It was August, 2020. The election was tense. Our nation’s divisions and discord were palpable and disturbing. Leaning over my compost pile, looking at this mix of color and texture, I wondered how food waste could be this beautiful? 

Then I saw the label on the banana: Equal Exchange. Organic. From Peru. Hopefully it really was an equal exchange and whoever grew, picked and transported this here for me to include in my smoothie was treated with respect. 

With each additional image I create, compost becomes less about achieving personal self-sufficiency and more about living fully in community...with wonder and joy. 

Where do you find beauty, even in the mess of it all?

To learn more about my passion for compost, check out this talk I gave at North Chapel in Woodstock, Vermont in May 2025