I just posted a new page under my photography menu full of pictures of young Angora rabbits. I bred German Hybrid Angoras for six years. I uploaded pictures from the first three years. I will add more another day.

I really enjoyed working with rabbit color genetics. I became somewhat of an expert in the field. It was tremendous fun to breed bunnies of all different colors. I saw most of the recognized colors in my Angora herd. Putting great wool on those colors was the next step, and was just as much fun.

Life, like bunny litters, is like a box of chocolates.

So, go look...but, don't hurt yourself. <wink>

In an earlier post, I compared the growth of lettuce and bok choi between my indoor aquaponics systems and my outdoor hoophouse. In early spring, the plants in the aquaponics grow beds were winning. Now, the plants in the hoophouse are showing nicer growth for lettuce. It makes sense. Once the days get longer, you get a lovely diffused, all-around light in the hoophouse. It's like placing a soft box over your camera flash, beautiful soft light from every direction. And, with a bit of chill at night and early-morning mist, lettuce could not be happier.

In comparison, the plants indoors have directional, overhead lighting from fluorescent and halogen lamps. And, the temperature does not fluctuate much. I can't mist the plants inside without the danger of causing damage to the yellow halogen bulb. It's too expensive to risk shattering it. Oh, and the indoor lettuce was decimated by aphids. Bugs in my house? Ick! I was not expecting that at all. Luckily, the aphids only liked the lettuce and stayed off everything else. I am very grateful for whatever creature is eating aphids out in my hoophouse.

When it comes to the bok choi, the plants in the hoophouse are growing faster. But, the plants inside are a lovely deep green = more nutritious. I have slugs tasting my bok choi outside too. So, the aquaponics system under grow lights wins for bok choi.

The tomatoes and peppers seem to love being inside. I am also starting some new plants (parsley, basil, summer squash and butternut squash) in Jiffy-brand peat refills stuck into net baskets full of hydroton.

The color on these red romaine and leaf lettuces is just outstanding. I've already been harvesting off the edges of these. Compare the sad, aphid-destroyed lettuce that I brought from inside and planted in the middle of the pot today. It still has great roots so I have hope. Lettuce is fairly indestructible. I'm sure it's considered a weed somewhere.

The center of the pot originally had a Chinese cabbage growing there when the surrounding lettuce were small. The cabbage has since been harvested. This is my version of crop rotation. Or, should I call it succession planting? At any rate, I let smaller plants grow in the protective shadow of larger ones. When the large ones are grown out and starting to bolt, I harvest them and replace with a small plant or seeds. By then, the smaller plants nearby are large enough to protect the new ones.
(p.s. That is last year's chocolate mint sneaking up behind the pot. It somehow rooted itself under the flooring of the hoophouse and it is breaking through. Gotta love happy, hardy plants.)

Here's another comparison, at no extra charge. The romaine on the left was grown from seed started in a Jiffy peat refill plug and then transplanted outside once a healthy seedling. I've been harvesting off both the tops and sides and it just keeps on busting forth. I take a pair of scissors and give it a cut across the top, like trimming grass. This is a testament to the power of growing plants from seed. The plants to the right came from a nursery. The lettuces have a nice color but not the same vigorous growth. The chard will take over in short order as it loves the Pacific Northwest. Slugs have been attacking the poor broccoli and cauliflower. I have a feeling I'll just be feeding those plants to the rabbits instead of getting a harvest.

(Note to self: take the time to weed the hoophouse before taking pictures to show the world. Sigh.)

Oh, and it's pouring rain outside but the soil in my pots is dry as a bone. Turning on the sprinkler now. That's the only downside of growing inside a hoophouse -- no free water.

I just watched the funeral for Billy Frank Jr. One word was used by each speaker to describe Billy -- passionate. He was described as relentless by Brian Cladoosby. Governor Jay Inslee thanked the Creator for giving us such a powerful, inspirational voice. It was said he was more of a "getting arrested kind of guy" than a policy guy. He was irreverent in his use of language, but always respectful and loving in his interactions with people.

Another common theme by the speakers was the desire to continue Billy's work. The speakers acknowledged that it will take the endeavors of one thousand people to replace Billy Frank Jr. One of Billy's friends imagined a time 200 years in the future where a chairwoman will rally Indian Country to pull together and fight for the environment. She will tell tribal members that they can have victory if they all pull together as people did under Billy Frank Jr. to save the salmon 200 years earlier.

