sillydog who?

Actually, my name is Marie Richie and, I live in Portland, Oregon. I have been working towards becoming a sustainable and self-sufficient farmer since I was a little girl, though the route has been very circuitous, indeed.

Breifly:

  • I began taking pictures in 1997 with the advent of digital. In 2005, I upgraded from my practice camera (the, very innovative for its time, Sony Mavica) to a more serious model: the F-828 that I still love.
  • I’ve been seriously writing since my first workshops and wide circulation print in 1989 and am now working full-time as an author. My specailties are science and agricultural-related pieces, anything from books on greenhouses to articles that demonstrate scientific concepts and how they intersect with daily life.
  • In my home state of Minnesota, I studied Electronic Musical Instrument Repair and Audio Visual Electronics. There, I became the Rock and Roll receptionist at the World’s Coolest Repair Shop.
  • Not content to work behind a desk instead of a bench, and missing sunshine a lot, I decided to focus my studies anew on the systematics and science of Agronomy at the University of Minnesota (St. Paul Campus). Two years in, I realized I had to go where plants actually liked to grow.
  • After moving to the relative paradise of Oregon in 1997, I specialized in fixing laptop computers. I put in six and a half years as a laptop technician and repair specialist in Portland.
  • Oregon State awarded me a BS in Horticultural Science in 2003. In fact, I got a fancy gold cord that day, to mark my Magna Cum Laude distinction. My specailties were sustainable / organic production of fruits, nuts, berries and vegetables. I am also highly focused on propagation of woody perennials.
  • I’ve been working in, out and around the horticultural industry ever since with specailized emphasis on food crop horticulture. If it is good to eat and grows on a tree, odds are I’ve had something to do with it in the last few years.

In essence, my interests and abilities vary quite a bit. As a result, I pick things up quickly and continiously.
As a friend once said, “I think I can do a pretty good job for ya.”