A Heart Shaped Tale

This article originally appeared in the Methow Valley News, 14 November 2018

Meet Crick, aka “Fat Daddy”. Tree climber, mouse hunter, pink toed, yellow eyed, black cat with nine lives and a crooked tail that ends in a heart-shaped spiral. A heart shaped tale, if you will.

Crick went missing three years, 250 miles, and three moves ago – and last week he miraculously reunited with his family here in the Methow Valley. I met Crick in Mandy Shoger’s living room. He gazed lovingly at her and purred while she stroked his fur and told as much of his story as she could piece together.

Seventeen years ago, Mandy decided to procure two kittens to keep her older cat, Natalie, company.  She found littermates Crick and Roderigo at a shelter that micro-chipped each adopted animal. The shelter workers named Crick for his crooked spiral shaped tail he was born with. Crick and Roderigo settled in, keeping Natalie company, and the rest of the neighborhood well entertained.

“He’s always been a sweet boy,” Mandy explained, “he went for walks around Ballard with us.” Crick and Roderigo found other ways to enjoy the sights and sounds of Ballard. They periodically climbed a tree and stepped out onto the roof of a neighborhood gym, enjoying the bustling view of the sidewalk below. When they tired of that entertainment, they struggled to get back down. Firefighters from the station across the street extended their tall ladders to the curious cats, recording the rescue and sharing the PR video across media venues. Crick and Roderigo never tired of climbing the tree to enjoy the view from the roof of the gym, and the firefighters seemed to enjoy taking a break out of their day to rescue the cats. “It happened several times,” Mandy said, rolling her eyes. “I was always taking brownies or doughnuts to the fire station.”

After over a decade, Mandy moved from Ballard to Green Lake. Unfortunately, after a few weeks, the landlord decided to sell the first rental Mandy moved into and she had to quickly find another place. Mandy and the cats moved to a less than ideal home. “It was a busy area,” she said, “lots of businesses, a freeway on-ramp, and many parking garages.” Crick decided to take a stroll one morning, and failed to return. Mandy put up fliers all over the neighborhood. For months she walked in every direction, calling his name. She joined multiple facebook groups to ask for help finding Crick. “There were a lot of false hopes,” she recalled, “lots of black cats were found, but none with his distinctive crooked tail.”

A year ago, Mandy moved to the Methow Valley with her husband Nate. “I felt so bad leaving, what if Crick was still out there?” After two years of searching, Mandy accepted that Crick was gone, but still had this feeling he was alive. She dreamt of him often.

Two weeks ago, Mandy received a phone call from Roosevelt Station Vet Care in Seattle. A man named Ed had brought Crick into the office to treat an ear infection. After a routine microchip scan, Ed was surprised to learn the cat, who he had called “Fat Daddy”, had a microchip. He thought Fat Daddy was a stray.

The vet office did a diligent search for Crick’s owner, but immediately came up against a wall. The seventeen-year-old microchip was made long before cell phones, and the company no longer produced the chip. The vet office was able to locate the manufacturer who still had Mandy’s name on record. Luckily, Mandy is a successful artist with a unique last name. The top 40 links in a Google search all yield Mandy’s Foxtail Pottery art and contact information. The top link was to her TwispWorks studio.

Ed agreed to meet Mandy for a reunion with Fat Daddy Crick. The good man bought Crick toys, fed him, provided vet care, and even built Crick a little insulated hut. Mandy was certain that Ed had bonded with Crick and she didn’t want to put extra stress on the cat, but Ed insisted that she take him home. “Are you sure you are ok with me taking him?” she asked. Ed shrugged and in a thick English accent proclaimed Crick loud and annoying. This whole time, Crick was living just nine blocks away from where he first went missing.

On the coffee table in front of the couch where Crick snuggled with Mandy, sat an open box from TabCat. Collar tags and a radio receiver are a more immediate method of keeping track of the cat with a heart-shaped crick at the end of his tail.

Wandering Betties, Cutthroat Lake

For trail information, visit: Washington Trails Association

On a perfect fall day, Cutthroat Lake is a colorful destination of changing larch trees.

