Local Inspirations

Travels With Heart: By Annie Bowler, November 1, 2025 Volume 28

It's funny how you can stay close to home yet have so many interesting, thought-inspiring

experiences. It was that kind of month for me. Enjoy!   

I attended "Terra Madre Americas” in Sacramento recently.  It was a fabulous, one-of-a-kind celebration that featured food and drink tastings, live music, celebrity chef demonstrations, educational speakers with food gurus like Alice Waters, artisan vendors, food trucks, and more. In short, it was a culinary convergence like no other. 

While wandering through the booths that represented many of the agricultural regions of

California, I enjoyed tastings delicious California-grown food, but I was most proud my own county's "Placer Grown" Many people wanted to taste Placer County food offerings

including Twin Peaks orchard's fine stone fruits and the Baker and Cake Maker's delicious

breads and pastries. At Terra Madre, I learned that there are more than 1000 family farms in Placer County and that there’s a certified farmers’ market happening almost every day

somewhere in Placer County these days. I love this about our county! Placer County was well represented at Terra Madre Americas because of the tireless efforts of Rob Haswell and Tiffany McKenzie the fearless leaders of Visit Placer. 

One of the main hosts of this event is Slow Foods USA, which is a global network of local

communities acting together to ensure good, clean, and fair food for all.  To learn more about Slow Food USA click here. 

Don't fret if you missed this fun event, as it will return to Sacramento in late September of

2027.  Get on their email list if you want to stay in the know. Click here

This fall has been a lovely mix of cold mornings and warm afternoons, sunny days, and gentle rains.  I took a walk on day that threatened rain all day. Wouldn’t you know it; it started to mist as I was out on the trail with my trusty companion, Buster and turned into a downpour when I was far from home. Ah well!  I discovered a beaver path on my way home.

Boy, do I feel lucky to live where I do, especially on days like this!

At my grandkid’s Halloween soccer tournaments, clowns and ketchup bottles showed up,

providing some good humor and a few costume challenges to the mix. All in all, it was good fun.

We had a visitor come cheer us on at a recent “Yes on 50” Phone banking gathering at CADEM office a Sacramento.

I stopped by the Flower Farm a few days ago and was struck, once again, by the absolute

beauty of the farm's ever-changing views. This time of year is one of my favorites. But don't

believe me, drop by, and see for yourself!

John turned bowls when we were in college, working for our longtime friend and craftsman, Bruce Byall. The Flower Farm has lost many trees over the years and John has carefully saved much of that the wood; I call him a wood whore. LOL! Recently he decided he wanted to turn bowls again. He's having so much fun discovering what each piece of wood contains. I got to say, his bowls are beautiful!     

I’ve got to admit, these haven’t been the easiest days for me. I find myself up at 2:00am,

worrying about the state of our country and the world. I worry that Americans are deeply

divided and are afraid to talk to each other, unless you know you share similar political

leanings. Why is this happening? I believe a big reason is because we get our news from different sources, the right mostly listens to Fox and Newsmax, etc. and the left listens to MSNBC and CNN, etc. Boy, do I miss Walter Cronkite and the days of just factual reporting! I don’t get my news from any of those sources; I listen to PBS and read the New York Times. However, I regularly check this website for the reliability of all media sources.

I worry about the homeless and those who, because of the government shut down, are no

longer being paid or the millions who may soon lose their SNAP and healthcare benefits. I worry about people being snatched up off the streets and imprisoned without due process because of the color of their skin. I wonder, how will this end?

I find both comfort and inspiration by remembering my parents, who sacrificed so much to

protect our democracy during WWII. My father enlisted in the Navy and was the second officer on a delivery ship that supplied warships with food and ammunition. His vessel circumnavigated the globe twice during the war, stealthy navigating to avoid battles.    

My mom was five months pregnant when my dad shipped out. There wasn’t internet back then, and with my dad’s ship rushing to supply warships, the mail boat couldn’t catch up to them. My dad finally learned he had a healthy son when my brother Tom was 6 months old! What a joyous day it was when the mail boat arrived! Overall, though, those were lonely, scary days for millions around the world. I know what my parents would be doing if they were here today; they would be standing up for our democracy.

I found solace this Sunday by celebrating Dia de Los Muertos at the sweet Sierra Foothill

Unitarian Universalist Church in Auburn. We lit candles for our ancestors (you can see the

photos of my parents on the altar) and watched the Ocelotecame Dance Troupe perform

traditional dances that have long been performed as a prayer to their ancestors.