Many speakers said they had become students of the Billy Frank Jr. University of Values. He taught them to listen to the treaties because that is when their ancestors are talking to them. Even though Billy was persistent and often filled with righteous anger, he never failed to let each person know that he loved them. He would greet them with, "Jesus Christ, it's good to see you!" accompanied by a huge bear hug. He taught people to listen first, then speak. He taught us that people will listen on the hard issues when they know that you deeply care for them. TJ Greene said Billy was a great man because he was honest, courageous, and made everyone feel that he cared about them. His niece, Nancy Shippentower-Games, said that no one can replace him, but we can all learn from him.

The fight for tribal sovereignty is another theme of Billy's life. He wanted Indian Country to stay out of the court system so that someone else would not be defining who the Tribes are. He said, "Those people are not your friends!" He wanted Tribes to define themselves and to continue to fight for true sovereignty. Billy stressed the need for everyone in the family to work together to solve problems. Today, Tribal members vowed to continue to fight, to never stop until there was no longer a need to fight.

Tribal leaders acknowledged that they don't understand how they came to be in the positions they hold. They are humble people who openly credit the Creator with their rise to power and ask the Creator for the strength and wisdom needed to keep fighting until it is their time to walk on and join Billy. There was an overflowing expression of gratitude for Billy's tireless encouragement and support in forging new leaders. Billy once asked a Tribal member, "Don't give up on me. I need you." They won't.

Flags are at half-mast across the state of Washington today in honor of Billy Frank Jr. A flag that was flown over the capitol of the United States of America was presented to his son Willie Frank III in honor of his father's service as a Marine. The US Fish and Wildlife service presented Willie with a bald eagle feather in honor of his father's efforts in teaching USFW how to preserve wildlife and habitat. The McCloud family sang the Song of the Eagle for their uncle at the end of the service..."When I see that eagle fly, I know it's you, I know it's you."

Farewell Big Chief. Have a safe trip home.

Indian Country has lost a beautiful, passionate defender of tribal sovereignty and a clean environment for salmon. Billy Frank Jr. passed away today at the age of 83.

Here is the story from the NK Herald.

I listened to Billy speaking at a tribal summit just twelve days ago. The cutline I chose for my article, "Don’t put us in these processes that take years and years. We can’t wait.”

Billy Frank Jr. was a true leader, a hero for our generation. He was a natural proponent of non-violent conflict. Maybe my cousin, Jack DuVall, will include Billy Frank in his next volume of "A Force More Powerful."

Here is the first draft of an article I wrote that the North Kitsap Herald published three days ago. I am presenting this version as it contains more quotes from Billy than the print article (which had to be snipped down to fit--my editor calls it "shoe-horning").

Interior Secretary Jewell attends tribal summit hosted by Rep. Kilmer
by Melinda Weer
North Kitsap Herald correspondent


A summit of tribal leaders discussing sovereignty, economic development and natural resources was hosted by 6th Congressional District Representative Derek Kilmer at the Suquamish Tribe’s House of Awakened Culture on April 24. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell joined the summit later in the day to discuss the federal government’s response to issues raised by the tribes. Afterwards, Suquamish Chairman Leonard Forsman took Jewell on a short walking tour, visiting fishermen on a Suquamish Seafood boat and paying respects at Chief Seattle’s grave.

Participating in the summit were representatives from the Hoh, Lower Elwha, Makah, Quinault, Quileute, Jamestown S’Klallam, Port Gamble S’Klallam, and Skokomish tribes. Also present were Billy Frank Jr., President of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, Brian Cladoosby, Swinomish Tribe chairman and President of the National Congress of American Indians, Larry Roberts, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs, and Stanley Speaks, Northwest Regional Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Cladoosby started off the summit with a panel discussion of tribal sovereignty and self-determination, saying, “Tribes govern themselves and their country. You don’t need to tell us what is good for us.” But, tribal sovereignty is not so well-understood by people outside of the tribes. Jamestown S’Klallam Vice Chairwoman Liz Mueller explained that she spends a majority of her time educating Congress and Washington state lawmakers on the topic.

According to Skokomish Vice Chairman Joe Pavel, “We have a unique relationship with the United States. We would still be sovereign without that relationship. We are not artifacts. We are alive and we are still growing.”

