RFD 206 Summer 2026 1 Number 206Number 206 Summer 2026 Summer 2026 $11.95$11.95 NatureNature2RFD 206 Summer 2026 Issue 207 / Fall 2026 CRISIS Submission Deadline: August 15, 2026 www.rfdmag.org/upload In our current political climate, racism and xenophobia is joining hands with homophobia and fear mongering over issues of gender and the transgender community. With immigration raids, closing family planning clinics, cuts to education and all things “diverse” as well as attacks on the gay and transgen- der communities we face a multitude of challenges. How to thrive and survive as well as how to create coalitions with like minded folk on how to react to the divisiveness with calm and resolve but also using our creative visions to make use of the difficulty to shape our lives for ourselves. With an emphasis on how people of color, women, and the gay and trans communties can create loving change while combating fear, blame and trying to force us back into closets, or to the back of the line, we’re asking our read- ers to consider ways to resisting all of the ugliness. Many people will have stories and art to share about how they’ve reacted to the crisis in civility in our world especially as we’re seeing a rise in military and police actions around the planet to oppress or subjugate a community or culture. RFD 206 Summer 2026 1 Regenerative Fauna Demimonde Vol 52 No 4 #206 Summer 2026 Between the Lines Welcome summer readers! This issue is packed with wonderful imagery and words speaking of the elements—earth, water, air, and fire along with the passing passions that Nature draws out of ourselves. Also are several lovely poems about birds. So much flight, uplift. We’re so thankful for the artwork and photos that grace this issue. This issue also marks several passages close to the RFD community. Allan Troxler was one of the early founders of RFD and his passing feels like the turn of the wheel so many of us were unwilling to yield to. Our longtime bookkeeper and treasurer, Gabby Haze, also passed recently and his generous support as RFD moved north to New England will be forever remembered. Lastly, one of RFD’s contributors, Richard Price’s photos often graced our pages and we’re so thankful that his book about Faerie life in Upstate New York is a lasting gift. We hope everyone is enjoying their summertime. We’ve been adjusting to a new printer, our layout person’s recovery from a broken arm and so we ap- preciate your patience as we pull this issue together for you, now thankfully in your hands! from a blustery afternoon in New England filled with the smell of tomato plants —RFD Collective2RFD 206 Summer 2026 RFD is a reader-written journal for gay people which focuses on country living and encourages alternative lifestyles. We foster community building and networking, explore the diverse expres- sions of our sexuality, care for the environment, Radical Faerie conscious- ness, and nature-centered spirituality, and share experiences of our lives. RFD is produced by volunteers. We welcome your participation. The business and general production are coordinated by a collective. Features and entire issues are prepared by different groups in vari- ous places. RFD (ISSN# 0149-709X) is published quarterly for $25 a year by RFD Press, PMB 329, 351 Pleasant St., Ste B, Northampton, MA 01060-3998. Postmaster: Send address changes to RFD Press, PMB 329, 351 Pleasant St., Ste B, Northampton, MA 01060-3998. Non-profit tax exempt #62-1723644, a function of RFD Press, Inc., with office of registration at 231 Ten Penny Rd., Woodbury, TN 37190. RFD Cover Price: $11.95. A regular subscription is the least expensive way to receive RFD four times a year. First class mailed is- sues will be forwarded. Others will not. Send address changes to submissions@ rfdmag.org or to our Northampton, MA address. Copyright © RFD Press, Inc. The records required by Title 18 U.S.D. Section 2257 and associated with respect to this magazine (and all graphic material associated therewith on which this label appears) are kept by the custodian of records at the fol- lowing location: RFD Press, 85 N Main St, Ste 200, White River Junction, VT 05001. Production Managing Editor: Bambi Gauthier Production Editor: Matt Bucy Submission Deadlines Fall–August 15, 2026 Winter–November 15, 2026 See inside covers for themes and specifics. For online issues, advertising, subscriptions, back orders and other information visit www.rfdmag.org. Visual Contributors Inside this Issue Artwork not directly associated with an article. Front Cover "Loutre, Uffita & Coco" by Miscanthus. Back Cover "Lavender Mycelium Dancing Up Mushrooms" by Jim Jackson. bracken hollow ...........2, Inside Back Cover Pit3000 ..................................4 Keith Gemerek and Jamie Leo ...............5 Spoons ...................................5 Barbara Matthews ........................7 Denison Beach .........................8, 13 Oscar Zamora Graves ....................15 Jan Ziegler ..............................16 Kirk Read ...............................19 Chris Moody. ............................24 Milo Pyne ............................27, 60 Miscanthus. ................Cover, 30, 31, 44, Brooks Davis (Venus). ..............35, 40, 54 Vojislav Radovanović aka Mr.VoiceLove. .43, 47 Lichen / Gary Smith. .....................49 Dudgrick Bevins. .........................52 Paul Johnson. ............................57 "untitled" by bracken hollow. A ritual circle from my Ostara celebration in the Fairy Woods, Hathersage!. RFD 206 Summer 2026 3 CONTENTS More Gatherings ...............................................................5 The Yuba River (July 1977) .................Ed of All Peoples ......................6 An Offering To The Fire ...................Luna .................................9 Wild Horses ............................. Jaime Rodríguez .....................14 Plein Air .................................Callen S. Sor .........................17 Reflections on Nature .....................Tsuga ...............................21 About Nature ............................JN.exe ...............................25 A tree, split in two ........................Justin Rietmann ......................26 Willow Springs ...........................Michael Buitron ......................28 Conversation Piece .......................David Derbin Nolta ...................32 Elephant Walk ...........................David Milley .........................33 The Forest Calls: The Evolution Of A Rot Garden .........Jim Jackson ..........................36 brant ....................................luke kurtis ...........................39 Permission ...............................C.N. Halden .........................41 A Summer Night, A Stranger ..............Leo Racicot ..........................45 Bird .....................................Donald Hua ..........................46 Darkling .................................Duncan Hilton .......................48 Fireflies .................................Terry Chase ..........................51 Washing the Wind ........................Dudgrick R. W. Bevins ................52 Want ....................................Mikey Jones ..........................53 In the Thistle Grass .......................Nonbeaunary ........................55 meadowlove .............................Twinkle Loris ........................56 Richard W. Price (1939-2025) ..............Shimmer ............................58 Allan Troxler (1947-2025) .................Mab Segrest .........................62 Gabby Haze (1940-2026) ..................Scribble .............................634RFD 206 Summer 2026 Top: "FloralSurf white"; Bottom: "WoodSurf" Both by Pit3000. RFD 206 Summer 2026 5 For decades, Radical Faerie and Stonewall Veteran Donald Gallagher has given freely of his creative talents to support and uplift the community, fight for social justice, and feed our spiritual souls. Now medi- cal debt has imperiled his security and his home. After a lifetime of donating to our communities through queer visibility, activism and the arts, Donald is now in serious danger of losing his home and pos- sessions. We need to help him. The next few months will be critical in setting up sustainable arrangements for Donald. He desperately needs your help now. Whether you’ve known Donald through his paint- ing the ceiling of the Short Mountain Pavillion, his musical activism with the Stop Shopping Choir, or his charitable work with the Sisters of Perpetual Indul- gence now is the time to rally and support Donald through our GoFundMe Campaign. Please give as much as you comfortably can. Give here: https://tinyurl.com/support-faerie Help Donald Gallagher Secure Sustainable Housing Faerie Camp Destiny, Grafton VT www.faeriecampdestiny.org May 22-25 Welcome Home Gathering July 3-6 Kink Gatherette July 17-19 Song & Salve Gatherette [Family Gatherette] July 24-Aug 2 Lammas Gathering Sept 4-7 Relational Training Gatherette Oct 9-12 Fall Foliage Gathering Kawashaway, MN – www.kawashaway.org Aug 7-9 Lammas Blue Heron Farm, DeKalb Junction, NY – thompsbs@tds.net Aug 31–Sept 7-46th Annual Blue Heron Faerie Gathering More Gatherings Please note: We can’t collect every single gather- ing event alone, so please submit your gathering events via our website: www.rfdmag.org/submit- event.html. We generally publish our gathering guide once a year in our spring issue but we’re happy to add gathering events to our calendar which folks can find here - www.rfdmag.org/ calendar.php. Other listings are often found on - www.radfae.org Thanks as always to