Jumping Worms + Cancer

What’s the relationship between jumping worms and cancer?

My daughter and I made an unfortunate discovery this weekend in our front garden bed: jumping worms. According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, “Jumping worms are a type of earthworm. They are called “jumping worms” because of their unusual behavior when disturbed – they move like a snake and sometimes appear to be jumping. A light-colored ring extends around the body and is closer to the head than in other earthworms.” Furthermore, “Jumping worms can dramatically change soils, giving it a unique texture similar to coffee grounds. Jumping worms feast on mulch and strip vital nutrients from topsoil. This kills plants and increases erosion. Homeowners may see garden plants killed and may have difficulty growing plants.”

Last Friday, I also learned the pathology results from my thyroid surgery: minimally invasive oncocytic carcinoma.

Well, poop. On both events.

A few years ago is when I first learned about jumping worms. They’d been noted in our Northern growing region, wreaking havoc on woodlands, stream beds, and gardens. There’s no sure-fire treatment to rid yourself of them if/when they appear in your yard, although there are efforts afoot to understand what might work. There are even support groups for gardeners who are bummed about their infestations! Jumping worms are so disruptive because they cluster and chew up roots and nutrients just under the surface of the soil, unlike earthworms like Red Wigglers or Nightcrawlers that chew single, deeper tunnels underfoot. The best one can do to avoid them is to be vigilant about what comes into your yard, to purchase materials and plants only from vendors that are taking precautions, and/or to knock the dirt off new-to-you plants, throw it away and plant bare root.

Apparently, I wasn’t vigilant enough. But, you know what? I tried. I am not one to garden hyper-vigilantly, but I was mindful to take precautions. And, they’ve shown up anyway. Going forward, I’ll monitor my plantings, I’ll try some of the remedies that have been researched. But, bringing stress to gardening is the exact opposite choice for me. I adore gardening because it keeps me grounded, present and delighted.

Which brings me to my cancer diagnosis. Last Summer, at an annual exam, my doctor noted nodules on my thyroid. I had been oblivious. She suggested next steps, and I was slow to take them because money was tight, plus I felt “fine.” I did get an ultrasound to measure the nodules in September. I was advised to get them biopsied, but again I tarried.

By February of 2026, I found myself in the hospital with a pulmonary embolism, pneumonia, and sepsis. Thanks to that medical emergency, our budgeting considerations were blown out of the water. The costs exceeded our maximum for the year, so ironically, I no longer felt I had to deny myself care because of expense. We’re now in debt up to our eyeballs, but tests and procedures will be covered going forward the rest of this year. Two biopsies and one surgery later, I now have pathology results that beg the question, ‘what’s next?’

I don’t know, yet.

What I do know is that I’m doing my best. I’m surrounded by capable practitioners and loving friends and family. Like with the jumping worms, I’ll look into remedies, but I aim to keep grounded, present, and delighted.

Lorie Marsh 8/17/26 Lorie Marsh 8/17/26

Living With Big Dreams

I am a gardener, and a dreamer. But, what about those dead plants??

“Gardeners, I think, are bigger dreamers than emperors.”
Mary Cantwell
This quote fits me. Over my life so far, I’ve followed many Big Dreams: living overseas, moving multiple times across the US, co-founding a startup software company, working in theater and independent film, co-founding a production company, becoming a mom, designing multi-platform IPs, becoming competent at photography and photo editing, founding a paper goods startup, selling at art/craft shows, oh, and exploring/executing permaculture solutions and designing organic gardens.
On one hand, I’m very proud of myself. On the other, I have felt exhausted, demoralized, and fed up at times. Big dreams can feel inspiring… and heavy.
Can you relate?
That’s why I’ve always turned to gardening to ground myself. Out in the dirt and the weather, with the bugs and the critters, I am reminded of simple pleasures: popping cherry tomatoes into my mouth, the vibrancy of intense fuschia-colored peonies and Oriental poppies blooming together, the smell of lilacs, fresh mulch, and roses.
As a gardener, one is never “finished,” right? I mean, I’ve had a plan that I’ve executed (and, it took me 7-8 years to afford it all), yes. But, season to season, I’m still met with a new wrinkle, problem, or inspiration. In the garden, plants mature and crowd out others. Trees grow taller, extending roots and shade. The last five years, especially, the weather has had its own tantrums with polar vortexes, dry Winters, extra soggy Springs, and “heat dome” effects in Summers. Plants have died.
I find this aspect of gardening like Life Dreams. Some folks are motivated by a singular dream; I admire that. Consider theirs to be like minimalistic garden designs with clean lines and a focused palette. Me, I dream in Technicolor, multi-function, large swathes of space. And, then I wake up one day and discover a new corner I didn’t see before. And, the next day, another one.
Gardening has taught me that plants die. Due to poor siting, ignorance, weather, foot traffic, weather weirdness, or simply, their life cycle. My experience is I’ve had dreams die, too. Long-held dreams and aspirations and Herculean efforts to bring them to fruition that just never took off, or they puttered into oblivion. And, I mourned them. And, I fretted about Purpose, and Identity, and Self Worth. And, I’ve learned, it’s all okay. You can compost them.
Dreams, like Nature, are regenerative. I’ve learned that by accepting when a dream dies, accepting that fallow space in myself, forgiving any mistakes or missteps along the way, that I then have room again for something new when it comes along. And, sometimes that something new takes seemingly forever to appear, but it does.
So, I encourage you, acknowledge and keep acting on your dreams, too. Our lives are our gardens.

