Life

Summer is wonderful

Brandy — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:59:01 GMT

Hello lovelies! Montana is glorious and it finally feels like summer! The flowers are blooming, the morels are growing like crazy and the buffalo are finally being left alone. I have yet to feel ridiculous heat, it's nice and dry here in the mountains. The nights are cold and wonderful, perfect for taking moonlit walks by the lake. The garden is growing and there's always something to be kept busy with if one desires it. Ahh I love summer! More folks have left, so there are very few of us now to hold down the fort, but it's nice to get some peace. I've been cooking a lot more, I had forgotten how much I love cooking for community! Methinks next season I'll try being an official cook for the BFC... I've been out in Yellowstone twice now talking with park visitors about the bison issue and it's gone well. We've had a few jerks bother us, those who came to the table assuming we were anti this or that, a few of whom proceeded to yell at us and tell us we were the problem (HA!) and not actually listen to the facts, but...that's expected. Most folks are rather receptive, which is great. I was a little unsure about the whole tabling thing, I didn't think I'd be to comfortable talking with random strangers, but it's actually turned out alright. The more I do it the better I am at communicating the issue, and I'm actually getting comfortable doing it. There are less blank stares now, ha. Also the more I talk about it the more angry I get. It's really a completely ridiculous thing that's happening out here...a federally mandated and funded slaughter of a wildlife species, WTF!?!? These bison are descended from the last wild bison that remained after the slaughter of the 1800s (there were only 23 left!) and yet we are continuing to slaughter them for no good reason (because the livestock industry says so). It's really fucked up. So, I'm angry, but happy too. It's really beautiful out here and I am very delighted to be in such a wild place hanging out with some really cool people. I've found a good place, and I like it so much I want to come back next season. Can you imagine me living through a Montana winter?? ACK! ;-) Let buffalo roam!!

Buffalove from Montana

Brandy — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 19:56:19 GMT

Things are still good here. The season is coming to an end, so there isn't much activity (maybe they'll finally leave those poor harassed buffalo alone for a while) and many of the hippies are headed off for their summer adventures. Soon I'll be going into the park with several other volunteers to start tabling. It'll be good to help spread the word about the buffalo and what's happening. I'll get a good amount of free time to hike around and explore. Maybe I'll finally see a grizzly. The DOL used a helicopter to haze a large group of buffalo last week. It was horrid. We had a big janky fire in the front yard a few nights ago, woot! We slept out under the stars and it was glorious. I've decided I must do that more. I hope everyone is well and wonderful, I miss all my lovely MO buddies!

buffalo...

Brandy — Fri, 23 May 2008 18:53:24 GMT

Le sigh. I am so happy to be here! The sun is shining, I've gotten some good work done, there's a fabulous giant hoop to play with and fuck...I'm in the mountains! It snowed the past couple of days, so I've learned, like in Missouri, the spring weather is rather fickle. I've been out on patrol a few times, seen lots of buffalo and other wildlife (moose, bald eagles, ospreys, sandhill cranes, pelicans...) A few days ago I watched several horsemen and other agents (Forest Service, Dept of Livestock) haze two separate groups of buffalo back into Yellowstone as per their bison management plan, at a time when the bison are stressed and tired after a long, hard winter. At a time when they need to save their energy and eat, at a time when there is less food for them inside the park. At a time when their newborn calves need to eat and not be hazed. It's so shitty. So there's this great place I'm at, but there's also this awful thing that's happening to the buffalo, so it's kinda odd. Til next time! http://buffalofieldcampaign.org/

Montana

Brandy — Sat, 17 May 2008 20:49:00 GMT

Arrived safe and sound yesterday afternoon. Now I'm hanging out in the mountains (so beautiful!) with hippies and buffalo, woot!

Love

Brandy — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:14:45 GMT

My awesome friend Pet sensed a need and sent this to me. I liked it so much I wanted to share... When love beckons to you, follow him, Though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you yield to him, Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you. And when he speaks to you believe in him, Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden. For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning. Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun, So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth. Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself. He threshes you to make you naked. He sifts you to free you from your husks. He grinds you to whiteness. He kneads you until you are pliant; And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast. All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart. But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure, Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor, Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears. Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself. Love possesses not nor would it be possessed; For love is sufficient unto love. When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, "I am in the heart of God." And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course. Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself. But if you love and must need have desires, let these be your desires: To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night. To know the pain of too much tenderness. To be wounded by your own understanding of love; And to bleed willingly and joyfully. To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving; To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy; To return home at eventide with gratitude; And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips. ~ Kahlil Gibran

