Maturity

"In a sense, what we face is the test of a simple proposition: does age bring with it maturity? Let's define maturity this way: as the understanding that you're not the most important thing in the world. It's hard for anyone succored by a consumer culture to mature. But it's maturity we need, maturity which must undergird any sustainable world. Only mature people might utter the two words our civilization most desperately needs to hear: 'That's enough.'"

-Bill McKibben

"Growing Old Gracefully", The Boston Globe Magazine, May 10th, 1998

From The Bill McKibben Reader

Ginkgo

Way back when, my family bought an itty bitty ginkgo tree.

We named him Gary.

Here on campus there a few HUGE ginkgo trees.

Gary is still pretty small, but someday, maybe he'll get to be that big!

These trees always make me think of my brother and sisters.

As the crazy prairie winds blow leaves around, some ginkgo leaves made their way across campus to my doorstep...

Autumn colors and an appreciation for good friends...

A few weeks ago I got a message on facebook from one of my former summer camp counselors. She is pretty great- hilarious, compassionate, and wonderfully talented. She is one of the people who inspired me to take up guitar. She wrote to a bunch of us campers asking us to support her music. She wants to get in the studio to do some professional recording. For a few dollars she promised to send us a cd of her music, so I sent her some moolah in the mail and THIS came yesterday. I've been listening to the 13 tracks on this demo all day. SO GREAT. I hope she goes places.

You can listen to her music here.

Also during this WINDY day I've been thinking about autumn colors. We're beginning to move from oranges and yellows to browns and grays as the leaves all get blown away. I've been drinking out of my favorite mug- a gift from our family friend Jamie Utt.

He is also wonderful, inspiring people all over the country to think about difficult issues with confidence. Read his blog here and visit his professional website here.

There are so many good people and the world, and I am so happy that a good number of them are in my life!

Also...

This video has made a stressful week SO much better. Especially the break-dancing tractor.

Seems to me change is in the air...

...and someone is getting what they deserve.

Prairie!

Out on the prairie for a Soil Science field trip! We took soil cores all over the place!

Fun Soil Facts!

A few fun soil facts from a book I'm reading for Soil Science (Tales From the Underground by David W. Wolfe):

- We may have evolved from clay! Basically, clays have a crystalline structure that could have evolved into DNA.

- The biomass underground probably exceeds that of the biomass above ground. Go microorganisms!!!

- Most chemical reactions take place in seconds. Nitrogen fixation takes 1.2 seconds.

- In the United States, more than 90% of fertilizer nitrogen needs in most cropping systems are met by man-made nitrogen fertilizer.

15 Artists in 15 Minutes

My mom had this on her blog:

"making the rounds on the internet

is a fun "quiz" asking us to name our

15 favorite artists in 15 minutes or less.

in other words, no researching/agonizing...

just a quick, from the gut list."

So here are mine:

Andy Goldsworthy

Nikki McClure

Glada Grodon

The artists over at Bread and Puppet

Kysa Johnson

Sabra Field

Kseniya Simonova

(okay I cheated and looked that one up)

Kara Walker

Leonardo Da Vinci

Vermeer

Jackson Pollack

Andy Warhol

Jane Davila

Elin Waterston

My Marmie!

TADA!

Food from other people's parents

This last week was parent's weekend, so I was fed by a lot of my friends' parents! It was nice!

Kate's mom cooking us delicious chicken!!!

Amazing lemon bars from Moira's mom!

Snail Mail Blitz!

I absolutely LOVE snail mail. Maybe it's all those years of summer camp with only letters as communication to the "real world", but there is something really fun about getting a physical piece of love from an awesome person in your life. So far this year I have gotten some awesome snail mail, including some ribbon with veggies on it and articles about beets and goats from family members.

I had a lot of things to send, so yesterday I sent out a whole bundle of fun stuff!

Most of which was in homemade recycled envelopes!

In my mailbox yesterday was this awesome card from my Grandma!

Boy does she know me well :)

Young Farmers Conference!

Me and my coworker/farmers this summer

I'm signed up for the Stone Barns Young Farmers Conference!!! I am waaaay beyond pumped for this. So many awesome workshops... it makes me so excited to get started on all the work I have to do to make my dreams of agrarian bliss come true! To find out more and register, go HERE!

Learn... or not.

(From Path of Life Garden)

In preparation for my Soil Science midterm...

I am thinking about summer and remembering fondly,

as some of my very favorite coworkers got together at Fall Harvest Weekend and I was here...

I may or may not be insanely jealous :P

I prefer the "learn" option, I suppose.

Although there's no law that says you have to pass soil science to play in dirt.

10/10/10

Today is 10/10/10, or Global Work Day For Climate Change! Find out more at 350.org, and look for a work party near you!

BUSY!

Oh man. What a week it has been. Just constantly on the go, between practice, class, homework, clubs, tutoring... it sure can be overwhelming, and I find myself forgetting what actually matters. That missing a 5 point question on a test is NOT very important at all in the grand scheme of things, that I'm not going to remember how many serves I missed in practice today next week, etc etc etc. What I WILL remember is that I got an amazing opportunity to go to college, play a sport, make awesome friends... even if some days I think wistfully of my life to be- planting veggies in the dirt whose cation exchange capacity I am trying desperately to understand, sitting on the porch playing guitar and drinking lemonade, breathing in good Vermont air and not air with Chicago smog drift.

Today in Soil Science we watched the majority of dirt! The Movie, which had all my favorite all-stars in it- Vandana Shiva, Paul Stamets, Wangari Maathai, and a whole host of others who re-inspired me today. I can't wait to really get my hands dirty in life, but until then, I can continue to learn and take advantage of the opportunities I have here! Like trips to local farms, helping in the community garden.... and soon growing lettuce in my new/old mini greenhouse!

What a weekend!

Friday:

An awesome open mic

Playing card games with friends (egyptian ratscrew is so fun!)

Saturday:

Slept in (!!!)

No game (for once, a free day!!!)

Beautiful bike ride with my news friends from bike club

Hanging out with my best friend who I hardly get to see

Seeing The Social Network in celebration of a friends birthday

Going to a party for about 10 minutes and then realizing,

in unison with 3 other friends,

that we'd rather just be hanging out and eating pizza instead.

Sunday:

Slept in AGAIN (!!!!!)

delish brunch

homework, cleaning my room finally

study party!!!

I really really really like all the people in my life, and how a random text from a summer coworker ("Sneak attack love!!!"), a facebook message from someone you've never spoken to saying "I hope this isn't creepy, but I realllly loved your performance friday", or a friend sharing their popcorn with you can automatically make your world just a little brighter!