EEC Forest Stewardship

In September, the weather cooled off nicely, and some of the sheep in my herd were ready to cull for our larders. One animal in particular, our breeding ram for the last 4 years, was on the list, and by the end of the week, I had slaughtered him to hang in the cooler. It’s always hard to choose when breeding rams should go, they play such a crucial role in herd development. I’d purchased this ram from Canfield Farms in Snohomish. It’s my second ram from that breeder, and she keeps great records and registrations on her Katahdin flock. I bought my ram form fertility and good frame size. He threw many great animals, improved my herd genetics with longer backs and higher rates of twins- especially in first year ewes. The breeder, Michelle, was clear about his lineage- that he had some wool, and was more a locker lamb kind of breeder, rather than a quality registered producer, and was therefor not as expensive.

My flock is not registered, and I usually cull most of my lambs for food, so I knew he would not be the animal to grow my flock under. He did improve my lamb carcass size, which is great. I’ve kept two of his great looking ewe lambs for breeding, and they drop twins every time, so I’m happy with his performance, but after 4 years, I’m ready to look for another ram, and have one lined up now for pick up from my sheep mentor on the east side of The Cascades this winter, along with one of her ewes she thinks will be good genetic mix in my flock. I’ve taken my breeding ewe count down to six for this winter, my lowest ever. The choice comes out of responsible herd management around the ecological changes happening in our region.

Western Washington is in a five year mega-drought. This may not seem possible, seeing all the evergreen lushness of The Puget Lowlands. Why, we had over an inch of rain earlier this month, and the grass is starting to come back in the pastures, but within a week of this deluge, we’re dry again on the surface, and in my compost pile, just a few inches below the surface, the soil is bone dry. An inch of rain did not soak down into the ground to water the deep rooted plants. I’ve pulled my flock off the land early, feeding hay and alfalfa now, in September. That’s expensive, and I will not raise my prices, so something has to change. I only bought 1/2 the winter feed I normally do. That’s a lot of savings, but to have only half the normal feed, means only half the herd can overwinter. Timing the ram removal helps lighten the fall feeding load, and he’s hanging nicely in the cooler with 5 other lambs. I’ll cull three more in October, staggering the work between a much needed vacation into The Canadian Rockies for a little RnR.

Ok Liz, why did you start off this post with a raw sheep heart? Well, that’s the ram’s heart, and it’s malformed. I knew, as soon as I pulled it from the chest cavity during the gutting process, that there was something off about it’s feel. Yes, I do all my own slaughtering and butchering folks. I can’t stress enough how important this is for any shepherd truly connected to their animals. From birth to death, I’m the full time care taker, steward, and processor of these Katahdins. This fully hands on approach guarantees my sheep the best quality of life with the least amount of stress. I also see the insides of each animal I slaughter, checking health and quality all the way through. Well, with this ram, the heart had a congenital defect, and as I stood with the heart in my had, I could feel that one chamber was hard and thick, while the other was thin and flabby. You can see in the picture above, the left facing chamber seems collapsed, while the right is full- not with blood, but with built up wall muscle.

I’m not a cardiologist, but I’ve handled many ungulate hearts in my animal processing career and know what a normal heart should look like- usually by feel alone. I squeeze every heart to make sure any coagulated blood is freed from it before freezing. Organs are part of the full nutritional return from a food animal. You should try to eat as much of the whole animal as you can, because every part has an important nutritional role in your diet. It is ok to eat genetic defected animals? Yes, the genetics of the sheep will not harm me when consumed, but for flock health, I cull any defects when I find them. This is the first animal from my flock with this defect, and he was brought in genetics bred by another farm, but his genes are in my animals now, so I’ll have to keep a close watch on future throw backs.

I did notify the breeder, she admitted that, because she does not see what the butcher does, she was unaware. She also let me know that the organ meat was usually ground up for dog food, and not sold as part of the carcass. That’s most unfortunate, but common today. She said the genes in that ram were part of a quest a lot of breeders have for a certain gene that apparently makes the muscles of an animal double the size the normally are, making for a huge lamb carcass- but it’s a genetic anomaly, and brings with it a lot of other problems. When we breed for certain traits, over time, other less ideal genes that go along with those desirable traits can sneak in. This ram also threw uneven testicles, which is not suitable for breeding, but carries on in her bloodlines. She breeds from both sides of this ram’s lineage. He also threw wool and sometimes, horns, which happens from time to time in general, but I’d never had horns before this ram, and wool was minimal.

Apparently, the double muscle genes come from a wool sheep, that’s been bred into Katahdins to try to get that extra weight development. This chasing of certain genetics time and time again can be costly for the breed in time. Katahdins are focused on a great frame to hold good meat weight already, and hair is imperative to keep the meat mild in flavor. So many choices in breeding, but you have to be ready to cull what’s not working. I had a beautiful golden ewe lamb this year, she was beautiful, but wooly, and her legs were too long for what I’m breeding for- short legs make it much harder to jump the fencing. The last thing you typically breed for in a meat breed like Katahdin is looks. When you start selecting on looks alone, you’ll get a host of bad genetics- just look at the dog and cat world- it’s rife with inbreeding nightmares that most people don’t fully comprehend until the animal is well loved in the home. Imagine if that ram had been a family pet, then one day, they walk outside and he’s dead in the yard, no evident trauma. What a moment for the loving owners- and it’s not their fault.

