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I found a dead patch-nosed snake last fall while hiking near Cochiti Lake, New Mexico, and created an art piece with it. I know snakes are creepy to some people, but I love them; I always have. Here is an excerpt about snakes from my memoir titled, Solitude in Wild Nature: My Journey to Wholeness Through Wilderness Questing, which will be published in September 2023. "I got down on my belly and looked closely at their lifeless eyes, studied their physical structure. Imagine being in a body that can move over rocks, grass, and water without any legs, scaled skin gliding you forward, smelling the air with your tongue. On land your belly stays in touch with the earth, so close you feel it as part of yourself. You go where your instincts take you without self-consciousness, your only mission to survive. Read more ...

This summer I am feeling so grateful for the beauty that helps distract me from all the heartbreaking social, political and environmental news. I just completed my annual wilderness quest in the Inyo National Forest with the hundreds of years old junipers, pines, and aspen groves. I named my questing place at Johnny Meadows "The Big Quiet." Being there was like time out of time. Long, lazy, warm days and a shimmering full moon at night. I was even visited by a coyote that sauntered by my campsite one evening. Time alone in nature makes me feel like everything is right with the world. Read more here... ...

One of my sisters called me the other day and asked, "What have you been doing up there in Oregon besides breaking dishes?" It took me a moment to realize she was talking about the Kintsugi breaking and mending ceremony photos I've been posting on Facebook and Instagram. I laughed and said, "Well, not much; mostly just breaking dishes."  Read more ...

I hope this email finds you catching the wind of creativity and letting it carry you. It's not always in the direction that you thought you'd be going, right? One thing aging is teaching me is that I can plan all I want (and heaven knows I'm a great planner!), but the key to happiness and living a fulfilled life is to know when to let go and surrender into what is and what might be. Read more here ...

The art piece above is my version of the Pedernal Mountain near Taos, New Mexico. The Pedernal is the mountain that moved and inspired one of my favorite painters, Georgia O'Keeffe, as she studied and painted it from her studio at Ghost Ranch. After her death, her ashes were scattered there as a testament to the bond she felt with the mountain. I love this quote from Ms. O'Keeffe, “It’s my private mountain. It belongs to me. God told me if I painted it enough, I could have it." Sometimes I feel like the Great Spirit is telling me...read more here https://conta.cc/3EiBzqe ...

All families have some sort of traumatic history. And much of that trauma has been borne by women in the form of domestic violence, physical/emotional abuse, sexual abuse, childbirth complications, death, mental illness, and the list goes on. Over the past several weeks I have been working toward healing my own maternal lineage by educating myself about how trauma is carried through generations (if it is not reckoned with and healed) and what I can do about it. Read more... ...

It's coming up: Valentine's Day! GALentine's Day! PALentine's Day! February 14th, the day we celebrate love here in America. I'm adding another one of our beloveds to the list, EARTHentine's Day! (Not the most romantic title, I know. Let me know if you come up with something better.) But think about it...is not Mother Earth the greatest lover of them all? She gives of Herself fully and consistently to provide the food and water that sustains us, the air we breath, and the ground on which we stand. She entertains and delights us with a plethora of diverse and fascinating wildlife, and brings us to tears with Her unfathomable beauty. At 4.543 billion years old, She can teach us a thing or two about how to survive and thrive if we watch and listen. In honor of EARTHentine's Day, I just Read more ...

I love the ritual of reflecting on the year that has passed and contemplating the renewal and rebirth that a new year brings. There’s something so refreshing and hopeful about turning the page to a new year filled with possibilities. I hope my list of the top 10 highlights of 2021 inspires you to take a look back at the high's and low's of your year as you transition into 2022. My mantra this year is "More kindness: to myself...to others...and to the planet!" As I do every year on January 1st, I threw the I Ching coins and received Hexagram #5. Read more about my top 10 highlights for 2021 and discover what the ancient Chinese Oracle Book of Changes told me about the year 2022. Read more... ...

Winter is coming -- the time when everything will once again lie dormant in the silent earth. Winter is a sacred time of rest and reflection before the slow build toward brighter days. We can follow Mother Nature's cue and nurture ourselves with compassion, rest, and reflection. As we consciously link our awareness to nature's cycles, and feel ourselves in kinship with the Earth and all of Her beings, we deepen our understanding of the importance of the cycle of rest and growth. Read more.. ...

Along with everything that is deeply troubling these days, I feel especially grateful this month; grateful to be alive and able to explore and enjoy what remains wild and beautiful; grateful for dear friends and family; grateful to have opportunities to make art and write a book... read more ...