through Minnesota, Kansas, Missori, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, OHIO (!!!!!!), New York, Ontario... plus or minus some places probably.

{it will look something, sorta, like this! only less pixilated, and more clear... or something}

Came and Went

2011-09-02T16:53:00.000-07:00

August came...

and then it went.

And a whole lot happened in between. It was a month filled to the max with the whirlwind. Once landing in Machias- there wasn't much time before things got totally insane for the summer work party.

{swimming with tink at 6 mile lake}

{lending a hand at the electronic waste day-- it was an appalling amount of trashed computers etc. gross!}

The work party was super full on this year- with more happening, more people, more meals, more, more, more! than ever before. If you wanna see a more in depth break down of what the month of a 60+ person work party looks like in Machias, Maine- you can check out the blog Go Worker Bees. A couple of these photos are from my camera, but a bunch are also from the talented and lovely Nico.

But, here are just a few things from the month...

{I spent a lot of time in the beginning filling in whatever holes needed filled- which- often looked like teaching folks to make yogurt and granola}

{One thing that was new this year, was weekly full workparty meetings. We were aiming to provide a space for real time feedback about how it was going, and to give project groups a little more autonomy on how they went about their projects. It seems the first two weeks went really well, but at some point we crossed the threshold of manageable numbers, and some of our systems weren't quite equipped. We're since received a lot of feedback from people. Some of it positive, some of it critical--- all things to learn from}

{I lead a experimental mind-mapping workshop about the coal presentation for workparty-ers who are familiar with the poster. Each small group of people created their own mind map over the poster, using what they know about the poster and the lens that they bring. One group looked at the poster just through the story of water. It went pretty well, but could use some changing before I do it again...}

{A favorite beehive game quickly became a favorite workparty game. We spent many pre-sunday meetings, post-dinner-into-the-dark, and random killing time moments to play ninja. It's hella fun... i'll teach you sometime}

{One of the mega projects we took on- was rebuilding the deck that is over the waterfall. It used to be a hydrodam, and when it got turned into a deck--- but no one could use it. A person could easily slip through the railings, and the support beams were far and few between. SO! we ripped it up, and put it back together-- making sure it was done in time to be used as the main dance floor for the blackfly ball this year.}

{two car loads of folks took a little trip up north- to new brunswick canada- for an rally to ban fracking. To spite being late (eep! time change!? ah!!), we got there in time for the end of the rally and were able to exchange some stories from the coal fields of WV to the potential gas fields of Canada. It wasn't as much of a learning opportunity as I would have liked, but I heard some stories and met a lot of outraged folks- who were actively working to protect their drinking water. It mostly just made me want to run back to ohio... but... not yet. soon!}

{Some folks pulled together a little prisoner solidarity session to support climate activist Tim DeChristopher. He was recently sentenced to federal prison for 2 years- after disrupting an (arguably illegal) oil and gas lease auction. Since prisoners can't get sent a poster in the mail (or anything else to provide a little beauty), we sent the completed closed version of the True Cost of Coal to him, on the backs of post cards. A little puzzle to be put together on his wall}

{Food was a major challenge of the workparty- feeding 60 people for 3 meals a day... is kinda hard. I had very little to do with food this summer (which, is pretty heartbreaking for me), but it was amazing to watch all the food roll in. A whole lot of it we bought- but we also got all kinds of friend prices from farms, did lots of harvesting at friendly gardens near by, and other sorts of shoe-string budget gimmicks for cheaper food}

{On a saturday afternoon, some folks put together a library cuddlepuddle reading of the little prince. It's a magical little book, filled with all sorts of deep wisdom- with a childlike whimsical tone.
"Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed."

You should read it. It's best read with 10 other people, taking turns reading, while hanging out in a library. Or, so I learned this summer at any rate.}

{On rare occasions, we remembered we didn't have to eat outside, and we ate in the park across the street.}

{my mama sent me a package... mailed with lots of love and lots of cool looking stamps}

{of course, there was TONS of baking to do. This year, my workload meant that I didn't have time to bake- so i mostly just deligated it out... but did get to teach some basics before i did that}

{similar to last year, we had skill shares once a week where folks could share different skills with anyone who was interested in learning about them. I only made it to... two? or something the whole work party, but one of them was a reusable menstrual pad workshop. It was really great, and when our time ran out, we headed downstairs to listen in on the workshop about consent.}

{One thing that was really amazing that happened- was we had told the Down East Coastal Conservancy we'd paint a puppet theater for them to use during the blueberry festival. We gathered a team of folks to make it happen-- and this is what they made! Its the most beautiful puppet theater I've even seen-- seems likely it might be the most beautiful one to ever exist.}

{Sometimes, Erin tickles me. alot.}

{Another major project we started was created a wheel chair lift on the outside of the Grange- to make the upstairs accessible to more folks! It's not done yet, but it's well on the way. It is a pretty major undertaking to do- and included DAYS and DAYS of welding work by our lovely maintainANT matt- resulting in this wild rail-ish system being put up. The electric isn't on yet to make it fully go, but it's close! It's so exciting! In a county with an majorly aging population, this project means a whole lot.}

{one day, i was supposed to be rolling posters with some folks upstairs- when i learned *GASP* some of them had not ever seen a coal presentation. It seems unjust to ask people to roll posters when they didn't know what was happening on it- so we took a detour and spent most the afternoon work chunk talking about it instead. Cole captured a moment of me sharing the story. Which- happens to be why I joined up with the bees in the first place, and is my favorite thing to do...}

{another of my favorite things to do- is bake bread. it fills me in a way thats kinda hard to explain. but i really love it. A couple times during the workparty, I was able to get up extra early to help bake tons of amazing bread with good friends. So heartwarming}

{A major highlight was seeing my friend Bobb Hatt- who biked all the way here from Columbus! By himself! whattt!?! I didn't actually get to hang with him that much- but it felt really great to have someone who really knows me around. Plus, I got to do some painting with him. It was a pretty crazy painting project- the local healthfood store paid us to paint the side of their building- which mostly we used scaffolding for- but there was one section that we had to use a 3 story extension ladder to get to... it was really fun to be up on the very top, reaching as far as possible to get the tiles... but also totally insanely scary. eep! Do not fret, we tamed that dragon!}

{we also rolled a million and three posters-- we had large groups of people hunkering in the upstairs of the grange rolling away for days.}

The workparty ended up being more challenging for me than i had expected. Its made me think about a lot of things- but the top 3 themes that I keep finding myself chewing over are choice, expectations, and what it means to contribute.

***

I've come to understand the 1st two to be integrally connected (actually they are all pretty connected to each other). And... there's too much to say in a blog post. But, I've been thinking about it alot. One of the most challenging things for me (personally) this summer was understanding my role and how I was or was not contributing to a larger picture (and to myself?). A while back (in the midst of it all), i was encouraged to write about it (on my blog!). So... here goes.

What the heck does it mean to contribute anyway??

I think one of the things that I struggled with most this summer, was understanding my role and how I made meaning out of it. Unlike last summer, this years workparty was filled with lots of little pieces of work for me, none of it making a complete picture- work that I've come to call- the whirlwind. This often left me feeling like I wasn't really doing that much, like I was just doing things without much purpose or intention, or that what I was doing really wasn't very significant (this is mostly where it rams directly into choice and expectations).

While it often felt that way- I feel pretty confident it's not true and that the work I was doing was significant. And maybe the reason it felt like it wasn't was because the way i was seeing my contribution to the larger work. The whirlwind has a way of sucking up all your time and spitting you out- feeling a little lost and confused about what you just did (and in my case, strongly noting the things you didn't do). And doing the little pieces to a large puzzle often means that my work didn't have a finish line, a crossed off to-do list, or something I could look at and feel accomplished.

That is very challenging for me. However, a completed (color coded, prioritized) to-do list isn't the only was to contribute to something. When working with so many different people, things don't always clearly land on one persons plate or the other- but often fall into that gray area in between. Collaborating. Sometimes, contributing might just look like doing the background work- be that the dishes, the phone calls and emails, or just nonstop answering questions- it all makes the big machine go.

The whirlwind--- it doesn't feel that rewarding, sometimes- but like all other pieces to a puzzle- its an incredible valuable way to contribute.

(wait- did i answer the question about what it means to contribute? hmm...)

***

Of course, there is also what it all lead up to--- the BLACKFLY BALL!!! AHHH!!

some highlight photos, post ball madness, and more to come! (whats the goal? to get them up before i hit the road in less than a week- for an sure-to-be-epic 10 weeks traveling through out the midwest! think I can do it? we'll see...)

{erin- helping me change my bandages. i wrecked my bicycle and was left with some pretty tender road rash etc. But, i'm being well taken care of and a 3 days in- its healing really fast.}

spaces, places, and homes

2011-07-13T19:18:00.000-07:00

As I headed out of Rock Creek, noting the 'Rock Creek: Unincorporated' sign in my side view mirror- it felt big. Really big. I was leaving Rock Creek, I was leaving WV, I was leaving the home I was so grateful to have had- even if it was just for 6 months.

{pad thai- for squirrels birthday dinner}

{hug talking- we do it}

{Post blair pizza- best kind? grapes and rosemary. no, i'm not joking. its so good}

{somehow- June had passed. The Blair March had passed... woah. That calendar changed more quickly than i can recall any other calendar changing}

but right as I was leaving, right as my heart seemed to drop into my stomach, and my eyes wanted to cry- i got a message on my phone- 'mere hours from home.' it was perfect. it's not infrequent that i tell people- i'm lucky, because i have so many homes. in this scenario, i was leaving one home, to go to another home (central ohio). in the past-- little while-- i've been in my home of wv, my central ohio home, and now i'm in my maine home. it's always painful to leave one, but it's always so nice to get to another. i'm so lucky, but also perpetually heartbroken. I've got a deep sense of place- both for spaces i've only begin to know and for homes that made me who i am.

{the last super long, wonder around the house, tooth brushing session.... ahh.. clean teeth}

But before I got to Machias, and before I got to Ohio... I was in WV. Enjoying life after the march on Blair Mountain, and just riding the whirlwind that was my last few weeks in the valley. I made a pretty full on reportback from Volunteer Coordinating- including accomplishments, unaccomplished tasks, and recommendations- which felt great to hand over to EmmaKate, the powerhouse taking on volunteer coordination. I tried my best to keep my opinions on the next steps for the Blair Mountain campaign to myself- and even though it's really hard to accept my role in that campaign is over- its important to know--- and its important to let others make the decisions. I got to start developing workplans with volunteers- giving folks a chance to create autonomous, consensual, productive, accountable, and useful work loads--- perhaps for the first time in CRMW history.

{group photo of CRMW Summer Interns 2011- in front of the house even though Eli INSISTED it would be horrible lighting... and we shouldn't do it there}

{more group photo- not in front of the house- to appease mr shewel}

I had asked a buncha CRMW folks to sit down and talk about how they'd like to see fracking and mtr intersect. Particularly, how can i be an agent of change moving between these two movements- that to spite many similarities- have barely brushed each other? the conversation was useful, informative- but very circular and remained fairly vague. One thing that I've been turning over in my head- a lot- was this piece of advice went something like this... 'work for a ban. we almost had one, and settled for regulation. regulation has not stopped mtr, and it has not protected communities.' as i continue to think about work in ohio, with Ohio Alliance for People and the Environment and otherwise- that advice sits inside my head... just sorta waiting for me to do something with it... (or not?).