This did happen to one of my beloved barn cats. He had a congenital defect in his heart and he died at the age of 7. I found him curled up under a chair on the porch. The necropsy showed the heart defect, and my vet assured me I would not have caught it without very specific testing not usually done in cats. He died peacefully in his sleep, but too young. The cat was an accidental litter, a stray male had bred the queen (breeding female cat), so the owner did not know the genetics at all. Muir, my cat with the bad heart, was silver grey, probably bred for the look, but the sire was dumped because the breeders had discovered the bad heart.

Pets are one thing, but food supply is another. The issue is rampant in cattle now. They are often born with foot and leg defects, part of the bulking up we’ve done to cows- the idea that bigger is better, but that’s not always true in the living world. When I had the honor of hearing Temple Grandin speak this summer, she stressed how much genetic defect she saw now in cattle- especially dairy cows. She said the industry was not watching it’s genetics, and focusing on one or two traits, loosing the big picture. It means more cows are lame, in pain, and suffering infections. There are consequences to selective breeding, and without proper oversight- like pulling one or two from a large herd to butcher yourself so you get eyes on the carcass and the organs, which furthers genetic defects that may not show up externally. Responsible breeding is crucial to keeping our livestock healthy and happy.

You as the consumer can make choices too. If you can, find out where your meat comes from; not just where it was slaughtered, but who raised it, who bred it, where it grew up and what it ate. You will be eating what it ate, you will be consuming the stress if the animal was not treated well. These chemical imbalances are being passed on to the consumer. No, the genetically defective heart of one ram is not going to harm me to eat- and I will be eating it, not passing it on to my consumers. If it shows up in any future lambs, they too will not be sold to clients, because they are not top quality, which is what a small, artisan place like this strives for. Leafhopper Farm is committed to healthy, happy animals that live balanced lives through the seasons in their flock, eat mostly what grows here, with no chemical inputs or medications.

I do worm a sheep if its got a high parasite count- but that is so rare in Katahdins, who have a natural resistance- which we breed for. I also offer all my clients a farm tour upon request, and the opportunity to fully participate in the processing of the animal they purchase live on the hoof. Some clients buy the carcass and do the processing themselves- which is a cheaper deal, because they save on labor, and I’m ok with that. I want my clients to get as hands on as possible, so they are fully connected to their food. That’s a crucial missing piece in society today, and becomes a real eye opener for people who take the time to learn. If you are interested in experiencing such connection, please reach out to the farm- escocrain@gmail.com. I’m happy to talk with you more about options for lamb, geese, chickens, and farm fresh eggs.

Gratitude to all the animals that make this farm possible, and all the people already connected and participating in their food system directly. May good breeding choices continue to offer our clients a great animal at good value, while helping the restoration of the forest here in Western Washington. Thank you to all who buy my meat, give honest feedback, and support my continued improvement of the Katahdin breed. This flock is small, but feeding many, and returning much needed fertility to the land. Thanks to all who steward animals in a good way, and live close to the land with their learning, as well as those who pass it on to the future generations. It’s such a blessing to do this work, and so fulfilling- literally and figuratively. Cheers!

Along a favorite alpine lake, there are carnivorous plants thriving. These sun dew beauties are quietly waiting for someone to stumble in; passive hunting at its best. Wetland edges are full of diverse plant and animal life, making it a great larder for all. Much of Western Washington was once covered in wetlands, but European Colonial agendas knew that draining wetland uncovered fertile crop land, and where there were marshes, there were no pesky giant stumps of cut forest to have to clear. Bottom land was worth the work in these parts, and people happily ditched the sponge of crucial water that protected the land from fire, turning “worthless” land into black gold.

This was the way with settlers pushing into what they thought were “god given” acres for their use. To turn the land for good, planting crops and turning wilderness into precious pasture and field. They had already done so much of it back in their own homelands, though in Europe, only wealthy people with titles had land- in most cases. That was what drove so many to America, and why owning the land and making it your own is such a pioneer vision, still peddled as our divine right to this day, in a country with more public land than anywhere else on earth. All this land was taken, treatied away after generations of fighting, plagues, and forced conversion of the original people that had lived in deep connection with this incredible place for so long.

Where the wetlands are still intact, there are hints of what once was. Mosses, ferns, lichens, trailing blackberry, oso, salmon, huckleberry, countless understory trees, then the giants; towering pillars of apex standing. There were also beavers in these woods, keeping wetlands open and flooding new dammed areas where trees then slowly die back, thus opening up the land. Once the beavers move on, the wetlands will begin reverting back to meadow. Hundreds of years later, forest returns, or the beavers come through again, engineering the landscape more than any other animal, except us.

Hellebore flowers are so beautiful, towering purple, yellow, and green cascading down an impressive staff pointing up from unique wide leaves like stretched green fans. The nearby fire-weed looks enamored blushing pink in delight. Mountain spirea and blueberry cloak round the two where wetland edges meet forest. Beyond, high mountain hemlock and noble fir slowly gain height in minimal soil scattered on glacial till onto bare rock layers that echo recent volcanic building. These quiet alpine lake edges, where the marsh these plants thrive remains diverse and lush. After snow melt, the whole area floods, raising the lake level by 8-10 feet. I usually time my swim around when the water drops back down to its lowest level, the shallows- extensive on the south side, where this wetland thrives. The north side of the lake plunges into darkness, a hole that obfuscates into darkness. Steep scree slopes rise to sharp ridges that circle the north and east shores. No vegetation takes hold here.

While hiking out from the basin that holds these sensitive ecosystems, more wetland plants take hold in a more rocky slope with good spring seeps that feed a ledge wetland wonder. Here bear grass, more mountain spirea and arnica, and even some lowland familiars like salmon berry and red elderberry, pictured below in a unique maroon color. Could this be a mountain hybrid with an east of the mountains variety? There is some service berry here. Would blue elder hybridize with red? I treat it as red, and would always cook the berries.

