returned to the soil
true grassroots activism
mission: worm rescue
Author: Tracy Abell
Wordless Wednesday: Black Turnstone edition
Ediz Hook. March 25, 2025
Ode to turkey vultures
As I walked with Emma a few minutes ago, I saw a turkey vulture circling way up high. Then there were two. As Emma happily sniffed at the grass, I tilted my head and watched the vultures gracefully circle each other against the blue sky. Then a third joined. A fourth and fifth. Everything inside me felt lighter as I witnessed those birds soaring above. They circled higher and higher, their red heads no longer identifiable, as white underwings flashed in the late sun.
Image not great but this is exactly how the light flashed on the underwings. April 3, 2024
Eventually, they started flying back toward us and just before they were overhead, a seventh vulture joined. I kept my eyes on them, turning to follow their flight until the sun blinded me. Such a gift. And when I saw that Emma was sitting quietly, waiting for me to finish, I felt even more at peace. What a good doggie.
We’ve been seeing turkey vultures on our walks for the last few weeks which makes me happy. It helps knowing they continue to fly free above all the cruelty and violence happening down below. It also just helps knowing such amazing birds exist, we owe them a huge debt of gratitude.
That same trip to Lake Hasty. April 2, 2024
Because, did you know this fun fact from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology?
- The Turkey Vulture’s stomach acid is extremely acidic, so Turkey Vultures can digest just about anything. This also allows them to eat carcasses tainted with anthrax, tuberculosis, and rabies without getting sick. By taking care of the carrion, vultures provide an essential service for the health of our ecosystems. Without them, carcasses would accumulate, and diseases would spread from rotting flesh.
All hail the Turkey Vulture!
Heartbreaking decisions
Just had a lengthy phone conversation with Wildebeest, our older son. He and his partner are navigating choices involving their future together and what that might look like. Without going into detail, suffice to say the decisions they’re being forced to make are greatly influenced by the state of this country, the global community, and the planet itself. The ongoing chaos and degradation weren’t caused by them or any other young people in this world, and yet, those grim realities are shaping their choices.
I know it’s a pointless use of my energy but there are days I feel immense guilt for being part of a very privileged class and generation that brought about much of what is wrong today, and then blithely brought two children into the mess I helped create.
Thank you for reading this far. Here are some cormorants (and ducks) for your time.
December 12, 2025
Friday Haiku: entanglement
nature’s lost and found
entangled human impact
forgive us, mother
Wordful Wednesday: assorted musings
For years and years, I exercised my writing muscle as I wrote novels for young readers in hopes of publication and did so almost every day until my literary agent dropped me while we were on submission to editors in August of 2024. That split was a deeply traumatizing gut-punch and I immediately stopped writing the second draft of my work-in-progress. Unfortunately, I’d suffered a series of such gut-punches and couldn’t put myself through that process ever again, so I quit. The thought of getting my hopes up again only to be cast aside without thought by someone I’d considered my advocate was too much to bear. It was painful not having my creative outlet but it seemed best for my well-being to stay out of that arena.
Eventually, I couldn’t ignore the creative itch or GRAPPLE which was the manuscript that’d been on submission. I reread then revised it, cutting over 10,000 words in the process, and was so happy being in that mode again! I truly do love me some revision. I’m so freaking proud of that very timely story (friendship story set against the backdrop of a small town divided over the presence of a private prison and proposed expansion of a detention center) and submitted the manuscript to one publisher that accepts unagented submissions. Now I’ve started thinking about another project I started and abandoned years ago. It’s unlike anything I’ve written and I’m kinda-sorta considering revisiting it. I do so love writing middle grade novels. At the same time, I’m also very tired of writing books that are never read by my intended audience. Anyway, I’ll sort through all the feelings and do whatever’s best for me.
Why am I sharing this now? Because earlier this week I struggled big-time to write a 3-minute comment I’d planned to present to city council last night. And that struggle was probably due to the fact that my writing muscle had gotten rusty. Writing for young readers had been such a huge part of my daily life and now I wasn’t doing it. How could I keep in shape?
