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The Earth laughs in flowers.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~
It is truly a joyous time as the new life of Spring is emerging flower by flower, unfurling fern frond by unfurling fern frond. There is a gentle unfolding that will assume a riotous momentum as the sometimes unbelievable volume of green surges forth from the newly awakened earth.
This emergent energy is mirrored in the robust lineup of Spring and Summer classes and programs that we've been working on for you. We invite you to partake in these rich and vibrant experiences, and embrace the opportunity to bask in the magic of TreeSong!
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Nature Notes:
Thoughts from the TreeSong Community
Featuring Annie McHale
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It’s that time of year: Spring o’clock. When seed meets soil and Intention is put to task. Nature doesn’t make bad food. It’s impossible. Every single seed, every tiny, unpretentious seed has in its DNA one goal: to become a zucchini, a pumpkin, a rosemary bush. It just knows what to do, when, and how. And when it becomes whatever it is meant to become, it presents its beautiful, colorful, flavorful, nutritious self as a gift.
It is for this reason that I honor food. Real food. The way it is intended, which is to say, organic or otherwise natural. My husband Curt and I were recently blessed with an opportunity to co-manage a 60-acre organic farm near the Oregon coast for several years. During that ridiculously difficult and completely blissful period, few people turned down our dinner invitations, knowing to do so meant missing out on perhaps the freshest meal they’d ever had the pleasure of enjoying. Our table was an organic feast. Every. Single. Day.
Hours-new duck eggs with their bright orange yolks, dutch-oven-baked artisan bread finished with smoked salt, plump raspberries bursting with sweetness from the afternoon sun’s kiss, fresh hand-pressed ricotta, bright and tender asparagus just snipped from the soil, tulsi basil bearing an aromatic hint of licorice, wild salmonberry gastrique slowly drizzled over line-caught Pacific salmon, fire-roasted over coals on hand-hewn cedar planks, raw milk whipped into heavenly cream, and garlic greens. Ohhhh-the-mildly-sweet-garlic-greens!!
Annie's Nature Notes continue here.
You won't want to miss Annie and Curt's 'Spring Bounty ~ Gorge-style' Cooking Class on April 29th, and then in July, they'll be offering a Soul Food Retreat the 14th through the 16th.
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Annie McHale and Curt Gray
Founders of ROOTS Farmacy
Several years ago, Annie and Curt traded in their corporate jobs for rural living, committing to living a sustainable, healthy life beginning with the food they eat and share. It is their intention to inspire folks to enter into relationship with their own kitchen to prepare fresh, healthy meals and connect meaningfully with their loved ones.
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Upcoming Classes & Events
for ADULTS
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Nature Book Group
3rd Wednesdays of each month
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
An enthusiastic group of nature and book lovers gathers each month for spirited and lively discussion about a book chosen by the participants.
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Join us on APRIL 19th, for more spirited and thought-provoking discussions as we review March’s book selection The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey.
To learn more about this book and to check out our past reads, visit TreeSong's website.
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Spring Bounty ~ Gorge-style Cooking Class
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Saturday, April 29, 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Food is medicine … for both body and soul. Spring has arrived in the Gorge, and our farmers and artisans are blessing us with their first harvest of the year.
TreeSong delightedly welcomes Annie McHale and Curt Gray of ROOTS Farmacy for an evening of food education, with an emphasis on fun and relaxed dining. Please come hungry! You’ll not only prepare, but also enjoy, a beautiful and delicious 4-course dinner. Check out the menu on TreeSong's website. It's not to be missed!
Class size is limited to 8 participants. Early registration
is highly recommended. For details and to register, click here.
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From Forest to Table:
a Wild Foods Focused Workshop
Sunday, May 7, 1:00 - 4:30 pm
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Join Jesse Brownlee of Half Wild for an in-depth exploration of several seasonal delicacies available to local foragers. This workshop will focus on 5-7 wild edible species - how to identify, harvest, process and feast from what the Northwest has to offer!
Visit TreeSong's website for details.
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Welcome Back L.J. Hunter!
We are delighted to welcome back Linda Jo Hunter for a fourth season of TreeSong tracking classes. Linda's classes are absolutely awesome, supporting a more in depth knowledge of Pacific Northwest animals and their habitats with direct learning from the land itself and the signs that wildlife leave behind. Linda is a master naturalist and tracker. Don't miss this amazing opportunity!
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A Walk in the Woods:
Tracking Animals & Wilderness Personal Safety
Saturday, May 28th, 10am-4pm
Linda will share tracking basics and wilderness safety tips which will leave you more confident, observant and ready to experience nature in a more connected and profound way. This class is held at TreeSong and prepares you for subsequent off-site tracking classes.