There are just enough pockets like this around these beautiful mountains to keep some rare and illusive ecologies alive. From orchids to lilies and bramble, these alpine wetlands and lake systems offer unique opportunities to see a small example of what our own Puget Lowlands would have been Pre-Colonial degradation. At least here in Washington, there is a more progressive naturalist awareness that leans towards ecological protection, preservation, and restoration. These highlands are protected because they are not convenient to access. The hiking trail I use to get in is a well established logging road that was punched through here in the 60s. These trees were cut with gas saws, and the crews quickly learned why earlier loggers had left the area intact- felling large trees onto rocky scree piles shatters the timber, splitting the fibers and structural integrity. Re-plantings are thick and mono-cultured, but some of the older growth still stands, seeding out new generations of native forest to come.

There’s no electrical grid, passable road, or big view selfie hot spot- yet. Current dominion madness could strike at any time, activating the accesses for rare earth minerals, or granite to build autocratic statues. Bulldozers are in our National Parks right now scraping way endangered species. Federal lands are being opened up to roads and private extraction contracts. Taxpayers pay for the costly infrastructure (and maintaining it), then corporations make their short term dividends. None of these industrial and commercial gains can ever buy back the land degredated, and this applies to our industrialized food systems too. Start documenting, naming, and witnessing this place as we begin to see great change in our atmosphere, which will dictate the future survival of all life on this earth.

At the beginning of September, one of our tenants sent me a text with this picture at the front gate. They were letting me know there was a bear in the driveway, and then went on their way to work. I didn’t get the text immediately, but when I did take a moment to check texts, the picture sent a thrill through me. I’ve been seeing a lot of bear sign when out in the woods, and having one knocking on the door compelled me to go buy a bear tag for the season. August 1st- November 15th is bear season here in Washington State. You have to have a bear hunting tag, and a transport tag to harvest one during the designated season. Some areas of the state are closed to bear hunting, usually related to natural disasters like flooding or fire. State biologists closely monitor wildlife numbers throughout America, and their extensive data sets limits on hunting each species. Legal hunting in this country is closely monitored by biologists, to make sure populations of wildlife continue to thrive. Most wildlife is not legal to hunt. The few species that are, remain under close observation to maintain thriving populations, and will be removed from the hunting list in areas where animals are scares.

I do not usually set intentions to hunt predator animals, but I will harvest a black bear that’s hanging around the farm. I’ve got too many delicious temptations for a predator, and a bear will settle in to your larder if you let them. In the wilderness, bears have ancient trails through the landscape that take them to their different larders. Such places are staples of seasonal food they learn to rely on, like fruit and nut trees, rotting logs full of bugs, and good wetlands and clearings to graze in. A bear’s diet is mostly plant matter, but they are omnivorous and opportunistic. Black bears in our area have killed livestock. Since I invested in Kangal LGDs, my animals have remained safe. A few summers ago, I lost my Asian pear harvest to a bear. It got into the tree, ate all the fruit in one night, and pruned some branches. This year is an off fruit year, there are only a couple of pears on the tree, and I picked them last week.

The bear in this photo could be the same bear that took the pears a few years ago- they are certainly old enough. It almost looks like it’s checking over the fence to where the tree stands, just inside the gate. Bear’s use their sense of smell the most while foraging, it’s the largest part of the skull. This black bear’s nose is letting it know there is no fruit on the tree. The bear is also listening, hearing the person walking down the driveway, the dog barking, the chain on the gate being undone. These noises will push the bear off, as it cannot fully assess the threat level of all this noise, and better back off to wait for a more opportune moment to explore the area further. If this bear was a grizzly, we’d be working with a completely different set of principals in management. I did not want to live somewhere with grizzlies, and am so thankful we only have black bear to contend with. If you are not clear on the differences between these two species, take a minute to study the comparison below.

Yes, the sign says grizzly’s live in Washington, but only in The North Cascades. They are not this far south in our state, and most likely will never get down here, because there is not nearly enough habitat for them to roam. If grizzly’s were to return to this area, I would stop my sheep operation and stop planting fruit trees. Brown bear’s are a serious threat to people, and I’m not excited to try producing food in their territory, then trying to keep them out of it. Black bears are generally scared of people, brown bears will stalk and kill people. We are not a threat to them, and rightfully so, those bears are huge and mean business. This does not mean a black bear is no threat. I always show a healthy respect to predator animals, and the one that came past our gate is large for bears in this area. It would be a serious threat if it charged, and they can. Thankfully, this bear went merrily on its way, but could come back through any time. Stay tuned! We’ll certainly be writing about a harvest when and if one happens.

The late August drought has come, and September will not bring enough rain to recover these pastures. It’s become a rhythm to buy hay early for a better price, and to prepare for bringing the sheep into the barn early to rest the parched landscape. I’m in the process right now of planning an irrigation setup in our zone 2-3 areas of the property to keep a part of the pasture green and growing at the end of summer. My other hard but firm choice ahead is shrinking the herd size. I’ve got 5 ewes picked out to over winter and breed in the 2027 season. That will be the smallest ever, because our drought stricken land needs a rest, and I want to cut down the parasite load on the acreage. One of my oldest ewes came out of her weening with a bad parasite load and could not recover. She had a lot of stress on her, and I thought it best to cull, as she was not showing good natural resistance, which Katahdins are known for. It’s best to remove those weaker animals, rather than treat and keep the weak genetics in the flock. To keep a breed hearty and productive, you have to have a sharp culling plan to ensure good breeding. That’s ethical livestock management, along with good rotational grazing schedules, clean barns, fresh water, and good winter hay.

