Autumn Adventures

Now it's really happening. The leaves aren't falling, they're pouring off the trees! Every day you can see the differences. In our garden the changing colors are so dramatic As we loose the leaves off the trees that form the little forest at the very back of our yard, we also loose our privacy. The temperature's down to 38-40 degrees at night, but much of the time during the day it's still warm enough to be comfortable. So the indoor winter projects will just have to wait.



This is the view (above and below) from our bathroom window. Hard to believe that this is where blackberries were in such abundance only weeks ago, with bees buzzing all over them. The trees now are full of bluejays and different smaller birds. This morning as I watch them I feel like I'm in an aviary. I bet we'll buy a birdfeeder this winter.




I have the quiet and the space to sit and watch the birds now, because our lives have shifted again. Aaron is back in Monterey, but in a way he's still on vacation. His dad has gone to Vermont for 10 days for a meditation retreat, so Aaron in staying with the family of his good buddy Aaron K. So even though he's back in school, the fun continues.



The two weeks he was here went by incredibly fast. For one reason, because he, Maya, Ben and I took a trip to see his Grandma Nan and Aunt Christie on Whidbey Island, in the Puget Sound. It was Ben's first road trip and he was a good sport about spending so much time in the car. From Corvallis to Whidbey was about six hours. We all had a good time, spending time with family and sightseeing. The island is probably the most picturesque place I've seen. Makes Oregon look like we have a tree and water shortage (which we don't). Nan lives outside of the sweet little town of Langley. We took the ferry from Mukilteo (don't they have great names in Washington?) across to Whidbey and then followed the two-lane highway along the water, past little farms and pretty little houses and gardens, to Nan's and Christie's neighborhood. They live in a little piece of heaven. Not only is Nan a grandmother to Aaron, she's also a friend to me and Maya, and the time spent together felt very precious indeed.




As you can see from the photo below, Courtney was quite happy to have us home. I don't know how he slept without his buddy Ben.



As soon as Aaron left for Monterey, Courtney and I drowned our sorrows by attending a slide show about Cuba by Mike,a local peace activist, who's also a staff member of OSU and city councilman. He was part of the Pastors For Peace caravan taking material aid to Cuba in July and this was his report back to his Presbyterian congregation and the community at large.

Much of his slide show focused on the Medical School of the Americas in Havana. Each year they admit 1500 new students from all over the Americas (89 from poor communities in the U.S.). All the students are on full scholarship--their schooling, books, housing and food are all paid. They just have to make a commitment to work in an under-served, disadvantaged community when they finish their schooling. (I know from my time in Guatemala that in some indigenous areas the only doctors they have are either Cuban or Cuban-trained, and I've heard that about other poor regions of Latin America.)

Mike also talked about how Cuba dealt with the collapse of the Soviet Union (approx 1990-1991) and so the end of their access to cheap oil. He compared what Cuba did to what North Korea did. North Korea heavily invested in military buildup (and perhaps nuclear weapons) and the people have suffered periods of mass starvation. Cuba focused its attention on food production and shifted from 80-90% industrial agriculture (petroleum-based, fertilizer/pesticide big ag business) before the collapse to 80-90% organic, locally grown food. The average Cuban lost 20 lbs during the 1990's but there was no starvation. Most Cubans are now in some way involved in their own food production either with their own backyard garden or with neighborhood and community gardens. That to me is so inspiring. And what a good role model for those of us in the U.S. thinking about sustainability issues and our own upcoming end of cheap oil.

Speaking of which, Courtney went to a presentation this week by Ten Rivers Food Web, an organization that is accessing the capability of local farmers to feed the population in the Ten Rivers watershed, encompassing Benton, Linn and Lincoln counties. He was very impressed with the speaker, an activist grower, who favors a return to regional processing of foods and was suggesting how we could head that way in the Willamette Valley.

Meanwhile Courtney and I continue reading more about the Middle East and the history of the conflicts there. And we continue to want to work for peace in the Middle East. And we continue to appreciate our lives together.

Many thanks for reading our blog,

Valori

Glorious October Days

Aaron's here for his two-week break from school. Our lives are a blur of activity--shopping for Halloween costumes, working on school projects, watching the third season of "Gilmore Girls" on DVD, evening walks on the bike path--all the while trying to keep Ben fed, dry, happy and napping. Somewhere in there we infrequently attend the daily peace vigil in front of the courthouse, help show films at a couple different venues and Courtney tables for the Pacific Greens and still does the Saturday open forum.



Ben is of course more active and lively than the last time Aaron was here, but he's still a baby. Aaron is more pre-teen-like, but he's still a kid. So that Aaron doesn't have to suffer too much baby time, we cut him loose to watch Monday Night Football with his grandmother or play with his friends John and Jen.


The short time that he's here is racing by, but luckily the weather so far has been glorious--cold enough at night that we have a fire in the wood stove each morning, clear skies, warm afternoons--couldn't ask for better. Courtney just harvested the last of the prunes and grapes from Maya and Eder's yard and tomatoes and even a few blackberries from ours.



