No fluff. Just five things I wish I knew before I starting an earth work project in the middle of nowhere. — Part 5. (See: 1, 2, 3, 4.) 1. Before even finding land: if you can’t be on the land full-time, find someone who can. Desert thieves have a very elaborate system for stealing from homesteaders. They will scout out a target, and place small red objects along the road as markers for a future hit.

When the snow begins to thaw, it’s time to prepare for the growing season. — 1, 2, 3 It’s strange to talk about it, but I think any conversation about pursuing a pipe dream needs an anchor so that it doesn’t float away in the lost sea of hope…

From Design Systems to Dust. Components to Compost. Software to Soil and Seeds. — Part 3 in the Flow The Desert series. (Part 1, Part 2) A vision for this place has mapped itself out it my mind, over and over again — as though it were a painting, or a recurring dream. In the center of it all is a tree — one…

I just bought 10 acres of land in the Los Angeles desert. Here’s why. — Part 2 in the Flow The Desert series. (Part 1) There’s a beautiful story in the Mahabharata, one of the world’s oldest epic poems, about the desert. A band of brothers were “gifted” a swath of wasteland to rule over, in exchange for giving up their rightful claim to their…

This past month, I’ve been honored to craft lovely letters, stories, poems, & words for some incredible individuals. I’m highlighting a few of those gifts on Substack every Wednesday. Typewriter Poetry Sharing Poems, Letters, Cards, & the Stories behind them. Created by Billimarie.typewriterpoetry.substack.com Today’s feature is a Custom Typewriter Poem called “Irrigation.” Several years ago, I attended the Canoga Park Art Walk with my…

This past month, I’ve been honored to craft lovely letters, stories, poems, & words for some incredible individuals. I’m highlighting a few of those gifts on Substack every Wednesday. Typewriter Poetry Sharing Poems, Letters, Cards, & the Stories behind them. Created by Billimarie.typewriterpoetry.substack.com Today’s feature is a wonderful note crafted by my friend, Maggie. She’s an insightful, compassionate, & creative woman I met many…

Updated July 2021 Building a simple website using React is possible with the help of TailwindCSS, PostCSS, and React Router. I’ve updated this tutorial with notes and code changes regarding different npm packages. This tutorial is great for developers who are already familiar with Node.js and npm. If you are not, I recommend…

This is Part 1 of the Flow the Desert series. (Read More) Looking back at all the different projects I’ve worked on throughout the years, there’s always one thing I wish I did more of: Documentation. To kick-off Flow The Desert, I’m publicly writing, taking notes, and reflecting as I…

Everything has its intricate beginning. Everything except for birth. When people ask me how many weeks I am, I tell them two answers: “Eighteen from conception. The medical industry wants me to say twenty.” We are trained to be unsure of our own conceptions, to leave it in the hands…