*smacks forehead*
Hello, maybe you could fully utilize that blog you call “Another Day On the Planet”?
So here I am, publicly recommitting myself to this space and my writing. As mentioned before, I love reading old posts about stuff I’d completely forgotten. And in that spirit, I’m going to document a few things now before they also slip my mind.
- I did successfully complete my public comment regarding the unhoused, our shared humanity, my opposition to criminalizing homelessness and forced treatment for substance use, and read it at last night’s city council meeting in a voice that shook because (1) public speaking is hard for me (2) I was flustered from accidentally showing up late and (3) my turn came after two speakers who shared their views in loud and aggressive tones–views that did not match mine–and I was convinced the room was filled with their supporter so it was like being in enemy territory, and for context I’ll add that one comment can be paraphrased as “I was in a basement jail cell during 9/11, one block away from Ground Zero and that’s how I got clean because you have to hit rock bottom to get better and my rock bottom was a block away from Ground Zero and everyone’s recovery has to look exactly like mine!”
- On Saturday morning I ran 1.75 miles on the Olympic Discovery Trail next to the water, the farthest I’ve run in months (YAY!) as I rehab my right heel, and when I slowed to a walk and looked over at the water I saw a brown furry head looking my way and then it was gone and even though I watched the surface for another minute I didn’t see it again but maybe it was one of the Otterly Magical gang?
- A few minutes ago I took advantage of the break in rain and walked Emma Jean-Jean around the neighborhood where she enjoyed all the aromas while I enjoyed the rain-scrubbed air and rescued four earthworms from the streets.
- Right after that last worm rescue we saw two dapper crows walking and poking around a neighbor’s yard and I wondered if crows eat worms, and after a brief search of the interwebs upon our return I can confirm that YES, crows do eat earthworms.
One last thing to share: hellebore plants in the front yard. The photo on the left was taken after today’s walk and the other from a couple weeks ago is the more common representation of these plants which like to hide their faces which mean’s today’s sighting is a gift, and that visibility is due to the fence’s support. All hail the hog wire!
No to War, No to Empire: An Anti-Imperialist Reading List
Here we are again in the never-ending War on Terror™, blowing up people in the Middle East. I cannot remember a time in which the United States was not bombing or subverting governments around the world. U.S. imperialism is the one constant in my lifetime (and throughout the history of the United States, that plus genocide. Oh yeah, and colonialism). It’s almost as if those in power have never fully grasped that we are all connected on this earth–the people, the land and water, flora and fauna–and that we must recognize and honor our shared humanity in order to survive.
American Wigeons in flight at Ediz Hook, 12.29.25
In the meanwhile, we’re flying our flag of Palestine and focusing on some local issues that need our voices. And we continue to read. I’m being more intentional about sprinkling in lighter fare to keep myself afloat, but am also finding inspiration and greater understanding in some non-fiction such as the excellent UNBUILD WALLS by Silky Shah and THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE FREE: GERMANS, 1933-1945 by Milton Mayer. I recommend both and also want to share this anti-imperialist reading list from Haymarket Books. The following text appears at the top of that Haymarket Books page:
“The real enemy of my people is here. I will not disgrace my religion, my people or myself by becoming a tool to enslave those who are fighting for their own justice, freedom and equality.” —Muhammad Ali on refusing to fight in Vietnam
The myth of American innocence is perpetually reinvented in the face of an unprecedented history of violence, upheld by bipartisan consensus and a pliant corporate media.
Alongside its history of settler colonialism, cruel border policies, and overt and covert military intervention around the world, the US also has been home to a long tradition of resistance to war and militarism—often including the participation of active-duty soldiers and veterans. There are histories that urgently need to be remembered.
To better equip the movement against imperialism for the struggles to come, we offer a reading list on the tremendous violence carried out by the American Empire, and the heroic efforts of those who oppose it.
No to war, no to empire. Open the borders. Refugees welcome. Unconditional support to war resisters.
I hope you’ll peruse the list to see if something sparks your interest. Personally, I don’t think you can go wrong reading anything by Arundhati Roy or Harsha Walia. And Light in Gaza is one of those books you can pick up and open to any page where you’ll find something soul-expanding.
