Del Fest(ivities)

After enormous amounts of deliberation and desperate scrambling to find transportation and dog-sitter, everything fell together and Friday morning we headed off with our friend Ben to Cumberland, Maryland for Del Fest. Del Fest is a bluegrass festival that bluegrass legend Del McCoury started 5 years ago. With bluegrass, I expected more red necks but the crowd was actually very hippie. Lots of tie-dye, long skirts, scruffy beards and plenty of funky tattoos.

Weather-wise we faced intense heat and humidity and a number of crazy booming thunder and lightning storms, but we floating down the Potomac River kept us cool and our Hubba Hubba tent kept us dry.

It was an awesome time of relaxing, listening to inspiring music, people watching (especially fire dancers and hulu hoopers), hanging out with friends and getting a taste of “the trail life” on a town day. Wow, I could really do with a slower pace of life!  I also enjoyed 2+ hours of free yoga each day and finally did a pretty decent head stand (but in tripod position w/help from my hands).

Some of the music highlights for me were Luther Dickson and the Wandering, Birds of Chicago (Allison Russell is my new girl-crush and I think J.T. Nero should inspire Dan to try a funky bun), Emmitt- Nershi Band (Billy!!), Della Mae and the Yonder Mountains String Band. And Steve Martin is pretty dang good on the banjo – and his cheesy humor comes out in his music too! We also camped w/two guys from the band “Herb and Hanson” and enjoyed some pickin’ sessions with them.

J.T. Nero and Allison Russell of Birds of Chicago

In the meantime, we’ve signed up for the Watermelon Park Fest in September and will have to try make it to more festivals and camping excursions this summer. Ahh… must fight business of DC area! Thankfully the pool has opened up… it’s not the river but it is relaxing!

Watermelon Park Fest 2012

You say it’s your birthday…

Reston turned 48 this month and Robert E. Simon, founder of Reston, turned 98! These are comforting numbers as I myself entered a new decade. And we all enjoyed cake and festivities on Founder’s Day.

Robert E. Simon (Photo by Tom Jackman - The Washington Post)

I was actually eating my lunch at Lake Anne one bench to the left while this photograph was being taken! For some interesting facts on Reston, check out this recent Washington Post article.

I enjoyed two lovely al fresco dinners for my birthday with:
- a small group of family and friends
- 2 adorable little girls (one with pink hair)
- dappled red and white tulips, buttercups, and dandelion “wishes” and a canopy of wisteria
- 1 precious black and white calf
- 1 mischievous puppy
- copious quantities of sunshine and champagne.

Conflict Kitchen

Located in downtown Pittsburg, “Conflict Kitchen is a take-out restaurant that only serves cuisine from countries with which the United States is in conflict.”  Conflict Kitchen is an intriging way to introduce people to a country beyond brief news clips of war and terror. They also host dinner parties via Skype where Pittsburgians eat with young professionals from “conflict countries” like Iran, Iraq or Venezuela. The packaging of the food features interviews of people from conflict-countries, giving diners a first-person narritive of life in those locals.

“Conflict Kitchen reformats the preexisting social relations of food and economic exchange to engage the general public in discussions about countries, cultures, and people that they might know little about outside of the polarizing rhetoric of U.S. politics and the narrow lens of media headlines.”

And from the the looks of it, the food’s pretty tasty too!

More at http://www.conflictkitchen.org/

Virginia bluebells

Spring Fever

Happy Vernal Equinox! Even though according to the flowers and trees here, spring sprang weeks ago, today we official usher in the Spring (and google celebrates spring-inspired designer marimekko).

I am captivated by the etherial pale pink blossom of the cherry trees, the electric green of tiny leaves, the shock of yellow forsythia bushes and the diminutive wildflowers. It’s so tempting to hit another trail…. or travel even further afield.

I just finished reading, Holding On by Jo Gambi, that chronicles their climb of the 7 highest summits on each continent. It’s the story of a husband and wife team who set off on an insane adventure, all while Rob is in remission from cancer. The book is more realistic about many of the challenges to mountaineering and living “life on the road,” than other mountaineering books I’ve read. Still the traveling and exploration, pushing yourself mentally and physically, and seeing the (literal) top of the continents has such appeal. Unfortunately, we’re not in a position to quit our jobs and travel, but we do need to plan some spring and summer holidays!

Thankfully, right now I want to stay right here in the beauty of spring.

Such Singing in the Wild Branches

It was spring
and finally I heard him
among the first leaves—
then I saw him clutching the limb

in an island of shade
with his red-brown feathers
all trim and neat for the new year.
First, I stood still

and thought of nothing.
Then I began to listen.
Then I was filled with gladness—
and that’s when it happened,

when I seemed to float,
to be, myself, a wing or a tree—
and I began to understand
what the bird was saying,

and the sands in the glass
stopped
for a pure white moment
while gravity sprinkled upward

like rain, rising,
and in fact
it became difficult to tell just what it was that was singing—
it was the thrush for sure, but it seemed

not a single thrush, but himself, and all his brothers,
and also the trees around them,
as well as the gliding, long-tailed clouds
in the perfectly blue sky— all, all of them

were singing.
And, of course, yes, so it seemed,
so was I.
Such soft and solemn and perfect music doesn’t last

for more than a few moments.
It’s one of those magical places wise people
like to talk about.
One of the things they say about it, that is true,

is that, once you’ve been there,
you’re there forever.
Listen, everyone has a chance.
Is it spring, is it morning?

Are there trees near you,
and does your own soul need comforting?
Quick, then— open the door and fly on your heavy feet; the song
may already be drifting away.

— Mary Oliver, “Such Singing in the Wild Branches”
Owls and Other Fantasies: Poems and Essays

Menu for the Future

I just concluded a great discussion group in Reston based on the Northwest Earth Institute collection titled, “Menu for the Future,” that explores the connections between food and sustainability. The book features a collection of essays, excerpts, poems and other readings that got us thinking and talking about all things food. It was a fantastic group and to keep the discussion going we’ve started a blog Menu for the Future where we can post our thoughts on how food systems impact various aspects of our lives and how we can form a more just and holistic system here in the US in generally and on a more local level here in Reston.

Hope you’ll check it out! And I highly recommend the Northwest Earth Institute discussion books – I’m planning on participating in another one this summer.

 

Sun Salutations

Wow, we seemed to have skipped spring and gone straight to summer. It’s mid-March and in the mid 80s! I love my job but it’s torture to head inside after a lovely lunch break sitting in the sun by the lake, with branches heavy laden with flowers quivering in the breeze. Plus, it’s not getting dark till 7:30pm! I wish I had an outdoor kitchen so I could cook outside. I wonder if we could BBQ on our chimnea! I am such a sun fiend!

Meanwhile, I’m taking advantage of a free week of yoga at Down Dog Studio in Herndon. It’s hot yoga (but, no, not Bikram) which is new to me, but other than the fact I’m slipping and sliding all over the mat in my own sweat, I’m really liking it! Plus my yoga teacher turns out to be my neighbor! She recognized me when she saw my bike since she’s seen me biking to work each day. It’s a small small world!