Read.Eat.Listen: Shed

I'm thinking of the word 'shed' as in shedding skins. Like a snake, or a cat or dog in summer. We drove down to Joshua Tree again, to spend a week in a homesteader cabin seeing what arose. Or at least that's my main goal, to get quiet, shed my usual business of late, as much chatter as possible, and see what remains, or comes up. Two nights in, I'm feeling a bit lighter, aided and abetted by the impossibility of sleeping in around here. The sun rises at 5:33 and comes streaming through all parts of this updated cabin surrounded by BLM land and other historic homesteader tracts. Somewhere, beyond that flue sky, there's a full moon, June's Strawberry moon (in Saggitarious I'm told), but for the moment it's all about desert birdsong: a symphony of doves, quail, finches and the occasional whir of a passing hummingbird and 'churr' of a cactus wren. 

READ: A fun little book to read here, regarding local history, is "Jackrabbit Homestead: Tracing the Small Tract Act in the Southern California Landscape, 1938-2008" by Kim Stringfellow. The Small Tract Act was designed to "dispose of 'useless' federal lands from the public lands," allowing citizens "to lease up to 5 acres of desert for recreational purposes or for home or business." Fast-forward to now and you have a variety of interests - from artists to climbers, military families to outlaws, year-round residents to tourists - utilizing these tracts.

EAT: The UN recommends a vegan diet to combat climate change. Can you do it? I have at times, been vegan, but have wavered in the past few years. A turn toward a deeper shade of green maybe in order. www.epicuriousvegan.com

LISTEN: We loaded up the CD player with the work of several fine Bay Area musicians we know and appreciate, and whiled away the hours listening. None of these Cds are brand new, but all stand to give for some years. 

Gayle Lynn and the Hired Hands: Just Came Around 

Michael McNevin: 2010 Song Sampler

Jim Bruno: The Patron Saint of Lost Causes.