Solidarity! ✊🏽
Creative inspiration
I’m sure I’m not unique in feelings of overwhelm as we whack-a-mole our way through each day’s new atrocity and need for action. I confess to being tired and sad/scared while also trying to remain productive on behalf of my community, and knew I needed a break. So the other day I finally took time to paste down the letters I’d cut out weeks earlier.
Quote from Mariame Kaba
I’m so glad I took both those creative breaks (hunting down the letters and then affixing them to the background) because the sessions brought back the joys of elementary school. Cutting! Pasting! Creation!
Making something pretty always lifts my spirits and this quote from Mariame Kaba strengthens my resolve to stay in the struggle. (P.S. Haymarket Books is offering 40% off some of MK’s books for Black History Month.)
If you’ve created something recently and would like to share, please do!
In which I repost an oldie but a goodie
So.
I drove my brother’s pickup to the Rooney Valley Recycling Center to unload the juniper branches and sod I’d removed from my yard. I paid $10 at the gate and the woman told me I needed to separate the materials so she directed me to the very back of the area where there was a huge mound of sod. Right across from it was the enormous pile of branches. She thought it’d be most convenient for me to unload both back there.
I drove past one other truck on my way to the sod mound, weaving around materials piled so high you can’t see anyone or anything else. I parked the truck next to the mound and started grabbing sod and flinging it into the pile. It was a nice morning, not too warm, not too windy. Not bad at all, I thought as I flung a huge piece of sod.
Suddenly an annoying fly was buzzing around my head. Quite aggressively. I told the damned fly to shoo, but then there was another. And another.
Except they weren’t damned flies.
They were damned bees.
A swarm of them.
All around me but especially around my head.
In my hair.
I took off my ball cap and waved it around my head.
Frantically.
As I screamed.
The bees kept buzzing.
My whole head vibrated.
I tried to be calm,
to stand still so they’d leave me alone.
They were too pissed.
I felt a sting.
So I screamed some more
And ran a bit toward the entrance.
The woman from the other truck saw me and yelled, “Run, honey! Run!”
I ran past her and the man with her said for me to run to the shack at the gate. (Not clear on why I’d want to bring bees to the woman in the shack, but at least it was a plan!)
But before I got there, the woman screamed for me to take off my shirt
because bees were flying out of it.
The woman from the shack came out while the other woman helped me unbutton my shirt. She shook it out while the man yelled for me to stand still.
Then he hit me in the head with his hat, over and over.
Really hard.
I was so grateful.
He knocked all but two bees off my head.
I got the second-to-the-last one and the woman brushed off the last.
I was bee-free but full of adrenaline.
And there was my brother’s truck, keys in the ignition, way back there surrounded by an angry swarm of bees.
The man and woman drove me back there in their truck. We watched while bees swarmed near the truck and around the stump that probably held their nest.
The one I’d inadvertently hit with a huge piece of sod.
We strategized.
I walked slowly to the truck, got in the passenger side and slammed the door. The man slowly walked to the back of my truck, grabbed the broom and rake leaning there, and threw them in my truck before getting back in his own.
I unloaded the rest of my materials in stump-free areas and was remarkably calm the entire time, if I do say so myself.
On the drive home, though, a fly buzzed in the truck cab and I panicked.
And screamed.
I’ve got a ways to go before letting go of the bee panic.
But I’d be much worse off without Good Samaritans, Phyllis and Jeff, there to help me.
Next time I go to the drop-off, I think I’ll wear one of these:
Friday Haiku: if and or butt
December 28, 2025
arc of a diver
duck photography challenge
butt end of the deal
Gaza and poetic resistance
As we walked Emma in the rain earlier today, I felt a sudden urgency to post about Gaza. Zippy asked, “What will you say about Gaza?” My reply, “Maybe an excerpt from Refaat Alareer’s “If I Must Die.”
Just now, I opened the book to page 107 and what I read on that page feels very apt in these days of censorship and fascism, guidance for all of us, no matter where we reside on the planet.
An Introduction to Poetry.
