I don’t think I ever met her in person. But we corresponded by email. She was a kindred spirit, cobbling together a living from various offerings. Author, speaker, gardening and permaculture workshops, a small nursery. While she was gifted in so many areas, she often struggled to make ends meet. The downside of not being defined by a concise job description.
In many ways, we led parallel lives. First of all there’s our names, herald of spring, and well, the season itself.of spring, and well, the season itself. We both wrote books on food and gardening topics, even had the same publisher. We both did workshops through Village Vancouver, talked about doing one together but never quite got around to it. Awhile back, we were discussing the possibility of doing a joint weekend course up in the Queen Charlottes. The last time we exchanged emails, she had just had surgery and said she would need some recovery time. She didn’t tell me she had cancer. I found out this morning that Robin Wheeler passed away Monday night. It hit me hard, even though I didn’t know her well. What a loss, not only to her small community of Roberts Creek, but to our larger community and the food security movement.
Robin, at times, you may have felt unacknowledged and unappreciated. But your life and work were very important and certainly had an impact on me. I will miss your sweet song.