I had time to reflect on some lessons learned-- maybe most notably having a better understanding of what conflicts deserve time and energy, and what ones we should just let go. I thought about the amazing people i got to know- and all the ones who i didn't really have a chance to know but have impacted my life in incredible ways. And, while giving myself some space to think, I also was able to connect a little more. I got to spend my final night in WV celebrating- the many many movement birthdays that happen in July.

{How do a bunch of environmentalists celebrate birthdays? Well- we go to see the Appalachian Power sponsored minor league baseball team- the West Viriginia Power- play a game. Duh.}

{unintentionally twins. or so they claim...}

{Crazy caught a t-shirt. "Chucks Healthy Challenge"- sooo lucky!}

The next morning, we went for a swim in Peach Tree falls. To spite the smell of dead opossum (really)- the swim was nice. After returning home to newhouse- i got to play the 'find all the things that i had packed into my car and my housemates took out and hid' game-- for hours. Plus, newhouse left me a message on the dry erase board, "I slashed your tired <3" (they joke... they joke).

{friends at swimming holes}

{Becks loves male bodies thighs. Especially white ones. mmm

{goodbye hugs.}

When I got into Ohio that evening- I made my first stop to see my new nephew, Cohen, and see the rest of my brothers family. Cohen is tinier than I remember babies being (and way more squishy than i remember them being...), and so incredibly presious. Kayla remembered my name ('lolly' is pretty close at any rate) and couldn't stop dancing to 'head shoulders knees and toes'- which of course- is hearbreakingly cute. Next stop? To see my sisters family- including the boys and the very very pregnant- could bust any day- sister of mine. On my final day with my family- I told them I wouldn't see them again until winter. Winter!? that's too long...

{Cohen. Oh. My. Gosh. My heart explodes.}

{I got to babysit with my mama- and we took them all to the park (well, not Cohen, who is pretty much tied to Jennifer still- obviously). It was cute.}

{going for a walk}

{how'd they get so cute? srsly. what? so cute!}

{crackers for lunch. crackers all the time}

{Babies in a baby pool. Ohhh babies!}

{boys in speedos. matching ones. whhhatt??}

{Potato prints to finish the 3rd zine (from the mountains to the flatlands of ohio) I've made for the babies in my family. Since moving outta ohio-- a year ago?-- I've been making little stories about my life, to keep close and try and not let them forget me. This is the 1st one I'm putting out into the world. Fair warning- its pretty smooshy}

AND my mama told me... she'd be putting out house on the market as soon as next spring. that's under a year. I spent the first... 19?... years of my life at my mamas house. My first memory- my dad pushing me on the red swing set in the back yard. the bedroom i shared with my sister- when it had one peptobismal pink wall and she would throw all of the things i left on the floor on top of me and my bed, when i was trying (pretending?) to sleep. now it sits mostly empty- with blazin' red walls- filled with all the things morgan didn't want enough to take with her. the downstairs bathroom- where used to be the only place anyone could be alone- is now one of two bathrooms (sorta...). The barn in the backyard- that seemed like a fair refuge to run to after a car pulled over after the dirver got hit by mulberries we were throwing at cars from the tree. The no-longer chicken coop my dad burnt down- without knocking it down first- resulting in one of the times the fire department had to come to our house. the front garden that katie cepec and i pulled out a bunch of plants- when we were trying to help my mama weed. the tree that turns such magnificent colors that you see it well down the road in the fall- marking our turn well before you could see the road.

{family photo- i was probably 4 years old}

I haven't lived there- really- in 5 years. Its a home for me, but more so- it's a place. with stories- both the kind you write about (in a blog) and the ones you don't really want to remember much. It's a place that helped me grow up. It used to be home to 2 adults, 4 children, and uh... 3 large indoor dogs and a cat. Now, it's the home of my mama-- (and in january, maybe it'll be my home place for abit, again). But- she'll sell it, she'll move. Her new house? Sure, I bet it'll become a home for me- after all- my mama will live there- but my house- sitting on the corned of 229 and peru twp rd... might change into just a space. but probably not- it'll always be a place.

{my two elder siblings and i-- in maybe--- 1991 or so}

While in Ohio- I really prioritized people in my life. I got to spend a lotta time with my family, and a lotta time with mattie. I went to Emmas really fun graduation party- and got to see her family for the first time in a while. I saw Kate, my soon to be married friend who I hadn't seen- since well before leaving athens. I hung out and talked politics and revolution with miss dawson, will klatt, and aaron. I enjoyed a delightful lunch with my friend leslie- at her parents home (i always LOVE meeting the parents of my friends, and seeing the home they grew up in). I went to a highschool reunion (sorta).

{Lunch on the bank of Alum Creek- I went Kayaking with emma and papabear for about 4 hours, and followed i up the next day by canoeing behind my sisters house- the scioto- with mattie and a potential housemate, sean}

After meeting Kate and fantozi for lunch- I went over to Fantozi's parents house- and got to see Kates beautiful wedding dress, and their super cute Shasta. They bought and renovated an old Shasta to take on their honeymoon. They are SO cute. I'm so sad I can't make it to their wedding... which is gonna be hella cute--- family style pasta and homemade pies!?--but I'm so excited for them--- other than their move to Wyoming- which--- is just too far...

{The soon to be married Kate and Fantozi- with their honeymoon shasta}

And after being in Ohio- for ten days- I felt nothing but love for that place. I love seeing people I know when I walk down the street, being close enough to my family that if my sister had her baby- I could easily make her dinner, watch her boys, and meet the newest addition. I love seeing friends- and catching up with each other and feeling the comfort you only get with people who already know you- and are your friends because they know you. I love knowing exactly how much and when i need to break when i go around a curve, and not needing to know street names because i just know where i'm going. i love waking up and making my mama breakfast, picking berries with babies and wrestling them in a field of firefllies. i love being next to mattie and getting a chance to get to know columbus. i love day dreaming about moving there, getting a job, and doing lots and lots of listening while i try and figure out- how i can help stop fracking.

{babies eating smores. How did eating smores get cute?!}

and i love being in maine- at the hive. i've been here just about a week- and while only my toes seem to have actually landed- i'm excited for the rest of my feet to plant themselves.

{first dinner at the grange- made with extra love by miss erin}

And- believe it or not-- I once again have a new nephew to day dream about- Fritz Todd. (no photos have been seen... yet)

i'm so lucky and so heartbroken. all at once.

in the belly of the beast

2011-06-18T07:37:00.000-07:00

Appalachia Rising: March on Blair Mountain.

Woah.

So many things took place, so many extreme feelings. I've been having trouble figuring out how to tell people about it. What pieces do I tell, how do I put it into one narrative, that tells the full story, communicated the epic truth? I don't really have an answer. So, I'm taking a different route. Here are snippets of the week. Just small crumbs, little pieces. Maybe one day I'll understand how they all fit together. (maybe not?)

On Sunday night, after a full day of trainings, orientation, and full on information download, there was an emergency organizing meeting called. It was a trend that would continue throughout the week. Why did we have a meeting after having meetings and stuff all day? Because after lots of hard work- we found out that yet another camp site had pulled out. We had been working for months to secure camp sites. For the week or so leading up to the march, our sites kept falling out. We'd scramble and find new ones. Totally secure ones. We knocked on doors of folks with big yards, we found paid camp sites, we had verbal agreements with parks to let us stay there. We had camp sites. And sunday night, we found out- another one dropped. So, we had a choice to make. Keep pushing, make it work, try our hardest, or... not.

We decided, we can make a suggestion but really- its not up to us. It's up to the marchers. What do they want to do? What would feel good to them? So, at around 10:30 pm- we called everyone together. For a big ol' group moment. And a moment it was.

Sarah opened the space- letting folks know what was happening. That we lost our camp sites. We were still trying to find more. That this was happening- because of what we're doing. We're fighting the coal industry, where it is strongest, most deeply rooted, where it has formed a strangle hold on the entire area. Therefore the fairly simply task of sleeping out, is coated with hardship. This is part of the struggle, it's what we're up against.

{The march just outside of Marmet- walking with the coal trucks. Photo: Cheshire Tongkat}

Then, this amazing thing happened. The room erupted in cheers, and clapping... we were not anywhere close to quitting. When asked what we should do, some folks said 'lets march in rotating groups so we can march 24 hours a day, all through the night, and we can rotate who sleeps' (a suggestion much of the room loved, but all organizers winced at). Folks said lets do it. We're going to do it. Saro lead us into song- and we sang "ain't gonna let intimidation/big coal/NOBODY gonna turn us around." And Dustin Steele closed us out- reminding us-- that we are in the belly of the beast. We have to do this. We are challenging power, we are changing power, we are creating power.

{Dustin- giving one of many powerful speeches. Photo: Cheshire Tongkat}

The next morning, we had about 250 people marching together through the streets of Marmet, WV. Marching along the original march route those union fighting miners took 90 years ago. We marched, together. We looked almost as strong as we are.

{Heading out of town. Photo: Brian Farkas, AP article}

As the week moved on, so did the hardships. On monday, the police told us we had to leave our camp site. That the verbal commitment we had- didn't really matter and the powers at be were calling strongly for us to move (shockingly, this isn't the story of 'those bad police' but is much more complicated and they actually worked with us...). So, at about 10 pm- after having our tents set, our speakers and musicians wrapping up- and folks getting ready to hit the tent--- we called another group meeting. Time to pack up and leave. Time to figure out how to shuttle 250 people back to marmet for sleeping- and figure out what to do in the morning. Rough.
{camp site}

But, as we called folks together for yet another dreaded 'we can't believe we have to tell you this' moment... we began to see a trend. A trend of the marchers being vigilant. Not willing to let these powers turn us around. Not letting intimidation weaken our spirits. Not letting a lack of sleep, a large amount of unknowns, or any other hurdle that could come out way prevent us from marching to Blair Mountain.

By midweek, we had it in our schedule to shuttle folks back and forth each night, and each morning. We gave up on finding new campsites, and we accepted the harsh truth. We had an amazing team of shuttle drivers step up. Folks lent their cars and their time to moving 250 people each day. By the end, we were spending about 8 hours a day shuttling people. No joke.

{Included in our many many vehicle chain? Portapotties on trailers. Perhaps one of the smartest things we did. Photo: Mark Haller}

It's a little hard to say what exactly happened on the march. I had been given the task of March Marshall- and stayed several hundred feet in front of the march- trying to slow cars, trucks, motorcyles- down before they hit the long wave of marchers. But what I do know- is how much support there was.

{marshaling the long line of marchers. luckily, i was part of a really grand team of folks. photo: }

We drove by signs that said folks were with us. People came out to their porch to wave. Folks handed out cold bottles of water from coolers filled with ice, handed out ice cold sodas (sierra mist to be precise), a fella gave his hat to a marcher, people stopped their cars to give donations, wave of school children rushed over to the fence and waved and shouted, and high fives went out to all the marchers. It was amazing. It is amazing.

{High Fives in Madison. Photo: Wren}

One fella came out in his driveway on his four-wheeler. He was holding a small bouquet of flowers and a sign that read 'thank you.' A woman we passed hollered 'you have water? you can fill up here with my hose if you want!" Kyle and I said we had plenty, but thanks for the offer. She offered water to the entire line. 250 people.

