Day 1: PV2: Keynote and settling in.....

Keynote: John Liu

My tweets:

Half this room could solve the California drought. Just saying. #pv2 #pv2women
— Danelle Stamps (@StampsAppleFarm) March 5, 2015

Growing peace through ecology. #pv2 #pv2women
— Danelle Stamps (@StampsAppleFarm) March 5, 2015

It took me a while to settle in. Not sure I really did at all, anxiety was pretty high the whole time, sensory issues amplified. Not sure why, but it was progressively worse the entire time.

The keynote and opening were pretty awesome though. Diego welcomed us with a rally cry of DO EPIC SHIT!

Oh, we are. And so is everyone in the room. That's why this was so cool. Everyone, gathered from around the world, is working on changing some small or big thing for the greater good. And this agricultural system sees the big picture and intersectionality of social justice, poverty, climate, and food growing issues. What do you care about? This is the question asked over and over again.

Figuring out what I bring to the table is another question all together. I'm an artist not a business person or an agri-scientist. I'm a story teller and moment catcher. What can I bring to the world that furthers the ecological healing?

This is the question I pondered through the whole conference. Caught up in my own thoughts, it was difficult to engage, so I turned to the coping mechanism of hand written notes. Which turned to poetry rather quickly.

My tweet about the folks in the room being able to, through design and influence, solve the problem of the West Coast drought? Spot on. Some of these folks are turning desserts to food forests, refilling aquifers with only 1 inch of rain every 4 years. Science applied to design and working within cultural and social frameworks. It's complicated, sure, but possible.

*Special note for future conference attendees? The hotel menu has a kids menu that is 1/2 the price and there is no age restriction. Pretty much the same size as an adult serving too. Ha. Once I figured out that lifehack, food budget became a lot more reasonable.

Almost Home.....

Actually, I am home physically. I am jetlagged from two coasts, a stranding in Texas for 3 days, and daylight savings.

I have so much work to catch up on. "Do the work in front of you," rings in my ears as I take it one task at a time. My children are all clinging to me, making each task more difficult. I understand, I missed them fiercely too.

But I had an adventure to distract me from the heartache of missing someone, so I get that they are feeling it harder.

I am tired. Tired in my bones, my flesh, my heart, and my head. It may take several cups of tea, wistful gazes out a window, and several dozen loads of laundry before I return to the normal rhythm of things here at the farm.

Forgive me while I gather my thoughts.

Wow, Am I Exhausted

My last two posts had the exact same pictures and I didn't even notice. I've been on the road since February 17th, mentally probably since January to be honest. I am ready to go home tomorrow.

Basically, two weeks in Georgia learning all the writing things,  3 days stuck in an ice storm in Dallas, one week in San Diego learning all the farming things and being in high intensity social groups, and now LA for just three days.

Through it all I have to keep contact with students, grade papers, submit midterms.

I miss my kids fiercely. Lambing has started on the farm and we have bottle lambs in the kitchen. Twins from the Jacobs, one premature. Maple season has passed. Spring has emerged in Iowa. The missing of this transition is hitting me hard.

The magic of the island has held the sorrow at bay, but only for so long. I feel unrooted. In the wind. I feel the pull to put my feet back in the timber and soil, feel the breezes through the tall prairie grass.

Permaculture Voices 2: San Diego

A couple of highlights, for now. This week was amazing. I live tweeted as much as I could. It was kind of hilarious when a speaker gave me side eye for using my iPhone while she was speaking....I was live tweeting all her key points! Ha.

I'll write more about the conference when I stop running, tomorrow early I catch a train that runs the coast to Los Angeles.

For now? Pictures of the bay that the hotel was right on.