Edited excerpt from a spoken lecture delivered to students in Advanced English Poetry at the Islamic University, Gaza
2021
We all know Fadwa Tuqan, the Palestinian poet. And please don’t introduce her a “Ibrahim Tuqan’s sister.” Let’s talk about Fadwa Tuqan as Fadwa Tuqan.
We always fall into this trap of saying, “she was arrested for just writing poetry!” We do this a lot, even us believers in literature. “Why would Israel arrest somebody or put someone under house arrest, she only wrote a poem?”
So, we contradict ourselves sometimes. We believe in the power of literature changing lives, as a means of resistance, a means of fighting back–and then at the end of the day, we say, “She just wrote a poem!” We shouldn’t be saying that.
Moshe Dayan, an Israeli general, said that, “the poems of Fadwa Tuqan were like facing twenty enemy fighters.” Wow. She didn’t throw stones, she didn’t shoot at the invading Israeli jeeps, she just wrote poetry. And I’m falling for that again–I said she just wrote poetry . . .
And the same thing happened to Palestinian poet Dareen Tatour. She wrote poetry, celebrating Palestinian struggle, encouraging Palestinians to resist, not to give up, to fight back. She was put under house arrest, she was sent to prison for years.
That excerpt of the published excerpt from “If I Must Die,” highlights two courageous Palestinian women resisting oppression and occupation through their poetry. In 2023, I shared Fadwa Tuqan’s “Hamza” and today I offer another of her poems, “Enough For Me.”
And let’s also honor poet Dareen Tatour, a Palestinian citizen of Israel who was sentenced by Israel (“the only democracy in the Middle East!”) to nearly three years of house arrest and five months in prison for a poem.
Detaining a Poem
One day,
they stopped me,
shackled me,
tied up my body, my soul,
my everything…
Then they said: search her,
we’ll find a terrorist within her!
They turned my heart inside out—
my eyes as well,
rummaged through even my feelings.
From my eyes they drew a pulse of inspiration;
from my heart, the ability to sketch out meanings.
Then they said: beware!
She’s hiding weapons deep in her pockets.
Search her!
Root out the explosives.
And so they searched me…
Finally, they said, accusing me:
We found nothing
in her pockets except letters.
We found nothing except for a poem.
Translated from the Arabic by Andrew Leber
June 19, 2022
Today I thank all who are resisting, whether that resistance is via literature, visual arts, music, photography, mutual aid, whistle brigade, immigrant court observer, caring for your neighbor’s children, putting food in a Little Free Pantry, or making a donation to crips for esims for gaza. Remember, every act of kindness is an act of resistance.
Free Palestine.
Wordless Wednesday: Song Sparrow edition
Olympic Discovery Trail. December 28, 2025
Otterly magical
It was a magical interlude.
Emma and I were walking on the Olympic Discovery Trail
after I’d successfully run for the first time in months,
an entire half-mile!
take that, plantar fasciitis!
I was tearfully smiling at the prospect of running again
when I spotted two river otters,
wait, make that four river otters
swimming parallel to the trail,
moving in my direction.
As I spoke softly to them,
“Hello there, friends,”
they turned to look at me,
moving closer and closer to the shore
until they all four were stopped at the water’s edge,
about twenty feet away,
staring directly at me.
I’d also stopped and began to wonder
whether they’d gotten glimpses of Emma
from behind the berm.
My wondering then escalated to
Do they think she’s a fellow river otter
I’ve captured and am walking on a leash?
Are they here to liberate Emma from me?
Side note: I had no camera so have no photos
but look at this public domain image
and tell me that river otter bears no resemblance
to my long-bodied, short-legged Emma Jean-Jean.
In my desire to relieve the river otters’ worries,
I picked up Emma and set her on the berm,
believing that full view would prove she was a canine
rather than a member of the weasel family.
All four otters disappeared underwater!
They reappeared a few yards in the opposite direction
where they came out of the water and onto the beach,
moving toward the boulders.
Do they still believe Emma’s a fellow otter?
Are they coming to rescue her?
I watched the trail above the boulders,
expecting them to appear,
while also hoping they wouldn’t appear
because what would that even mean?
