ON THE FARM
Jamruary continues at the Ehler Rd farm stand. There’s a cash box for five dollar jams and other items in the yellow stand. Books, seeds, etc. on the right are free to take.
_____
Rod’s House
This week we took trays of homemade macaroni and cheese, Nona’s dinner rolls with butter and strawberry & chamomile jam, a neighbor donated ham and an array of yummy baked goods from the fantastic folks at Little Bake Shop. We also threw in a few other things including educational materials in English and Spanish, stickers, posters and a deck of permaculture playing cards, shown in pic above.
Four households worked together to make this week’s meal a great one!LOCAL
In 2024 I drove to Port Angeles to attend the Raymond Carver and Tess Gallagher Creative Writing Festival at Peninsula College. It was a joy to be in the presence of Carver’s wife, Tess, and a myriad of others who gathered to celebrate this renowned Yakima writer who continues to inspire artists across the globe.
The following is a recording of the Selected Shorts event that was recorded that weekend:
Selected Shorts Live in Port Angeles:
T.C. Boyle, Billy Collins, Raymond Carver, and Tess Gallagher
“In this very special episode, Selected Shorts actors Kirsten Vangsness (Criminal Minds, Dave Made a Maze), Dion Graham (The Wire, After the First 48) and Zach Grenier (Deadwood, Fight Club) perform live versions of stories and poems by Billy Collins, T.C. Boyle, Tess Gallagher, and Raymond Carver in Port Angeles, Washington during the 2024 Carver and Gallagher Writing Festival (April 27th 2024.)“
(Source: The Raymond Carver Podcast, Jan 14)
_____
WA STATE
Project partnership to restore passage and refuge for struggling salmon populations
“This month, the Walla Walla District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Yakama Nation Fisheries, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and the Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group are working together to begin removal of the Bateman Island causeway. This work will improve fish passage, spawning habitat, water quality, and water movement.”
(Source: The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Jan 5)
_____
Washington’s 2026 Legislative Session: Shaping a Path to Climate Resilience
“Washington’s Climate Commitment Act is the state’s most powerful tool to cut greenhouse gas pollution and invest in communities most impacted by climate change. This session, we have the opportunity to ensure revenue from the CCA’s cap-and-invest program delivers tangible results for Washingtonians: Cleaner air, lower energy costs and projects that build resilience in the face of climate impacts.”
(Source: The Nature Conservancy, Jan 12)
_____
Forest Service seeks feedback on Gifford Pinchot commercial huckleberry harvest
“Hearing everyone’s perspective is helpful to make a balanced, well-informed decision for the 2026 huckleberry season and into the future.“ —Amanda Kill
Feedback form can be found here.
(Source: Yakima Herald Republic, Jan 14)
NATIONAL & BEYOND
LISTEN: Strengthening Local Seed Security – David Catzel of Farm Folk City Folk
“David Catzel is the BC Seed Security Program Manager at FarmFolk City Folk, the Regional Program Coordinator for the Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security, and serves on the board of the BC EcoSeed Co?op. He also grows seed at Fraser Common Farm Co?op.
In this episode, David shares his experience supporting growers, organizing cooperatives, and stewarding seed networks. We talk about on?farm plant breeding, including his efforts to select an open?pollinated white peacock kale.”
(Source: The Seed Farmer Podcast, Nov 25, 2025)
_____
LISTEN: For Land’s Sake | Lea Linse-Hirro of Eco Flight
“On this episode of For Land’s Sake with host Bill Kight, a talk with EcoFlight’s Conservation Policy Director Lea Linse-Hirro. The subject? How from the air EcoFlight connects stakeholders with differing viewpoints to advance their goals of conservation and environmental justice.”
(Source: KDNK Community Radio, Jan 12)
_____
LISTEN: Learning to Listen to Plants, An Interview with Monica Gagliano
“Working with knowledge imparted by plants through dreams, visions, and sensations, scientist Monica Gagliano offers a real-world example of what reimagining scientific knowledge can look like. In this conversation, she speaks about how her groundbreaking research on plant communication and cognition has evolved as she has nurtured a relationship of reciprocity and trust with the plants she studies, modeling how we can radically bridge the rigor of Western scientific methodology with the deeply human and spiritual act of listening to plants.”
(Source: Emergence Magazine, Jan 9)
_____
LISTEN: Dark Matter Nutrition – Laszlow Barabasi
“While nutrition science knows about 150 well-documented nutrients, there are approximately 135,000 additional molecules in foods that have health impacts but are not tracked in nutritional databases. Laszlow Barabasi, a physicist and network medicine researcher at Northeastern University and Harvard Medical School, explains how these compounds work in the body, noting that many have therapeutic effects when consumed in specific concentrations. Certain food combinations, like those in the Mediterranean diet, can mitigate negative health effects of red meat, and ultra-processed foods contribute to health issues despite their popularity. Understanding these compounds is important for treating specific conditions, yet the basic principles of a healthy diet remain simple: eat plenty of vegetables, exercise, sleep well, and maintain a balanced diet closest to the Mediterranean model.”
(Source: Farm to Table Talk Podcast, Jan 2)
Right Here, Right Now. FASHION
“Fashion fuels two of the world’s most urgent crises: climate collapse and human exploitation. From toxic supply chains to worker abuse, what we wear conceals the true cost of its creation. But fashion also holds transformative power – to tell new stories, shape identity, and build a more just world.
Right Here, Right Now Fashion is a youth-led global platform turning fashion into a force for climate justice and human rights. We unite emerging designers, artists, and advocates proving that every garment can be sustainable, ethical, and radically inclusive.
Through live cultural experiences and global platforms – including the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Youth Summit, hosted by United Nations Human Rights and the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford on 5 June, 2026 – RHRN Fashion transforms sustainability from principle into action.”
(Source: Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance, Jan 14)
_____
In solidarity,
Maria