Recently, because of the continued drought conditions here, I’ve been planning to shrink my herd, and this year, a lot of signals came to say, “do it now”. Last fall my herd contracted ORF, which is treatable and the sheep got through it fine. Then, a couple of young lambs showed signs of pneumonia in the spring, and I had to cull them quick to prevent infection spreading. Again, they were weaker lambs, and this is not uncommon, but in my flock, it is. Now, at the end of August, I’ve had a parasite scare with that ewe, and it feels like it’s time to take several steps to prevent more illness. A heavy cull this fall will give the barn more space, the pasture a rest through a couple of years, and allow me to pick out some new genes for this modest flock’s future.

I also sold several sheep in early summer, so our numbers went from 20 in the spring, down to 13 for the summer. This was my looking ahead to summer drought stress on the pastures, and it’s still a challenge. Culling down to 5 ewes for this winter, and my breeding ram, is the plan. If I want to go a step further, I can even cull the ram, skip a breeding year and let the ewes rest, then bring a new ram in and start over. There is a lot of luxury in this planning, because the flock is not about making money- though it has not fallen below breaking even yet. Being able to cull down and skip a breeding year to rest the pastures and the ewes would never fly in an industrial setting, or even a USDA labels “small farm” of 500 animals. Anyone bought in on a commercial level has to press all they can get out of their animals, and have to work like dogs doing it. This is not what our covenant with the land should be, because it’s the land giving us these animals, and sustaining them. With a flock of 5-6, I don’t have to buy much winter hay, which saves a lot on the biggest cost going into maintaining these sheep on such a small acreage. We’ll see what kind of lambs come next year, then I will make a decision about the ram, and numbers for the following year.

Even with the drought, resiliency on the farm abounds. Our orchards are overflowing with an excellent fruit year, and everyone on the landscape is enjoying the boom times in the trees. I am still giving the flock daily time out on the land, but it must remain more restricted until the rains truly return. By October, if it’s raining regularly, some of the land will return to it’s lush state, but the loss of light will slow all growth on the ground till next spring. This is why my sheep spend most of the winter months in the barn with good alfalfa and fresh dry shavings to sleep in. The ewes will also be growing new lambs, and prefer to lounge and eat through their pregnancy. I time my lambing for late winter, so the young and their mother’s remain in a safe, dry, warm environment through the vulnerable first few months. This extra care ensures daily interaction to socialize the lambs, a good eye on everyone to catch any health issues that might arise, and careful feeding of high quality alfalfa, minerals, and fresh water.

In the winter, I spend a lot more time in direct contact with my sheep, watching and observing temperament, the flock hierarchy, and progression of the ewes’ gestation. Lambing is where this breed shines, with the ewes usually having a flawless birth on their own. I show up to check the lambs, give them additional wiping down a sexing, then let the hormonal bonds do their work. Katahdins are excellent mothers- if you continue to breed for it. One of the ewes we’ll be culling this year refused one of her twins at birth. Now, she did have twins as a first year breeder, which is great, but she kicked one away and would not feed it. Her other genetic issue is wool- enough still on her back and not shedding off naturally, that I have to cull her. Katahdins are hair sheep, meaning, they cannot build up wool and stop shedding naturally. If the breed becomes too wooly, it will loose the traits bred into it. Wool brings lanolin and shearing into the mix, which makes the meat greasy and the extra task of shearing labor, and it is labor.

If I was caring for a backyard flock of pet sheep, I would be way less worried about all the breed traits and not breed. This is crucial responsible management of animals- any domesticated animals you choose to keep. Breeds take a lot of work to develop and maintain, and they have important roles they were developed for. Katahdins are great browsing sheep- meaning they eat brush and bramble, as well as grazing, and they shed their hair, independently give birth, mother well, and resist parasites, which are all great things in a sheep. On top of that, they are bred for great mild flavor, and that’s why they don’t have much wool, and instead, put that energy into making meat for us to eat. If I expect these traits to remain, I have to breed towards them with consistency. One other example of culling I’m selecting this year- natural polled animals, which Katahdins are, and yet, the older genetics can slip in form time to time, and in one of my ewes, her ram lambs have horns, so she’s being culled too. You don’t want Katahdin sheep to revert back to these carefully bread out traits, or they are no longer Katahdins.

I had one other scare in my flock the other day, and it was a first for me. My best ram lamb showed up in the barn frothing at the mouth. It happened at the same time I was culling the old ewe, who was too susceptible to parasites. I was emotional for a moment- “What next!?!” I cried, setting down my slaughter knife to check on this ram lamb. He was not choking, and he took some water, so I went and culled the ewe, then came back again to check on the lamb. He was still a little disheartened, head and ears down, but the froth was gone. My sheep mentor looked at a picture I sent her, and suspected he’d eaten something that didn’t agree with him. Part of me was haunted by the thought that he might have pneumonia, but the symptoms were not the same. He didn’t cough, and eventually, rejoined the herd and recovered well. I was so relived. There has been a lot of health issues with the sheep this year, and having to cull my best ram lamb would have been devastating, especially as the promised donation lamb to a non-profit I volunteer with. It’s been a heck of a year for this flock.

