Category: Oregon Farm

June 22, 2024

by Dr. Plastic Picker

We are back home and our oldest will be back tomorrow from Japan. So we’ll be rejoined as a family for a glorious two weeks before our youngest goes off for a month long camp in the LA area. We are so proud of her. She worked inordinately hard to be admitted to the honors summers arts camp, and she’ll get to live out her dream of “nerding out on ceramics” for a month. She’s an artists at heart, and I love that so much about her. But we’ll miss her for that month. Life does not seem as lively when she’s away. I never thought I’d enjoy having teenagers so much, and this last year of having them both 19 and now 16 – I am going to completely revel in it. I want to make every day count.

But enough about my kids! I wanted to think through this idea of reconnecting systems. I find so many metaphors in nature. But this is where I was thinking of reconnecting segments of our community, and realized that combating global heating is actually literally reconnecting systems. And it is in the most unusual place.

We bought a large tree farm in Oregon and the property is huge. The house is beautiful and has a kitchen nicer than my kitchen in San Diego. There is a large creek that is the Upper Cow Creek that is part of the Cow Creek Watershed (I think). I spent 3 hours with a very smart conservationist from the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Service and we hiked around parts of our property and chatted for 3 hours. It was one of those meandering conversations but focused on our property qualifying again for the Riparian Habitat tax relief program. Essentially if you do things to preserve Riparian habitat, you don’t have to pay property tax on some acreage. The money is not that much for us, since we are FISE (Financially Independent to Save the Earth). But what I learned was invaluable.

I learned that the most important part of our property for Riparian habitat was not where I expected. I guess the main creek is in pretty good shape. We have to plant some more shade trees to shade the river, and willow and cottonwood are good. But probably some of the native pine species would be better. My new friend mentioned the Ponderosa Pine in particular. Like from that old western show Ponderosa!!!

We want to replant several species and not have a monoculture. Most people tend to just plant a lot of willow since it grows so fast. There are already a family of beavers on the creek more upstream which I forgot to tell my new friend the biologists.

Okay! Just sent the email “It was so great to talk to you Amy and I’m still processing everything we talked about and what you taught me. Just before I forget, I talked to my brother Daiuy who is up on the property now.  I forgot that further upstream of Upper Cow Creek they had seen a beaver dam and beavers. So there are some already on the main creek. On French Creek south of the area we were looking at closer to the road, there is sometimes a pond that forms there. So it’s definitely wet a good amount of the way. I had forgotten but during the fall and winter it’s usually there.”

I learned about floodplains and that it’s sometimes important to create manmade channels to reconnect floodplains that have been disrupted by agriculture for decades. We already have logs on the property that might be perfect material to reconnect the floodplain. I hiked with this wonderful new friend and she pointed out the native species that I had no idea about.

Oregon grape is my new friend. Here it is!

So many plants I need to learn how to identify. But more importantly I know now the big plan of what we need to do. It’s going to take time and patience. But essentially the main Upper Cow Creek runs too hot most of the year, and reconnecting the creek with the floodplains on our property and the French Creek which likely has colder water during the winter and fall – will be important to try to bring up the number of juvenile coho salmon.

I’m so grateful for this interesting life that I’ve stumbled upon. I just finished talking to my good friend Dr. Elizabeth Friedman and our conversation was jam packed with climate work and updates, but also meandering about the people we love and worry about and our dreams for ourselves, and our communities. And interwoven between us are so many people and stories, especially students that we mentor. I am forever grateful for making that connection with her, and in some ways I think I was always meant to meet her. Like I’m grateful I met you dear reader. I hope you seek to reconnect to someone today. I truly believe that reconnecting is a metaphor but also physically reconnecting. I’m hoping to head out to Missouri soon to see Dr. Friedman and I’m going to bring Dr. Dear Friend as well! I want to see what’s up with this biosludge stuff.

June 20, 2024

by Dr. Plastic Picker

It’s our last full day on our Oregon farm, and we head back to our life in Southern California tomorrow. Today I’m meeting with the Oregon Fish and Wildlife OFW office, and one of their fish biologists. We have a Riparian plan that we need to finalize with the state of Oregon in order to continue some tax breaks we get for not developing an area of the property that has vital riparian habitat.

