Many of you don't know that when I left TV news, I took a job shooting videos for the Washington Department of Natural Resources. It gave me the chance to build my independent media work in my personal time, which was not an option as a TV reporter given my contract in corporate news. When I was hired, I was encouraged to keep my social media presence. Recently, my bosses informed me that I was to stop all videos related to Covid safety, vaccines and mandates that “undermine” DNR's policies, as DNR is one of many state agencies with a vaccine mandate, though ours was enacted by Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz and separate from Gov. Inslee's order. My independent work was done on personal time with personal equipment and I never discussed my position at DNR. I also informed my bosses that I had a First Amendment right to continue, and that the policy of a state agency committed to science should align with robust discussion that includes a variety of viewpoints. They disagreed. I refused to comply and was terminated last week.
I am truly grateful for the many wildland fire fighters whose stories I’ve had the honor of telling, as well as the fuels crews fixing the forest health crisis driving historic fires. We nearly evacuated twice this year, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that the work of DNR staff across the state saved our home and thousands of others.
While there are many unknowns for our family, not the least of which is finding a new health insurance plan (any suggestions?), we are absolutely unwavering that it was the right decision. How could I continue covering censorship and allow myself to be censored on one of the most important topics of my lifetime? There are a great many people taking grave risks right now - many of them you've seen in my videos - and those of us who stand up for free speech and informed choice right now will hopefully pave the way someday for others to do so without losing their jobs. I got into journalism to follow the truth wherever it leads, and I will continue. I am planning to record a video to discuss this publicly on YouTube. Would you please let me know what questions you'd like me to answer in it? In sum, our family is incredibly grateful for your support here. I have absolutely no regrets. I said once that free speech is the hill I would die on - but just to be clear, as I've said before, I did not commit suicide. 😉 Be brave. We are in this together.
We are a brand new rodeo family and had never heard of mutton bustin’ until a few months ago. Kids aged 6 or younger try to ride a sheep as a precursor to bull riding. Most kids fall off within a second or two. The kid at the end of this video is going pro, mark my words. He is 6 and his parents tell me he already wants to ride bulls.
The chicken coop took flight again. We have had some Arctic weather blast through Florida and it was windy for a few hours. I did not think it was windy enough to send the chicken coop airborne but, Lily came running inside saying the hens were loose, and sure enough, they had “flown the coop” when the coop flew. This happened last April during an afternoon storm. It really doesn’t make sense to ratchet the coop down everyday, it would take so much extra time moving it. Just one of those things you have to think about when you decide to do a mobile chicken coop.
A couple months ago I was doing a cold plunge, and because I was doing a video about it, I was not paying attention to my breathing when I got in. Within seconds, I felt pressure over my right eye like I was about to get a bad headache. It went away within a few hours, but I started looking into cold plunge and stress. I have read that the practice is somewhat controversial. My takeaway has been that cold water should be used as a practice for learning to overcome your sympathetic nervous system and engage your parasympathetic response. It can work against you if you go into the water stressed and disregard your breath. What do you all think? What have you heard about this? Anyway this is my new cold plunge set up, thanks to my parents for the Christmas present!