It's so interesting to see the changes around town as the season shifts but also in our own little yard (bottom photo). We're seeing for the first time the fall colors of our trees and bushes and the thinning of the foliage as the leaves drop. I'm longing for a little greenhouse/mud room on the front of our house where we get this luscious noon-day sun right now, but that won't be the case much longer. Pretty soon we'll open our front door and the wind, cold and rain will follow us in. I'm getting quite attached to gardening, and now I fear for the lives of my new little plants. This winter will be a learning experience for us in lots of ways.




Meanwhile I so appreciate this time I have to spend with my kids and with Courtney. I wish everyone's lives could slow down enough to have that "quality time" we all crave but few get these days. Most days I get to have afternoon tea with Maya and a walk. We put Ben in the Baby Bjorn and off we go. There are so many interesting neighborhoods to explore in town and lucky for us, we've got a scenic walking and bike path right beside our property.



We so appreciate the community we've moved into. Last Friday was the five-year anniversary of the daily peace vigil in front of the courthouse. Fifty people or more showed up to share chocolate cake and to thank the two men who have kept it going. Sunday was the showing of the film "Gaza Strip" by the Friends of Middle East Peace. There were about 60 people there and everyone seemed quite affected by the exceedingly harsh reality the film portrayed of life under occupation. The film focused on the lives of Palestinian children, especially the boys, and the danger that surrounds their every movement in the form of heavily-armed Israeli soldiers.

Three days later we watched "Iraq For Sale: The War Profiteers" at the Corvallis World Forum. Another good and thoughtful crowd for another devastating film. This is one of those films that if more Americans watched it there would be such outrage, and things would change. But instead there's 50 people at this film and meanwhile thousands at the college football game. I don't get it. What's going on in Iraq, in our names, is going to affect us all sooner or later. I wish people with Support Our Troops ribbons on their cars would watch "Iraq ForSale". Who's getting killed and who's making a killing?

Well, my blood pressure is rising (just kidding) and Ben probably needs a dry diaper so I'll give us all a break and stop for now. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Hope you're enjoying your October days,

Valori

Courtney took another trip and I read another book

When Courtney leaves town, I read. This time he went to a cousins' reunion in Vermont. Short trip (he really enjoyed himself!) of only four days but long enough for me to settle into the papasan with Ben and immerse myself in Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations...One School at a Time, by Greg Mortenson. The author is a mountaineer turned humanitarian who builds school for girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan. No easy matter, as you can imagine. The book's very compelling in alot of ways. It gives a peek into the lives and cultures in that part of the world (seems important to understand these days) and it reminds us of the power of one person's passion. Meanwhile, Ben quietly turned four months old.


When Courtney returned, we swung into action, figuring we only have so much time until the rainy season starts. Now's the time to do what we want around the garden and to the outside of the house. As in Monterey, September is a glorious month, weatherwise. Signs of fall are everywhere, the leaves are changing colors and falling, but the temperature's perfect, the sun is shining and the breezes are mild. The days are noticably shorter. Courtney and I try to take a walk each evening after dinner (I walk and he rides his bike). Until recently it would still be light for our walks, but just lately we've started putting on an extra layer and heading out at dusk or after dark. Below is an evening view of our living room from the back deck.



Our big investment in warmth and comfort this winter is our beautiful new wood stove, just delivered and installed this past week. We'll have to do three quick hot burns to cure the paint before we actually sit around the stove and warm ourselves. So that's a project for this week, before Aaron arrives on Saturday. He's here for his two-week break from school. And as he leaves, my buddy Valorie will be arriving for four days.

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The day after the stove came, we had a cord of wood delivered and spent the next couple days moving and stacking wood. A cord of wood is ALOT of wood. So we feel pretty prepared for the cold wet days ahead of us. Lucky that our house is small. Everyone agrees that it will be easy to heat.

Then today Courtney loaded up the back of Maya and Eder's truck with horse manure from the fairgrounds next door. After that he'll get a load of mint compost (freshen up the smell of the manure). That all goes on the big garden space we want to use next spring for planting our vegetable garden. We'll have a nice view of it from our kitchen and living room windows.



What else has been happening in our lives? When I last wrote, two weeks ago, we were off to the Solar, Green Homes and Organic Garden Tour. Courtney and I volunteered as hosts at gardens and so took the tour for free. We got so inspired by the gardens we saw! Such creativity and good practical ideas. It was well worth our time. And fun to meet the proud gardeners. The gardens and yards we most loved had been developed over years (5-10) and everyone was quick to say it's a work in progress--doesn't happen overnight. So we can relax.

On September 21 (International Day of Peace) we helped put on the Harvest Dinner fundraiser for the Hour Exchange (local currency). The event was successful, we met our goal of 50 dinners served, the food was delicious and made from local ingredients, the music was great and the crowd had fun. An all-round good experience and we met new friends.

The last thing I'll report is that we attended our first meeting of the Alternatives To War group. It feels very natural already to be around these new faces. They are like peace people everywhere--they care passionately about the world and what's happening to it, want to leave something better than this mess for our children and their children to clean up (if it's even possible to) and they're willing to give their time and energy to help make positive changes. For me and Courtney, these are our people.

So we're stepping out there more, finishing up projects at home, watching Ben four days a week and getting ready for Aaron's arrival. I wish all the Earth's people had lives as good as ours. I love the Buddhist blessing "May we each share our bright wondrous nature for the benefit of all beings". And may we each live our lives as if they make a difference...because they do.

Til next time,

Valori