Life Cycles of Plants and Languages

This article originally appeared in the Methow Valley News, 10 October 2018

It was an honor to meet Sandra Warrior Pistol Bullet, a student intern at the Methow Valley Interpretive Center. Her story was featured on the front page of the Methow Valley News last week, written by Ashley Ahearn. To celebrate Sandra’s internship, the Methow Valley Interpretive Center and the Methow Native plant nursery hosted a small gathering last week. Her contributions to the community include new cultural exhibits at the MVIC and development of the Cottonwood Trail.

The conversation with Sandra is still churning through my thoughts, days later. A student at Wenatchee Valley College and a member of the Colville Confederated Tribes, Sandra is studying both ecology restoration and language revitalization. Her passion for both fields was clearly articulated as she spoke about reconnecting with her own heritage through her studies of traditional plant use and language revitalization.

As we strolled along the Cottonwood Trail, Sandra talked about her work these past summer months. The breadth of knowledge that people possessed about which unique plants to process and use for building materials, shelf-stable food, and medicine is simply astounding. There were eight different varieties of serviceberry in the Methow Valley alone. Each variety, had to be stored and dried using different methods.

As part of the project, Sandra focused on the Salish names for traditional-use plants. Salish is a group of languages in the Pacific Northwest. There are 23 distinct dialects separated by geographic features, for instance, the Entiat, Chelan, Methow, and Okanogan dialects are all unique forms of Salish. Similar to the Romance languages and the differences between French, Spanish, and Italian.

Languages and plants are closely intertwined. Dialects and species evolve differently from each other based on geographic location. Phonemes can be strung together to build knowledge and heal relationships. Plants can be processed to build a home and nourish a body. Every culture has a tradition of coming together over a meal to exchange words. Languages grow and morph over time and if not tended, die. So, to, plants.

The Cottonwood Trail is located 3.6 miles north of Twisp on the Old Twisp Highway. The 38-acre educational park is part of the Watershed Watchers outdoor education program, and is open to the public. A one-mile loop trail on the Methow River floodplain is a fragrant oasis of birdsong, river views, and changing fall colors. Interpretive signs along the trail describe the area restoration of plants, river-flows, and fish. The community walking path is located on public Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife land. Work parties of volunteers organized by Rob Crandall of Methow Natives plant nursery placed hundreds of native trees and shrubs. The Methow Conservancy helped create interpretive signs along the trail.   

To see the fruits of Sandra’s labor, visit the Methow Valley Interpretive Center and Methow Natives plant garden located on the TwispWorks campus, and take a stroll on the Cottonwood Trail located off the Old Twisp Highway.

I have two important reminders to share: October is cancer awareness month. Remember to schedule your annual exams and cancer screenings. And, October is also a time to stretch your donation dollar. Visit www.givemethow.org to help support nonprofits in our valley, including the Methow Valley Interpretive Center. 100% of your donation directly supports the nonprofits. On “Funday Mondays” donors are entered to win additional funds for their participating nonprofits. All donations are tax-deductible.

Little Red Wagon full of Cheese

This article originally appeared in the Methow Valley News on 26 September 2018

We recently enjoyed a dinner with friends from Singapore. Our friends joked about the common American greeting, “How’s it going?” My friend spoke in amused amazement about the number of people who would walk by him, make eye contact, smile amicably, and say, “How’s it going?” Before our friend could answer, the person would be long gone, never breaking stride – obviously not interested in details. He mused that it was much like a traditional Chinese greeting used by the older generation, “Have you eaten?” This older greeting could have originated when people did not have enough to eat.

For days after our discussion, I mulled over the cultural aspects of both greetings. I’ve been in countries where the simple act of ordering food becomes a lesson in family history, “my mother, rest her soul, learned this recipe from her mother, who learned it from her mother, who stole it from the invaders after crushing their souls. I added cream.”

The discussion of food insecurity affecting a cultural greeting had me remembering, of all things, my little red wagon full of cheese back in the 70s.