Katahdins remain an important system at EEC Forest Stewardship. They are building the soil for a future forest, and adding fertility too. The sheep graze open fields to keep fire danger down, and I don’t have to mow. These browsing sheep take out blackberry, glean fallen fruit from the trees, and provide meat to our table, and the tables of friends and neighbors. It’s a joy to work with these animals, and a heck of a learning journey too. As I write, I am listening to their bells as they walk behind the house, savoring some of the summer blackberries growing on our north fence line. What a privilege to caretake this flock, and the land here, being fed by it in return. The work can be strenuous and heartbreaking, but the rewards are basic needs met, restoration to the ecology, and a lot of thriving outside. Thank you to all who help make this work happen, in supporting me, buying this incredible meat from these great sheep, and reading my reflections and lessons learned. May this end of summer find you all in good health and happiness.

Somewhat ironically, the closest view of what my local terrain would look like pre-European, is from high up in the sky in an airplane. You can still pick out clearcuts and range land opened up by homesteaders and commercial timber industries, but the green carpet of Pacific Northwest Temperate Rainforest seems to cover everything, punctuated by rising strata volcanoes with glacier caps, signaling the tectonic action of two great plates sliding atop one another in a slippery game of tug-o-war. The outcome of this activity could be catastrophic shifts in the land we stand on, or fly over, causing quakes with magnitude rarely felt, and never recorded in modern records. These majestic mountains would blow their caps right off, and we have the modest “burp” of Loowit in 1980 as a minuscule hit at what any of these peaks could unleash if compelled into full scale eruption.

Still (may it stay so for my lifetime), this ecology is evolved for the moments of sudden shift, and today, nearing fifty years of regrowth without much human engagement. this volcano has demonstrated what our natural systems are capable of when allowed to showcase evolutionary technique. Mother Nature is one of the most adaptable things going, yet we the people think it’s our right, and worse, duty to inflict our own will on her surface. Our species throws out millions of years it took these systems to perfect a thriving ecology that provided more than enough, and for selfish intent, hoards what it thinks are the most valued parts, for convenience, dominion, and hierarchy of haves and have nots, all artificial and extremely detrimental to most life on this finite planet. Even in the picture below, the inner ring of volcanic hummocks are bordered on all sides by commercial timber extraction plantations. The green forest of healthy looking trees are actually a monoculture of genetically modified trees all scheduled to be cut and removed from the landscape in our lifetime. This area is not protected, there are exclusion zones for scientific research, but those could be removed in time, and the timber industry is counting on it.

What about those pre-European conditions you were talking about Liz? Yes, the concept that what was here when enterprising European men landed on this continent would blow our minds today if we could even comprehend them. Birds on migration routs blocking the sun out for days, imagine that many birds- you’ve never seen it in your life time because those birds were taken by industry. You’ve never seen truly intact temperate rainforests because our ancestors came and cut them all down. The nice National Park you walk through with gaping mouths is young growth, only hundreds of years instead of thousands. We the people who are still taking too much, think a trip to Yellow Stone where wild elk, grizzly, wolves, bison, and some unique tectonic thermal features are curated for your viewing pleasure, is intact wilderness, are kidding themselves. It’s epic Mother Nature, to be sure, but it’s a mother with her legs, arms, and head cut off.

The violent depiction I’m describing should be jolting, out economic prosperity- and it’s really only a top few people holding the majority of that prospect, comes from the blood of our ecology. We don’t watch, so we’re not haunted by it. We know Mother Nature is being ripped apart somewhere else, and snuggle into our warm beds in well built boxes with secure streets and 24-hour security controlling us, oh, I’m sorry, protecting us. Don’t worry, if you aren’t doing anything wrong, you have nothing to hide and no reason to fear big brother- he’s your keeper, obey. Assuming we have free will- and our (agreed upon?) Federal Constitution, which reinforces this, along with that not so catchy tune we sing at big sport ball events, “land of the free home of the brave”. Our ancestors were brave enough to genocide people, animals, and landscapes to get us into these mega stadiums today. To sing about our contrived illusions of free choice and ready to defend their own supremacist patriot views, yes, brave. We think we’re just watching it happen in other places on our social media consumption feeds- our addition to screens, and disconnect in real time. Perfectly blue sky every day folks!

I’m not a Luddite. I’m not against modern medicine, vaccines, GMO (with a lot of regulation), or invention. I am against these acts without any thought to the finite natural world or global humanity. Humanity is part of the natural world, not party to it when they please. Sit with that for a moment and sip your latte or artificially sweetened whatever- it’s most likely not water out of the tap in your home- which should be a red flag to us all, but no, we love flavored water now, who cares where the water comes from- it’s endless right? WRONG! Big wrong indeed, and we are only just starting to really see how our own lives are effected here at home. Wells are drying up, and utility prices are going through the roof. Get all the smart tech and electric cars and plug it in plug it in. Ask your auto-bot about everything, let the computer to the thinking for you. Don’t think about what that artificial intelligence is costing us in clean air, soil, and water.

No, just keep watching the colorful screen and get back to your drudgery job that will never pay enough to get a break or feel ahead in your finances. For those not feeling akin to this narrative by now, you are upper class folks (and I’ll fold myself in- I own property without debt and have higher learning education) and are probably living the lifestyle of convince perpetuated through whole sale annihilation of our planet. You are in the seats pictures above. That’s not a bad place to sit, really. You feel like those freedoms and brave actions are righteously all around you and something to celebrate. Or, you could be doing your part, recycling, eating local, tipping well, trying to move away from driving somewhere every day, or even growing a little of your own food. That’s one step, and for many right now, that seems to be all they can do. So, I’ve begun to daydream a little bit, just to take the edge off. Daydreams about 5,000 year old forests with trees girthing out with 20′ diameter trucks, supporting so much wildlife, it’s impossible to see the trees through the animals.

