Volume 4 • No. 7 • Full Moon • April 12, 2025
BWIKS K. MO Edition III • Mixed Media • 42” X 52” • 2023
tiremirror • Reflective surface on found object • 27" in diameter • 2024
5% TINT • Acrylic, spray paint, found objects, oil sticks, inkjet prints, archival photo • 36x36" • 2024
Tonight there are folks in Northern Michigan who will sit in dimly-lit rooms, uncomfortable because they are cold. There are people, communities even, with pressing questions about their present and future. There are people without power, without warmth, as systems we all rely upon have been disrupted by the buildup of ice, combined with brutal winds, frigid temperatures, and all-around undesirable conditions. National news on the situation might have gone quiet. Still, damage persists. You might feel pulled to respond. But how?
Ousia, Wood-Carved Block Print. Tyler Delong.
It might have been a decade ago, but I still remember being glad I wore a sweater. The small and dimly lit room was a bit chilly, despite the subtle warmth of the beeswax taper candles and hanging haze of incense. I couldn’t say I was comfortable, one, after having stood still for so long, and two, because I sat cross-legged on the floor, packed in amongst the ranks of folks I, in some ways, did not belong.
The small room was someone’s living quarters, tucked away in the corner of a large building that sat on the campus of a Methodist university. Those who were meeting there weren’t Methodists. An Eastern Orthodox priest from a nearby town would visit this space periodically, welcomed to offer quiet services with meditative liturgy, chants and prayer—“the smells and bells”—and work through questions for students at the school who, for one reason or another, were interested, actively in the process of becoming Orthodox, or who had already been chrismated, i.e., those who truly belonged. It was a subtle undercurrent, a hidden stream often undetected there on campus. Amongst the prevailing Evangelicism, the assumption was that everyone tended to operate more or less from the same trappings and cultural upbringing; you didn’t really have to probe much. Those drawn to the Orthodox circles were generally swimming in deeper questions of the present and future.
Most everything at the evening service was symbolic and foreign. Similar to when I attended my first used equipment auction, I’d never been so aware of the subtle movements of my own arms and fingers. If I lapsed in my care, usually subconscious gestures might physically indicate commitment to something far beyond what I could handle committing to. Much of what was read, spoken, and referenced was in Greek. Sometimes Russian too.
I was there for a few reasons. I wasn’t Orthodox, and while I could easily claim the Methodist label, that didn’t sit well with me either. I had Orthodox friends there that evening, and I knew many of those there to be thoughtful and honest people. I myself was trying to be thoughtful and honest…
The Warp — Ideas and Inspiration
|| 1 || I sat in on a recent Local Food Alliance of Northern Michigan Zoom call that covered, among other things, damage to syrup operations, flower farms, and deeply cared for landscapes. Those there were working out how best to respond and what they might be able to offer promptly. (If you want to hear more, look for members at the Maple Moon Work Bee, mentioned in the Weft below.) The experience was a gut-check. I could count the participants with my hands, but there was a lot to feel even amongst that handful. Without fanfare, one mentioned their eleven days without power and the desire for normalcy for their child; another relayed one thousand feet of deer fencing down, vertical posts now horizontal. It was a small sample of this Northern region—these people had access to the time and means for a Zoom call, and grief was palpable.
There are a handful of relevant links below in the Weft. There are ways to help out financially, while if you have relevant experience and equipment, with chainsaws for example, showing up at a work bee should offer exposure to what's happening and the face-to-face conversations needed for evolving, on-the-ground efforts. There are also links geared towards finding help. There's too much to keep up with, all across the board—we all know that. These might be for you if you're wavering on numbness due to feeling obligation to help, but don't know exactly how. Sometimes, taking care of others is the best way of taking care of yourself. Sometimes it's the other way around. You know your circumstances. Here's an invitation to act in whatever ways are most appropriate because grounded acts of care are life-giving.
|| 2 ||"...The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.
Greek amphoras for wine or oil,
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums
but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real."
-An excerpt from Marge Piercy's To Be of Use
|| 3 ||"Critics might point out the difficulty of scaling up ancient technologies for global applications, find them rudimentary, or would prefer to appropriate the design without bothering with understanding “the cultural stuff.”
But this framing misses the bigger point: What made these technologies effective was the cultural stuff. Not just the tools but how they were used by the societies operating them. As long as modern engineering solutions try to update ancient technologies without considering the cultures that made them function, these projects will struggle."
The subject of Peru's Ancient Irrigation Systems Succeeded in Turning Deserts into Farms Because of the Culture is self-explanatory. The conditions in which these waterways flourished for long periods of time and the conditions that broke them both clearly attest that land management and culture have to be tied together and responsive to the patterns and processes of said land. If the land isn't listened to, if we insist on imposing ungrounded technique and efficiency, the house of cards falls.