Once a month, mom and I would walk downtown pulling my red Radio Flyer wagon. We’d roll that wagon up to the front porch of an old, two story blue house with a wraparound porch and pretty framed windows. Two front rooms were filled with cardboard towers of food. A woman with multiple pens and pencils poking out of her copious bun of hair, would scan a pile of papers on a clipboard before calling out the number of boxes of powdered milk, blocks of butter, and bricks of cheese that we could pile into my wagon. The cheese was wrapped in brown paper and stamped USDA. That government cheese was amazing. It sliced without crumbling and melted smoothly with no oily residue. I’ve often wondered if it was really that good, or if the lens of childhood bliss affected my taste buds.

A recent podcast of Planet Money answered my questions. The cheese was indeed as good as I remembered. In the 1970s, the government tried to increase market demand for milk by purchasing surplus dairy goods that could be stored: butter, dry milk, and cheese. To prevent fraud, the government also hired cheese graders to taste and test the cheese. The result was a processed Grade A government cheese for food banks, schools, and the military that melted smoothly and was a hundred times better than Velveeta.

Another food memory was tagging along with my dad while he worked at the homeless shelter. He’d take his toolbelt and go fix something, while I helped fix something in the kitchen. One of the cooks made colorful candies that she would send home with me, winking, “for your mother.” She thickened a flavored gelatin, and dusted the cooled squares with powdered sugar. It looked and tasted like jell-o gone wrong – I did not care for it and happily passed along the entire bag of candies to my mother. I may not have been a fan of those brightly colored Turkish Delights, but I did enjoy applets and cotlets candy from the store.

The government cheese I grew up on is no longer available, but I found a Turkish delight recipe that looks palatable, with a result similar to applets and cotlets. Mix two quarter-ounce packages unflavored gelatin with a 1/2 cup of applesauce and let stand for 10 minutes. Pour two cups sugar and ¾ cup applesauce into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in the gelatin-applesauce mixture and cook over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add ½ cup finely chopped walnuts and 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla, stirring to mix well. Pour the warm candy concoction into a greased 8” x 8” pan. Let cool at room temperature for at least two hours. When cooled, slice into squares and toss with powdered sugar to coat. To make cotlets, substitute the applesauce for an apricot puree.

Particle Reduction

This article originally appeared in the Methow Valley News on 26 September 2018

Holy Smokes, Batman! Finding clean pockets of air is like jockeying for good seats at a concert. At a concert, if you’re lucky, you can reserve perfect seats with a great view. Otherwise, you and your crew spread out strategically and whistle or howl when the good seats are found and secured. If you’re really lucky, it’s an open- air concert with hillside seating and your grassy knoll neighbors are willing to share their fancy picnic fixings.

To find fresh air in the Methow, you can either drive around aimlessly until serendipitously a patch of blue sky appears, or visit www.purpleair.com to find healthy air. Methow Valley Clean Air Project has placed sensors throughout the valley collecting real time air quality readings. The sensors read particulate matter pollution - PM2.5, the main component of smoke - and upload readings every eighty seconds.

Volunteers from Carlton to Pateros are needed to host sensors that provide a fuller map of air quality for the entire valley. All that is needed is an outlet for power, and a wi-fi connection to upload data. Sensors are mounted outdoors in locations similar to where we breathe air: at or slightly above head level on the side of houses, under an eave to protect the device from weather.

The sensors use laser beams to measure the reflectivity of particles, like dust seen through a sunbeam. The number of particulates in the reflective beam are then counted, uploaded, and displayed on a google map located on the purpleair web page. From the purpleair.com faq page, “local pollution like cigarette smoke, BBQ’s, fireplaces and idling cars can cause spikes in the short term graphs.” Because the low-cost sensors count all particulates of a size similar to wildfire smoke particles, it is important to know that the read outs are sometimes double what the actual smoke levels are. To correct the data, purpleair.com recommends users, “switch the Map Data Layer dialogue box in the lower left hand corner from “None” to “AQ and U”. This will apply a correction factor that will make the readings relate more closely to the official air quality data.”

Sensors are needed at the Lost River Airport, Gunn Ranch trailhead, Gold Creek, Texas Creek, and the town of Methow. If you would like to host a sensor, or donate to the effort, please visit http://www.mvcitizens.org/clean-air-ambassador-program/ or email cleanairambassador@gmail.com for more information.

