What we need is here. And we pray, not for new earth or heaven, but to be quiet in heart, and in eye, clear. What we need is here. – Wendell Berry I have two short, short weeks left in Oregon, which will be filled with cookie parties, dancing with whole hearts, and lots and …
Tag Archives: Oregon Extension
Returning
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about returning. I got back from Jordan about seven months ago, but I’m finding now that the return process isn’t something with a clear beginning and end. So while I’m currently on a different off-campus study program, in this post I would like to talk about the return process …
Sprig O’ Fig
It is from our roots that we draw sustenance (Maathai 293). Waters of life swirling amidst microorganisms, bitter dirt, and waste. Waters of life rushing, carrying the burdens of the soil, punching at the tenderness of root walls. Flowing, cleansing water pushes through roots, knocking on the tenderest spots of fragile walls. Tapping, drumming, pounding …
Apple Season
“That’s not what I’m talking about!” he said, “I’m talking about a fig straight from the earth— gift of Allah!—on a branch so heavy it touches the ground. I’m talking about picking the largest fattest sweetest fig in the world and putting it in my mouth.” (Here he’d stop and close his eyes.) Nye, Naomi …
The Gift Economy & Finding Community
For every atom belonging to me as goodBelongs to you. Remember? Howe, Marian. “Singularity.” Poets.org, 2019. We just started our segment on “What is community?” here at the OE, and it’s come at an opportune time. This is the point in the semester at which living in community stops being a fun little experiment and we …
Zucchini Bread and Thoughts of Home
More and more recently I find myself searching for things that feel like home, like the zucchini bread my Grandma Donna used to make for us at my grandparents’ cabin in Tawas, Michigan. That place was such a special hideaway for my family. It was a place where we all came together to celebrate holidays, …
Why go?
Hello again! I’m back from Jordan and embarking on another off-campus study adventure, this time (a little) closer to home. I’ve been in Oregon for three weeks now, and so far it’s been really great. In a few pictures, here’s what’s been going on: Cabin Life I live in Cabin 10! I have two awesome …
Politics, Goats, and Tea
“Why, for instance, is the ‘wilderness experience’ so often conceived as a form of recreation best enjoyed by those whose class privileges give them the time and resources to leave their jobs behind and ‘get away from it all’? Why does the protection of wilderness so often seen to pit urban recreationists against rural people …
Playing with Fire
As my time at the Oregon Extension is coming to a close, I’m trying to catalogue stories in an attempt to remember this incredibly rich experience. The semester feels short and long in a timeless sort of way and I have to work to remember both that I’m going and that I’ve been here. As …
Knowing Your Nature
Branches whip madly above my head as we walk along a mountainside that’s alternately damp, earthy forest and golden-haired meadows. With his growth potion (aka me – he’s on my shoulders) my young friend Kylan is among the trees. Kylan, when not making the most of his childhood, is an alchemist, who happens to make …
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