sourdough and suffering

Spring like forest floor up California Creek Trail, Girdwood AK

This year has not been so much about making and keeping a list of New Year's resolutions as it has been about resolving, every new day, to make the most of what mother nature provides. In a lot of ways its funny to me how the general attitude in a snowless ski town plummets with every day of continued rain except that I am not immune either. A few years ago the farthest thing from my imagination is that I would sympathize and suffer alongside the thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies of the AK ski scene... but here I am, and, with the added bonus of having no work due to no snow there seems to be a lot of time in our lengthening days.

To cope I have begun implementing a variety of techniques including getting out of bed before the sun (sunrise is 9:45AM), doing at least two of the following activities: skiing, trail running, yoga, dog-walking, swimming..., eating more vegetables, engaging in positive and meaningful conversation, and creating something I am proud of. Low and behold, after a few days of this I can feel my self-worth bubbling to the surface again, growing into a stream of productive energy and making me want to spread the word. Just because our culture conditions individuals to expect instant gratification does not make us unable to tap into the capacity to adapt that past generations needed to survive!

And so, in that spirit, I have taken on sourdough, yes, the bread... historically viewed in this state as a sign of thrift and toughness, a qualifying attribute of ones chances to "make it". Turns out rightly so! I acquired a start some time ago and have been feeding it enough to make pancakes now and again which is not difficult at all. However, last week when I began feeding it every 12 hours with the intention of making actual loaves of bread I came to realize just how much energy goes into this delicate mothering process. It is, after all, alive so many factors influence its resulting liveliness and it was not until this-morning that I managed to wake it up  enough to leaven bread. Now I embark on the bread making journey that is as much following the directions as my heart, a baking adventure with no guarantees! So-far the overnight start is rising nicely... stay tuned and I will post the results. For more about starting sourdough read up at: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2012/04/08/maintaining-your-sourdough-starter-food-water-and-time/.

Now I go to yoga, having already skied, and then, and then, and then--life continues continuing. Its truly a beautiful thing and no matter what the weather, not to be taken for granted.