Butcher Bird Studios created this wonderful video about the work of the Arroyos & Foothills Conservancy and our partner wildlife tracker/photographers Denis Callet and Johanna Turner.  It was featured in the Descanso Gardens exhibit "Growing Habitat: L.A.'s Wildlife and Descanso."

Place-Based Spirituality

Here's a talk I gave to the Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church about how I developed a place-based spirituality:

The Fire Drill

I've been practicing making fire by friction with the hand drill, which was the traditional way to start fire here in the Americas for thousands of years. 

Once the principle of creating a friction fire is understood, it only takes a moderate amount of practice to learn this ancient skill.  Your hands may blister the first few times, but the feeling of forming that coal and blowing your tinder bundle into a flame is exhilarating!  

To make your own fire making kit, learn to gather plants ethically so that they thrive from being tended properly.  Grow your own native plants, and learn about responsible practices from your local native plant nursery.

Willow (Salix spp.)

Mulefat (Baccharis salicifolia) 

Mugwort (Artemisia douglasiana) 

I gathered already-dead willow branches for my hearth, dead mugwort leaves for the tinder, and used a mulefat drill which was cut while pruning a shrub.  

New Fire Ceremony

One aspect of making fire with the hand drill that I find interesting is the lore surrounding it.  The Nahuatl-speaking people of Mexico performed the New Fire Ceremony, or the Binding of the Years, once every 52 years - a full cycle of the Mesoamerican calendar.  At the end of the calendrical cycle, old household items were discarded, people fasted and purified, and all the fires in the community were extinguished.  

In the city of Tenochtitlan, atop a mountain called Huixachtlan, a new fire was started once the constellation known as "the fire drill" (Orion's belt) rose from the horizon.  This fire was required to be started with the hand drill, and signaled the beginning of the New Calendar Round.  It was used to light a huge bonfire of bundled wood representing the bundling of the 52 year cycle, and from it runners would light torches and rekindle the temple hearths throughout the city.

The imagery of lighting a new fire with a hand drill was used to denote the beginning of a new era, such as an ascension to power.  In the Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca, a person wearing a coyote skin is depicted lighting the new fire above Chicomoztoc; the "seven caves" which were the mythical origin place of the Nahua peoples.  This new fire ceremony represents the emergence of the people from these caves, and announces the beginning of their migration south.

The Fire Drill

In his book "Survival Skills of Native California" Paul Campbell describes how Ishi, the last member of the Yahi people of California, classified the hearth of the fire drill as the "female element" and the drill as the "man piece" or male element.  According to Campbell:

"The hand fire drill was universal and ancient.  Mayan hieroglyphs of the fire-making hand drill extend back in an unbroken line to the Olmec iconography of San Lorenzo -- the first American Indian civilization -- some 3,000 years ago.  Undoubtedly, the skill is thousands of years older, lost in the Paleolithic.  Fittingly it was the Olmec god of the north and darkness who made compensatory fire with the sticks... the Karok of California made new fire with the sticks to begin a new year.  So important was the drill, young Aztec men had it burned onto their wrists in the form of the fire drill constellation... The ancient Maya ritual of the Bakabs exhorted, 'To be charmed, the fire is always kindled with a fire drill.'

It was the simple two-piece hand drill that the ancients revered... The ability to make fire in the wild is perhaps the most important survival skill one can possess -- literally the difference between a dark shivering death and a hot meal in the glow of a warming blaze.  It cannot be taught by theory.  Only through familiarity with the range of materials and techniques... in a variety of environments and by practice does the fire come forth."

Mamalhuaztli - "the fire drill"

Bring Our River Back!

The Central Arroyo ca. 1913.

"In and out among the trees, a trail has been worn, often leading down to the bed of the brook; and here one can wander for hours… in this leafy retreat, with the birds singing all about, and trout darting from the horse’s feet.”

-Charles Holder, “All about Pasadena”


Such memories still exist within the minds of Arroyo old-timers. Memories of an Arroyo Seco as a living river; an Arroyo with dark forests, verdant trails and trout darting through the stream.

As it was before, so it can be again!

The Arroyo Seco has been named one of the best candidates for urban stream restoration in the United States, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is currently formulating various alternative plans that could turn that vision into a reality. The Corps’ Arroyo Seco Ecosystem Restoration Integrated Feasibility Program provides an enormous opportunity for massive river restoration throughout the urban portion of the Arroyo watershed.

What does this mean?

The objective of the plan is to remove as much of the cement channel as possible, and to restore a natural soft-bottom stream. This change will enhance the quantity and quality of aquatic, wetland, and riparian habitat — meaning a natural stream environment that will support more fish, more plants, and more birds.

The Corps’ vision of a restored Arroyo at its confluence with the LA River.

In addition, along the restored stream, the Army Corps is considering the expansion of biking and hiking trails. The Corps may also add educational signage and other amenities to enhance the visitor’s appreciation of the newly restored stream.

