Guest post: From NYC to cowboy country

A guest post from my sister Lisa. Last summer, she wrote in from Costa Rica, and now she writes from Oregon, where she is a botanist for the Bureau of Land Management and spends her days looking and identifying plants: finding "special status species," assessing recovery following wildfires, determining the sustainability of livestock grazing activities, and collecting seeds for restoration projects. I'll get to see some of this in person, since I'm planning a trip to Oregon next month!

Just a typical workday landscape!

Cattle drive on the way to Bend

After two and a half years in NYC, I got a job in the high desert ecosystems of central-south Oregon, in a town of 2,000 people. In a little over two months, I’ve had more sunny days, more adventures, more fun and more excitement then I did in those two and a half years. (Sorry NYC! Maybe I’m just the right type of person for this landscape, where there are only about 4 million people in the whole state, while Julia is the right type for the place with 8+ million people right next door.)

Drake Park in Bend

At first, driving 1.5 hours to my field site every day past endless mountains, plains and mesas of sagebrush was unsettling and uncomfortable, strange and not really very exciting. Some switch went off about a month in, and the fullness of my love for this new place ignited. Cowboys, horses, cows, eagles, badgers, antelope, bighorn sheep, hawks, sandhill cranes, burros (the list goes on) are commonplace. There is so much quiet here. So many stars. The first day I got into town, I went to the grocery store, and people I didn’t know said hello to me.

Live Blues out in the sunshine behind Deschutes Brewpub

The places I work have epic names and for epic reasons: Crack-in-the-Ground (facilitated by an earthquake), The Lost Forest (a mysterious ponderosa pine forest in the middle of the desert). I spend hours every day listening to wind through trees and birds talking to each other, examining the intricacies and diversity in this seemingly homogenous set of ecosystems.

Crater Lake (12 feet of snow in mid June!)

Along the way, I’ve also fallen in love with Oregon in its entirety. Trips to Crater Lake, Bend, Eugene, and most recently a trip (yesterday) where I ran a 10k up the Steens Mountains from an elevation of 7,800 to 9,700 feet (my favorite activity by far) have breathed so much excitement and relaxation into my life simultaneously. Whereas the awkwardness and clamour of NYC filled me with a lot of anxiety that I thought would never go away, I feel like I become progressively less anxious-prone every day here. Plus, local craft beer costs less than Corona (about $6 a six-pack). In sum: beer, friends, friendly people, dogs and horses, eagles and quails, sky and ground, love and life.

At the top of the Black Cap Butte (6500 feet) overlooking Lakeview

Steens Mts east rim at the race finish

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Fire Escape Garden

Another apartment, another plant setup. This time on a fire escape, where there's room enough most of the plants I started in my former back patio this spring. Parsley, mint, rosemary, oregano, thyme, sage, basil (which I grew from seed and is just now starting to take off), cosmos (one of my favorite wildflowers) and two tomato plants. I gave away several tomato starts and left behind the lavender.

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Farmers Market Haul: Late July

Tomatoes are finally here! Went a little crazy buying some things as special treats to enjoy the height of the summer. Milk and cream for making (coffee) ice cream. Peaches for smoothies. Tomatoes and basil and garlic and sourdough bread for bruschetta. Grape tomatoes for snacking. Scallops because I haven't cooked seafood in too long. Yellow watermelon for dessert. Swiss chard, onions, potatoes, and corn will make their way into dinners somehow this week, likely with rice and beans I cooked last week and stashed in the freezer. Sad to have missed the blueberries. I wanted to make blueberry cake, but it was too hot the other weekend for oven usage and now they're already gone from the market.

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Listening, Lately to Loops

Music is a big part of my life again, so it might as well be a presence on this blog too.

I find myself drawn lately to musicians in solo or small projects using loop pedals. I have long felt limited by my solo music, just keyboard and voice, so it's inspiring to hear the potential for what loops let you do on your own.

