This trip has been growing for years. There are things to be done and songs to be sung that have to happen in Ireland, England and Scotland. I don’t expect to get to all of them this time, but there are a few biggies that absolutely have to happen. There are three of my songs … Continue reading Songs That Must Be Sung, Part 1 of 3
I’m going to be 50 on the Winter Solstice. I’ve spent my whole life on the West Coast of the United States, specifically in the Bay Area. This really is an amazing place to live, and I applaud my parents’ good taste in choosing to settle here (they came from Ohio originally). However, I’ve never … Continue reading Busking My Way To Ireland
My main modes of travel are: First and foremost, on foot. It was good enough for my hominid ancestors, and it’s good enough for me. If it’s too far to walk to, given our time-starved culture, I hop on my bicycle. If bicycling is impractical or the route required is downright frightening, I get on … Continue reading The Bicycle Meditation
Lughnasadh is here. I invite you to think, what have you harvested? What harvests are yet to come in? Are the skies clear, or does rain threaten to undo all your hard work? What do you wish you had planted, back in spring? Lugh shines brightly, high overhead. Many-skilled, he invites us to work hard … Continue reading Lughnasadh
I planted lettuce today. We cut the last head on Friday, and I bought starts on Saturday at the Farmers Market. Even here, in the middle of Oakland, I am surrounded by trees, as I’ve said so often. Here is what my neighborhood looks like, in part: My neighborhood, my city, is such a beautiful … Continue reading My Garden, My Forest
I finally have a regular gig. I’ll be playing the Lorin Station Crop Swap in Berkeley every Sunday afternoon from 1-2 PM. It’s at Adeline and Alcatraz, where we have been gathering all summer to exchange the produce from our gardens, share skills, advice and supplies, and build community. http://www.lorinstationcropswap.org/ The site is beautiful, if a … Continue reading Music and Food
Back in 2010, Gaia asked me to do something for her. It’s worked out really well for me, and yesterday I realized it was time to pass it on. It’s a very simple practice, but one that has deepened with time for me. I find I can do it anywhere, any time it occurs to … Continue reading Change The World
A year or so ago, I was looking out across Oakland when my perspective suddenly flipped. Instead of seeing the trees among the houses, I saw the houses among the trees. This was when I realized just how precarious our supposed ownership of this land is. Redwoods stand like solitary steles, the tallest things in … Continue reading The Urban Forest
I was driving down Van Ness Avenue today when the forest caught my eye. It was only some red, red flowers growing in the median. They drew me in as I waited at a light, and then I saw the honeybee drinking from the tall blue iris above them. Only a moment, then the light … Continue reading The Forest Abides
We gathered under the redwoods in Ben Lomond. We were few, but somehow that only gave more power to what we experienced. There was time for deep conversation, and to learn from one another in a way that the excitement and energy of a larger group doesn’t always make room for. Workshops included drumming; alchemical, … Continue reading House of Danu Gorsedd 2012