Native Americans governed themselves and their affairs long before the Europeans even came to North America. Tribal leaders today don’t see any reason for this to change. “We are here to serve our community,” says Pavel. “The community lets us know what their wants and needs are to address and to promote the health of our community. D.C. needs to recognize and respect the huge commitment of tribal officials. We can’t pick and choose which of our community we represent. We hear all of them. We are the best people to implement [policy] on behalf of our people.”

Makah Chairman T.J. Greene explained that treaties are the highest law of the land according to the US Constitution. But court cases over the years have slowly chipped away at sovereignty. He said that people have a misconception that Native Americans get a lot of free stuff. This misunderstanding most likely stems from a lack of adequate education on the subject. “When the tribes ceded their land, the benefits that we now receive were paid for. The land was ceded so the US could have clear title in order to divide the country into states.” Now, he wishes to be treated on equal footing as any other government entity.

Mueller agrees that the education system in America “has not properly taught about our sovereignty.” Suquamish Chairman Leonard Forsman recommends a curriculum available for Washington teachers called "Since Time Immemorial: Tribal Sovereignty in Washington State" (http://tribalsov.ospi.k12.wa.us/).

One of the greatest concerns for tribes right now is funding. Frances Charles, Chairwoman of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe said, “Native tribes have been underfunded for generations. We have limited resources to protect our elders, education, culture and resources. We know what the issues are, what we lack are the dollars.” Charles is frustrated by the layers of government agencies that she has to work with, affecting her ability to get anything done.

According to Mueller, part of the problem is that there are a lot of small tribes in Washington, making it harder to raise money. She states that, “The amount of people needing assistance is close to 45-50%, compared to 35% in the general population, but we have a great difficulty accessing these funds.”

Pavel explains how the concern about funding relates back to tribal sovereignty, “Somebody else [outside the tribe] has already decided what our priorities are and that’s where the money goes. One priority has been jails, but we need to get out ahead of that so our people don’t need those. Our priorities are our spiritual and cultural values, our physical and emotional health, our resources.”

Tribal sovereignty also relates to the ability of tribal governments to respond to climate change and manage their natural resources. Quinault Chairwoman Fawn Sharp opened the panel on climate change and natural resource management by saying, “Tribes are not at the table to determine policies regarding climate change nor treaty-based resources.”

Yet, Quinault natural resources adviser Gary Morishima points out, “Tribal communities are among the most vulnerable to climate change because of their place-based nature and connection to the environment. Tribes are in the best position to detect changes and determine in their own community how to remedy those changes.”

Quinault Chairman Jeremy Sullivan echoed Charles’ earlier comment about the number of government agencies impeding progress, stating that a consolidation of all the government agencies that the tribes have to deal with is needed. Frank agrees, reminding the audience that they took their treaty rights at risk to DC three years ago and still have not gotten any answer (http://treatyrightsatrisk.org/). He passionately relayed, “We ceded land to the US under treaties. The US needs to recognize those treaties. Our people depend on the natural resources. We need to restore the habitat that has been destroyed. Don’t put us in these processes that take years and years. We can’t wait!”

Morishima said that the major obstacle in climate change initiatives is fragmentation of responsibility in the government agencies. “In order to maintain functional ecologic conditions across the landscape, someone needs to be in charge. Instead, we are tied to communications composed of tweets, bullets and teaspoons. Tribes need the ability to sort truth from fiction. The information needs to be relevant to decisions they are making. Tribes need to be involved in national and international policy decisions regarding climate change.”

The tribes have a holistic approach to dealing with issues as they all relate to each other. For example, climate change can have a negative impact on tribal economies. Greene says of the Makah Tribe, “We are an ocean-going nation. We are spiritually connected to the ocean. Seventy percent of our economy, our songs, dance and culture connects us.

Billy Frank Jr. laments that they are not able to celebrate the First Fish Ceremonies because of the lack of salmon, which are so important to their culture and way of life.  “Our hatcheries are under attack by lawsuits by NOAA. Our hatcheries are there because the habitat is gone. Big business is saying it costs too much to have clean water. Our salmon, animals, eagles need clean water. We cannot allow that poison to take over our country!”

Another major concern of tribal leaders is the lack of reliable, high-speed internet. Much of Indian Country is remote, where there is no broadband available. Not only does this affect their ability to do business and get information, their students are at a disadvantage. Rep. Kilmer has responded to this issue by introducing the Promoting Rural Broadband Act of 2014 (HR3916). This legislation directs the FCC to promote the expansion of broadband to unserved and underserved locations.