This climate activists life has led me here, to Oregon. There is no way to hide from climate change, our entire way of life will change. But we can all do what we can, in this chaotic reorganizing of society. This isn’t a climate bunker because the forest that surrounds us is likely to burn from wildfires at some point. But it was a way for me to deal with my climate anxiety. If I can just save these 200 acres, than I would have done some of our part. I remember when we flew out here during the COVID pandemic when travel finally opened up a bit, and we were up in this place during May. The ground was so healthy, and there were large birds of prey flying overhead. Knowing how degraded much of our earth is now, I realized how precious this place was. We “own” it but how does one own anything? You can’t “own” anything because our time on this earth is limited. I’m not afraid of death, because truly that is in the end where we are own destined to end up. We will be returned to the earth, and then I believe reborn again.

But for this time that I am here, I’ve decided one of my roles is to safeguard at least these acres. We’ve had movie companies approach us to film movies, that would have brought too much foot traffic to sensitive habit. We’ve had odd offers to grow wasabi from very wealthy people because the water is so clear in the creek. We’ve had multiple offers from some sketchy people to grow what we think is marijuana. Who wants a random acreage in the middle of a forest to lease? You must be doing something sketchy. So our family has decided to leave it for the fish and the salamanders and the earth.

Life is so busy that as a part-“owner” – we’ve only been able to come up no more than once a year. But it’s a blessed time that allows me to re-center. Every time I return, I am reminded how important the work that I am doing in San Diego is. And what we do in southern california, will help preserve places like this. And forests like the one that surrounds me, is doing it’s part by preserving the life that our species has decimated. There are baby deer frolicking around the property, a family of squirrels living in the old stone outdoor stove – every morning so busy. I love that squirrel family. If they had an Instagram account, they’d 100% go viral. But we’ll leave them to live their lives. The badgers, the mountain lions, the bears, the bald eagles, and the deer – we need to leave them some space. The concept of Rewilding is so powerful. But we can only rewild places, if we make our urban lives wonderful and filled with community and love and green spaces – so that the ridiculous suggestion from one of my patients to build a town in this secluded plot doesn’t come to fruition. The last thing we need is another town, where rich citizens flock and pretend to be eco-conscious.

We are just normal doctors that managed our money right. We still work and I have to return to our lives back in southern california soon. We can only keep this property if I continue working. I was so close to quitting years ago in the midst of my burn out, but I am so glad that I did not. Because I did not quit and got better, I have gotten to live this interesting second part of my life trying to fight for our community and climate. My daughter got to pick wildflowers on a farm that our family owns, and sat quietly on our porch and made a crown of daisies. Just like I try to protect her, I believe if we all work in our own ways to better society and address decarbonization – we will pull together as a community and weather the worst of this.

I still have so much fear and anxiety, and those of us in the trenches know that. We know about the catastrophic heat waves coming. We know about the heart disease and kidney damage and premature birth that is caused by global heating, environmental pollution and air pollution in particular. But being here calms my fear. I can still enjoy today. I can still enjoy a crown of daisies that my daughter made, because I know most days I have done so much to help move legislative work in California to address environmental pollution and climate change.

Just thoughts as we end our last few days in Oregon. Thank you for letting me share my journey. And I hope this blogposts finds you well.

June 16, 2024

by Dr. Plastic Picker

It’s been a long moment since I’ve been on the blog. Apologies dear readers. As many of you know as we interact on other platforms, it’s been a June that none of us could have predicted. When you look back at last June, did you think this June would have happened?

I’m continuing to try to be impactful for the climate, and realizing it’s organizing bigger projects to move the national conversation. Mr. Plastic Picker is worried about the upcoming election, but strangely I am not. I guess I have somewhat tunnel vision in that I just want to play the role I’m supposed to play, and do my part. And the projects that I am working on, because they are all volunteer and usually with students and within the healthcare sector, are not limited by national politics. A lot of climate work can be done whether it be one political party or the other in power. The earth is neither conservative or liberal, the earth is the earth. Climate is climate. And I’m always grateful we live in a democracy (albeit imperfect).

This morning I have to finish two advocacy projects, finish calling the last 5 remaining legislators for sb1197. This is the leaded aviation fuel bill that is making it’s way through the different committees. Despite having some premedical students on the team, it’s hit or miss depending on their schedules. I get it. They are young. It’s graduation and many of them are moving home, and starting their summers. But one of the medical students is calling 5 of the legislators which helps quite a bit. It’s nice to do these advocacy projects together.

