Andres Ferreyra

I had a narrow window for dinner today, and could have easily had a bratwurst. Then again, I just as easily had some homemade fast sauerkraut, and ramen noodles topped with a delicious urad dal stew; didn't miss the brat at all.

Tornado warning:
Plans go awry, nap ensues,
things end well. This time.
The frequency and intensity of tornadoes seem to be increasing in Western KY where I live. I remember tornado warnings were rare (1 / year?) in 2004 when we moved here, they usually happened during the day, and the tornadoes in question were low on the intensity scale: EF0 and EF1. Now they happen several times a year, often come at night, and are stronger; e.g., a long-tracked EF4 hit nearby Mayfield in December 2021. On a personal level the ongoing challenge is to not get complacent (i.e, pay proper attention when the warnings happen) yet stay focused on the things that I need to get done. In the bigger picture, today's warning was one of many symptoms that we need to change how we collectively interact with our planet. April (Earth Month) is a good time to get started. #tornado #climate #earthmonth #100daysofintentionalliving #the100dayproject2023 #the100dayproject #ink #watercolor #watercolour #dailyartchallenge #travelersnotebook

Lunch: Fish tacos made with Alaskan pollock.

Size sometimes enables market players to do good things. It turns out that the McDonald's Fillet-O-Fish uses sustainably (to the extent that is possible) sourced, wild-caught Alaskan pollock, which is one of the better choices out there. I realized this today and ate one in acknowledgement. It was pretty good!

I live about 200 steps away from the Murray State University arboretum, which hosted a Family Day today as part of the regional Four Rivers (Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee and Cumberland, which all converge about 50 mi / 80 km away) Watershed Sustainability Festival. I walked over and spent my lunch break chatting. I was especially taken by a citizen science stream monitoring program, where volunteers periodically sample and test water chemistry and microbial contamination. The disturbing twist was to see how the number of active testing sites is decreasing over time as their loyal but aging volunteers retire and aren't easily replaced by younger folks. I asked one of the people running a booth how the public's commitment to doing tangible things for the environment has changed over time. He thought it peaked in the 1970s and has been dropping ever since. Then again, it seems like a growing number of people have climate anxiety; how to channel that energy in constructive directions?
The pic was something I doodled as I thought about dwindling watershed monitoring networks where most nodes might not be working; a red-biased Christmas tree of sorts.

New month, new ideas! For the last 18 months I worked daily with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in formal, strategic terms, as if sitting in front of a chessboard with a handful of pieces, trying to put together the best way to make a difference using ISO agricultural data standards. I decided to add a different, more grassroots and personal twist this April and joined the Earth Month Ecochallenge at ecochallenge.org. The emphasis is still fully locked onto the SDGs, but more from a personal and community level. I'm sure new insights and human connections will come from it.

The pic is inspired by our front lawn; my wife and I are protective of the little flowers that grow there in the early spring--pollinators love them (though some of our neighbors probably hate them) so we let them grow as much as we reasonably can. Next more--replacing some sad & tired shrubs in front of our house with vibrant compass plants and other natives. #ecochallenge #april #earthmonth #earthmonthchallenge #earthday #100daysofintentionalliving #the100dayproject2023 #the100dayproject #ink #watercolor #watercolour #dailyartchallenge #travelersnotebook

My mom, who would have had her birthday today, was a force of nature. Great at taking care of others, perhaps not that good at taking care of herself, she was fierce in her defense of the vulnerable. She loved plants and animals; I think she was a major early influence in developing my love for the natural world. In the picture she appears with her beloved pet chicken Pepe, when she was a little girl.