On another environmental subject: plastic is not as recyclable as we were once led to believe. Turns out plastic goes to China, who recently banned “foreign garbage” stating concerns that countries were including trash with recycle shipments. I’d make a crack about China willing to ‘dish it out’, but not ‘take it’ when it comes to plastic…but I can’t think clearly in all this smoke, so I’ll let a wittier person make the punchline work. Hello, Kitty.

After a conversation months ago with Miles Milliken, operations manager at Methow Recycles, I was inspired to look for ways to simply reduce waste, instead of indulgently, naïvely, recycling recyclables that aren’t recyclable. Taking advantage of the bulk bars at Hanks and Glover Street Market reduces some container waste. Glover Street has a container exchange program, and Hank’s offers brown paper bags for bulk foods.

My hygiene routine is another reduction opportunity. Not doing less of it, but rather less packaging. I found wooden toothbrush handles at Glover St. Market, with replaceable plastic heads. Online, I found toothpowders in recyclable aluminum tins. My favorite is Frau Fowler Tooth Powder with ‘organic essential oils of cinnamon, clove, tea tree, and cardamon’. My mouth feels fantastic after each use. I have yet to find a shampoo bar that doesn’t leave a waxy residue – but when I do, you’ll be the first to know.

A very Methow Mongolia

This article originally appeared in the Methow Valley News on 22 August 2018

Three wild horsewomen would like to share their recent Mongolian experience by bringing their Mongolian guide to the Methow Valley.

Robin Baire, Lorah Super, and Jil Wickander recently completed a two-week guided horseback tour through the UNESCO world heritage sites and national parks of Mongolia. Impressed with the experience, they asked their guide, Dagva Jambatseren, to come to the Methow Valley to share the experience with the community. Dagva enthusiastically accepted the invitation, and is hoping to visit sometime in September or October and give a cultural presentation to people here in the Methow Valley.

Robin learned about the horseback guided tour through a page on Facebook titled, “Wild Women Expeditions:  Orkhon Valley Horseback Adventure – Mongolia.”

“Every one of those words appealed to me,” Robin thought, and she began inquiring if other horse women would like to join. Lorah was the first to pony up. “I read the trip descriptions of riding all day through these sites and then ending the day by soaking in hot springs. I’m a busy mom, hot springs after a day of riding sounded good!” Jil soon joined the trio and the Methow Valley horsewomen planned their early summer expedition.

The trip was for sixteen days in the beginning of June. “It was a short time to be there, but a long time to be away from here,” Robin related. Preparation for the trip included long hours in the garden – as any Methow Valley gardener can empathize during the beginning of garden season.

Their expedition started in Ulannbaatar, the capital of Mongolia in the Tuul River valley. The women toured the National History Museum with their guide, Dagva, who provided knowledgeable insights into the rich history of the region from prehistory to Genghis Khan to the Soviet period. In the evening, the women enjoyed traditional performances including folk dances and singing.

The second day started with a 2-hour ride into Khustai National Park. The park is home to the world’s only wild herd of Przewalski’s horse, an ancient breed that was saved from extinction by the Mongolian horse people.

The next morning the women began their seven-day ride through the Orkhon Valley, a UNESCO world heritage site that reflects thousands of years of nomadic pastoralism, and significant events in human history as the center of the Mongolian Empire. The riders found the scenery to be much like the Methow Valley. They rode along the river through basalt fields and gradually ascended into larch forests full of wild peonies, the full robust blossoms taking everyone’s breath away. Daily, the women rode through large herds of yaks, sheep, goats, and horses, passing by nomadic camps. “It was amazing how calm the animals were,” Robin noted, “and everyone was so friendly. We’d ride around the camps to give them privacy, and people would wave.”

At the end of the first week, the women arrived at the Tovkhon Monastery built into a cliff rising 2312 meters above sea level, affording them a view of the whole Khangai mountain range. The women would visit many monasteries on their trip, home to cultural artifacts hidden away during the Stalinist purges in the late 1930s.  “No photos were allowed inside,” Lorah explained how they drank it all in, taking, “just what you can carry with you,” in memories.

The second week of the expedition was spent exploring Naiman Nuur National Park, followed by the Mini-Gobi. The lakes within Naiman Nuur are accessible only by foot or hoof. Rolling hills, waterfalls, and extensive larch forests led the horsewomen over mountain passes and to quiet mountain lakes.