Then there is sb1137 which is the KEEP THE LAW gas and oil setbacks bill, and defending this win. There is a very large state coalition working on this. But locally, I’ve been helping to mentor a high school student Daniel Hernandez who is actually from my old high school (go Bonita!) and he has been doing very well. He’s linked with two large climate organizations and a good public speaker, so now has some leadership positions. I’m reminding him to pace himself and be strategic in his efforts, because he needs to also make time to apply to college and be a teenager. But I’ve linked him up with another post-bac student Kiran Rhodes and they are going to try to co-author an op-ed in the Chula Vista papers on SB1137. Likely we will win on this as there is a lot of money being donated state-wide to this effort, but it doesn’t hurt to do our part in our local municipalities and it gives a good student op-ed writing experience.

There is the fossil fuel divestment bill as well, SB 252 which directs the public employee pensions to divest from fossil fuels. Both AAP California and the Public Health Advisory Council for Climate Actions Campaign supported it last year. It did not pass. This years bill, we both support. So I just emailed the groups and got a consensus, so will draft a quick letter with some fancy signatures and send it off.

What else? Oh the H3SD 2024 San Diego’s Heat and Human Health Summit is well on it’s way to it’s second iteration. This summit was born out of so much love and passion, and me wanting to make connections in San Diego. I’m still waiting to hear about HMO funding for it, and my good friend and old medical school classmate Dr. Luis Castellanos has the medical school on board. But waiting and waiting for funding is really silly. I’m sure they will come through. But our family has committed to about 10-15K if our HMO bails. I’m used to working in big organizations, and for us as a dual physician couple who understand the true nature of climate change – it’s worth it 100%. But I hope they pay up because their name is all over this! I won’t tell anyone that we paid, but it will be an open secret in the climate and health world locally. Just in case any of them read this blog. It’s honestly somewhat embarrassing the way I have to go grubbing around for money in the world for climate work, when the world wastes so much money on many things. Like the number of managers in our department have ballooned yet things are being managed more poorly. Does that make any sense? I never see any of them around. Yet there are more of them.

Oh well. I’m just in charge of myself these days, and the earth.

Our kids are doing great! We don’t fly unnecessarily, so only our son is on his epic trip and he’s in Japan but staying there for a long time. It’s almost 3 weeks and we are so grateful for this. We are headed up to Oregon to our farm, and much needed time just Mr. Plastic Picker, myself and our teen daughter. We’ll hike around our pasture land, and meet up with the fish biologists as we have a Riparian Lands Tax credit since we are not developing any of the land – but especially not the special land around the riverbanks. A large creek that comes down from the cascades goes through our property (the Upper Cow Creek) and it’s important for fish habitat. I believe they are going to demo the Galesville damn near us soon which will be great for the fish. It’s exciting to have been able to buy that property and to make sure it does not get developed. Some one asked me is we could just build a town there, and I looked at them confused – because why would we do that? We are supposed to infill our urban areas and take public transport, and then leave these wild areas wild so they can continue to sequester carbon.

Thank you for letting me chatter on about life and the continued climate work. At UCSD the San Diego Union Tribune said the students did not really react to Al Gore’s speech. It’s not that they don’t care about climate change, 100% they do. It’s just that they don’t trust the admin who called police on their friends, and who wants to cheer on a speaker who doesn’t even know them introduced by a chancellor they no longer trust. It’s hard to earn back the trust of people. Just random thoughts when I was reading the SD-UT. Indeed, this June is not the June we would have predicted a year ago. But it’s the June we have, and I’m grateful to be alive (because I was really sick last week) and grateful to be able to blog.

October 15, 2022

by Dr. Plastic Picker

I’m home. I’m home in our Oregon farm/ranch home. Primarily my life is in San Diego and Southern California, but we truly are Oregonians too since we own two properties up here in Oregon and one is an almost 200 acre tree farm/ranch that we love dearly. I’ve always been part of a real estate family, where that is all we talk about at dinner. But climate work made me realize the dangers of climate change, and honestly some of this is us getting ready for our own family’s climate migration. We’d like to avert the apocalypse, but just in case it’s good to have several contingency plans. There are never any guarantees, but there is water here and there is land.

I have so much more hope these days than when I was in the midst of burn-out and after emerging and beginning to work in climate and health. I think the importance for me is to keep on dreaming about the world I want for our children (including my daughter’s own Kdrama that I’m making up in my head that includes homecoming!!! LOL) and our world. Up here on our farm, I can dream. I wandered yesterday just walking around and around the pasturelands and getting good exercise. But I was just also just thinking my own thoughts. We need to restructure the entire way we live, and involve everyone in the process. We can’t save the planet with just half of us.

But I’m happy this weekend to disconnect a bit with some in my family. We are dealing with some interesting property issues specific to having an Oregon tree farm. I’m looking forward to meeting one of the Oregon fish biologist to talk about our plans to continue to preserve some riparian habitat on the Upper Cow Creek that transverses our property. It originates from the Cascades.