Originally a solo project using vocal loops to create harmonies, texture and rhythm, Yellow Ostrich now also has a drummer and trombonist/bassist. And really good songwriting. Since their newest album The Mistress is going to be re-released by Barsuk, you can no longer get it off bandcamp, but you can hear the wonderful "The Whale" below, a song of love carrying you into the great unknown. I missed the first half of their set at McCarren Park during the Northside Festival (with Sharon Van Etten! and Beirut!) because I was signing the lease on my new apartment, but I got to chat with Alex afterward and express my appreciation for his music. They're playing at Glasslands on August 19. Sadly I will be out of town.

I also am paying closer attention to music featuring organs, since I'm now playing organ in my band and wanting to learn about its features and what kinds of sounds and playing styles work best. So I'm enthralled by the new project Moonface, from Wolf Parade's frontman whose album Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I Hoped comes out next week. For now you can stream it at Spin. "It's music played with an organ, organ beats, organ beeps and bloops, and some digital drums. Music based on layers and loops, the hypnotizing sound of a Leslie speaker, and the onslaught of melody." Not to mention Philip Glass-like arpeggios.

Idiot Glee is another one man project from Kentucky that's got an organ and vocal loops and 50s doowop melodies. You can download his new single "Trouble at the Dance Hall" over here.

And speaking of excellent use of looping, let's not forget Andrew Bird who fills out a complete sound with guitar and mandolin and violin and whistling all on his own. This video of "Tenuousness" is a great example.

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Camping in NYC

Did you know you there is a campground within New York City's limits? I didn't until last week, when I found myself joining friends for a camping excursion to Floyd Bennett Field, a former airport, now part of Jamaica Bay/Gateway National Recreation Area. It wasn't the best time for camping during the 100 degree plus heatwave. Thankfully, by the time we got there in the evening, it felt about ten degrees cooler than in the city proper with some breezes coming off the nearby water and the shade effect of trees. We made sure to bring and drink several jugs of water and coolers of cold beer. You can get there by car, bike, or by subway and then bus. We took a car to be able to carry all that gear, but several people in our group somehow made the hour plus bike ride in the heat.



There are about five group campsites, with little to medium shade coming from small trees and bushes. Each "campsite" has a picnic table, firepit and grill centered around an open field for frisbee. It was the perfect kind of setting to gather people together to kick back in semi-nature in celebration of someone's birthday. I only wish it hadn't been so hot so we would have wanted to stay all weekend and actually kick back. Even though a fire was the last thing we needed, we built fires anyway for cooking veggie burgers and to ward off the bugs.







We took long late night walks on the expansive paved runways, which felt in the darkness like eerie scenes out of Lost, and made new friends with other campers we ran into on our explorations. The unsettling sound of planes taking off and landing overhead at JFK just across Jamaica Bay comingled with a variety of birdsongs.







It was so hot that we were forced out of our tents in the morning before 8am, surprised to realize that our tent was in shade as we hoped when we set it up, even though it certainly didn't feel like it from inside.



Since the campground is just across the bridge from the Rockaways, we made a five minute drive over to the much buzzed about Fort Tilden Beach, where there are no lifeguards, where girls go topless, where you can freely drink cans of beer. I was surprised to see it looked like an actual ocean beach, like the Jersey shorelines I'm familiar with, rather than Coney Island's crowded, tame and murky water. The whole lot of us headed straight into the water to cool off, some diving under waves, some floating and bobbing, some standing knee deep in cold water to enjoy the occasional crashing spray. However, in what I understand was an anomaly, when we'd step away from the water, the flies swarmed relentlessly, dozens at a time surrounding and biting our calves. It was too much after a sweaty and itchy night already. So back into the air conditioned car we went, back into the weighty 110 degree heat of the city. Someday I'll make the long bike ride to experience Fort Tilden beach properly and hope for no flies.