{photo: Cheshire Tongkat}

That's not to say, there weren't folks who sped up when they drove by us, or who gave a little swerve in our direction. Its not that folks didn't hold signs and yell 'go home treehuggers,' 'coal keeps your lights on,' 'we love coal' or 'coal feeds my family.' They did. The closer we got to Blair, the more intense it got. It was an incredibly visible proof that towns, neighbors, families- are divided. Sometimes, every other home rotated between 'welcome and thank you' to 'go home and friends of coal.' It's for real.

{Family sitting in front of the school in Marmet. Photo: Cheshire Tongkat}

I stopped to speak to a woman and her husband who were standing by the side of the road- red bandannas worn proud- who said they'd join us tomorrow. I had the privilege of getting their phone number and calling them to let them know when and where to meet us. When they arrived, the woman told me 'i saw my niece drive by with her 'other family', yelling at us. I told her she can't talk to me like that.' It's between families. The tensions are strong, thick, and incredibly real.

Mid week, I was standing on the side of the road, waiting for a rest break to be over, and Larry said to me 'i've been waiting my whole life for this.' i smiled and said something to the effect of 'well, you did a lot of work to make it happen.' modestly he replied that he didn't really do much to make this happen, that others- like myself- were the ones doing the work. and in that moment, i had the privilege of acknowledging that hes been doing this work for a long time, and without his work, none of this would be possible. i was able to thank Larry Gibson.

{Larry- standing strong, as always. On the mornings we had to be up at 5:30 am- larry was always the first one up, waking the masses, asking how folks were doing. amazing. photo: Cheshire Tongkat}

after one of the many nights of little sleep, and lots of work, I found myself waiting for the second round of shuttles to leave from Marmet and take us to the spot we'd start marching from. Which meant I had at least an hour and a half. Naturally, I decided I'd rest my eyes for a moment. Before I knew it, Kyle was waking me up to say the last shuttle would be leaving soon, so I better get ready. As it turns out, I had slept under the registration table for at least a full hour- probably more- all while people were coming into the building and were being registered. Embarrassing and an accurate depiction of the week.

{another photo of me catching rest at any moment possible- this time during a lunch break. photo: Paul Corbit Brown}

After a relatively short rally, we got hundreds of folks to head up the mountain. Blair mountain. We took over the road, and along the way we placed historical markers. We marched up that mountain, holding the incredibly beautiful signs made by the art build team.

{marchers heading up Blair Mountain. photo: Mark Haller}

When we got to the top, about 150 folks broke off and climbed up the company road (illegally) and onto the battlefield where archeological work has been taking place. I wasn't with them, so it's hard to say what that experience was like. The rest of the marches, went up the a public access road just up the way- where we all gathered. We had made it to the top, some of us had marched over 50 miles to get there, some of us had traveled from across the globe, some of us from the holler over... but we were all there. together.

{Photo: Elias Schewel}

Instead of joining the rally cry at the top, I took a moment to chat. One thing about being a marshal all week was that I didn't have capacity to get to know anyone on the march (other than Kyle, my co-marshaller). So, I decided to chat up two elderly fellas sitting on a guard rail on the margins of the rally. They were both retired UMWA miners. One from Logan, one from ___. They talked my ear off, about the good ol' days. About how miners these days don't know what they are missing. How women deserve the right to make choices about their bodies, and nobody else should have a say. How these mountains are part of who they are, who their families have always been. How private company land is making it harder to carry on traditions, to care for themselves and their own. How one of them is now a bus driver, and he's proud to say they just unionized. How the women in their families know how to get by, how to get their families through- but it depends on the land. How they were proud to be here, with us, with all these people. It was amazing, they were so amazing. It was so humbling to just be able to listen.

The march ended over a week ago. Everyone went home, I went home (err... to a home. one of many). There's lots of work to be done, but the march its self- is over. It was hard. I was pushed further than I knew was possible. I cried, a lot. I saw others cry, alot. I saw and felt real and raw anger, sadness, disappointment, and hurt from people who were working towards a common goal. There are wounds still open. Mediation is being scheduled, for organizers, so we can learn from these hard lessons, so we can heal our relationships, so we can keep working together.

I did more than I knew was possible. I saw a group of committed people do more together than I knew was possible. I saw extreme strength and resistance within the movement. I felt solidarity. Real solidarity. I saw our movement grow- get bigger and stronger.

This story isn't over. There is healing to be done, there is a mountain yet to be saved, there is local connections to be followed up on... this narrative is in its infancy. The Battle of Blair Mountain continues.

I don't know how the story will end, what the next chapter will look like, or what flow the plot will take- but for now- I feel confident we won. I don't really know what that even means, but I think we won.

{Cohen Sigdon Shea- the newest addition to my family- another reason to fight... and win}

{want more photos of the march? Check out my wonderful photo sources! Cheshire, Wren, and Paul photos at March On Blair Mountain Flickr. Mark Haller Flickr. and Elias Schewel Flickr}

landing in nonworld

2011-05-30T13:04:00.000-07:00

A new term has entered my life- Nonworld. It's sorta hard to explain out of context, but it's when things are so weirdo, so silly, so nonsensical- that it actually sorta makes sense and we know it couldn't be any other way- then you've entered nonworld.

I've officially landed in nonworld. I've yet to be able to escape. The questions is... is that a good thing or a horrible thing? Who knows. Either way, its a whole different planet than what most people live on and I'm excited to find the rocket that takes me back to planet earth. I assume it'll appear right after the March on Blair Mountain?

Anyway... the past month... in photos!

Mo and Ivan helping me learn the poster better by marking all the plants in the poster! So cool!

EKs folks came by for a weekend- and helped celebrate Nicks birthday. Yay parents!

Our doughnut man came to visit again. But the visit was short, and we were disgruntled. So, naturally we hid his suitcase in an attempt to prevent him from leaving. EK hid it outside on the back porch (it actually took the doughnut man a while to find it). Here- he spots the suitcase!

Attempting to get the suitcase- without getting locked out on the porch.

A failed attempt to block the door open...

In a last ditch effort he ran out the door grabbed the suitcase... and as you can see... had the door slammed in his face and locked. Did he end up being able to leave? Well--- yes. He climbed down the balcony and scurried to his car. Trickster.

Fern took Becks and I for a hike- and pointed out some wild edibles on the mountainside. Like... greenbrier shoots.

sassy pants.

During a Blair Crisis- we did the responsible thing and took the day off! We went to the New River Gorge for a hike, and tried to go to a coffee shop (tho- it was closed). On the way home, Katey and Rhodi snuggled in napland on the way home. Cutie Pies.

Fern took on an archnemesis. Why? I have no idea. But she likes it. One day, we woke up to this sign on our porch- "Dear Fern, Go Suck An Egg. Yr Wrst Enemy" Yup. its strange....

no words.

And then... I left my home on the mountainside to jet into columbus and do a beehive presentation at the Columbus Christian Academy HS, see my family, see some friends, see mattie... all of it was great, none of it was long enough. same old story. Then! I jumped into an airplane and headed to ME for a week and a half of meeting prep ad]nd Beehive meetings.

Arriving in Maine- it was still early spring there. Things were just thinking of turning green (vs WV which was so full of life it looked like mother earth was puking flowers everywhere). I had the great chance to have a bus ride from Portland, ME to Bangor with Agent M- then got to add Matt to the mix for the ride from Bangor to Machias. It was so nice to come back to one of my homes and see so many great people! Unfortunately, my head was left about a week behind and was still in WV doing work for the march- but I got to catch up with some folks a little bit.

Kyle put on his sassy apron and kept us well feed all week! It was so great, and so helpful!

One night at dinner, we did a show and tell about our springs. Lots of cool things and small stories were shared- giving some pretty lovely insight into highlights of our springs :)

Tyler brought us all little zapatista dolls home- a gift from the midwest- which now sit on our mantel. Sometimes, the irony of our mansion house is just... nonworld?

For 'reportbacks' we decided to get creative and practice our roles as story tellers- by doing sharebacks on our spring! Erin decided to do a skit--- including using masks of all the main characters from the Gulf Coast tour. If you know Erin, you know this was super hilarious! She played all of these people- plus herself- and narrated! Whhhaaatt??

Midwest team... took our 'no charts, graphs, or official-ness' norm and threw it in the trash. Charts you see here? A line graph about fun levels, a Pie chart on types of food eaten (i think burritos were the most common thing eaten), and a totally make believe chart of intoxication (oh tyler, so wasted all the time...). Also notice the confetti and cans of food representing oil rigs left over from Erins shareback.

Agent drew up a really amazing and shocking natural resource map of the west (her re-found homeplace). The struggles the west are currently in and the struggles to come... are... shocking. Heartbreaking. Coal, Uranium, Natural Gas, Oil, Water... you name it... they have it being privatized, extracted, and abused. Uh.

A mid meeting break- jumping on the trampoline! First step: sweep off the slugs. GROSS!

Erins Bus- all set up for making art work! Yeah yeah! Looking good. Plus, she made an etsy account with all sortsa cool handmade things- so check it!

Erin Loves Molly! Molly Loves Erin!

This wagon holds like 7 people! Including these funny two backwards seats.

During meetings, we decided to do some minitraveling and change up our meeting spaces. Matt took us to a beautiful house in the woods- about 20 min away from our home. He helped build the house and currently caretakes it when folks aren't renting it- it was SO beautiful! Here, Erin is being a weirdo (shocking?) and looking down the ladder that leads up to this little room at the tip top of the house. Super cool.

That little room leads out to a 360 degree balcony that looks over the very pretty, very evergreen forests and you can see the ocean, too! Dreamy.

Snacks. All the time!

Calendar time for the next 5 months... all the way up to Sept! Wait? May is over and June already happened? Or- something. NONWORLD!

Tyler explains the very complex machine he drew to help us learn how to make better financial choices. Lots of gears and turning and spitting out and going back in... ending with sound choices! We weren't up to decision making- but it was cool to hear about possibilities!

And we also went to another really amazing spot for meetings- at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts- located on Deer Isle. They were so lovely to have us, we got to sleep in their dorms, eat amazing food they made us in their kitchen, use their meeting space, and of course- enjoy the scenery!

Heading down the stairs- which leads not only to the dorms- but also to the ocean!

Our dorm room- Dorm B (Bee?)- which was overlooking the ocean and for the first time in my life (that i remember?) I fell asleep to the sound of the ocean waves crashing against the coast. So lovely!

Meeting in the dinning room...

Meeting in the dorm room...
And one of the reasons we were hosted at such a lovely spot, was because we were invited to participate in a community event- called Pecha Kucha- at the restored Opera House! Pecha Kucha is a fast paced presentation- where each presenter has 20 slides, with 20 seconds per slide.
Per usual, we stole the show- by taking up a large amount of space with all of our freshly printed posters! During the presentation- we had 10 of us bees all presenting the full story of who we are- in only 6 min! We each took 2 slides/20 seconds. It was amazing and totally fun!

Distrrrooo.

That night, we stayed at Haystack and in the morning- took some time for a foggy shoreline hike.

Heading up the stairs...

meetings in the meeting space...

Food overlooking- what else? the ocean, of course!
Brohive lives on! Travelin' safe.
On the way back from Maine, Tyler, Kyle and I stopped in Boston to do a workshop at a youth climate conference. It was super cool, and all the young folk at the workshop were incredibly smart! From there, we drove to a small town near Hershey, PA- where we stayed with Kyles totally hilarious and wonderful family... before driving into columbus. Whew! on the move.