Actually, this dream has been the vision of EEC Forest Stewardship for a long time, and it’s a modest goal to be sure. Producing a small amount of local food without destroying (and in fact, enhancing) the landscape where cultivated. Inspiring others to look in similar directions, even just buying or picking local where and when they can. Noting the imbalances in our food systems and helping to explain why. Rooting us in our natural world and thinking about whats growing on there now. A lot. This is what keeps me floating down the river of life with optimism. Nature will find a way, she’s brilliant. We’re part of that evolutionary genius, and ,at times, we shine. Adaptation will be key.

When standing in the sea of post-European development now “just scraping by”, I can see the wild elk herd still grazing around the fenced fields of hay that will be cut and removed form this landscape to feed domestic stock that will feed us. There are some protected forest beyond where trees might one day be thousands of years old. Further still are the hills and ridges that signal tectonic uplift with rounded glacial edges. This stretched the scale of time we’re living in, reminding me that, though humans are now on a path of irretrievable climate disruption that will reshape our world and rewrite our histories once more, we’re still surviving, and around us, some of nature remains thriving and adapting to suit the epochs ahead. There will still be clearcuts scaring the sides of many ridges to come, but evolution will not be stopped by our short lived arch in the scale of geologic time. Let’s make the best of each day, and eat some sugar that was harvested by people on slave wages far away, then imported to our well stocked grocery stores or assimilated into commercial products we love to buy from our discount box stores. These European conveniences will also have to go, but that does not mean we can’t thrive in abundance, it’s just going to look very different for those who open their eyes.

Well, I spent a few hours pouring over butterfly pictures to see if I could ID this little friend, and no, I was left with even more questions and a lot of confusion. There is so much detail in identifying different species, my head was spinning. I still don’t have a positive ID on this one, but the chart below might help you in understanding why. When I went to look up Latin names to narrow my search, I was left in even more mix up. I know now why these animals are so intriguing to collectors. I’ve managed to narrow down some categories within this type- mainly fritillaries or speyeria. Now, take a moment to go down your own rabbit hole with this quandary and let me know what you find.

It’s also quite difficult sometimes to film/photograph these small flyers, especially to catch all the detail needed to identify. I do have a lot of fun trying to capture and image, but they often come out fuzzy at best. Since this is a mere hobby for me, I’m not questing for perfect images, but it’s can be a heck of a challenge to go back and look at these images later to try to pick out the traits of each one. Luckily, the specimen below has some specific patterns and coloration that give it away- Morning Cloak Butterfly. Why so easy? Because of the band of yellow on the outside and solid black center, it’s unique and bold.

Paying attention to the smaller members of our natural world says a lot about the resiliency of a place. One of the most important habitat needs for butterflies is pollinator plants. They are also attracted to water, and need access to moisture, even a muddy seep is enough. You’ll often see them on the edge of ponds, or in the trees next to streams. At this point in later summer, I was seeing most of my butterflies up in the mountains, where flowers are in full bloom, months behind the lowlands where our farm and forest grow. In early July, I saw a lot more utter flies in the lowlands, mostly swallowtail. Now, the white cabbage month dominates, with an occasional morning cloak. I don’t have pictures of these, but glimpses come from time to time, and I’m thankful to still see these beautiful creatures on the wing.

Well folks, it’s happening, we’re using too much potable water around the world, and the solution is to just keep using it. De-desalinization plants right? Reverse osmosis ok? Both these systems are costly, take a lot of energy to run, and waste more water than they make. Somehow, our mad world is operating under the assumption that it does not matter if our water costs so much to make, we can, so we will. Meanwhile, our living world dies. What will be left in only a few more decades? Why is this a problem here in Western Washington, where you have so much fresh water? Well, the summer droughts are still a problem for us here, and global climate change will effect everyone on earth. I’m taking a moment to talk about fresh water and its finite place in the web of life. All life on earth needs water, and most of that demand is for the fresh stuff, which is becoming a rare commodity. How many of us now live off bottled water? Yes, your flavored water in a can is still “bottled” water. We’ve been living like this for a long time, but the consequences are just starting to become blatant.

Here in The West, we talk a lot about The Colorado River. It’s a lifeline to several states, and has been dammed extensively to control the flow of crucial fresh water. In just a few generations, we’ve tapped out the entire river (pictured above). It’s a river fed by the snow melt of The Rocky Mountains. No, we do not get our water here in Washington from The Colorado, but what’s happening in that river system, can happen in all the other systems over time. Remember that global language I was using in my introduction, it’s true across the globe today. One river, The Po in Italy, can help us grasp what a drought stricken river means to the greater community, and the world. Without rivers, we can’t irrigate our crops, and without grains, our food systems begin to fail.

But wait, there is hope. If we wanted to shift what crops are grown where, prioritizing dry farming in dry environments, and putting heavy water use crops in places with good hydrology, that could save a lot of water. We could also face the fact that at least, in The USA, our dietary preferences are pushing the use of too much fresh water. Also, most of the agriculture grown in the US is shipped elsewhere, adding massive amounts of fossil fuel to our food and water bill. Even here at Leafhopper Farm, we import alfalfa from the east side of the state. There, the dammed Colombia River irrigates most of the alfalfa fields. Now, the alfalfa I buy is for winter feed, most of the year my sheep are on pasture here at home. But, my small farm is not part of the big issue in fresh water consumption, it’s industrial activity, scaled up to huge cities and massive deserts turned to crop production- like The Imperial Valley in southern CA.