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Linda will be offering a tracking series throughout the late Spring
and Summer. Details are in the works!
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Voices of the Birds:
A Birdsong Immersion Retreat
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Sunday, May 28th at 9:00 am to Monday, May 29th at 2:00 pm
Spend two days immersed in springtime birdsong as you learn to identify birds by their unique voices and understand what they’re communicating. You’ll learn to focus on the sounds around you, get to know a bird’s world, and connect more deeply with nature.
Longtime ear birding teacher Laura Whittemore will guide you through basic birdsong ID, deep listening, naturalist practices, the benefits of a daily sit spot, and more.
A truly unique and rich offering!
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Nature Inspired Mosaics
Two-day Workshop
with Monica Vilhauer
Saturday, July 8, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Sunday, July 9, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Learn to create colorful stained-glass mosaic artworks, inspired by the lush setting of TreeSong.
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Nature Connection for Kids
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Tales and Trails for 2-5 year olds
and their special grown-up(s)!
April 11, May 9, June 13, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
A wonderful way for parents (or other special adults!) to share the wonders of nature with the children they love!
Click here for program description and registration info.
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Summer Camps!
We're already receiving sign-ups for our 2017 Summer Camps. Summer out at TreeSong is nothing less than glorious, and children simply have the time of their lives romping, learning, singing, creating out in this beautiful riverside forest. Reserve your child's spot today!
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Nature Adventures Day Camps
~ Fairy Camp ~ 4 to 8 year olds ~ July 10th-13th ~ 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
~ Nature Adventures ~ 4 to 8 year olds ~ August 7th – 9th ~ 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
~ Nature Adventures ~ 9 to14 year olds ~ July 24th – 28th ~ 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
~ Wild at Art!: Nature and Art Adventures for 6 to 10 year olds
Monday, July 31, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
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TreeSong is in need of an outdoor shed to stow away grounds-keeping equipment, folding tables and chairs and a variety of other supplies. Having a shed would be extremely useful. Without an outside storage space, the cabin is bursting at the seems!
Also on the list is a queen-size bed frame (we have the mattress and box springs), along with queen sheets.
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And just so you know, these donations are tax-deductible as well as supportive of the day-to-day functioning of TreeSong. Thank you so much!
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WHAT'S UP AT TREESONG?
Tuesday, April 11, 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Tales & Trails for 2-5 year olds
Wednesday, April 19, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Nature Book Group
(Adults)
Saturday, April 29, 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Spring Bounty, Gorge Style
(Adults)
Sunday, May 7, 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm
From Forest to Table:
a Wild Foods Focused Workshop
(Adults)
Saturday, May 20, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
A WALK IN THE WOODS: Tracking Basics & Wilderness Personal Safety
(Adults & Teenagers)
Saturday, May 27, 1:00 - 5:00 pm
Writing into Our Years: A Celebration of Aging
(Adults)
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Sunday, May 28th at 9:00 am thru
Monday, May 29th at 2:00 pm
Voices of the Birds: A Birdsong Immersion Retreat
(Adults)
Saturday, June 24 (time TBA)
Summer Solstice and TreeSong’s Fourth Birthday Celebration!
(All ages)
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Spring
Somewhere
a black bear
has just risen from sleep
and is staring
down the mountain.
All night
in the brisk and shallow restlessness
of early spring
I think of her,
her four black fists
flicking the gravel,
her tongue
like a red fire
touching the grass,
the cold water.
There is only one question:
how to love this world.
I think of her
rising
like a black and leafy ledge
to sharpen her claws against
the silence
of the trees.
Whatever else
my life is
with its poems
and its music
and its glass cities,
it is also this dazzling darkness
coming
down the mountain,
breathing and tasting;
all day I think of her—
her white teeth,
her wordlessness,
her perfect love.
~ Mary Oliver ~
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Bring a little bit of TreeSong into your home with...
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A set of Artists Nature Note Cards!
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Nature Notecards: This special collection of beautiful note cards features the nature-inspired art from six local artists who are near and dear to TreeSong's heart:
Each note card set can be yours with a $15 donation. Click here to order yours today!
A truly BEAUTIFUL way to support nature connection!
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TreeSong Nature Awareness and Retreat Center is a non-profit dedicated to supporting deep appreciation and connection to nature, community and self, while inspiring stewardship and a dedication to actively care for nature and our planet at large. Through Nature Awareness programs designed for children, adults and families, along with the providing of gathering space for outside enrichment programs, a fertile ground is offered to grow one’s sense of self, community-mindedness and environmental responsibility.
If you would like to help TreeSong in its mission,
please consider making a donation.
Click here to go to our Support TreeSong page. Thank you so much!
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