ON THE FARM

This week we welcomed our first guests of the year to The Cathaus. While it’s not camping season quite yet the cabin has a heater, lots of blankets and hot chocolate. Give it a try if you’re looking for a little getaway yourself or somewhere to put up a visitor.
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New in the shop we’ve got High Desert Healing Salve, dried cardinal basil, dried apple mint and passport sized copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for just $1 each. For the salve we use the above recipe and chose oils infused with evergreen and cottonwood resins, big sage, lomatium root, yarrow and propolis. These desert plants combine into an antimicrobial powerhouse.

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Rod’s House
Our tomatoes and green beans went into Pasta e fagioli, Johnson Orchards and The Little Bake Shop provided dessert and Nona made “stirato” bread and sandwich bread. Served with butter and blueberry & blackcurrant jam.

LOCAL

Get Intimate with the Shrub-Steppe May 8-10, 2026

“Join KEEN (Kittitas Environmental Education Network) in May and Discover the Wonders of the Shrub-Steppe! Join the Kittitas Environmental Education Network (KEEN) for the 27th annual Get Intimate with the Shrub-Steppe (GISS)—a community event celebrating the rare and endangered shrub-steppe habitat of Central Washington.Immerse yourself in the wild beauty of the Yakima River Canyon! From breathtaking birding field trips to live adult lamprey releases, you’ll experience the intricate connections between land, water, and wildlife. Explore the landscape with expert guides on hikes highlighting wildflowers, raptors, geology, reptiles, and river ecology, or visit educational booths featuring live animals and conservation groups from across the state.
Registration is open now.”

WA STATE

Burnt Ridge Nursery & Orchards Farm Tours 2026 (Onalaska, WA)
“Join us for a public Farm and Nursery Tour, with our founder Michael Dolan leading the way as we share with you our 20 acres of organic fruits and nuts, with a special focus on crops that ripen in the summer and early fall.
Farm Tour #1

Saturday, July 18th, 2026
10:00am-12:00pm or 1:30-3:30pm

Farm Tour #2

Saturday, September 12th, 2026
10:00am-12:00 pm or 1:30-3:30pm
(Source: Burnt Ridge Nursery)
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WSU is helping California tribe to bring salmon home
“The project represents a blend of conservation science, cultural preservation, and international cooperation aimed at restoring both ecological balance and historical relationships between people, land, and species.”
(Source: Vet Candy, Feb 26)

NATIONAL & BEYOND

Why America Doesn’t Talk About Human Rights
“The precise definition of abuse of human rights, IS essentially, an authoritarian government. […] From researching these issues, the next time a friend in a developing country begins speaking to me about human rights, I’ll certainly have a better understanding of why they are speaking about it so passionately.” —Lynne Diligent
(Source: Intercultural Meanderings, May 2016)
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LISTEN (70 mins): Water Stories: The Untapped Way to Heal the Planet with Zach Weiss
“In this episode we hear about the potential of local and global water restoration from Zach Weiss, inspired founder of Water Stories, a learning, training, and action platform focused entirely on Water Cycle Restoration.”
(Source: EcoJustice Radio, Feb 24)
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PBS is Being Saved Thanks to Bob Ross’ Art
“Beyond the immediate financial relief, this development underscores the role of cultural icons in preserving public institutions. Public television has faced ongoing threats to its funding, with debates over its necessity in an era of streaming services. Yet, supporters argue that it provides unique, non-commercial value, fostering lifelong learning without the influence of advertisers.”
(Source: Cord Cutters News, Feb 26)
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Youth Climate Activism Prefigures Just Futures, Not Distant Utopias
“Prefiguration As Political Power
At a time when governments delay and corporations greenwash, youth climate activism insists that utopias are not distant goals. They are practices we enact today. Prefigurative politics challenges the cynicism of business-as-usual by reminding us that politics is about beginnings, plurality, difference, and collective imagination.” —Turkan Firinci Orman
(Source: The Loop, Oct 2025)
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Net Zero 101: What, Why and How
“This free e-learning course is designed for anyone who wishes to develop a foundational level of understanding of basic science behind climate change, its environmental, social and economic impacts, and actions individuals can take to mitigate climate change and achieve a net-zero society. Technical background in climate science is not required to complete this course.
The course consists of three modules, each taking approximately 20-30 minutes to complete. This is a self-paced course and progress is saved automatically. At the end of each module, learners will be given a quiz. Upon successful completion of the quizzes, learners will receive a digital certificate issued by UNU-IAS.”
(Source: United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability)
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That’s it for now, y’all!
Let’s get out there and catch some rays.
 XO, Maria