Secretary Jewell reassured tribal leaders that she understands their concerns and supports them. “The President and his Administration are firmly committed to our trust and treaty responsibilities and to upholding a strong government-to-government relationship with tribal nations,” she said. “As chair of the White House Council on Native American Affairs, what we heard today will help us in our comprehensive efforts to enable agencies across the federal family to work more collaboratively and productively with tribal leaders to advance tribal economic, social and environmental priorities.”  

Jewell understands the funding is a major concern for the tribes, but makes no promises because of constrained resources at the federal level. She is encouraged that the federal FY 2015 budget for Indian programs includes a modest 2.5% increase over FY 2014 enacted levels, and that recommendations involved consultation with the tribes about their priorities.

Jewell is especially excited about President Obama’s commitment to restore tribal homelands. Over 240,000 acres have been restored since 2009 through the fee-to-trust application process. Jewell said, “My goal is to take 500,000 acres of fee lands into trust and I encourage the Tribes to continue to submit their applications and emphasize this administration's commitment to processing these applications.”

The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 gave the Secretary of the Interior the authority to hold land in trust for Indian tribes in order to remedy the incredible loss of Indian lands to the US government. Earlier in the day, Cladoosby mentioned that trying to get land out of trust is a lengthy process that needs to be simplified.

Rep. Kilmer said that DC understands this problem. In response, Assistant Secretary Washburn issued a memorandum in November, 2013, to put parcels over 200 acres on high priority, under his responsibility, in order to speed up the process. Washburn said, "Restoring tribal homelands is critical to promoting tribal self-determination and self-governance and remedying the negative effects of repudiated policies of allotment and assimilation."

At the end of Jewell’s presentation, Greene and Charles invited her to visit their homelands. Jewell thanked them, but reminded them that she is just one person responsible for 566 tribes. She recently told Senator Kerry that his job is easy compared to hers as he only is only responsible for 196 nations.

Later, Greene commented that “treaties were negotiated on our own lands.” He would like to see more visits from DC noting that what hasn’t changed is the responsibility of the US to honor the arrangements of the treaty. Greene added that he applauds Jewell’s visit to Port Madison Reservation, saying he’s “excited that she’s willing to listen. I’m very optimistic that she is working on the issues important to us.”

I had the pleasure of photographing artist Max Hayslette's exhibit at Almost Candid's Fine Art Gallery this afternoon. He showed off his new series, The Rugged Coast. All his paintings are remarkable, gorgeous. Max and his husband Don are very kind men who were generous with their time with me today.

Max is from West Virginia. He showed me a painting he did of the mill where his father worked. He is very pleased that his collection will be donated to the university from his home state after his passing. I asked him how he works. He says he keeps an extensive file of pictures that interest him...a few trees here, a landscape there. When he's ready to begin a new work, he selects pictures from his file. He then cuts and pastes the pieces from different images that he likes to create something to look at while he paints. I was relating to him how I was so very happy to get some nice lighting at my friend's house this morning for pictures of her flowers. He replied, with a wave of his hand, "That's not a problem for me. I can just create the right light." And, well, that really sums up his work. Everyone who walked through the door into the exhibit commented on Max's wonderful use of light in his paintings.

Don is a sweet man with a sense of humor--a Swedish-Lithuanian Jew. I love it. I enjoyed chatting with him as we watched Max interact with the guests. I was also happy to see friendly, familiar faces: Frank Portello and his friend Mike, Annie LaValle, and artist Carrie Goller and her husband.

I was using my trusty Pentax K10D with an old Pentax-A 50mm prime lens for most of the pictures I took. Near the end, I switched to the kit lens that came with my Pentax *istDL. I tried to use the Rokinon 85mm, but it refused to communicate with my camera body today.

I was visiting a friend today. She has some gorgeous flowers blooming right now. It was sprinkling, which gave the flowers a nice misting of water droplets and soft light all around. So, I messed around with my old manual Pentax 50mm fixed-focal lens. Yep, I got this baby off eBay for $25. Don't turn your noses up at old technology folks - great glass is always going to be great glass.

Sunbreaks don't last very long up here in the Pacific Northwest. I recently found a used Rokinon 85mm on eBay for a good price. It's a manual focus that doesn't always communicate well with my Pentax K10D. That's a bit frustrating. But, the sharp images with beautiful bokeh mean I'll keep messing with it. What to use as subjects for my photos? Hello! Colorful Nigerian Dwarf goats romping in lush green grass and lounging in the sun work for me.