The Arroyo Seco Foundation has developed a guiding vision for this restoration — theArroyo River Parks Program. This program would link existing parks and open spaces to each other and to the river, thereby connecting the surrounding Arroyo communities. Imagine being able to walk, hike, or ride from Altadena to Downtown L.A. through a series of beautiful, connected River Parks!

Public participation will play a critical role in determining which of the alternative plans the Army Corps of Engineers will recommend. The Corps is currently accepting comments on the Notice of Preparation for the plan until May 23.

Join the Arroyo Seco Foundation in advocating for the most expansive plan for restoring the Arroyo. Together, we can return the Arroyo Seco stream to its original splendor.

*Originally published in coloradoboulevard.net 

Plant Profile -- Wild Cucumber

Following the recent rains, I’ve noticed wild cucumber (Marah macrocarpus) has begun to make it’s seasonal appearance.  I first learned about this native plant when I was a fourth grader at Linda Vista Elementary School.  That year, our class was taken on weekly field trips to Hahamongna Watershed Park as part of a nature program.  It was during these trips that I viewed a free flowing stream for the first time within my own city limits -- something I’d never seen outside of the Sierras.  It blew my mind!

I remember that our instructor and guide through the park was a young woman named Gigi.  We used to do all sorts of hands on crafts with her, and it was during one of our explorations of Hahamongna that she first showed us wild cucumber.  Shortly thereafter while playing in my backyard under the oak trees, I was astounded to discover it growing right there on my own hillside!

The author.  May, 1998.  Hahamongna.

Wild cucumber traditionally has many uses for native Californians.  Roots were used as a fish poison. Seeds were used to treat rheumatism and to create pigments.  The dried seed pods were used as hair combs.  Wild cucumber is also one of the first signs of spring in native California.

Whenever I see wild cucumber, I am reminded of what a great impression can be made in the lives of children when you show them somewhere special in their own backyard.  That’s something I’ve kept in mind when guiding kids through Hahamongna with the Arroyo Seco Foundation.

Unfortunately, we now stand to lose this special place to a shortsighted plan by the LA County Flood Control District to scour the Hahamongna basin and destroy it’s irreplaceable habitat.  The District has ignored alternative proposals which would achieve needed flood protection in the area without such significant impacts.  I hope that you will learn more about the effort to Save Hahamongna, and help us ensure that future generations have the same chance that I did to benefit from this amazing community resource.

Plant Profile -- California Holly

In the old days, Toyon, or California Holly, was the most abundant native food available in the winter, which was traditionally a time of relative scarcity as far as tending the wild.  People relied on Toyon berries to supplement their food stores during the cold months of the year.

Toyon berries may be eaten raw, but usually taste astringent and chalk-like.  When dried, Toyon takes on a subtle sweetness, and may be added to trail mix, or ground into meal and added to acorn porridge or flour for baked goods.  The berries may also be cooked, and are great to add into a stir fry!

Toyon berries added to a nopal, corn, pepper and onion stir fry.  Delicious! 

California Holly is a beautiful, drought-tolerant, native shrub, and tolerates full sun to full shade conditions.  A wonderful plant to grow in your yard, Toyon provides rich habitat for birds and wildlife, and keeps them fed as it  kept people fed in the old days for thousands of years.

Making California Buckwheat Pancakes

California Buckwheat has long been a staple food plant for native Californians.  After learning about its use, I have been curious about cooking with this abundant native plant ever since.  (Please only gather from buckwheat you have planted in your yard, or in a community garden.)

The pink and white flowers produced in the spring begin to turn a nice rust-brown color this time of year, and may be gathered and mixed with wheat flour to create bread, porridge, or one of my favorite breakfast dishes which I created this morning -- pancakes!

The first step in using buckwheat as flour is separating the dried seed heads from the stems.  This process was easily accomplished with the help of a rolling pin.  I simply ground down the buckwheat, and then picked out the stems.  California Buckwheat was a favorite staple of the elderly back in the old days, as the seeds required minimal processing and were easy to eat.

The flavor of California Buckwheat can be somewhat creamy, with a woody coarseness reminiscent of sawdust.  It’s not a bad flavor, and the coarseness was definitely diminished by grinding it down.  I added about 1/4 a ratio of buckwheat flour to 3/4 whole wheat flour in order to enjoy the flavor of the buckwheat without being overwhelmed by it.  

The whole wheat flour also helps to keep the pancakes together while cooking.  If someday the sh*t hit the fan and food was not readily available, knowledge of California Buckwheat could go a long way toward stretching out depleted rations of flour!

The pancake batter looked lovely, and the pancakes turned out great!  The ratio of buckwheat to whole wheat flour was the perfect amount, and I loved the specks of California Buckwheat that were cooked into the pancakes.

The distinctive California Buckwheat flavor is perfectly complimented with some butter or coconut oil, maple syrup or local honey, and fresh berries on top.  

My white-sage enhanced green tea combined with these California Buckwheat pancakes to create the perfect native California breakfast -- a simple and satisfying way to connect myself physically and spiritually with the land I call home. 

Clip Point Throwing Knife Video Review

Here’s a review and demonstration I did of the Small Clip Point Throwing Knife from Crazy Crow Trading Post.  Check it out!