Hello from the foothills of Mt. Hood.

I grew up in the wetlands of the Great Lakes, but was drawn West after finishing school. I left the land of fireflies and summer thunderstorms for the rugged mountains, lush valleys and generous coastal bays of Oregon over 25 years ago. Although I’ve used the same pronouns my entire life, I just can’t shake that feeling of being a “we” or “they” after learning about the many microbes that make it possible for humans to simply exist. It is incredibly humbling and one of the reasons I love learning about the microscopic world.

These tiny wonders are also why I am committed to giving my body back to the soil when I die, in the most ecologically-friendly way possible. Compost me or bury me, and let the microbes do their best work transforming me into the plants, animals and wild places that have enriched and saved my life in so many ways.

With that said, what we choose for ourselves is a deeply personal choice and as a Death Educator I’m deeply respectful of where people are in their decision-making. I always try to remain curious and work to build understanding.

Interested in learning more about my End-of-Life and After Death Care Education path? Head here.

I live in the foothills of Mt. Hood outside Sandy, Oregon with my husband David. I’m a dedicated homesteader, forager, fiber artist, writer and Death Educator who has spent half of my life teaching, designing and supervising programs for adults and kids in the Pacific Northwest. I’ve worn other hats as well…barista, waitstaff, bug zoo educator, CSA farmer, and sailboat LiveAboard. These days, I’m finding deep satisfaction just talking with others about life and death, foraging and dyeing with mushrooms, and growing willow for basketry while exploring willow work more intimately.

Here’s a little video of one corner of the garden from our favorite porch perch.

You’ll often find me alongside David,  attempting to grow and forage enough food to make a decent dent in the grocery bill. It takes a good deal of time growing, fermenting, canning, freezing and drying. We’re planning to put up a greenhouse in the next year or two as well to better extend the growing seasons.

David is a trained botanist and wildlife biologist who helped build the outdoor organization with whom we worked for over a decade. He woo’d me with homemade raspberry wine when we first met, but today elderberry wine takes up most of the shelf space. Over the years he’s added homemade, wild-infused miso, shoyu and tamari to his many ferments. Still woo’ing me with food and drink to this day. I feel pretty lucky.

You can find our homestead perched on a pre-colonial Native trade route between the tribes residing east and west of the Cascades. This route later became part of the Oregon Trail, and taken by folks with covered wagons in the late 1800s. Today, our eight acre homestead is visited regularly by strong winds from Sandy River valley and buffered by forests ready to burn any year now. It’s a place on the edge of big change.

We experiment with different growing methods, always anchored in doing our best for the health of the land, pollinators and planet. That means we’re not tilling, but trying out no-dig or “less-dig”, water conservation and scaling up our composting. We’re building healthy soils and watching more insects and birds interact with the land each year. Plastics are the never ending conundrum we keep trying to reduce or refuse, but it’s an ongoing challenge.

What we’re growing

We’ve been slowly transitioning 1.5 acres of blackberry and pasture into gardens, orchards, and pastured or browsing animal habitat. Six sloping acres in the back are covered in mixed conifer forest and wild habitat as well. We’re always pulling old barbed wire, bottles and the remnants of former homesteading from the duff back there.

Our focus has been on feeding ourselves and loved ones since we left our full-time work a few years ago, and are starting to expand to growing for others as well.

We can’t help ourselves. When we’re not foraging for wild stuff for food and craft, we’re thinking about growing it. We are rewarded with full bellies and colorful lifestyles, however the birds singing, insects buzzing and bats dropping out of the eaves at sun set are the rewards that really fill me up.

Our priorities have been:

  • Seed saving

  • Veggies

  • Fruiting shrubs

  • Fruit and nut trees

  • Native plants for pollinators, food and seed

  • Dye plants

  • Nettle for food and fiber

  • Mushroom cultivation

For 2024 & 25:

  • Dried flowers for wreaths

  • Basketry Willow