When time passed without a sighting,
I stood on the berm to see where they’d gone.
One otter was visible.
We saw each other at the same moment
and when it went completely still on the boulder,
I understood my presence was now making them nervous.
I softly said, “I promise you Emma isn’t an otter and
you don’t need to worry.”
My sweet, clueless dog and I then continued on our way,
Emma blissfully sniffing the ground
as I replayed what’d just happened
and wondered whether it was all a dream.
I’m documenting this here so I’ll never forget
today’s magical interlude
with the four North American River Otters.
Thank you universe, I receive these gifts.
PLEASE, send a quick email stating NO more ICE funding!
As you know, Renee Nicole Good was murdered by masked ICE agent, Jonathan Ross, yesterday in Minneapolis for the crime of caring about the safety and welfare of her neighbors. Despite the concerted efforts of this authoritarian regime to twist all facts surrounding Good’s murder, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and Bellingcat have all determined the ICE agent was in no danger of being run over. (Note: I initially included links then deleted them due to the graphic imagery, but the information is out there.)
In the midst of all this, Congress continues to consider whether to give more money to these violent, white supremacists who are living out their dreams under this administration. This from Detention Watch Network [emphasis mine]:
Coming into the New Year the House and Senate are proposing to expand immigration detention. Currently the House and Senate are proposing to expand immigration detention. There is already a record breaking 68,442 people in detention (via ICE December 22, 2025 stats). The proposal on the table includes additional funding for immigration enforcement and detention on top of the unprecedented $45 billion that ICE was given last year through the reconciliation bill. ICE and other government agencies have wreaked havoc across our country detaining individuals and locking them up in a deadly and inhumane system. Adding additional capacity will only escalate families being torn apart and subject them to horrific detention conditions.
PLEASE take two minutes to email your Representative and two Senators via this form that will forward your message to them. One email sent to three addresses, easy-peasy! There’s no template in place so write your own short message that includes NO MORE MONEY TO ICE and send it along. Then please get 1-2 friends/family to do the same. Outrage is high and this is an excellent time to let our electeds know how we feel about the Department of Homeland Security and ICE terrorizing our neighbors and communities.
Thank you in advance. Solidarity!
Finally, I’m posting the image below from yesterday in Minneapolis (article here) even though in this instance it’s Border Patrol being cruel and violent, because I want to drive home the point that every branch of the Department of Homeland Security is actively terrorizing our neighbors. This is what the regime wants to fund even further.
Victory isn’t found in military power
These difficult days have gotten more challenging in the face of this rogue administration bombing Caracas, Venezuela, followed by the tepid response from spineless Democrats who can’t seem to be bothered about the murder of 40 people along with the kidnapping of Maduro and his wife. The entire situation is both shocking and also not at all surprising, and I’m sure I’m not alone in my feelings of overwhelm.
So I want to share something that resonated with me, an excerpt from a newly published book edited by Kelly Hayes, an author, organizer, and movement educator in Chicago. (Search “kelly hayes” on my site and you’ll find references to her Movement Memos podcast and her newsletter “Organizing My Thoughts,” both highly recommended.)
The book is called Read This When Things Fall Apart: Letters to Activists in Crisis and the chapter I want to highlight is Read This If You Are Heartbroken by activist Ashon Crawley. In light of the chest-thumping bravado on display after the imperialist assault on the people and resources of Venezuela, Crawley’s words hit extra hard [emphasis mine].
In the religious tradition in which I grew up, we often sang songs about our collective capacity to “have the victory.” Songs about overcoming difficulty and struggle and obstacles. It was not always easy to detect, how we would attain victory, but we had faith in something bigger and larger and more intense and vital than our individual selves. For me, it was (and still is) a model for how to demand justice. So I encourage you, too, to know that we will have the victory–because we already have it. Victory is not found in the capacity to wreak havoc on others, on the earth, on the water supply. Victory is not contained in the ability to coerce movement from north to south, displacement from east to west, or forced migration from communities of care and concern. Victory isn’t found in military power and nuclear weapons. That kind of power is evidence of a brokenness that does not cherish the earth and its creatures as worth tending to, as worthy of care.
