Southwestern Montana is an area of extremes, winters so cold you stop noting the negative on temperatures and high desert summers that scald and desiccate. It is humbling to witness wildlife and plant life that can survive both -40 and high 90s. But if you are willing to embrace these extremes it is one of the most beautiful places in the world.

In a time when we all feel more than a little trapped it has been wonderful to join Reach the World as a Traveler, supporting their mission to give youths access to global possibility and global empathy. Revisiting the cycling ride across Botswana through their eyes has been hilarious and I believe deeply in RTW’s goal of enabling young people to find their adventurer within.

As someone who defines herself as a traveler and whose life is built around this pursuit, 2020 knocked me for a loop. First an artist’s residency in an Irish cottage set upon a windy cliff was postponed to 2022, and many months of international shoots evaporated in a matter of days. In the scheme of things, I knew I was lucky.

Back in June 2019 when Jen and Roz and I were returning from the Buddhuist and Hindu pilgrimage site of Muktinath, high in the Mustang, we came upon one of the many traffic stops on the new road which is still very much under construction (and very sketchy.) But instead of finding ourselves stuck, we stumbled upon an amazing impromptu dance party.

Just before the shut down I traversed Alaska on a scout for a (since cancelled due to covid) TV show about indigenous climate activists. The young people I met in Fairbanks, Nome, Cordova and Anchorage are extraordinary and give me great hope.

Fall 2019 I returned to Malawi with a new partner organization, Marion Medical Mission. The non profit group builds wells for the rural poor in Zambia, Tanzania and Malawi where even clean safe water is unavailable to many.

Although I typically work with a team on film projects, as the director, collaborating with a cinematographer, due to the extremely tight timeline (I was asked to leave for 5 weeks with 8 days notice) we couldn’t realistically scout, plan and put together a team.

After many international trips, some well planned out and some very last minute I have a pretty thorough pre departure list. I always run through checklist if I am going anywhere outside the USA or Europe, just to be sure as missing any of these steps can create major headaches! And some of the steps later in the list make traveling simply a lot more fun! Happy travels!

A year ago today I brought home the little feral cat who had been rescued, in hopes that we might rescue each other. I met Theo, the tippy polydactyl, while I was hiding from Christmas by volunteering at a horse rescue, Little Brook Farm. in upstate New York. Volunteering on the farm among good people and horses in who needed us took my mind off of my first Christmas without Mia or my Mom.

It has been such a privilege and a pleasure to direct not once but twice this year with the Windy Films team and the talented crews they assemble around meaningful bodies of work.

Late August Indian summer teased, the ocean was especially warm, crystal clear and the tide particularly low. I don’t think it was a moon tide, but the water was out far, exposing the flats of the sands rarely shown, the ripples and the ridges alive in the light like a creature. Life by the ocean is defined by moon and her tides. All things are interconnected living on the edge, and we accept that we too are a part of this ebb and flow, as humans have been since the beginning of time.

My visit to Squirrel Island last year was a brief one, but all the sweeter for the limited time. Spending summer weekends on this island outside of time, with dear friends who have become chosen family, sharing in their traditions over the years, has become one of my own. And the memories are deeply precious. Now we all remember a few of us already gone, the memories are that much dearer.

I am just back from Nepal, and starting to process an amazing month, and thousands of photographs, taken across the beautiful and ancient country. I am not sure what I expected as this was a particularly seat of the pants trip, in spite of months of planning (more on that soon.) Every plan it seemed had to be reworked, leading to better outcomes than anything we could have imagined. In some ways thats what makes an adventure.

There are places whose beauty defy photography, which can be frustrating, as a photographer. Or you can relax into the immersive impossible beauty and occasionally shoot from the hip, embracing the novelty of an experience which cannot fully be captured or conveyed. And so instead you simply are present.

Boston is one of the oldest cities in America, rich in colonial and maritime history, the architecture spans all of the countries eras and the city is littered with momentous locations across the centuries, but less widely known are the modernization, growth, and food scene which have emerged in the recent decade, bringing the best of the old and new side by side. In the summer the city reverberates with festivals, live music, free outdoor activities, farmers markets and endless ways to enjoy the culture. There has never been a better time to visit Boston.

I can finally announce that the amazing team at Windy Media won the Adweek ARC Award 2018 for “Best Use of Short-Form Nonfiction Series” category with “Dear Senator” for the Planned Parenthood for America series shot over 10 intense days in 2018. The female leadership team included my first experience as Director, along with amazing DP Shannon Palmer, and Windy’s own extraordinary Producer Jordan Berry and the Windy’s amazing team.

If you work in advertising, you’ve probably heard of Adweek.

By their own measurement, the magazine reaches 100% of the Fortune 500 CMOs and senior executives from the top 150 media agencies. More than 150,000 agency and media-decision makers subscribe.

There is something quintessentially American about roadtripping, particularly when it is across the west. Throw in a good blizzard to clear the roads and flush out the wildlife and you have yourself an adventure.

Exactly 7 years ago, I adopted Mia at Christmas (actually I fostered, and then foster failure followed but that’s another story) and a few years later realizing I could not foster, I had the opportunity to help out Paws New England in a pinch. Just in time for Christmas we transported a dozen animals from Tenessee to New Hampshire, from a place which did not want them to homes in time for the holidays and it was the most wonderful experience of the true holiday spirit.

“Love Wants to Know How”author unknown

Autumn comes with its riot of death, its clarion bells of color, drives the living green to ground even as it thins the veil between worlds. The visible and invisible walk now together with arms outstretched over fields where workers hasten to the harvest none may divide against itself.

I believe in all cases that getting lost can be good for the soul, whether it is humility, spontaneity, wonder or peace, taking to the road and letting go of authorship is always a good thing in this world of stress, over connectivity and constant demands. And when things feel like they are at their worst, I think it all the more reason to get in the car and lost.