Once in columbus, i rested my head for a brief moment, spent hours and hours on a computer, and then... hit the road again.

After spending my morning in a staples (in columbus), my day in a car, and my afternoon in front of a computer desperately catching up on work (or at least trying to)--- and then getting lost... I was feeling a little stressed (and a lotta tired). Then... as I found my way and drove up the mountain into Mountain Justice Summer camp in Letcher County, KY... I got to see this amazing sunset as the clouds settled into the valleys. Worth it.

Camp Schedule! Yup, I helped craft that megababy-- whew! It was a great year for camp!

I lead my first ever workshop on facilitation. I think it went pretty well, and I feel like I learned a lot by doing it. Win win win!

The movement will not be malnourished! Thanks Seeds of Peace and friends :)

Napping and giggling during a quick break during MJS.

I got a chance to briefly help out with the art build to make signs and puppets for the March and party to show oppositoion to the permits to blast Ison Rock Ridge- in Appalachia, VA.

We also took a little field trip to Jeff Chapmans studio- they are really amazing folks and it was so great to see their beautiful art!

Evening music--- with that beehive banner at work!

Camp photo!! yeeaah Mountain Justice!

Those signs we made at work...

Yeah, Yeah! Rockin MJ volunteers heading to WV with us to do some mega work and help do work in prep for Blair! Did you register for the march and get a phone call asking making sure you have all the info you need? You can thank these fine folks (and some more!).

catching some zzzz's in the backyard...

And here we are. Moved into the March on Blair Mountain Headquarters in marmet. Working all the time, like crazy people. Crazy people working really hard together and gearing up for something really amazing and huge! I feel incredibly excited for the march... and incredibly humbled by the amazing people I am working with to pull off this momentous event! It's amazing.

And yesterday, we reached 500 registrants. The numbers keep growing. Amazing.

And then it was April...

2011-04-23T10:21:00.000-07:00

Woahhhh. Somehow, it has become April. Late April, at that! Who knew? (Hopefully most of you already knew...) Since last posting, I've been pretty busy--- buzzing around doing all sorts of things--- and here are some highlights and clips:

I got a few tubes of the magical new print run- courtesy of all the fine folks that helped support us with the kickstarter campaign- i may or may not of had an excited freak out- which included pulling them all out and saying 'ahh!! yesss!!' alot.... the landlord was doing a check in at the time, and probably thought i was a total crazy person...

the doughnut man came to hang out- and we made delightfully colorful (red, white, and yellow!) beer batter vegan onion rings.... deeelightful!

Strategy session for the media working group... outside on the porch-- success!

haha. oh my.

birthday birthday bithday!

Dartmouth College students came for a visit to the coal river valley- and we had a hang out/chat about the work volunteers do with CRMW... followed by a beehive presentation in big room.

I complained to my mother about the John Kerry sticker that was on my new car---- so mom decided to get me a cover up sticker.... Give Bees a Chance... so so so cliche and so perfect.

Just hanging out in Charleston...

Beehive show at the Covenant House in Charleston

Our little ballerina

This is the pressure I have to deal with... everyday. I just wanted to make dinner...

My mama came to visit---- buttermilk biscuits for breakfast!

haha....

triple wow! heading to dc for a Training for Trainers for powershift stuff. The trip was horrendous-- including the worst anit-oppression workshop I've ever been to. But there were some highlights: meeting our new friend Reece- whos family is from WV and he has worked as a union organizer for years and now lives in DC and plans to come to the march, eating sprouts in the most obnoxious fashion during a session at the training, pressuring andrew to sing opera in front of everyone, and getting Georgetown cupcakes. Worth it? No, but those are some pretty great bonuses.

Open house pot luck at New House...it was so nice to have folks over and the weather was just perfect to be hanging out outside

Emma came to visit (the same week Mattie came to visit- what a week!)- we went for a hike up the the ridge behind our house... a few days after I had just hiked up there. It was so amazing to see how much the plants had come to life and peaked out---

We found a nice big patch of ramps... the first time I had pulled some out this season. And Em got to take some home- win win win!

Ramps, Fiddle Heads, and the first morel of the season!

We went for a family hike at the New River Gorge--- it was pretty much a cluster, lots of running around, getting there late--- the usual. But it was awfully pretty and things were on the verge of bursting out of their winter time shells... so exciting!

I was being serenaded by these two lovely folks from above that rock--- "If i fall, will you let me down easy. If I leave my heart with you tonight will you promise me that you're going to treat it right?"

Exploring

mountains + hiking= happy dave!

Family photo!
awwweee we love each other!

love bug

CRMW strategy meeting... we were able to rip open the big bag of 'what is our strategy, what are we doing, how are we doing it, and why are we here?' a long day of meetings, but totally productive.

More strategy session break outs- at the end- we came to the conclusion that one day is not enough and we have scheduled a follow up session to put that bag we ripped open back together... woohoo! (i love meetings, i love strategy, and i love collaborative conversations... even if they take us a while to get through!)

The only photo taken at Powershift (from my camera). Lord Andrew leading the crew...

Powershift 2011--- ended up being rough. The trainings went better than I expected, but still felt like an un-strategic use of resources (time, money, people power...). Blair Outreach went really well, to spite not having a table (which means there was no CRMW outreach- bummer!).

Most notable and summary report I can give? We made the very smart choice of bringing a coffee maker with us- and setting it up in the training room. So on sat morning, we got the the convention center at 7:30 or so, and immediately put on a pot of coffee (duh). EK, Becks, and I all fell asleep, right next to the coffee maker- waiting for it to brew. So sad, so true, and so telling. We were woken by James yelling 'hello beautiful people' and Andrew opera singing us to our feet... yup. that's powershift 2011 in a nut shell.

Question: How do you make a 5 day march more accessible to more people? Well, you have 40 cots shipped to your house so people who need them can have another option other than sleeping on the ground or being driven to a hotel each night....

Of course, those cots may be damn near impossible to put together (as the reviews promised). We tried pulling, tugging, wiggling, inching... and every thing else to get the polls into the slots. EK and I even tried a game of tug-o-war to stretch out the canvas... no luck. Just impossible!

And then-- out of the mountains- come Ivan and Maureen. Who, after the standard push, pull, and tug- ended up using a root digger tool to pop the polls in. Next step? Test out the comfortability of them.

Conclusion of the cots: Well, it might be better than sleeping on the ground. maybe.

Mountains providing dinner for us- Morels, dryad saddle mushrooms, fiddle heads, nettles, poke, green brier shoots, chick weed, ramps, solemn seal, water leaf, dandelions, Japanese knot weed.... so. so. amazing! (plus- i'm learning a lot about wild edibles--- woo!)

Dryad Saddle mushrooms... beautiful and delicious!

Ek petty the very very cute baby goats we had at our house for a bit. William and Julia got these two babies- blacky and spot- to raise and make into dinner once they get big. They have been moved to a new home now (thanks to the extreme patience and understanding of William and Julia)...

And now- April is somehow coming to an end. What's next? Well- a week and a half of go time here, then zooming to columbus for a few days (beehive show, family/friends, work time mania), flying out to Maine for a week and a 1/2 of Beehive meetings, stopping in Boston for another show (with tyler! who i've never done a show with- sounds fun!), getting to columbus and quickly heading south for MJ Summer Camp in KY, and getting back to WV by the end (very end) of May... oh and then you know- getting ready for this totally amazing, totally huge, totally overwhelming, and totally great March thats happening starting on June 6... woah.

If you didn't catch it- the March on Blair Mountain is happening in June. You should come, and you, and you, and your friends, and your sister, and your parents.... yup- even you. Oh, and especially you!

its go time!

into the coal river valley

2011-03-16T13:19:00.000-07:00

It's true! I live in WV these days. I've been pretty dang busy... and haven't had much time for things like a blog post- but it seems well overdue! So, since I've been living here for about 2 months, there are photos from all sorts of things- an exact flow and time sequence doesn't really apply here... but here goes! The past 2 months of my time in WV....

First things first, new house! I live up Rock Creek holler with 5 other delightful people. We rent our house, and it sits on 178 acres of land on the side of Coal River Mountain. It's incredibly beautiful- with trails that lead all over the place in our back 'yard' (is a mountain a backyard? i guess so...), lots of random little out houses, a cemetery, and a stream that ranges from a trickle to a roar (it's a small little one- but sure does sound nice!)

two of the little out houses on our property- there are hopes and dreams of fixing them up enough to provide seasonal housing--- but... for now that's just a dream.

William (housemate!) showing the watershed of the coal river valley to a passerby at the capital building in Charleston--- perhaps my least favorite place to be in WV (well, next to going shopping in Beckley... maybe)

And even tho I live and work in WV these days- I've remained pretty connected to things happening in Ohio. I've been in WV for... 2 months or something now- but have spent many many of my weekends away. One of those weekends I went up to Athens for help facilitate OSEC meetings. The first night, we had a packed house as folks crammed together to hear mattie share the history of osec.

Besides having a ton of people come out for the retreat and seeing people i care about- there is one really rad thing that sticks out from the weekend- OSEC took on the 'Don't Frack with Ohio' campaign! Hells yeah! Folks spent several hours in a break out group (above) trying to figure out how OSEC can help create an Ohio movement to stop fracking.

On sunday, we finished the weekend retreat strong with a moment for closing thoughts. And as extra bonus- we were able to do it outside (mind you- this happened in... early feb... so being outside was particularly exciting)

Group photo- osec Streeting retreat Winter 2011, Athens, OH

And then there was our households valentines day celebration--- which mostly consisted of EK writing beautiful poems for everyone and hanging them in our dining room (plus- some baked goods... duh)

I went with Rooster and William to see the Edwight permit-- a MTR site. We made it up the mountain side (on a very small, very bumpy road) just before 4 pm. Which is when we heard the alarm go off and moments later heard an explosion, felt the ground move a bit, and watched as the mountain was thrust into the air. It was the first time I saw a mountain actually get exploded. As it settled, you could smell the air-- it smelled a bit like matches. Here, you can see the dust settling after the explosion. It makes it look almost small, but it's not. Oh, and that little patch of trees in the upper left of the photo- is a family cemetery.

That same day, we went for a hike on the side of Rt 3 to look at some drainage that... well... shouldn't be there. It's funny how beautiful it can look and peaceful it can feel, just moments away from the active destruction of these same mountains.

The not-so-natural drainage coming out of what we think is an old mine... it was called in to the DEP, but I don't know that anything has really been done.

This is Frankie- Beccas new teacup pig. Frankie lives outside in a pin (tho, they sure do escape alot), loves apple cores, and hates being picked up. Unless its by Becca- on a good day.

The incredible exploded flat tire- that resulted in an eye opening and incredibly awkward experience for becca and i. Long story short: after several failed attempts of changing this flat into a doughnut (think: jack falling over twice, then falling over again and getting stuck under the car... fail), we knocked on a the door of a near by house-- which was home to what turned out to be perhaps the friendliest person.