I’m never interested in “victory” that holds a complete disregard for people and planet, the very type of victory the fascists are crowing about this weekend. Instead, I subscribe to Crawley’s sense of victory. He goes on to write:
We have the victory because we organize and fight for life until–and even beyond–the last breath. We have victory because we find one another in chaos. We have the victory because we give and share and care and love and create friendship against imperialism, colonization, and active attempts to erase our lives, our stories. We have the victory because we understand the only world worth living in is one in which all of us can thrive. There is a profound humility to organizing, knowing that what we do and how we act may not have any appreciable impact in our lifetimes. But like water that cuts rock, it takes steady and consistent practice. And I know we can make it because you are doing that steady and consistent practice; you are modeling for us what it means to engage in struggle with integrity, with heart, with love.
I appreciate your bravery, and your courage. We need you, as the famous gospel song says, to survive.
With heart and hope and love,
Ashon
For anyone reading this and thinking “but I’m not an organizer,” think about the times you’ve checked in on your elderly neighbor or the new family down the street, the times you’ve given an unhoused person food or money. The times you’ve made calls and sent emails on behalf of vulnerable communities, or volunteered in your community at the food bank or creek clean-up, or maybe helped paint a mural. Those are all acts on behalf of your community, acts that required organizing your time and energy in concert with others. In doing so, you are working for the collective good.
Please know I appreciate you and thank you for your heart. Solidarity.
On gratitude, a new year, and hooping
I’m pleased to say we had a three-day break in the rain and as of yesterday, we have a new roof! Today I’m exceedingly grateful for the thorough contractor who managed the project and gave us peace of mind. Let it rain!
Yesterday we joined friends Jo and Caleb at Finnriver Farm & Cidery in Chimicum for a beautiful send-off to the new year. Zippy and I’d never been there . It’s a gorgeous setting and the nearly-full moon and fog only heightened its allure. Finnriver has land and community partners that include the North Olympic Salmon Coalition which explains why there’s a gigantic salmon on the property.
Zippy, me, and Fin the Migrating Salmon
Despite that beautiful, community-oriented experience last night, the blues grabbed hold of me this afternoon. I begrudgingly did my weight-lifting routine (gotta get strong enough to punch Nazis!) which eased some but not all of the sad. I needed my foolproof method for escaping the doldrums.
Hooping! I listened to loud music as I danced in my hoop for twenty minutes and now feel SO much better. My plan for 2026 is to hoop every single day for at least a couple minutes. What’s coming is gonna be tough and I need to be strong, both physically and mentally. So, if you happen upon me posting here about feeling sad and blue, PLEASE ask me “Have you hooped today, Tracy?”
I hope your first day of this new year has brought you some joy. Remember, there’s always a dance party over here and everyone’s welcome. Solidarity! ✊🏼
Solstice beauty
Today is the shortest day of the year which means tomorrow we start gaining daylight. HOORAY! For me, the winter solstice is the most significant day of this season. Why? Because the day always gives me a much-needed emotional boost, and this year’s solstice is especially welcome because there’s sunshine. Not only that, these lovely roses are blooming next to our front porch.
December 21, 2025
How could I feel anything but hopeful as I gaze upon those sun-kissed blooms?
I’m documenting my hope and optimism here because we’ve been swamped with rain (with much more in the forecast thanks to the atmospheric river) and have learned our aging roof has multiple leaks that are causing widespread microbial growth. BOO HISS! We’re gathering bids for a full roof replacement we hope/need to get in the very near future–all we need are two consecutive days of clear weather to get started. I’ve got a new mantra: Rain, rain go away . . . and please don’t come back until our roof is intact!
Happy Solstice, everyone!
One bird
When you have seen one ant,
one bird,
one tree,
you have not seen them all.
~ E. O. Wilson
Great Blue Heron on November 26, 2025
Waging war on We the People
In case you haven’t heard, Attorney General Pam Bondi has directed the FBI to “compile a list of groups or entities engaging in acts that may constitute domestic terrorism.” Understandably, you might have read that and immediately assumed the focus would be on people threatening to commit mass shootings since there’s already been more than 400 mass shootings in the United States in 2025.