Lorie Marsh 1/6/26 Lorie Marsh 1/6/26

Enter Stillness

In this moment’s noise of the world, Lord give me the capacity for appreciating the stillness of Winter.

Macro image in black and white of ice on a branch by Lorie Marsh — Image Copyright Lorie Marsh 2024

I felt the urge to start blogging again, because so much is happening in the world. I want to take moments to check in, note my experiences, and document them.

In no order, here’s a list of shit that’s happened in the last two+ months:

ICE have been terrorizing non-white people in our cities.

Palestine and Sudan continue to be genocided.

Health care subsidies have been torpedoed, and millions of people are going to lose their insurance.

Artificial Intelligence is the Flavor of the Decade among the Tech Bros and Investment Class. It’s showing up everywhere, and it’s causing major electrical and water usage issues.

And, the Federal government continues on its spree of corruption and dismantling our democracy.

I had a significant birthday.

It’s hard to embrace stillness. Especially in the face of a cultural/media environment that oscillates between stoking outrage for eyeballs and trying to actually, truthfully inform people of what’s going on. I read something the other day about how our news media is now ‘atomized.’ You can find any “news” to support any version of the world you want to exist. It’s exhausting living in such a reality, because nobody can easily agree on what’s true and what’s not.

I’ve realized in the last 6 months especially, that it pisses me off to observe people being duped. I’ll witness folks flocking to this argument or that one, to this system or that one, to this spiritual tradition or that one, this ‘truth teller’ or that one, and so on. I believe that most of us want to feel assured we’re on the right track, and that our lives have meaning. But, so many folks look for that meaning outside of themselves. They’ll dive in full-force to whatever mission/message/group they bond with, and after they get down the road a ways, they realize they got misled. Or, they don’t. Which is sad to me.

I don’t know why these patterns stick out to me, or why they bother me. I’d like my mind to stop going there. I also recognize that it’s not my job to de-dupe anybody.

It’s the dead of Winter now. Holidays are passed. Snow is on the ground. I seek the quiet. I need it. I’m awakening in the wee hours of the morning, my thoughts rolling like a convoy of trucks down the highway. That’s after it’s taken me hours to actually settle down enough to sleep. I tell my mind, ‘Be quiet now. Go to sleep.’ Another truck joins the drive. And, another one. Damn.

Then I remember to contemplate the quiet of this winter season. I focus on the specificity and beauty of ice formations. I wonder at their beauty and the tiny period of time they’ll exist. I remind myself that it’s not my job to fix the whole world. I remind myself that humanity has endured thousands of years of fucking idiotic choices.

I want my life to be about Love In Action. Choosing kindness. Choosing gratitude. Choosing to be still and trusting that my soul is just having a sometimes-bumpy human existence.

“Experience is the hardest kind of teacher. It gives you the test first and the lesson afterward.”

— Oscar Wilde

I think the lesson I’m learning is that stillness, the pause, resting while in the in-between phase are powerful necessities to embrace in the face of so much turmoil, drama, and noise.

I wish you stillness, comfort, strength, and clarity going into 2026!

Lorie Marsh 11/2/25 Lorie Marsh 11/2/25

Taking A Stand In The Face Of A Deluge

Feelings about the No Kings protest in Minneapolis, MN. on October 18, 2025.

Somewhere around 100,000 of us showed up at the October 18th, 2025 NO KINGS rally in Minneapolis, MN. The vibe I felt was chill, serious, and determined, with a healthy dollop of intentional ridiculousness in the form of folks in inflatable costumes and those with clever signage. I felt relief to see so many others who value democracy, due process, civil rights, and recognize our government’s corruption by the billionaire class. When one stays on top of current events, day by day, week by week, the corruption and destruction of our democracy is gobsmacking (see professor and historian, Heather Cox Richardson, for weekly recaps). It felt good to take action to say, ‘we see you, and we don’t support what’s being done with our tax dollars.’