Fall always feels like renewal for me. In college, I loved that back-to-school feeling, a new schedule of classes, a pile of new textbooks. I was on fire for all the new things I would learn over the semester. That feeling of renewal has continued on the ranch, when the change in temperature brings a … More Season of Renewal
In the small, Eastern Washington town where I grew up, someone spray painted the words, “OZZY KNOWS LISTEN”* on an overpass. The words were already up there, in huge black letters by the time I learned to read, about 1984, and they stayed until our family moved away in 1991. I’ve been thinking about those … More Listening to Ozzy
In the weeks leading up to the Solstice, the world has felt to me like a ball tossed in the air, hovering just for a moment before it falls back down. Something about these long days, when the sun wakes me before my alarm and the kids keep playing outside on their bikes when they … More A Solstice Pause
I am honored to have my essay, “Confessions of a Vegetarian Ranchwife,” included in After Happy Hour’s food themed issue. In this essay, I talk at great length about the thing I don’t want to talk about: my vegetarianism. I’ve employed many tactics to avoid the topic, including hiding it plain sight, put it in … More I Don’t Want to Talk about It
I’ve heard it said, “Everyday do something that scares you.” . . .Or maybe I saw it on a cat poster. . . Where ever I came by it, it’s generally good advice, though I think the frequency is overstated. And what is scarier than public speaking? Jerry Seinfeld once made the joke that public … More Doing Something That Scares You
I’m excited to announce that Sunday, July 14 I will be speaking at Highlands Presbyterian Church in Cheyenne. I’ve titled my talk, “Moving From the Wound Towards a Religious Vitality,” and I will draw on my childhood experiences as a strict Seventh-day Adventist to examine how religions can wound, and also how they can play … More Speaking About Wounds
Every year, on a long weekend in the miserable belly of winter, our family escapes to Thermopolis, Wyoming, home to the world’s largest mineral hot springs. There’s nothing quite like running out the door into a 15-degree winter morning, knocking ice off the railings as you ease your way into a steaming pool. When the … More Smoking Waters
I have vivid memories of my family’s first Thanksgiving with a turkey. After watching my parents reaching into a dead bird’s body cavity, my sisters and I swore we’d never let them touch us again. I was six or seven years old and my entire life our family had been largely vegetarian. We were Seventh-day … More A Vegetarian’s Thanksgiving Feast
Vegetarian Ranchwife 