The Weft — News and Events
We’re heartened by a wide-range of expressions of resilient communities and gatherings. Here’s a smattering of regional events and happenings that reflect that diversity, collected for your consideration. Choose your own adventure!
|| 1 || Ice Storm Effort Recovery for Land Stewards, A Place to Begin (An Incomplete List of Hubs and Resources to Look Into):
Miigwech Inc. (Alanson)
Maple Moon Sugarbush & Winery Work Bee Today (Saturday, the 12th) and tomorrow (Sunday, 4/13). (Petoskey)
MI Maple Syrup Association Call for Assistance (Farms in Gaylord, Alba, Charlevoix, Hawks, Atlanta) & GoFundMe Campaign.
State Portal for Volunteering: Alpena, Montmorency, Cheboygan, Emmet)
Venture North Emergency Grants for Small Businesses in Emmet or Charlevoix County
Coveyou Scenic Farm Market (Petoskey) Dropoff for The Manna Food Project (Harbor Springs)
Otsego Community Foundation
Northern Lakes Economic Alliance (and various city chambers) Storm Impact Survey for Businesses
Updates from State Senator John Damoose, House Representative Parker Fairbarn, and State Senator Michele Hoitenga.
Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation
|| 2 || Call for Speakers, Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference—The NMSFC is now welcoming proposals from a wide variety of speakers on a wide range of topics. We're considering contributions from all stages, absolute beginners to seasoned experts for speaker presentations as well as hands-on skill-sharing workshops. Find more details and/or submit a proposal here.
|| 3 || New Launch from Crosshatch: NW MI Small Farm Jobs Board—Check out the new job board here. Posting positions is strongly encouraged. Please share in your networks, and keep an eye out for more openings that might be a good fit for you or someone you know.
|| 4 || Land-Based Projects: Art & Ecology Input Sessions (Virtual)—Featuring Lolo Katz Nosanchuck. Monday, April 14th, 10-11:30am, and Wednesday, April 16th, 5:30-7pm. Two sessions for farmers, artists, creatives, and land stewards to connect, share projects, and seek input from the Crosshatch team and fellow community members. Find more information and register for either of the sessions here.
|| 5 || Collaboration Café: Care and Wellness for the Field Season. Thursday, April 24th, 9:30-11:30 am, at the Grove Community Incubator. Join farmers and producers of all kinds for a discussion on caring for our bodies and focusing on wellness throughout the growing season. Find info on the free gathering and a link to register here.
|| 6 || Plow Day, Saturday, April 26th at Tillers International (Scotts, MI), and AACORN(Kalamazoo, MI.) Find plenty of activity buzzing about both locations: one, a small-scale agriculture training hub and the other an inclusive ag community providing opportunities for adults with developmental differences. Demonstrations, vendors, animals, tours, and more. Find more details here. Also note, Tillers is currently raising funds for their two-acre production farm—a space tying their workshops, museum, and barnyard together.
|| 7 || Save the Date! The 2025 Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference will be Monday + Tuesday, August 18 - 19th at The Leelanau School in Glen Arbor, MI. We look forward to seeing you there. Stay tuned for further information on schedules, speakers, concurrent happenings, and more.
|| 8 || Community Food Forest Mutual Care Party & Compost Learning. Sunday, May 4th, 11am-2pm at DeYoung Natural Area. Come on over for a spring plant maintenance session and new planting of perennial edible plants. Food producing and climate-adaptive trees will be available for free for at home planting. We will engage in questions, conversations, and information sharing regarding community efforts for forest health, climate resilience, and perennial edible plants. Representatives from Edible Trails Project, Salix Community Forestry Collective, and Crosshatch will be present. Find more here.
|| 9 || FARMLAND: Food, Justice, and Sovereignty. An art exhibition at MSU's Broad Museum "centered around questions of food knowledge, production, scarcity, and consumption against the background of Michigan State University’s 170-year history of agricultural tradition." January 18th-July 27th. Find more information or get free tickets here.
|| 10 || Book Reading and Fiction Writing Workshop with Christine Maul Rice. May 21st at Bee Well Mead & Cider and May 22nd at Grass River Natural Area. More details on the Antrim Writers Series event to come. Find more information at the links above.
|| 11 || NDN's Community Action Fund Grants are now open for applications. CAF grants support Indigenous frontline, grassroots, community-based groups and organizations, Tribes, communities and villages, and individuals leading direct action or movement-building work in their effort to defend Indigenous People’s rights, and protect their land, air, water, and natural resources. Find more information here.
|| 12 || Happenings at The Alluvion Between Now and the Next Whole Field include: Funky Uncle, Here:Say Storytelling—"Back to the Drawing Board", The Jeff Haas Trio featuring Laurie Sears + Lisa Flahive, Jake Allen, Hannah Rose Graves, Big Fun, "A Water Trail" Documentary Screening & Performance, Christian McBride & Ursa Major, JAZZ 4 ALL! featuring: Jeff Haas, Marion Hayden, Laurie Sears, Anthony Stanco, and Tariq Gardner, Phil Cook, The Kombos Collective featuring Michael Malis, Constantine Novotny, and Ellie Falaris Ganelin, and The Alluvion Big Band.
Find more information at www.thealluvion.org.
sponsored by:
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