So, I found myself sitting in a strangers home with becca drinking bad coffee with even worse powdered creamer, and trying to make small talk. As one can assume- what we do around here was a question- and after trying to beat around the bush- the real answer came out- we work with CRMW. i could barely say it, as i was afraid she'd know what that meant and she'd... i'm not sure... react strongly- be angry, kick us out, not help us with our tire? the woman had never heard of it before, and i was able to talk up projects that dont directly address mtr. But the fear of how she may have responded had she known, was very telling to me- and emphasized my role... as an outsider. A radical. An environmentalist. I am those things- and there's no denying it (nor would i want to), but the combination of the 3 creates a heavy challenge- and it's not a new challenge. it's not something i didn't realize before this, but--- it made it hit home and realize exactly who i am in this story.

(anyway... back to photos of what i'm doing these days...)

In late Feb, the CRMW office hosted the March on Blair Mountain:Appalachia is Rising general meeting. About 50 folks came from all over Appalachia to jam together about the march. It was a pretty amazing moment, where I was able to put names to faces, catch up on the current permits (there are currently 7 permits that are of eminent threat to the historical site of the Battle of Blair Mountain), see the incredibly beautiful color prints of the poster (photo!), connect with the media working group, and generally feel a part of something big.

Outreach break out group for the march... And just as a bit of back story for why this March on Blair Mountain is happening (and why you should totally come...) : Remember those 7 permits I mentioned? Well those are permits that are planning to blow up Blair Mountain- a mountain where in 1921, thirteen thousand miners came together to take up arms against the company and fight for their rights to safe working conditions and collective bargaining. It was the second largest armed insurrection in Unites States history (second only to the civil war), put down only when the coal bosses brought in federal troops. The battle proved to be a landmark fight for fair wages, safe working conditions, and the right to unionize. The Battle of Blair Mountain set a powerful precedent for the rest of the country that resounds today in the continuing fight to defend collective bargaining. Now, that mountain is set to be blown up by the coal companies- an attack not only on the mountains but also an attack on the history of WV and of labor on the whole. Guess we better stand together to protect it, eh?.

A group sing along of Solidarity Forever... with the totally awesome DustBuster Sisters from Sylvester, WV (just up the road from where I live now). If you're not familiar, check out their story (or ask me about it!)

Coloring together at our dining room table. Awww ethanpants!

Baking in what appears to be a totally crazed kitchen. Since then- improvements have certainly been made and it's less of a crazy place (tho- still not what I would call 'fully functional') Either way, getting to bake and cook food for my housemates is still an enjoyable break

Ethanpants, becca, and EK in the back seat- heading up to kayford mountain. Crossed eyes may or may not be a major part of the way we communicate with each other...

We headed up to kayford to show beccas father- Leonard- the site. We went to a viewpoint I had never seen before, which took us by this giant crack in the earth--- it's hard to see how big and how deep it is- but it's huge. Just imagine if you're house was built near where the land just broke apart like that from all the blasting happening on nearby mountains...

Becca and Leonard... looking over the eerie green hills, large roads, and moonscape that was once kayford mountain. heartbreaking- no matter how many times i see it.

Meal sign up for the collective dinners ... sat night... awww!
(also notice: Friday night reads: '{Cookies} or burritos')

Dropping Ethan off at the train station in Price, WV. That morning- the morning we HAD to be on time, I woke up late and it decided to randomly snow- making rt 3 a scary drive. We got there just on time-- to learn that the train was going to be 3 hours late (that's just the way it is... doo do doo do doo do...). After that- Becca and I headed to Wise County VA to do a beehive presentation and the VA Mountain Justice Spring Break, where I got to meet some of beccas friends and see a lot of folks who are joining the movement, as well as some old timers who were putting the week long training camp together. it rocked.

And then there was the week we all spent doing support work (cooking food!) for a group of about 40 folks, who were in the valley working with Restoring Eden, doing research for a health study. The kitchen work was stressful, but the study went really well, getting more participants than expected, and the group of students was really appreciative and nice.

One challenge of the week, was making 'normal food' (what does that even mean???)- which included packing 40+ sacked lunches everyday (sandwhich meat anyone? barf!) On the bright side, Dave now feels prepared to have 40 children....

Cole slaw for everyone!

EK eating a chocolate glaze doughnut off a string- hands free- at a birthday party. I would share the post game photo of EK but that just feel cruel....

Oh just... you know... loving each other a whole lot in the E council....

While shit got real- and then got bad- in Ohio... and while things continue to rage in WI... a whole lotta folks in West Virginia attended a solidarity action. On the down side, it was a lot of politicians encouraging people to act with their vote (only), but on the bright side lots of folks came out, Nick spat a mean game about acting beyond your vote, Brandon rallied for the march on Blair, and we passed out lots of fliers for the march. So---- win win loose?

And now--- I'm sitting on the porch (where it is a lot warmer than in the house), listening to our little stream roar, catching glipses of Frankie running by, preparing myself for delving back into my to-do list (and thinking about how things on my wish list- like spend time outside and post blogs 2x a month, seem to be the first to fall off), being excited spring is here (to spite not getting in a sledding adventure), and getting excited for a quick weekend visit to columbus of a statewide fracking strategy session (plus- seeing Mattie, Megan, Mom, Ian, Bobb, Erin...).

(oh and trying not to think about what seems to be the apocalypse just around the corner...)

enough with the bad news already!

2011-02-08T09:11:00.000-08:00

Moving on from bad news about fracking and how devastating it is (though: brief bonus good news is that I am continuously hearing about new anti-fracking folks in ohio... yes!), I wanted to share nice photos from Pittsburgh and Ohio.

Pittsburgh: It's note worthy that I no longer am fighting with Pittsburgh (as a city- though i am still trying to fight the city to pay for my computer...), and am developing a slight crush on it.
boyz. doing boy things (like crochet and reading)

waddling to breakfast

The Sandwich Shop: the greatest place for greasy and amazing diner food (and good company!)

reason number 10 to like Pittsburgh: great dumpsters!

fudge dumper success!

sammerton in the kitchen

nate drawing away

And then there was Ohio--- family, friends, cuddling... the works. I never seem to manage to be there long enough.

my first night back- i was able to see casey lane play open mic! Which was extra special because last time i was in ohio- casey was not. AND he played a bunch of ryan adams for me. yip!

pizza with the family!

Chai Cupcakes for Emmas birthday... success! I made the frosting with a rue (flour and milk)- so it was less sweet than normal and still thick and great (and it was ginger frosting)! Ah- I'm officially into experimenting with frosting types (and icings... but less so).

Recipe for Chai cupcakes:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cardamom, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger.
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar (a little less would be fine--- since the frosting was not over sweet)
2 eggs
cap full of vanilla
1/2 cup brewed chai tea, room temperature
1/2 cup milk
Method: Whisk flour, powder, salt, and cardamon. Cream butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Blend 1/3 of the flour mixture with the butter. Add Chai tea and combine. Then another 1/3 of flour, then milk, then the rest of the flour. Bake for 15 min at 350. Makes about a dozen delightful cupcakes.

Birthday dinner with the delware gang (where cupcakes were had by all!!)

silly/sleeping/thinking friends

best friieeenndz

group photo! it's been years since we've had one...

For emmas second birthday dinner- she had a pizza party at a friends house in columbus. She made about a million pizzas- all as delightful as this one!

no time for sitting down to serve pizza!

pizza dinner party- horray!

Annndd then I left Ohio once again. So it goes. But I headed to the Kentucky 4-h Leadership Center to do my first ever full-on beehive solo presentation at the Kentucky Sierra Club Winter Meetings! Whew! (don't worry- i think it went well).

And then... I drove to Rock Creek WV to move in! I promise- updates on my house, my work, and all my new friends and adventures are to come! But first- heading to Athens for the weekend to help facilitate the OSEC steering retreat (and fit in visiting friends, dancing really hard, and getting to the bulk food depot!)

it hits hard, when it hits home.

2011-01-24T13:33:00.000-08:00

Once again, the pace of life has been very very fast. Since my last post- I've moved to WV, did a show in KY (by myself!), spent time in ohio (never enough), and learned a lot about fracking. So first things first... fracking. (what the frack!?)

I recently went to Pittsburgh to learn about Hydrological Fracturing, with some other bees. I'd seen gasland, I spent some time reading about it online, and speaking with a woman from an Neogap working on fracking issues in ohio-- and I knew it wasn't good. To spite feeling fairly uninformed- I felt it was really bad.

(Gas drills in Hickory, PA)

After spending a few days around PA, speaking to different organizations and individuals that are connected to fracking- my fears have been fully confirmed (and then some). It's hard to give the full download of what's happening with fracking (and I'm sure I couldn't give it even if I wanted to), so instead I'll just encourage a few sites for the basic information...
Gasland: What's Fracking?
Sierra Club Natural Gas site (with side links to 'what is fracking')
Fracking 101 (wordy, not very user friendly- but a useful over view)

(This is an image of a drill site in Hickory, PA. A place that's been very hard hit by fracking.)

The process- in a very general sense- means drilling 3,000- 8,000 feet down and then out ('a mile down, a mile out') in order to push high pressure water/sand/checmical solution (frack fluid) down so that it fractures the shale formation and releases lots of gas. Above is a general diagram of the geology that is being drilled into... notice the ground water it goes through.

When we were in Pittsburgh, we had a chance to chat with a handful of people who helped us get a grasp of what was what. We talked to some amazing organizers with Marcellus Protest, who also have a very great website that is worth checking out. We met with the Shadbush Collective as well, who had a Fracking 101 workshop at the Pittsburgh free school we went to. We also met with Mountain Watershed Association, based in Melcroft. There we learned a lot about leases and permits- which was incredibly useful to me. We were shown a very useful website, called fractracker, which if you log into it the 'datatool' page, there are maps of all the wells in PA. We also learned there that only 1% of drilling jobs are going to folks from PA. So much for a job boom, huh?

The biggest overaching thing we heard about was water. The fracking process uses TONS of water. Literally. Each time a well is fracked, it uses anywhere between 1 and 8 million gallons of water- and each well can be fracked many times over. That's a lot of water! But it gets worse, because the water isn't just 'water' but instead it becomes frack fluid. Which means that there are all sorts of gnarly chemicals added to the water- like formaldehyde, naphthalene (moth balls- a neurotoxin), and ethylene glycole (antifreeze). Lots of the chemicals that are used (70%!!!) effect our skin, eyes, or other sensory organs.

Ok, so that doesn't sound good, but what's worse? Not only does that frack fluid likely make it into the aquifers (I mean, check out that diagram again...), but in PA it gets put into the drinking water... on purpose! Since oil and gas are exempt from the clean water and clean air acts (what!? it's true!), this frack fluid is being sent to municipal water treatment plants. But, 'treatment plant' suggests it gets treated. Nope, instead it just gets diluted. Above is a map of the treatment plants that accept it. And this is an interactive map that shows where this frack fluid is going in more detail.

Another way they get ride of Frack Fluid is by creating frack ponds. We met a woman names Jenn who has a frack pond 900 ft away from her home. Many of the chemicals that are used are VOCs (volatile organic compounds), which means they pretty easily get into the air. Over and over again, people (including Jenn) have reported getting nose bleeds, headaches and experiencing memory loss when their homes near fracking wells/ponds.

We met with Erik in his home to hear about whats going on in the area, and also meet with a powerhouse names Dorthy who gave us lots of context.
Erik was lovely enough to show us around Hickory--- we drove around pretty randomly. Pretty much every turn had a whole new sight line of gas drills.

We came up one road with, which ended at a farm which had all of these signs. That's a whole lot of leases and future wells. Yikes.