Evenings were spent with nomadic families, sleeping in Gers (yurts) or teepees. “It felt like ‘glamping’”, Robin exclaimed, noting the luxury level of some of the Gers. The visitors were welcomed with food, warm salted milk, which was, “surprisingly refreshing”, and slices of sweet butter made from yak’s milk.

The travelers found themselves connecting with the guides, finding a commonality in gardening, living off the land, and in their relationships with their horses.

Wanting to share this incredible experience with others, Robin is working to bring Dagva to the Methow Valley to present Mongolia’s rich past and ongoing culture. Dagva is a guide with Horseback Adventure Company, an enterprise that works with nomadic families to give them a source of income. Dagva is very knowledgeable in Mongolia’s history, culture, and natural landscape. Dagva needs assistance with travel expenses. If you would like to help, please email Robin Baire at  3baires@gmail.com.

A love affair with Fennel

This article originally appeared in the Methow Valley News on 8 August 2018

Most of our dinners are planned around what is available this time of year. Last night, our dinner consisted of a roasted vegetable sauce smothered over potatoes and scrambled eggs. A side salad of cucumbers and fresh picked tomatoes still warm from the sun rounded out the meal. The sauce is a favorite of ours, made of eggplant, garlic, onion, and tomato – chopped into rough chunks, tossed with olive oil and salt, and roasted at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. After roasting, I blend the vegetables in a food processor with more olive oil, basil, and oregano until a hearty sauce emerges. This sauce is great with pasta, or as a dipping sauce for pita chips.

This year, we planted fennel for the first time. I love how the entire fennel bulb bursts out of the soil, the layers looking like a fashionable wrap, the feathery fronds waving in the breeze - like a confident model strutting down the runway. Big hair, don’t care!

Last year around Thanksgiving, I nestled two fennel bulbs in my grocery cart at Hank’s. As I strolled through the aisles, the fennel fronds bounced and waved. Three different people stopped me and motioned to the fennel in my shopping basket, wondering what I planned to do with it. For fennel lovers, the variety of recipes are endless, and we’re always curious to share new ways to enjoy fennel.

Fennel has a fabulous licorice flavor that is excellent in almost every dish – savory or sweet. Roasted with meat and root vegetables, the fennel remains firm to the bite and adds flavor. Paired with cold fruit, the crisp fennel adds a satisfying crunch with a burst of flavor. A bouquet of fennel fronds, chive blossoms, and chamomile flowers in a vase of water fills the kitchen with the smells of summer.

Fennel is an excellent source of dietary fiber, calcium, vitamin c, and is a natural source of estrogen. All of the nutrients in fennel support bone health, boost the immune system, and reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. Instead of cans of soggy spinach, Popeye could have been popping crunchy stalks of licorice-tasting fennel - reduces waste and keeps you regular!

To make roasted chicken with fennel, you will need boneless chicken thighs, one large fennel bulb with fronds, one large carrot, one large potato, and one onion. Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Chop fennel bulb and stalks, carrot, potato, and onion into equal-sized pieces. Toss vegetables with olive oil, fresh thyme, and Hannah’s Popcorn seasoning. Spread vegetables across bottom of roasting dish, cover with white wine. Coat chicken thighs with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Hannah’s popcorn seasoning (that stuff should be included in your to-go bag during fire season, it makes everything delicious). Layer the chicken on top of the vegetables and roast at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes. Top with chopped fennel fronds before serving.

To make a fennel and nectarine salad with honey-orange dressing, layer thinly sliced nectarines and fennel bulb. Whisk together a quarter cup of orange juice with a tablespoon of honey until well combined. Pour over the sliced nectarines and fennel. Top with chopped almonds and fennel fronds.

Libby Creek herbalist and author, Rosalee de la Forêt, shares several creative and delicious fennel recipes through Learning Herbs.  Visit https://learningherbs.com, and select the ‘Remedies’ category from the upper right corner of the home page. Enter ‘fennel’ into the search bar. There are a wide range of informational pages on fennel and recipes, like fig and fennel soda bread, fennel and candied ginger, and many more.

If you haven’t tried fresh fennel, give it a taste – you may be pleasantly surprised.