Appalachian Trail

Brandy — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 03:16:15 GMT

So...we're doing the Appalachian Trail next year. WOOOO!!! I am very excited! I've been doing a lot of research and tonight I've just been looking at photos. Wow. It makes me want to just go do it right now....sigh. It will be awesome. I found the photo here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/henzelfish/974810171/in/pool-appalachian_trail

"NYC in Spring Colors"

Brandy — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 23:12:30 GMT

Because Nike is more worthy of protection than we are, apparently. http://www.dylantmcmanus.com/fashion02.html

Inspiration

Brandy — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 02:27:30 GMT

I was doing some research on the Appalachian Trail and came across this story.... "In the summer of 1927, Lillian Alling, a young Russian immigrant, homesick and compelled to perform menial tasks for a living in New York, made up her mind to go back to her homeland in Europe. Because she had no money for transportation, she decided to hike back to her native country. She tramped to Chicago, to Minneapolis, to Winnipeg, refusing all invitations to ride. She was next seen on the Yukon Telegraph Trail in the northern part of British Columbia, Canada, a small pack on her back and a length of iron pipe in her hand for protection, heading towards Alaska. The provincial police at Hazelton prevented her from making a winter journey through the Canadian wilds, but they were able to detain her only until spring. Starting out again, she hiked along the Telegraph Trail, over the wild mountain passes, finally reaching Dawson. There she worked as a cook, purchased and repaired an old boat, and in the spring of 1929, launched it into the waters of the Yukon River right behind the outgoing ice and reached a point east of the Seward Peninsula. There she abandoned the boat for overland travel, reaching Nome and later Bering Strait. She was last heard bartering with the Eskimos for boat passage across the Strait to Asia." (from The New Way of the Wilderness by Calvin Rutstrum) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lillian_Alling http://outdoors-magazine.com/spip.php?page=article&id_article=187 What a woman!

The French Life

Brandy — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 01:32:51 GMT

hilarious... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5hrUGFhsXo&feature=related

Business Time

Brandy — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 01:12:38 GMT

One of the funniest songs I've heard in a while... http://youtube.com/watch?v=WGOohBytKTU

Biking to power fusion research on supercomputers

Brandy — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 17:51:04 GMT

How cool! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_3zND7VUUg found on the Sietch Blog (one of the coolest blogs I've found recently) http://www.blog.thesietch.org/

The Story of Stuff

Brandy — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 03:27:53 GMT

a must watch! where does all that stuff that we buy come from and where does it go and how does it impact our planet?? http://storyofstuff.com/

fire hooping

Brandy — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 00:05:09 GMT

I aspire to do such amazing things as this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktak96l7XVI

use a condom

Brandy — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 02:07:36 GMT

wow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bizJWtJ0xXo&feature=related

Wind!

Brandy — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 01:59:46 GMT

awesome :-D http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mTLO2F_ERY

This is really what goes on...

Brandy — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 21:14:10 GMT

when humans aren't around. cat speak! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JynBEX_kg8

be crafty! be nerdy!

Brandy — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 23:17:43 GMT

I love craftster! http://www.craftster.org/forum/

your brain on politics

Brandy — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 22:51:58 GMT

This is kinda crazy! kinda neat... http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/opinion/11freedman.html?

smoothies!

Brandy — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 17:33:55 GMT

I enjoyed this one... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alSI0VIUn7A&feature=dir

glowing mountain dew

Brandy — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 18:59:25 GMT

This looks like so much fun! http://www.break.com/index/how-to-make-glow-in-the-dark-mountain-dew.html

