From Our Backyard to Yours

Creativity & Inspiration: Gina Rae La Cerva

Gina Rae La Cerva is an environmental anthropologist and writer. She was also a Creative Resident at Bloedel Reserve in 2018. Her first book, Feasting Wild: In Search of the Last Untamed Food (Greystone Books), was just selected by Amazon as a “Best Book of the Month” in the Cookbook, Food, and Wine category. The book is available for sale anywhere books are sold. We suggest supporting your local bookstore or supporting independent bookstores in general here. With the release of her book less that a month away, Gina Rae reflects on the importance of her time at Bloedel Reserve:

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I arrived at Bloedel in early April, when everything was about to bloom. The flowers strained under their heavy buds, just waiting for release.  I felt the same–my book draft was close to being complete, but still needed a big push to get it to the point where I could submit it to publishers. I tended to work in the early–mornings and late nights, and spent mid-day walking, reading, and observing the natural beauty around me as a way to unwind and clarify what I would put down on the page. Every day, I visited the massive cherry tree that you pass on the road towards the house. It became a touchpoint, cataloguing how it was progressing just as my book draft was progressing. From buds, to heavenly scented blooms, to a frenzy of bee activity. When I felt discouraged or stuck with my writing, I would go sit beneath one of the many enormous Douglas firs on the reserve. It helped put my work into perspective–yes it was important to write the best book I could, but in the end, the trees will keep growing no matter what. How different their view of the world must be, these 300-year-old beings. They mark the seasons as we mark the passing of a day, a brief rise and fall of light and breath. One day as I walked home at dusk, a pair of bats followed me all the way from the coastline back through the preserve to the resident guesthouse. I took it as a sign of good luck, that nature was co-conspiring with me to get this overwhelming project out into the world. I’m so pleased and grateful that the wild spirits of Bloedel were there to help.

You can learn more about Gina Rae at her website www.ginaraelc.com,  on Instagram or Twitter.

Missed a Week? Want to See More?

Click the links below to see previous week’s Backyard pages:

• From Our Backyard to Yours — 3/31/2020
• From Our Backyard to Yours — 4/8/2020
• From Our Backyard to Yours — 4/15/2020
• From Our Backyard to Yours — 4/22/2020
• From Our Backyard to Yours — 4/30/2020
• From Our Backyard to Yours — 5/7/2020
• From Our Backyard to Yours — 5/17/2020

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