Well, if that’s where your mind went, you were wrong. As independent journalist Ken Klippenstein reported on December 6, Bondi and this administration are using their resources to target those expressing:
- “opposition to law and immigration enforcement
- extreme views in favor of mass migration and open borders
- adherence to radical gender ideology
- anti-Americanism
- anti-capitalism
- anti-Christianity”
Photo by Markus Spiske via Pexels
We’d already gotten a heads-up on this in late September when Trump signed a national security directive (National Security Presidential Memorandum 7, or NSPM-7) to go after “left wing terrorism.” What we didn’t know at the time, was that this effort would establish a CASH REWARD SYSTEM to encourage citizens to report on their friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors via a tipline.
The money doesn’t stop there. The Bondi memo also states that the Justice Department will prioritize funding for state and local law enforcement to go after the so-called domestic terrorists who just so happen to be citizens voicing opposition to this fascist regime.
I highly recommend reading the article in its entirety. You can also download and read the entire Bondi memo via Klippenstein’s article.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. In the meanwhile, stay safe.
Solidarity!
Geese for Gaza
We’re heading into a very rainy week here on the Olympic Peninsula due to atmospheric river conditions. Knowing this, yesterday we took advantage of the quiet before the storm to walk along the water via the Olympic Discovery Trail. However, weather wasn’t the only factor in our decision: we also desperately needed a dose of nature to counteract the negative mental health effects of the current regime’s fascism a go-go plus the non-stop slaughter of Palestinians live-streamed before our eyes. The “ceasefire” that was supposed to terminate Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has allowed Israel to violate those terms over 500 times, resulting in the murder of hundreds of men, women, and children. (NOTE to the Zionist from Tel Aviv: your racist, supremacist rants are blocked from this site which means no one but you will ever know the depths of your depravity. You’re welcome.)
As Zippy, Emma, and I began our walk, we saw a large flock of Canada Geese. I smiled while taking photos and happily captured more images when we returned an hour later to find them in a different spot alongside the trail.
Today when I found myself repeatedly thinking about these geese, it felt like a sign. As in, time for another Geese and Gaza post. Why?
Canada Geese on December 6, 2025
Because seeing other living, breathing creatures–such as this flock of geese that works together to keep each member safe–always reminds me of the interconnectedness of life on this planet. We are all in this together, and that most definitely includes Palestinians. I’m pretty sure every “silly goose” understands this basic concept.
They are Geese for Gaza.
From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.
Wordless Wednesday: Mount Baker
Mount Baker and Dungeness Lighthouse viewed from the Dungeness Spit. November 28, 2025
Our one shared history
I long for the time
when all human history is taught as one history,
because it really is.
~ Maya Angelou
November 26, 2025
Want to help celebrate my birthday?
Today is my birthday and I’m grateful for all that I have.
I’m not in need of anything.
Meanwhile, Gaza remains under siege during the latest so-called ceasefire and
part of that “deal” includes Israel murdering 2 children/ day in the first six weeks.
Seen on Olympic Discovery Trail. November 18, 2025
Many of us feel helpless in the face of mass death and destruction,
but small acts can be life-changing for Palestinians.
Please consider helping me celebrate my birthday
by helping Ahmed and his family.
Any and all donations gratefully accepted.
Free Palestine.
Harlequin romance
As much as I adore birds and watch them every chance I get, my identification skills are lacking. That’s why I especially appreciate whenever I spot the fanciest duck seen on the water around here. With markings like these, it’s easy to proclaim, “That’s a Harlequin Duck!”
Olympic Discovery Trail. November 18, 2025
While you can’t tell from this angle, Mr. Handsome was tucked up next to the bank and hard to see. I only noticed him while moving around in order to photograph a perching gull through a tangle of branches. I immediately shifted my focus.
Hello, beautiful! I’m in love.
Wordless Wednesday: Great Blue edition
Great Blue Heron, Nov 18, 2025. Olympic Discovery Trail
Tracy Abell 