There are lots of smaller caps around. These are wells that (mostly) have been fracked- and perhaps will be fracked again but are currently pretty passively collecting gas. They look pretty similar to shallow well collectors, like the ones around my mamas house.

Flaring is another big issue that many folks talked about. Gas will be light for days at a time- creating huge flames that shoot out. This is not only bright and loud, but it's also releasing all sorts of things into the air.

We also had a lovely 'mixer' pot luck with lots of different folks in Pittsburgh who are working on Fracking. It was so nice to be able to connenct with folks there. I was able to connect more with Anne who is also from ohio and trying to get a handle on what's going on there, as well as other folks from shadbush.

So that's sort of what I learned. Mostly what I learned was that this shit is scary. I learned that with the current loophole in regulations for fracking, preventing leases from being signed may be the best 'first step' thing to do. Right now, there are well over 400 leases signed in ohio. I also had it ingrained a bit more that it takes all angles of resistance to be effective- landowner coalitions, community bans of fracking (like in Pittsburgh!) and challenging corporate personhood, legislative work- like the house bill- the FRAC Act (Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness to Chemical Act), large scale media work or protests, water testing and legal battles over getting clean water to individuals effected by fracking... all of it. All of the time, from every angle and every place and every person. Which- makes me feel totally crazed and is shaking my view pretty hard about what role I do, or do not play in this movement.
I've been trying to reach out to anyone and everyone I know in Ohio who is working on this. They've put in a verticle test well in Belmont County that will drill down 14,000 feet, which suggests gas companies are looking into the Utica Shale. This significantly ups the ante- not only because it's deeper, in some good old NIMBYism fashion ('not in my back yard'), its scary as hell because it covers almost all of ohio- including Marion County, Morrow county, and Delaware county (sisters family, brothers family, mother and father- aka all of them).

meeting mania in machias!

2011-01-20T19:51:00.000-08:00

For the past two weeks, I've been squirreled away in the delightful winter wonderland that is also known as machias. And while it was snowy and delightful outside (one night, it got down to -8!), mostly we hung out inside the hive to look back at 2010 and look forward to 2011 (and beyond!).

I neglected to take photos for the most part- so have stolen them from mattie, recent, and matt (thanks!)

On the final travel leg, we had a car full of people (7 of us, i think) and our things- and then stopped at trader joes for a major stock up. So Nikki has some extra cushion for the ride home (only about 6 hours left in the trip at that point).

We created a whole new world- called stickyland- where all bees could make a detailed list of all the tasks we do, so that we can work towards a more even distribution of labor by passing on tasks from people with too many to people with too few.

Making stickies
sharing back with the group about stickyland

new bee caucus

winter time beach! it was a first for me... so pretty.

skipping rocks on jasper beach on one of the few breaks...

Lists and lists...

Note takin' (all the time)

meetings may have killed nate...

Somewhere in between meetings- we managed to have a birthday party for everyone- and had friends from town join us!

Even frida got to celebrate with a catfood cake!

party party!

delightful

The first coal project debrief-- starting with a timeline of the 3 year project! Epic!

meeting smiles.

chattin it up

prepping for the snow fall during a lunch break.

erin not only survived the snow-- but loved it (if she says other wise... she's in denial)

Trying to define out Niche, mission, vision and goals... it's sort of kind of a really big thing.

Outside of meetings, the agenda team had more meetings to talk about the meetings! MEETING MANIA!
Planning meetings on the beach...

such a lovely day!

Reporting back on the what happened in 2010 with the Mesoamerica Resiste project (lots of things!)

we make mind maps--- it's true!

sharing

doing some political alignment work (and yes, that is in fact another mind map)

investigating the magical world that is the poster
reading a list of beehive magic (consider it our secret spell)

Coming up with big ideas... together.

We finished up meetings just a few days ago... with the last two days being a full on, no water breaks sprint to the finish line. And the next morning- many of us split ways. To North Carolina, to New Orleans, to Colorado, to Pennsylvania, to California, to Ohio... and holding ground in Maine. Two weeks isn't enough time to see people- especially when every breath you take involves the word 'meeting.'

And now I'm sitting in sams living room in Pittsburgh- with Recent and Nate- trying to hear whats what with fracking around here by putting our ears as closely to the ground as we can. I'm learning a lot, and being afraid a whole lot, too.

More to come.

tid bits from Ohio

2011-01-04T12:17:00.000-08:00

I'm currently sitting in the Boston Airport with Mattie after 3 days of travel. To Pittsburgh by car, and hanging out with Sam, then bussing to NYC and see Mike, and then another bus to Boston. Which is where we are waiting for Agent to to arrive to the east coast, and Nikki to come pick us all up--- and onto Machias! (and picking up Kbar and Tracy in Portland, too!).

Colin and Kayla get down on the banjo

Lime Sugar cookies---- a brilliant idea (if i do say so myself), needs a bit of perfection before the recipe finds its way on here...

I spent a wintery afternoon at the Stratford Ecological Center (as very recommended by Joe Brehm) with Miss Leslie. Farm animals, fields, green house, hiking trails, library, and more cool things. Totally worth checking out, it's very close to delaware.

Just eating a Sweet Potato Pie... fresh in the mail from New Orleans! Along with other amazing things... like the most magnificent snow flake I've ever seen, very cute patches (galore!), and my cannot-die water bottle! Aww... Erin!

And then I found this gem on photobooth... new haircuts! (well- new at the time- when these were taken in Baltimore)

Getting crafty with super hero capes for the boys...

Finn opening his up on Christmas (ok- they had no idea what it was...)

Sporting some pretty great capes... with magnet connectors (emmas idea!) around the neck

And Kayle checking out (and enjoying?) her stuffed rocket ship... on theme with the capes of course!

Dad hanging with Kayla

Elefun with grandma (who is cut off here...). Woo!

Installing the bunk beds... you know-- big boy beds.

My attempt at recreating the BEST pancakes ever--- from Bubba's in NYC. Attemp--- semi successful. More on this soon(ish)...

A vagabond jewelry box Emma made me... little flaps for earnings, pockets, and loops to connect in necklaces. And it all rolls up-- to result in a easy to carry, tangle free jewelry box! So good!

It is very nice to know I have a packed (!!!) schedule ahead of me and my days of putzing around my mothers house are over (for now). But, it wouldn't be so nice if I didn't have that break with the family and time with friends.

Maineward ho!

best. cutest. smartest. ever!

2010-12-19T15:09:00.000-08:00

That's right- i didn't forget about this thing (just forgot about my camera for a while...)

and since getting back to ohio- i've been doing lots of sleeping, sitting, reading--- all pretty non-blog worthy things. But i've also been doing a lot of hanging out with family and friends.

Generally I forget to take photos of such lovely things- unless of course- those family members happen to be the best, cutest, and smartest kids. ever. (ever!)

nels- is perhaps the biggest fan of the true cost of coal there is. he's super content asking questions about it for hours--- way beyond my attention span to keep answering him. So, while his brother colored---- he studied. and asked. and looked. and studied.

see? the cutest!

hot chocolate for a snack? well--- whipped cream anyway.

And when i got the coal banner in the mail (woo!), we naturally made a tent out of it...

inside the tent...

imagine this- happening for about 45 min straight. finn could barely stand up he was so dizzy. who knew parachute people could be so much fun? (well- finn and nels did i guess).

My mother and I met Colin and Rick- and their babies- to go to the santa train in elaware. but, we had to wait in line for a long while (hence- the well bundled miss Kayla)

my mama and her granbaby

all aboard the train!

cheezin it

just had their train tickets punched

kayla and colin-- checking out the model trains

trainssssss!

Nels delivered his letter (and his brothers letter) to santa. Finn asked for toys, candy and books. Nels had a much more specific list--- some highlights? a remote control dinosaur (or boat... either one) and toothpaste (clearly- what 5 year old doesn't ask for that for christmas?)

Kayle totally hung out with santa--- unlike finn who would have nothing of it

finny in a pretty sweet conductor hat

Time to bake cookies! yes!

First up, sugar cookies

Kayla can make them, too

stars, hearts, and christmas trees

icing cookies

green, yellow, and purple frosting---- purple was by far the most popular choice.

very, very thoughtful

so much work, so very tired...

Mixing dough for snickerdoodles

squishing the snickerdoodles into cookies

and of course--- after baking so many cookies- you have to eat some, too!

so delicious!

thats all for now- but you can pretty much bet on more photos soon...

the last leg

2010-11-21T13:12:00.000-08:00

Well, tour is over. I'm currently in Columbus, GA and we're all resting after a long weekend of cross-pollinating at the School of Americas Watch mobilization. We've been on tour since Appalachia Rising, and since tour has started, I've probably traveled more than I have in my collective life up to that point.

I believe (though, it's hard to remember) I spent time in 12 states- Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts, Rhodes Island, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Woah.

After Michaela left us in NYC, we headed to Dickenson College in PA, and then off to Swathmore, outside of Philadelphia. We had dinner with a up and coming artist collective at the school- who is currently planning a mural about local and sustainable food in their dining area- and had a really great show there. Awkwardly, we stayed in a very fancy hotel-type-place.

We were very out of place and the fellow visitors had a hard time believing we were supposed to be there.

It could have something to do with our weird habits of rolling posters in public spaces...

We also had a chance to check out their very beautiful campus- including the outdoor amphitheater, rose garden, and very elegant buildings.

We headed to a community art space in Wilmington, DE- where they had our posters up as art in their gallery and many other amazing pieces of art (like drawings of bees!)

It was a small, but great crowd.

In baltimore, erin and i both got hair cuts and stayed with Sara and her partner.

We left baltimore, and got to have breakfast with my Aunt in Rockville, Maryland before she headed out of town. We were able to stay there for 2 days, and do a show near by at the University of Maryland, as well as see my uncle. We also got to see (some of) the Appalachian tour- group photo- horrah!

A.
B.
(hahah!)

Before leaving, we switched cars. Sam and Recent said bye to Claire- allowing Claire to ensure Erin and I's safe and un-broken down travels for the rest of tour (plus- when it rains, there isn't the constant fear of the duct tape/ply wood/tarp back window leaking and destroying all of our posters!).
And Erin and I said good riddance to little red (just kidding- little red treated us well and we tried to be stewards of the truck- making sure to get it a new tire, an oil chance, check all fluids- and even get to windshield wipers) before sending it home to Maine, to be back with Nicole and the rest of the hive.

We stayed with Erins lovely grandparents in Greensborow, NC for a couple days. Erins grandpa- 'bamboom'- played us some music on the bagpipes.

And Erin gave her nanna and some family friends and relatives a small kitchen table presentation- which- they loved.

Erin and I stopped to watch the sunset for a bit on the way to her fathers in Charleston, SC.

I don't know who would write 'erin smells'- but some things... are undeniable.

Drawing in the sand.

Brea bought erin and i wax mustaches- grape flavored- which we tried on together while packing the cars (with the midwest tour- Sophie, Tyler, and Nikki!!!!) outside of the home of an ally in Atlanta GA.

Yup, that's a dollar in the toilet in our hotel room in columbus, ga. I think we all need to drink more water...

The six of us- Nikki, Sophie, Brea, Erin, Tyler and I- all set up bright and early saturday morning for the SOA watch mobilization.

Last moment sign making and patch prepping...

followed by many hours of story telling...

and more story telling. in between- talking and listening to folks about the beehive, coal, war, free trade... the works. Its a pretty strange event- but it was fun to be there with the beehive and chat a million and two people up about the work.