This valley supports California’s beef and dairy empire- the largest in The US. The salinisation of the soils across the world is coming. Salts are concentrated in farming inputs like fertilizer, as well as creeping in from oceans to coastal water-tables. When you pump the aquifers dry, especially near oceans, saltwater seeps in to fill the empty underground space left when the fresh water is withdrawn. This issue is affecting Western Washington, especially up in one of our state’s major agricultural valleys, The Skagit. This farming space is protected by countless dykes and ditches to keep high tides out of the fertile soil. Yes, these techniques are innovative, but against the march of rising sea-levels due to melting glaciers, this valley is doomed, yet people continue to deny science and push for more public money to pour in for new defense construction projects. I’ll also mention that dams further up The Skagit River are blocking salmon runs, causing ecological collapse. The human mind’s ability to block obvious destructive evolution due to our own action boggles my mind. Talk about a derangement syndrome.

Again, there are step by step solutions to all our world’s water needs, we as a species have to take action. You can do this in simple small ways today by yourself by buying locally grown foods, avoiding online same day delivery and try to make do with what you already have- because you have more than enough. Use community “no buy” groups to save on shipping and manufacturing. Don’t move to arid places already struggling with shrinking water supplies. If you are living in these areas, can you move away, or can you help reshape water use in the area? What else can we do? Slow population growth to slow consumption. It’s a huge way to help the earth cope with our overpopulation- and maybe that would be less an issue if we lived more lightly on this planet. As things stand, exponential growth, the economic system we keep propping up through buyer’s addiction, is taking the last of our finite resources for commodity trades to fill a few 401Ks- but mostly to make billionaires, trillionaires.

In recent weeks, the island of Puerto Rico, part of The US, is on a major water restriction order. People are crowding potable water access points, because in house plumbing is not running water consistently. The shortage is a combination of failing infrastructure and climate change drought. An American territory does not have enough water. This is the future for the rest of us if we do not work to change our consumption conveniences. With natural disasters on the rise, more and more people will experience water scarcity. More and more municipal water systems are becoming hazardous as complex infrastructures are not upgraded or replaced. Sadly, municipal water systems are not very sexy on the long list of budgeting demands in any town or city, so we keep turning on the tap without concern, unless our bill spikes. Guess what? It will anyway, because of the droughts we’ve been talking about. Also, those AI data bases are guzzling their unfair share, and we’re investing confidently- or are we?

What would it look like for US to invest in our finite resources? What would it look like to invest in ourselves as a species by investing in the ecology that allows our very survival? It’s not dollars and stocks we drink, but a finite natural resource. How can we redesign our economy around our natural world’s limitations? What would that look like? Here at EEC Forest Stewardship, we’re invested in reforestation for the future of this temperate rainforest, this means building our soil to host the young trees we plant for the next few thousand years by banking fertility and water in the soil its self through earthworks to slow and sink water, as well as planting predominantly native species to diversify and therefor enhance the landscape for generations to come. In my personal life, I choose a lifestyle revolving around seasonal production of food, medicine, and material from the landscape where I live. This includes gardening, hunting, foraging, and tending full time. What are you making in your life- besides money. Sure you can go out and buy anything, but making it yourself is a powerful tool of independence and a skill-set worthy of your community. There are countless ways to play your part in sustainability, better yet, a thriving life for yourself, and all those around you.

Much of the US may be unaware of salmon runs, which is sad, because these fish once ran up and down rivers across The US, and now, most salmon and their runs are extinct. What’s left here on The West Coast, is in deep decline overall, with a few recovering run in rare cases where dams and all other man made hindrances are removed. Man made hindrances abound here in Washington State- where we not only love to control our ocean connected waterways, but also dam our rivers for cheap power, which won’t be cheap for much longer with all the AI centers moving in. Today, while visiting The Ballard Locks, I got a real reminder of the insane world we’re living in.

People are the problem- we really do just drop in and make whatever we’re gunning for how we think it will best pay out for our monetary gains. What? That sentence could be written better- but the jumbled wording reflects our action. A lock between a freshwater lake and an ocean sound. Because we could- or at least, a very rich person or persons who gained their wealth from taking invaluable ecological spaces, chopping them up, and selling them to more crowding in. Madness, and we’re still not capable of seeing it- we enhance it, reinvest in the stupidity of finite resources, the natural world, unable to supply our every whim and wanting. But hey, we can pour a billion tons of concrete and make a window for kids to watch and learn how to dismantle their own environment.

Step right up and see our fish ladder plaza everyone! It’s really cool to watch a token number of fish swim through man made systems that completely remove the entire natural process from the wild and into a curated nightmare for kids to scream at and adults to take a selfie and move on to the next attraction. There were once billions- trillions of salmon in both The Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans. Now, the last of these great animals struggle to survive in the madness of mankind. We the people are not thinking about fish, or seals, or the environment at a whole, and our place in it. We keep trying to remain outside the living world, glancing at it from a metal gated platform, or through thick glass with a vending machine near by.

What’s even worse, is that these ancestral colonial legacies knew what they were doing when they came to take place and put their ideas to work. Mr. Chittenden knew his lock system would kill the salmon, destroy their migration routs- he’d already watched it happen on the east coast, and now, continued to build over nature, but wait, he did put a ladder in to help a few poor fish get across, and then, within another lifetime of human gluttony, the salmon populations crashed. Shame, shame on us for continuing this farcical play on mother nature. But Liz, the guy put in fish ladders, we’re still putting in fish ladders, we’re doing what we can. No, we’re taking what we can, putting up more, crowding in now without a care for what’s disappearing all around us. And when nature tries to balance it’s self back out- like seals gathering at the base of these ladders to eat what salmon is coming through- we blame the seals and get to work creating more useless systems to prop up our failing infrastructure.