Breathing

Brandy — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:15:08 GMT

I found this somewhere on Tribe and wanted to pass it along to all you wonderful people: Watch A Baby Sleeping Watch a baby sleeping sometime. Their eyes are closed. Their body is completely relaxed and at peace. They are literally breathing with their entire body. Their entire body rises and falls with each deep breath. Now watch the average adult in modern society. You will be lucky if you can see them breathing past their neck. I am about to share with you something absolutely amazing and that is this: It is impossible to feel any sense of fear, anxiety or stress while you are breathing deeply. What you feel when you are taking short, shallow breaths is always anxiety, and stress. What you feel when you are breathing more deeply and naturally is always more peaceful and relaxed, with greater energy and vitality, like when you were a baby. The shorter and more shallow our breaths, the more we are closing our self off to life: physically, mentally and spiritually. The slower and deeper our breaths, the more we are opening ourselves to life: physically, mentally and spiritually. The deeper we are breathing the more we are in the energy, the flow of life. The more we are receiving from life with each inhalation and fully giving back to life with each exhalation. The deeper and slower you are breathing, the more alive you become and the less gripped by fear and stress. Therefore, If you are feeling a lot of anxiety or stress in your life, one of the single greatest things you can do is pay attention to your breath. You can actually take time each day to practice your breathing. You can take time each day to retrain your body to breathe more deeply. We practice so many things in our lives with the intent of getting better at them and yet the most essential thing in all of life few people practice at all, but simple take for granted, and that is our breath. There are many wonderful ways to practice deeper breathing. One basic way is to lay down with legs slightly bent and place your hand on the lower part of your abdomen. Breathe in to the very bottom of your belly, and feel your hand slowly rise and fall as you practice breathing more deeply. This is a great way to relax both your body and your mind. This can also be a good natural technique to put yourself to sleep at night if there is insomnia. Your nose has been perfectly designed by nature to filter incoming air. Your mouth has not. Therefore it is best to inhale through your nose when breathing. As wonderful as these practices can be, however, they have little meaning if they don't translate in to your daily life and that requires presence. When you are feeling stress and anxiety during the day, pay attention to your body and in particular your breath. What does your body feel like? What is your breathing like? Can you become aware of your breath in the midst of a potentially tense situation and make a conscious intention to breathe more deeply? Remember it is impossible to feel fear, anxiety or stress while you are breathing deeply. The more you become consciously aware of your breathing moment to moment, the more relaxed and at peace you can feel through out the day. The literal translation of "inspire" is "to breathe" or to "give breath". This week, may you feel incredibly inspired! By Brian Piergrossi www.thebigglow.com

knit and crochet body parts

Brandy — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 19:22:07 GMT

I'm always getting interesting tidbits from my friend SD...just today he shared with me this lovely knitted digestive system (?! mmkay...) he found online: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=60206.0 and it reminded me of a pattern for a knitted womb I came across a couple of years ago that I've always wanted to make, but my knitting skills leave much to be desired. I am much more of a hooker than a knitter (think crochet). http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter04/PATTwomb.html So I wondered how many other crochet and knit body parts can be found online... some awesome crocheted vulvas: http://www.crochetmycrotch.com/index2.html crocheted penises (plus an interview with the artist) http://susiebright.blogs.com/susie_brights_journal_/body_parts/index.html knitted fake breasts http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall05/PATTbits.html and knitted DNA, for all you nerdy science crafters: http://kimberlychapman.com/crafts/knit-patterns-dna.html just wanted to share!

Caving at the Devil's Icebox

Brandy — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 18:06:27 GMT

Last Friday I went on a caving trip with Lowlander Outdoor Adventures to the Devil's Icebox. It was lots of fun! We started around 6 in the evening and didn't get back outside until 1 am! We started out in canoes and went for about a half mile before we got out to walk for another 2 or so miles. It was a lot less hardcore than I was expecting, with very little crawling and few tight spots. We had to wade through some waist high water a couple of times, which was a bit on the chilly side (I think I handled the cold water better than the 7 guys, they bitched about it lots more! haha). And I didn't get claustrophobic at all, so that's awesome. We saw lots of bats of course (gray and pipistrelle), a few ozark spotted salamanders and some cool frogs (didn't get the name). The guide was very knowledgeable. He told us a lot about caves, formations, geology, bats and other related things, which was great, I learned a lot. There were some beautiful formations to admire (stalagmites, stalactites, columns, soda straws, bacon, curtains and some others I've forgotten already). If I was in different company I know there probably would have been more talking about things like "the womb of the earth" and vaginal looking formations etc. Ha, oh well. The guys on the trip (I was the only woman) didn't seem like the kind of people who would have appreciated such comments, unlike the folks I normally hang out with ;-) It was pretty cool coming out of the cave so late, it was nice to see all the stars. I would have stuck around longer to admire them more, but I was too cold and wet! Unfortunately I didn't get any photos, I wasn't about to ruin yet another camera ;-) This photo is one I found online of a beautiful formation called The Waterfall. We came upon it just before our final destination, The Big Dome. It is pretty awesome. http://lowlanderoutdooradventures.com/index.html

Caving at the Devil's Icebox

Brandy — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 18:03:13 GMT

identity theft/imposters

Brandy — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 18:03:42 GMT

So I just found out that someone on myspace is using my photos and claiming they are of....him. So, should I be flattered because they want people to think they look like me, or offended because this person is really a man...? Sadly, this is not the first time this has happened to me, it's almost becoming routine. I'm not that offended (I think I'd be more offended if someone stole photos I took that weren't of me), and there's very little I can do to keep people from stealing my photos (other than just never putting any online), but come on people! It's just silly!