And now- we're all in the hotel letting things wind down and getting ready to all head out on our various adventures- florida, new orleans, machias... and ohio. And while tour has been fun (and challenging, educational, empowering, scary, motivating... and many other things) the idea of sleeping in one place for a while sounds really nice- particularly with the knowledge that when I do ground my feet, it will be in Ohio with all my family and many wonderful friends.

Go, Go, Go around the east coast

2010-10-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

So- per usual it's been a while since getting more stuff up here. Just a testament to how busy things are I suppose.

Right after the last post- my camera broke. wha whah. So there are some epic things missing in photograph form...

We spent a couple days in Ithica NY- which- was perhaps my favorite part of tour thus far (well... top 5 at least). We hiked around a bit, saw some amazing gorges, waterfalls, and a cool cemetery. We stayed with some anti-fracking activists at a place called Ghost Cat (where Ryan gave me my first real banjo lesson- renewing my faith and desire to actually play!) Maria and other Ghost Cat friends gave us the downlow on Fracking, including a copy of Gasland. It took us a bit to watch it- but once we did I realized that everything I was hearing about it is not just rumors- but real. And it's horrifying. Not only is it really awful, scary, and all other things bad- but it hits super close to home. Too close.

I knew it was in PA, and happening all over the place- but then I learned it's all over Ohio, too. The Marcellus Shale covers LOTS of Ohio- way more than I thought. AND after emailing an Ohio oil and gas organization, NEOGAP, I found out that on the eastern boarder of Ohio- companies are already working on leasing land. Terrifying. I still have a lot to learn about Fracking, but just thought I'd share that little bit of info I have and encourage folks to watch Gasland.

But anyway- after Ithica we did other cool stuff- like a presentation at a community garden in Providence (where we saw many cool things- like an old firehouse that is now a community space and apartments, a cool and amazing place called the Steal Yard, and did a great show at Brown University), an amazing show at Food for Thought Books in Amherst MA, and a couple of other things... all before getting to NYC (and getting a camera!)

Just testing out the new camera in staples...

Hahaha.

Flip book in action at the Commons during a dismantling monoculture presentation in Brooklyn.

Erin and Sully= friends foreveeer.

Subways and folding Wannabee booklets- the usual.

The massive show we did a Laguardia High school- a couple hundred students were there. Yikes!

Laquardia students getting up close and personal with the poster

After a short presentation on the True Cost of Coal, we did a mind maping at the Renaissance school.

It was ab0ut Police Behavior- and folks shared some very scary stories about police in their community with us.

And then we had lunch with Juan at school- yay!

And got to hang out while Juan taught students there how to screen print- using crayons!

Central park snacks with Roger- horrah!

Practicing trumpet on the dock of the house boat we stayed on in Brooklyn

Rolling posters on the top of the boat- getting ready for the mini-RMO show later that night.

RMO let us practice with the dance team that night- which was super fun! After we learned the dance to matador, the band took their practice to the street and did a small show for anyone who was around!

Mini show for RMO!

And Michaela and I practiced a new way of presenting the poster- using a technique of highlighting each scene in the poster by extending a hand to push it out more than the other images. We have a few details to figure out... but watch out for this new style soon!
(kidding.... clearly).

Hanging out on the boat.

And then- we went canoeing on the Gwanus. It is perhaps the most disquesting water i've ever seen...

But it was really fun and we avoiding touching the water at all costs- rumor has it the water its self has gonorrhea.

Erin- just hanging out in front of the ghost ship.

On the way to the Grange, we saw... a double rainbow! Oh My God! It's so vivid!!

It's starting to look like a triple rainbow!

We went to an old factory to see the very amazing acre of roof top community garden.

The garden is called The Grange- so naturally we had a minor freak out about how cool it was.

City scape meets food scape

Later that night, we played games at Johns house with many delighful people.

Of course, we played the drawing game... which one of the best ones went like this...
"(1) molly and erin picked a pack of moichi ice cream balls.
(2) erin and michaela pick and eat dandelion flowers under the sun.
(3) heres the thing about those bees: they graze like sheep.
(4) When the bees saw that they couldn't free the ram, they were so upset they threw up in the grass.
(5) sheeps milk makes bees vomit. "
haha! so great!

The we jumped out of NYC for an afternoon show in NJ

And then we headed back to the big city and... It was Halloween! In a last ditch effort for costumes- we decided to embrace the cliche and all three go as Bees! So we did a show at the very amazing Bluestockings book store dressed as bees... ahaha!

We even had wings!

She's cute. I like her.

We took this opportunity to have delicious photo shoots in the corner... (haha).

Dancing at the c-squat after party for critical mass (which- we missed because of the presentation that evening).

And that night- Michaela had to leave the US of A because of these weird and horrid things they call boarders. We stayed out as late as we could (which- wasn't very late...) and stayed up with her until she had to run out the door at about 4 am to catch a train to get the airport. She was flying out to Panama and then busing to Guatemala to do solidarity work with folks impacted my mining there. She's great.

We miss her a lot.

beehive real world

2010-10-13T12:41:00.001-07:00

So, it's now week 2 (3?) of tour. After leaving Appalachia Rising, Michaela, Erin and I jumped into little red and hit the road.

You know, just taken good bye photos (the day east coast tour left dc- meaning we won't see each other in a super long time).

From there, we headed to the Yestermorrow Design School, in Warren Vermont. We rolled into town a couple hours before our evening show. It was my first presentation of the True Cost of Coal!

That night, we went out to the Theater/Coffee house/Bar/Open mic/doughnut shop across town.

And we got to sleep in a super cute strawbale cabin a bit up the mountain the school is located next to (they built it!).

Since it's a design school, they have all sorts of really cool building around- such as this really amazing tree house!

And it's handicapped accessible!

Horray for tree houses!! Too bad it was too cold and rainy to sleep in it that night...

Composting toilet... with zipper door!

They even helped us make a new back 'window' for our truck.

Ah, so helpful! They even helped us put it on, in the rain, under a tarp. Yippie!

After Yestermorrow, we rolled into Burlington and did a show in the garage of a collective house there. We weren't there very long and the show was fairly impromptu, but it was great and everyone there was super friendly.

Our next stop was in Troy, NY. We were hosted by the very cool Sanctuary for Independent Media , a old church that has been made into a community center that does lots of diy media work (and other cool stuff)!

On Friday night, we did an evening 'gallery' showing and presentation, and there was a very fun band that played, too! The next morning, we did a three hour workshop, an evening presentation, and helped facilitate a post-movie (showing of 2012) mind mapping exercise. It was busy busy, but lots of fun.

Once we left Troy, we headed to do a show at the Orchard School,. located in Alstead, NH.We stayed with Ann and got to help celebrate her birthday. We had infused vodkas she made (like orange pine and blueberry and other amazing flavors), slept in a yurt, and spent the next morning using a computer at the bakery there, and picking apples from the orchard!

We did a show in the after school program, with about 20-30 kids from ages 4-8 or so (?). It was really cool. We did 'where's waldo' with the coal poster, drew a bug dance party, colored the poster and shared stories about the poster! Super cute, but somehow we didn't take any photos (what!?). That evening we did an 'adult' presentation, which was really great, too- but not nearly as cute.

We did two classroom visits at Emmanuel College in Boston, sharing the True Cost of Coal and trying to get more indepth with Beehive method sharing, too.

And after a few other things in Boston, it was time for HONK!- a festival of activist street marching bands. Yes, it is as cool as it sounds! We had a huge set up and husstled posters ALL day, and then in the evening we packed up and went out to dance to the great music all around! We got a chance to see What Cheer? Brigade. We danced, they played, they danced, we all had fun.

After that, we headed to the after party, where they had amazing food catered there and FREE beer (free GOOD beer, at that!)

We saw many friends at Honk, including Woods!

The next day, was the parade! It was the first year the beehive with in the parade, and even though we were kinda small scale, we had lots of set up to do and folks worked super hard to make a way to carry the banner in the parade.

We could fold and unfold it while we walked- so cool!

Erin got extra dressed up for the parade- go erin, go!

Michaela helped break down the story of the True Cost of Coal once we crashed a space at Octoberfest.

Chattin it up

We love, love LOVE Rude Mechanical Orchestra, so much. We somehow made it to every show they did that weekend and dance the whole time!

And then we went home (being very much so in the way of bostonites trying to get where ever they were going on the sidewalks...)

Nate made out with Thomas...

Erin looked Hawt, super hawt.

Hanging out with Susie and John, at their great home in Sommerville (Boston), before heading out for dinner and the show at the end of HONK! They gave us a home for the whole time we were in Boston, and Susie helped organize HONK! which gave us a great in for things like the parade and after party.

That night, we all had tickets to go see all the bands play 3 song (or so) sets (we had tickets, thanks to Susie!). It was really great because we didn't have much time during the day to see bands so we got to check it out after. So many great bands played... I can't even handle it!

And no matter how sad it may be, good things like HONK! have to come to an end (until next year anyway). But, that's ok because we then headed to Gill, MA where we stayed with Aaron for a night on the farm. Always lovely. In the morning, we headed to do a show in Brattleborro High School, which was AMAZING!

We had two full hours, so we shared a bit about the Beehive, then did some methodology sharing and made mind maps. Then we got to connect the three different mind maps (Education, the War in Iraq, and Homophobia in Schools), which was really cool to see people making all sorts of connections that maybe we didn't see before.

We've been very very busy (as you can see...). So busy this has been the first time I had to update, and today we took our first real morning off. We had coffee, played scrabble, and went for a hike up a mountain that overlooked Brattleborro! So lovely. We also got to see some students from the high school do an art instilation, where folks are making artwork in the sidewalks all across the city! Really cool! And now, we have a show in about 2 hours and are getting ready to have a lovely curry dinner with our hosts! Horray!

appalachia-lujah!

2010-10-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

Appalachia Rising was really amazing! I was a little worries about it, heading to DC and trying to make things happen there made me think twice about it, but it was really amazing. There was two days of conference stuff (Sat and Sun), which I unfortunately was unable to participate in at all (beehive stuff), but I generally heard good things from folks about it, and people were giving off good vibes in every direction.

We were set up in the hallway, and it was the first time I was able to participate in returning the poster to the people who shared their stories with the bees. It felt really good to be there working with the Bees and working with so many amazing people all working towards the same goal.

Erin sharing the poster with a group of people huddled around in the hallway.

Reverend Billy and the church of life after shopping spread the gospel of ending mtr.

Lovely music filling the room

The next morning, on Monday, folks gathered at Liberty Park in DC for the mass mobilization. The weather was not good- rainy rainy rainy- but still people came out in drives- at least 1,000 showed up to march but very possibly more. There were speakers, musicians, and lots of people doing their best to take on big coal and end mountaintop removal.

Bees Plannin'

I say Mountain You say Justice!
Mountain!
Justice!
Good Ol Uncle Scam...

talkin'
right?

One: We are the people
Two: You can't ignore us
Three: You cannot blow up mountains!

Holdin up giant banners sure does make your arms tired...

Making jams and keeping energy high

Hugs for friends who have to leave

Always remember to get in a good dance before being arrested

Yup.

Over one hundred people were arrested outside the white house during the action, as they refused to leave until the mountains stopped being destroyed.