But it’s 616AM and I’ve had a gloriously restful sleep. I always have the earth in mind and I have to put comments in for a divestment paper, and also editorial comments for the economic impacts of climate change (a billion dollar disaster paper out of Harvard). I also need to get in the rest of my tax information to our accountant. The deadline is Monday! Darn, I’m cutting it close! But so is the world with climate change. But I’ll deal with both today, our own family’s finances and the finances of our planet (or at least make comments on it).

This is a short trip but so needed. I haven’t been up in 6 months, but I’ve had two climate friends both named Rachel come up with their families. It was so nice to be able to provide their families with sustainable travel and free accommodations just because they are green friends. It was better for the earth as well, because they are like me – fighting for a sustainable planet for all of us. Only green friends welcome here on our Oregon farm!!! And also the other protagonist of my daughter’s Kdrama but their family is pretty green too. But that’s the 100 episode Kdrama and they don’t hold hands until episode 50! Maybe someday up in Oregon they can hold hands.

Green hugs to you my friends. Thank you for delving into the world of Dr. Plastic Picker!!!

May 30, 2022

by Dr. Plastic Picker

Good morning dear readers! I’m back from an epic few days up in Oregon. I don’t fly lightly but it was a combined brief vacation and working trip to try to figure out our Oregon farm. Stay tuned as try to figure out what I’m labeling CPR Cow’s Creek Professional Rescue. I’m forming a board of directors, and working with a friend on curriculum right now. It’s a fun dream and we are making this dream a reality. Mowed a few acres of pastureland. Roamed around the forested lots on the Polaris, and saw how much nature is in these timber forests. Family of deer, temporary wetlands with water fowl. We know there are bears and cougars and foxes. That large predators are on this land is to me heart-warming. So I’m trying to preserve this land but make it cashflow in our capitalistic society. I believe in responsible capitalism and democracy, and I think I can make this work.

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April 21, 2022

by Dr. Plastic Picker

Wow. My body is tired. I now realize my binge-watching Kdramas (and I’ve been a bad middle-aged mommy and binge-watching a lot) has been kind of excessive. I now realize that some of this is not unlike people who drink alcohol (which I do not but I am not judging) to numb themselves. I now realize that ending my traditional middle management career at five years of Assistant Chief was an emotionally hard and wrenching decision. I was numbing myself from the emotional fallout. The fallout, ended up being the emails and calls from some upper management that never materialized. I know that they too are just cogs in the HMO machinery, but to say that I am slightly disappointed would be true. I think all of us deep down all want to be recognized. Since I’m a metric oriented person, I know objectively I did so much in the five years that I was Assistant Boss. But now that I’m at that age of being a middle aged palindrome, where my age is the same read forwards and backwards, I realize that it was meant to be. I’m meant to decide where my path goes. Read forward or backwards, I’m still me and actually more fundamentally me that I could ever be.

So with those convulated thoughts, something amazing happened yesterday at our HMO. I was one instructor at one of the breakout sessions, but my climate HMO Friend Dr. RA organized one of hte first of it’s kind San Diego wide climate symposiums with cross institutional participation on the instructor and resident side from all the major Family Practice and Emergency Medicine departments. It was very epic and she has her own narrative that she will share soon in an academic piece.

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April 15, 2022

by Dr. Plastic Picker

We are back after one of the most unexpected vacations we’ve ever had. We were supposed to be in Hawaii staying at a family home, but ended up in San Francisco because of a once in a lifetime Oregon snowstorm that closed the I-5 up to our farm.

Let me explain. Our daughter was in Alaska on a once-in-a-lifetime school trip and she was exposed to COVID-19 by very close contacts. Even though we technically could have traveled and she had tested negative on day 3 after exposure and not ill and Hawaii stopped checking, we did not travel to Hawaii. The decision to not fly to Hawaii is because it was the right thing to do. We worried about being stuck in Hawaii if someone in the family became sick. We worried about having to take care of her, being an ex-preemie and formerly more sick when she was younger, out of state. We worried even just having to miss work, even though we both haven’t used any of our COVID time alloted by the state and the HMO, because we are health professionals who if we get sick – have large ripple effects on our patients. We try to avoid having to do that for our fellow physicians. If everyone did this, the whole system would run better – but that’s a discussion for later. We called a close friend for advice, and appreciated her listening to us. In the end, we made the decision that was right for our family which was to take a road trip. In the end our daughter did not end up getting COVID, and no matter what we are grateful for at least that.