PS. Did this heat wave make anyone else concerned about a future of global warming where there are more excessively hot days each summer and less available air conditioning as we run out of fuel?

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How to Bike Commute in the Summer and Keep Your Cool

Last week temperatures in New York reached the 90s. Undeterred, I bike commuted as usual anyway and got to work no sweatier than in other weather. Thus proving that I can make it in the peak summer hot weather, and that I don't need to waste money on a gym membership simply to shower before I go into the office. Here are my strategies for keeping cool:

* Go at a leisurely pace, even if it means your trip will be five-ish minutes longer. This is key.

* Carry your bag in a bike basket or panier rather than on your back.

* Wear as little clothing as possible, and make sure it is loose-fitting so you feel some breeze. Wear sandals instead of closed-toe shoes.

* Girls, wear your hair back. I pin my bangs back and keep my hair in a braided bun so it's not on my neck or back at all.

* I wear a bandana to absorb forehead sweat under the helmet. It works really well - sweat doesn't drip into my eyes while I'm riding and I feel noticeably less sweaty once I get to work. You could not wear a helmet, but that's not safe folks. This is what happens if you don't.

* Bring a change of clothes, hairbrush, deodorant, and washcloth

* When I get to work, I splash my face with some water and try to wipe down with a wet washcloth before changing into my office attire.

* Then wait. You may still feel gross, but that goes away in about a half hour.

* An added benefit of biking to work: While everyone else complains about subway fare hikes (to $104 monthly), I spent just $30 on subway rides during a summer month.

Do you have any other tips? Add them to the comments!

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My Standard Whole Grain Bread

This is the bread recipe that has become my standard. I was into the no-knead method last year, but now I'm back to taking a whole weekend afternoon to make bread and other things. Mostly just because I'm having a hard time planning to be able to start no-knead dough a day in advance.

While this may not rise very much and is on the dense and crumbly side fresh out of the oven, it makes for excellent crunchy toast, which is how I usually eat bread anyway. Since I can't finish a loaf on my own before it goes stale, I slice and bag it for the freezer, most often having a piece of toast with a cup of tea or coffee for breakfast on morning workdays. The variety of grains gives it a complex and nutty taste that goes well with a little butter or peanut butter on top.

I only wish I hadn't accidentally broken my other beautiful loaf pan. I need to get a second one ASAP because now that it's summer, it makes sense to bake two loaves at a time and use the oven less often.

Wholegrain Bread
1 tsp yeast
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup whole wheat bread flour
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1/4 cup oats
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup rye
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey
About 1 1/2 - 2 cups water total

In a large bowl, stir the yeast and 1/2 cup warm water until the yeast is mostly dissolved in the water. Let sit for about five minutes until you can smell the yeasty aroma that indicates it's working. Dump the grains, salt, olive oil, and honey on top, along with another 1/2 cup of water. Stir to combine and add more water as needed in 1/4 cup increments. With experience, you will learn the consistency you are looking for - wet and pliable but still able to knead and handle without it being too sticky.

I knead right in the bowl, rather than on a cutting board to save on cleanup efforts, for about five minutes. I dust my hands and the dough with flour a few times during kneading as needed.

Form the dough into a ball, place seam side down in the bowl, and cover the bowl with a wet dishtowel. Let rise for about 90 minutes, until the dough has approximately doubled in size.

Gently press down to press out the air. Use a spoon or spatula to carefully gather the dough away from the sides of the bowl and reform it into a ball. Let rise another 60 minutes with the wet towel on top.

Grease a loaf pan. Once the dough has about doubled in size again, press air out gently and remove from bowl. In my hands, I form the dough into a ball again and then gently elongate it into more of a rectangle that is the size of the loaf pan. Place in the pan, seams down. After 15 minutes, preheat the oven to 375.

After another half hour, once the dough has risen above the top of the pan, place the pan in the oven. Bake for one hour. Let cool for another hour before slicing.

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