Exhausted bees at the end of a long weekend

Check out the video of the action! And there's been lots of media around it, including from Democracy Now!

Woo!

visiting ohio

2010-10-02T07:14:00.000-07:00

feels super weird to say that i 'visited' ohio. didn't i live there for the past 23 years??

I failed to take many photos of the good ol' OH... but took a few when I remembered...

gems on noses with super cute boys named finn.

pot luck and friends!

Open mic at the union. Dandelion sings... with backup dancers!

beehive poster in the office of sustainability! yay!

bobb hatt!

and on my trip to the midwest- i went to court for g20 stuff (yup- that was a full year ago). After my lawyer showed up late (awesome!) I found out that they had double booked the court room and could not hold my case that day. Cool! So I had two options 1) take a plea or 2) postpone. So, I took a plea- seeming as I don't know where I'll physically be in a week let alone 3 months and have no income to continue paying for things like flights to Pitt. So, that sucked. But! On a good note, the ACLU has put together a suit against the police for their uncalled for actions the night I (and many others) were arrested. So here's to wishing the folks able to partake in the suit some very serious luck (and justice).

and now- i'm in Troy, NY and need to get ready for a workshop this afternoon. Yay!

Human Powered Carnival

2010-09-21T08:03:00.001-07:00

Half way between the September meetings, some of us broke away to go to the Human Powered Carnival. Super fun. There was a theme of gnomes- which apparently those who live on the land the carnival is held on- hate gnomes. making it an ironic theme.

Teter Totter that goes in circles, too!

Sometimes our socks match. Ok, often.

Yo Yo Swings!

Roller rink!

Waiting in line for the Take-A-Break booth.

Stand up swing.

A play about gnomes... of course.

Part of the Circus show, this woman just swallowed that sword shes holding.

They also juggled fire, ate glass, hammered a nail up their nose, did a burlesque show, had a skit, rode unicycles, and other cool things.

Steal Wool+String+lighter fluid= really cool

Music, Music, Music time!

The view of the fire from the swings!

Mystery Tattoos!

Tattoo success!

Nap time!

Vroom! Time to go home...

Just a dead timber wolf- hangin with diapers. (wtf??)

and September Begins...

2010-09-13T11:37:00.001-07:00

Well- the work party is over. Summer is over. Fall is coming in... and things are changing a lot with the season (as it should be). Ian has deemed the fall "autumn of abraiding." Abraid means to awake or to arouse... so the theme seems appropriate for my fall as well.

So now, I'm currently sitting in an airport in Burlington Vermont waiting for a flight. I was in vermont for the human powered carnival (photos to come later!) and am now waiting for a flight to Columbus, Ohio. Really excited to be back for a bit before jetting off again.

After getting pounds upon pounds of wild blueberry's from our lovely friends who were raking them, i started a Jam Making marathon.

Michaela and I ended up making about 4 dozen jars of it for the hive this winter.

We had a to-do list to get ready for Hurricane Earl. Turns out it was a bit of an pver reaction and the storm wasn't anything more than a regular heavy rain...

The morning of the storm we decided to head out to Jasper Beach to watch the storm roll by. So we all got decked out in our rain gear and worked on heading out the door...

The waves were pretty big... taller than me by the time they hit the shore. But we still made sure the ocean knew we wanted something more... so we all yelled at it together "Is that all you got!?!"

It was barely raining by the time we got there, so we decided to just play in the ocean instead.

We definately had to brace ourselves against the waves.

buried feet.

Sometime they were big enough to knock us down, and sometimes drag us around a little bit. Don't worry, no one got washed into the ocean.

Cute to the max.

Bloody knees... you won this round, ocean.

Erin made blueberry pies! They were so good! (please not the Bees and Beehive...)

We started the September meetings... I could only stay for the first week though. Here we were planning tour routes... Midwest, Appalachia, East Coast, West Coast, South West... lots of tours. lots of stops. Tour updates posted here!

I made Chamomile Shortbread Cookies with honey glaze on top for the True Cost of Coal presentation at the Grange this past week. I think the recipe needs some tweaking before I put it up...

Giving our 32 ft Banner a closer look as the presentation started... lots of folks showed up and the presentation went so well- Can't wait to learn to give the presentation myself!

Well... its getting close to plane time. See you in ohio?

Blackfly Ball Baking

2010-09-05T07:07:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make post about the baking from the Ball. We had lots of things to serve...

- Carrot Cake
- Blueberry Crumble Cake
- Apple Strussel Coffee Cake
- Zuchini Cupcakes
- Vanilla and Chocolate Vegan Cupcakes
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Double Chocolate Cookies
- Snickerdoodles
- Vegan Ginger Snaps
- No Bakes
- Oatmeal Cookies
- Blueberry Split Seconds
- Criss Cross Peanut Butter Cookies
- Rice Crispy Treats
- Lemon Squares
- Vegan Brownies
- Blueberry Corn Muffins
and
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Plus the shortbread cookies and walnut brownies my mother sent!
All of these recipes are posted here, including notes such as "don't bother making these" or "there were great!." A lot of the recipes are from places like Joy of Baking, but some are from my family or other sources.

Snickerdoodles
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
sugar and cinnamon for rolling

Method:
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs. Mix flour, tartar, salt, and soda. Combine flour and butter mixtures. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture (1 cinn:3sugar). Flatten cookies on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 12- 15 min.

Carrot Cake
3/4 pound raw carrots, grated (about 2 1/2 cups)
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla

Method:
Mix oil, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Mix flour, powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Fold in carrots. Bake in greased cake pan (bunt cake) for 20-30 min at 350.

(I frosted it with a coconut frosting, using coconut milk, powdered sugar, vanilla, and coconut flakes)

Vegan Ginger Snaps
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs ginger
1/2 tsp all spice
3/4 cup butter (vegan)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
4 tbs molasses
1 egg (3 tbs water + 1 tbs ground flax seed)

Method: Cream butter, sugars, molasses and 'egg' together. Mix flour, soda, salt, ginger, and all spice. Combine wet and dry. Make into flat disc cookies and place on greased cookie sheer. Bake for 20 min at 350.

I made each recipe by at least x3. But some of them were made by x4 or x5- like chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, blueberry crumble cake, no bakes etc. All of that resulted in two long tables very full of baked goods- and (I think) lots of happy mouths at the Ball.

Work Party: Week 4 etc

2010-09-05T06:28:00.000-07:00

After the Ball, things got a lot more quiet. A lot of folks left Machias, but we still had around 20 for most the last week in August. There was a shift in work load, since we were no longer functioning around an event, and things slowed down a bit.

After the ball, lots of love letters were left. Some of them got really cute, used lots of bee puns, and sometimes even left little gifts- such music from The Auroratones!
We worked on scrapping the front doors the the Clark Perry house. They're orignial and needed a lot of love, but after about 20 hours of work, one door is done!

We also worked on making a sign for Mano en Mano (Hand in Hand). And Brea taught me how to use a circular saw (cool!!).

It looked really beautiful when we were done.

We had a sleep over in the Grange. Cute.We tore up the bathroom floor after some water got all over the place, to find a beautiful hardwood floor. Matt's been working super hard on it for a really long time, it's going to look so good when it's done!

Morning yoga at the grange.

The first ever publicly advertised Beehive presentation at the Grange. It went really well and there will be another one on September 9th.

We had our last skill share. We learned how to darn a sock and Woods taught us some hobo biking tricks- like knots quickly but tautly and things he suggests bringing with you on a trip.

We went to Roque Bluffs to hang out, and go swimming. The water here is pretty cold, but it was so much fun. I haven't been in an ocean since I was probably like 7 years old.

There were tons of really delicious rose hips in hedged between the road and the beach. We all snacked on them- a lot.

Silly.

We also made a pinata on the beach- for Emilys friends birthday. I didn't see the end of it, but it was going to be a blueberry, since they worked in the Blueberry fields together.

Massages!

After the beach, we went to take out and all had ice cream, sweet potato fries, and other goodies- like the biggest sundae- ever!

Post meal massages.

A bunch of us took a day trip to the American Folk Festival- in Bangor- and stopped at a little gas station filled with all sorts of thing- including peanut butter fudge!

Erin came with her mom, who was visiting for the week from Florida! Yay moms!

We saw lots of great music there. And even though it was called the American Folk Festival, a lot of it was from around the world. I only caught a handful of bands but Le Vent du Nord was my favorite one, they were so good!

Some friends left that day on a Greyhound in Bangor.

On the way home, on of our cars broke down.

Woods and I hitched back into town and Erin and her mom stayed with the car to wait for the tow truck. We just heard from the mechanic that the car is no longer functional. Making it the 2nd car since July to quit on us. Uhg.

And now, the work party is for real over. Very few folks are still around, fall weather is rolling in- in a very beautiful welcoming way, and we've started September meetings. Which- should go on for about two weeks. We'll break for fun times in Vermont this weekend, and then I'll jet off to Ohio for a brief but exciting visit before leaving again for fall tour.

Blackfly Ball!

2010-08-25T13:47:00.000-07:00

Whew! It took me a week and a half, but I did it! I've posted photos of the 5th Annual Blackfly Ball!

It was so much fun and I'm pretty sure there were lots of others who agree. Everyone was dressed up and looking extra great. It was one of the most amazing inter-generational things I've ever done, and I was joined by give or take 700 others! All I can say is all my friends who couldn't come this year better clear their calendars for next years ball and make their way to Machias!

Most these photos were taken by Neko. You can see a very full album from the ball on his flickr site!

The Grange, happy to be very filled with very happy people.

Orange River Jazz band kicking the night off. The members played in the Grange when they were my age, and are still preforming together in the grange- love it!

Pretty.

Ivan- first up on the second stage.

Sassy Pants.

Local music outside!

We're cute, it's true.

Joe Overton and friends played music for the square dance! There were so many people dancing that we had to move lines up to the stage and the balcony. The floor moved so much that and was really amazing!

It was fun- but some folks thought it was all a bit scary, too

So many people- everywhere!

I really love this photo

!

Second Stage

Time for torches!

Debo Band played a really great set, it had everyone dancing!

Dancing outside during debo.

Debo Band!

Playing out in the crowd

Glowbug.

Face Paint for everyone!

Oh Yeah?

I love everything about this photo and refuse to explain any of it.

Our lovely dragonfly!

Outside distro

Happy hive

Look at all those beautiful patch quilts!

Josh loves me!

The Ukulele Orchestra!

Dancing during the Ukulele Orchestra

RMO lines up outside... ready to march the Ukulele-ers out.

The Ukulele Orchestra left out the window... literally.

RMO shaking it up

After storming the Grange, RMO took their show on the road.

They marches out the Grange...

They went across the street...

And into the park to play the rest of their set on the second stage.

Rude Mechanical Orchestra played an AMAZING show, and did a really great rendition of Deceptacon by Le Tigre about MTR.

More photos of RMO playing!

And
they all
Fell Down.

Happy Bee!!

Dance off (RMO said it was their first one!)

Sam and Erin give a shot out to the band and wrap up the night.

The beautiful stage.

Checking out the True Cost of Coal poster as the ball winds down.

All things must come to an end...

Unless lots of folks come over for a huge campfire in the backyard.

Many tents filled our yard!

Yup, there was lots of dancing and lots of fun. Can't wait til next years ball!
(Blackfly Ball Baking post to come, along with the last week+ of the Work party.)