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March 23, 2022

by Dr. Plastic Picker

It’s been a moment and a half since I blogged dear readers. The last blogpost “What does 끝 (kkeut) mean in Korean? To Finish” where I essentially announced my departure from middle management on my own terms was a big moment on this blog. It will deserve it’s own chapter in my book. We headed out for Joshua Tree to take my daughter’s Girl Scout Troop camping right afterwards and I was on digital detox. I hung out with my mommy friends and we had Teslas and Priuses dropped off our gear, as overprotective Asian physician husbands hovered at a nearby posh hotel. The Girl Scout mommies were truly primative camping in tents, as 20 hour per mile winds were blowing hard enough that our tents became unstaked. The girls learned to dig primative toilets, conserve water while camping, and we made so many memories that I can close my mind and the bird sounds and vistas come rushing back. This is how much water we had for a group of 12 camping.

It was less than 24 hour at the campsite, but our troop earned three badges including the Girl Scout Natural Resources Badge which is truly beautiful and given by the National Park Service. And most importantly the camping troop reminded me that I am going to be fine. I’m going to be totally fine as I decided to 끝 (kkeut) my Assistant Boss career. I laughed and was a wife and a mother, and a climate and health advocate.

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February 10, 2021

by drplasticpicker

Yes. I’ve decided to become a Truffle Farmer/Forager. We have the farm and likely there are truffles on the farm. I cold-emailed the world’s top truffle expert to ask him about starting the truffle industry in our area in Oregon. He emailed back, and now I’ve looped in one of our neighbors who definitely has truffles in his area. We are going to forage for truffles on our parcels hopefully, but forage via satellite. I was precepting one of the UCSD Rady’s pediatric residents and I often mention my crazy doings, and one of her replies was incredulous. To the extent “how is that possible?” and asking non-sensical questions but in somewhat in a non-believer and slightly negatively nuanced way. Most people don’t know that I know these things. I read up. I don’t have time to explain because my brain is racing and thinking, but I was slightly annoyed. I just looked at her and the look of someone who is a non-Dr Plastic Picker believer, and I honestly just delete that person from my mind. No imagination, I’ve decided. Just precept and teach for the time I’m given, and move on.

So yes my dream is become a part-time Truffle farmer/forager. I’ve declared myself that. I am going to drive out the marijuana growers by bringing in an industry that is sustainable and actually good for the world. Using the water of the Cascade mountains to grow marijuana???!!! EVIL. Truffles that really require no water, and are native to the area and will increase LOCAL and SUSTAINABLE travel and cuisinse- GOOD. So for all you illegal marijuana growers in southern oregon, this pediatrician is NOT YOUR FRIEND!!! The children or Oregon are our children too! Marijuana is not good, period.

Come to think of it, it’s the ugliness of the entire marijuana industrial-complex that angers me as a pediatrician. That is part of what is driving me to really look into truffles for our area. I fell in love with the mountains and the trees on our farm. How does one “own” land? I think of myself as a steward. And I definitely don’t think the land was happy with the marijuana growers.

I’m waiting for another email reply from Professor Charles , our Oregon truffle expert. Mr. Plastic Picker and I are going up soon to spend a few days on our farm. We have two sets of friends going now, and I’ve invited the HMO residency program to use the farm for a retreat. I think I’m done mass inviting everyone. If 3-4 of my friends go, then that is enough. They are all climate friends, and I want them to be renewed by the land and the area. Heal them, and they will help heal the earth.

We are thinking of building a tree house as well with my family member! That would be so interesting!

November 26, 2021

by drplasticpicker

It’s the day after Thanksgiving and we are home home. In our Southern California home. I have to work today normal clinic and Saturday 830-5pm. It’s extra duty on Saturday and my obligation of being part of our physician group. I get paid overtime. I don’t give away my shifts anymore. I don’t even know why we judge others for giving away their extra duties when others want to work it, but it’s still a thing in our department. The judging. But it’s getting better and I’ve decided that there are few times that it’s productive to render judgement on things like that. There’s Mr. Plastic Picker who is standing in the middle of the tree parcel of our Oregon farm. Over a hundred acres of douglas fir on that side of the parcel, and a healthy stream that flows through it. Both of us, and all doctors, we’ve been judged our entire careers. And sometimes the judging and punishing is inflicted by eachother. It’s an institutional and professional history that dates back centuries really. It’s no use blaming any one person or institution, but it’s important to understand how deeply rooted it is in our professional culture.

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