ephemerally curated: April 2025
Words and thoughts and musings by Leah Olson, inspired by Ms. Mourning Dove herself.
Mourning
On the Colorado Plateau, the land curves like a hand cradling time, and grief settles in the bones of rock, silent as the mourning dove's song.
It’s his voice again, in the space between the canyon walls, in the footsteps up Entrada, and in the soft hum of the river cutting through stone.
In the cool of dusk, nests sit in small, fragile promises in the arms of sagebrush, blooming again.
I have listened to the mourning dove’s coo-COO, coo-coo-coo from outside my bedroom window, gently waking me. Over the past month, I watched her fly to and from our grape vine canopy, building a shallow nest from fallen winter twigs. Recently, a little white egg appeared in the nest.
As spring sets into full bloom amidst the last frosts here in Moab, I have been searching for, and finding, inspiration in transition. Today, I bring you some seeds and fruits of that inspiration! May you find stillness, spaciousness, and new creation in the first few days of spring.
Thank you, apricot!
My roommate has aloha ʻāina, land loving, written at the top of our garden chalkboard. As Moab transplants, we are both bringing garden inspiration from former homes, in this case learning from this Hawaiian phrase that if you take care of the land, it takes care of you.
This year, we are trying our hand at starts and direct sowing straight into the soil. Our yard, now, will be a community garden - tending to the land while supporting those who could use some extra fresh produce this season. If you want to support our community garden, reach out to us here!
🌱 Tending the Land / Tending the Self
A guide for loving care—of roots, of soil, of selves, of each other.
🌳 Dig around trees (for water capture) & make space to receive
Let in the water, the care, the soft light of morning. We thrive when we have room to drink deeply.
🍂 Mulch the backyard & layer on protection in the spring sun!
Mulch is sunscreen for your roots - keeping the good in and the bad out.
♻️ Compost & turn what’s gone into growth
Grief, heartbreak, banana peels— they all go in. They all become part of the bloom.
🌻 Clear sunflowers around raspberries & make room for sweetness
Make space for the soft, the small, the berries hiding under green. Sweetness needs sun too.
🪧 Label your fruit trees & let others know what you’re growing into.
So they can cheer you on. So they don’t step on your roots. So they know: this is a fig, not a weed.
🧹 Remove invasive grasses & let go of what’s not serving you
Some things grow fast but steal the soil. Pull gently, pull honestly. Make space for what you chose to plant.
What are you making space for this spring?
Spring Growth: A Round-Up!
Music ~ "Peaceful Easy Feeling" by the Eagles - one of my late dad’s favorites! Has me reminiscing. AND “Look At That Woman” by Role Model - can’t stop listening!
Book ~ “How Should a Person Be?” by Sheila Heti - never was there ever a book more blunt and hilarious and meandering and meaningless and meaningful and messy and artful and crude.
Exhibit ~ Feb-Nov, Moab, UT - U92: Moab’s Uranium Legacy - talk about the transformation of a town! Amazing curation. Check it out & support your local museum while you are at it!
Event ~ Apr 26, 9am-1pm, Moab, UT - Youth Garden Project Spring Plant Sale - jumpstart your garden with a large variety of locally-grown vegetable starts and herbs.
Recipes ~ Three Recipes to Celebrate Spring in the Southwest Article by Stokli
Gardening ~ Farmer’s Almanac for climate specific planting and harvesting schedules.
Bee Inspired! ~ Did you know… All gardens with at least three flowering plants in bloom during growing season (spring, summer and fall) are eligible to become a registered Moab BIG Garden.
~ Happy planting! ~
Leah Olson is an adventurer, non-profit director, and artistic generalist in Moab, Utah. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Leah has found belonging and creativity in transition amidst the warm red rocks, meandering waterways, and active community.
Notes from the editors
Issue 2 need classifieds! Send us your missed connections, yearnings, yard sales, job postings, and short ramblings.
An ephemeral gathering approaches — our inaugural DRAFT + DRAFT!
We all know it can be hard to start writing the first sentence of that poem / essay / story / song / script / that's been simmering in your mind... Fortunately, DRAFT + DRAFT is here to help! On April 16 at 7pm, come down to Moab's newest literary hot-spot, Gravel Pit Lanes, to enjoy some informal writerly co-working time. Work on an existing project, start something new, or, if you're feeling writers'-blocked, respond to some very-optional prompts provided by your hosts. (This event is not just for writers; artists of all types - painters, knitters, doodlers - are welcome, too!)
