TerrieMiller.com

Well, it’s a little more than “summer”, but it’s been quite amazing because I….

• Built a beautiful two-sectioned compost bin.
  
• Had a great camping trip to Death Valley and Pinnacles National Monument, where I got to see living condors before they go extinct.
  
• Visited family in Ohio, being especially grateful for the chance to spend time with Grandma and my nieces there, and to be with them and my Mom and sister on Mother’s Day.
  
• Took a delightful tour of local chicken coops.
• Took a two-week intensive class and got my Permaculture Design Certification, and had a fantastic time camping out and making new friends, especially when I discovered two other birders on the first morning.
  
• Spent some time (still not enough) wandering around Point Reyes and seeing many beautiful birds and mammals…yet still no mountain lion.
  
• Started a series of watercolor paintings of my dreams; I’ve only completed two of them, but it’s a good thing to keep doing.
• Made bread, blackberry jam, cakes, plum jam, and plum wine (still in progress).
• Created a pretty decent garden, which we’ve been eating out of regularly.
• Have continued and expanded the backyard chicken hobby…we have five new Americanas, blue/green egg layers. Sadly, at least one is a rooster, so there’s at least one chicken dinner in our future. And I built a really spiffy new hen house!
• Made many trips to the dump…shopping trips. It’s an amazing place, and all of my backyard projects have been made with reclaimed lumber and materials that they sell there.
• Kayaked in our beloved Laguna, several times. But the Common Black Hawk still eludes me. No matter…the birds and otters that are there are amazing, every time.
  
• Continued to read Henry Miller’s Rosy Crucifixion series: Sexus, Plexus, and Nexus. I’ve really loved this series; Miller is a wonderful writer and writes about interesting things.
• Fell in love with my own husband and writer Miller about a zillion times again. This keeps happening….
  
• Went camping for a couple of nights at Big Sur. And visited the Henry Miller library, of course.
  
• Hand-sewed a Rakusu as part of a precepts study group at Stone Creek.
• Picked blackberries and enjoyed quality time with my dog.
• Saw performances by Nina Gerber, Steely Dan, the Rep.
• Took in the amazing Frida Khalo show at SF-MOMA.
• Rode my bike to Santa Rosa and back several times…a 17-mile round trip…along with some other riding. Not much compared to what Steve has been doing, but I enjoy the rides and enjoy using my bike instead of the car.
• Twittered about 220 times (not including assistance provided to my dog who has trouble typing with her big paws).
• Considered doing falconry and joined the California Hawking Club. It’s not the right time of my life to do this now, but I may in the future (and plan to write here about falconry as a permaculture activity sometime).
• Added at list three life birds to my list. Seems like there were more…
• Started rehabilitating our yard.

And so much more…I’m leaving a lot out. It was a great summer. The best ever.