Two men came over in a boat and, for two hours, circled around smacking the water with a sound pole to chase off the seals. That’s right- men in a boat circling around in the water, making loud noises, and wasting two hours of marine diesel burning in the salmon migration zone- which was holding the fish back from the ladder. Of course, once they jumped in and went up, they were stopped again at a man made gate where they piled up in desperation. It was horrifying to watch. I did call out the the boat, “this is a waste of fuel and manpower”. The men had no identifying marks anywhere on them- heck, it could have just been two guys who don’t like the seals and wanted to cause trouble. Also, the seals went to the far end of the lock and waited, knowing the men would have to leave at some point, but the salmon would keep swimming in. Once again human mismanagement and madness on top of human hubris and addiction to consumption.

I ate wild caught salmon from Alaska yesterday. There are still some “healthy” runs up there, where not enough colonial extraction has come, because it’s expensive to build up there, and not many wish to invest in that cold, dark place when there is so much warm bright land to live on further south. Otherwise, the great white north would be completely overrun too- and it still might be, especially with all the untapped fossil fuels and rare earth minerals. mine mine mine You want to know where salmon are recovering down here? Places where we have taken down the dams and removed badly placed infrastructure to block fish passage. Where we pull out and leave things to nature, she abounds.

Recently, Washington Tribes won in court to have their fish populations recognized as sovereign food. There was a lot of legalese around it, but in a nut shell, tribes held the federal government to it’s promise to protect tribal rights to their traditional foods. So, Washington took out bad culverts, some dams, and replaced barren ditches with habitat- like native plants and log jams. This was labeled crucial “rewilding”, in quotations because suburban drainage and agricultural ditches are far and away from the native old growth forests which once grew here- and never will again because of human caused climate change.

The Hudson bay was described by early colonial invaders as being so full of sea life, you could walk across it and not get wet. I can see the same bounty here in Western Washington- and across The Americas, before greedy robber barons descended on this continent to rape and pillage. Yeah kids, enjoy watching the salmon climb the little ladders our benevolent engineers built for us. How could things get any worse? Well, the current federal government is pulling back on its promise to protect salmon across the US. The people don’t care about fish- they want to build more homes, process more industrial waste to make things, and not care about where the residues get dumped. It’s ok though folks- we can trust self-regulation. Utter madness!

Imagine what First Nations people think? How can this continue? Well, it will, because we’re very good at self-destruction for a few good earnings. The Ballard Lock was built for convenience, and now it’s an expensive mess for the ecology, and our economy, because we have to keep maintaining it. Through my 5 hour visit to the area, I saw mostly pleasure boats going through the locks, and the tow industrial boats, one a tower and the other an empty barge, were not lynch pin economic drivers in this community. However, there is huge push to defend the locks and keep paying to maintain them- and they use salmon protection as part of the argument. There are too many ills surrounding the locks for us to turn a blind eye. The dream of big commerce around this lock sunk long ago, but somehow, this ecological nightmare continues to perpetuate the problem of our mindless presence.

Fruit is on here at EEC Forest Stewardship. My favorite taste of this summer bounty are fresh frost peaches from our only tree. It’s the most juicy, sweet, delicious thing to bite into a fresh peach form this self-pollinating espalier tree on a south facing wall. Peaches can be a challenge to keep here in The Pacific Northwest, especially with all the dampness in spring, which invites bacteria causing leaf curl, and mildew on fruit not picked in time. For this little tree, nothing had dampened its production or thriving in its special bed by the kitchen. Because of the location, the peach gets great irrigation, lots of sunlight, and the reflecting heat off the building to keep bacteria at bay. This tree also has fungal infection from time to time- most commonly Leucostoma, causing an orange jelly to ooze from the trunk. All of these issues make growing peaches here a challenge, but this little tree has taken it in stride, and still produces a number of delicious fruits each summer.

There were originally 4 peach trees planted on this land in the first few years while I settled in. All but this one have died. I’d recommend the self-pollinating frost peach on a south facing wall as the best chance form growing this coveted fruit in our environment. Self-pollinating so you don’t have to worry about keeping a second tree alive, and to optimize fertility of your tree. The peach can sometimes bloom early up here, and miss a lot of its pollination friends. Having a self-pollinating tree helps in a poor timing year. Spend time learning your peach tree’s cycle of production. This year, the frost peach is off the hook- I’ve been picking pounds and pounds, freezing some for next winter, but eating as many as I can in celebration of summer.

When I say the fruit this year is off the hook- I mean exceptional pollination to maturity. The bunch pictured above is typical of every branch. There was also a concerted effort to keep the tree well watered. This tree is up against a building with some overhang, so it’s not sitting in water during the wet month. Dry soil also combats fungal and bacterial invaders. The tree is also well sheltered from wind, letting the fruit stay on more easily during weather events. All these important advantages give us a bumper crop of peaches in early August, 2026. Friends who have shared in this bountiful harvest have also raved about the flavor and taste of these home grown frost peaches. We’re glad to share abundance, and get feedback about our crops. A neighbor raved about her cobbler with Leafhopper Farm peaches. Gratitude to sharing the literal fruits of our labors, and shared enjoyment of the summer season.