the com- munities who list their gathering info online in an easily accessible way. Top: "Donald Gallagher" photo montage by Keith Gemerek and Jamie Leo. Below: Daniel and Monte work on a building at Faerie Camp Destiny. Photo by Spoons.6RFD 206 Summer 2026 It was dark as we drove across the San Francisco Bay Bridge, and the sun rose as we sped through Sacramento ninety minutes later. John’s wife, Linda, needed to pee, so we pulled off 80 and she crouched behind an abandoned fruit stand. “Another hour to go,” John said, lighting a joint. We got back in the car, left the valley, and drove higher into the Sierras. One thousand feet, two thousand, three, four; the trees thinned and the granite emerged. At five thousand feet we left the highway, bounced down a dirt road, and crossed a bridge. John stopped the car. “There it is,” he whispered. Linda was asleep in the back seat. “The Yuba,” he said. We rolled down the windows. It was early June and the air was cool and I could see snow on the surrounding peaks and hear the white water rush- ing by. John lit another joint and described seeing the river for the first time years ago and how happy he was to be back again. He handed me the doobie and drove forward until the road disappeared, and then stopped the car, got out, and opened the trunk. He put on his backpack, handed Linda and I a gallon jug of wa- ter, and we were off, following him along a narrow path that dropped down between the trees. Linda wanted a cigarette, but John kept walking, and I felt lightheaded, which he said was elevation. When the trail disappeared, John kept going, leading us across rocks and between boulders. When the sound of rushing water got really loud, he dropped his pack and looked back at us. “We’re here!” he yelled. I could barely hear him over the river’s roar. He pulled a piece of aluminum foil out of his pocket and held it in the palm of his hand. “This,” he announced, “is the cleanest orange sunshine LSD in San Francisco.” He carefully unfolded the packet until three little squares appeared, each one imprinted with a The Yuba River (July 1977) by Ed of All Peoples Early photo of Ed of all Peoples at the Yuba river. Photo courtesy author. RFD 206 Summer 2026 7 smiling sun. “Have a great trip,” he said, giving Linda and I each a tab. “And don’t get too close to the water.” He put a smiling sun in Linda’s mouth and she did the same for him, and they wandered off holding hands. I sat on a rock in the bright sunshine and let the small piece of paper melt on my tongue. I’d never been in mountains like this before. I’d grown up in Florida and recently moved to San Francisco from New York City, where I’d never ventured out of Manhattan, mostly because I thought ev- erything a young gay man needed was right there in Greenwich Village. But now here I was, in the High Sier- ras, blinding granite rocks all around me, a river roaring nearby, dark woods in the distance. I felt exposed and anxious and wanted a cigarette. I got up to look for them. A tightness in my chest made it hard to breathe and I felt unsteady as I moved across the rocks, trying to find my way back to where we’d left our water. I got thirsty and worried about being safe way out there in the mountains, where a gay man could easily be in danger. I needed to get out of the sun, and headed for three giant pine trees, which looked like a cathedral in the distance, but they got further and further away the more I walked. When the river appeared on my right I knelt down in the sand and put my hands in it. John said to be careful of the water, but it was so beautifully clear and cold, and I scooped up handfuls and covered my head with it. I felt an urge to run and then remembered the smiling sun which had melted in my mouth. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to be. I untied my shoes and sat, contemplating the sock in my hand, wondering who’d made it, and then took off my clothes and knelt by the side of the Yuba and stared at the bright red, green and blue lights rippling by. I heard something beyond the sound of the river, but when I looked there was only water and stones and trees and sand, all of which felt sacred now. I stared into the Yuba and saw my reflection break into pieces. My eyes and nose and mouth were moving up and down and I heard it again, beyond the river, the sound of voices calling out. A warning. I picked up a piece of bark and brought it to my lips. “Don’t be afraid,” I whispered, throwing it in the water, watching it speed away. The sound of something coming continued, something that could hurt me, and I picked up small pieces of wood and spoke into each one before putting them into the rushing Yuba where they disappeared. “Don’t be afraid,” I whispered, over and over. “Don’t be afraid!” * * * Note: Four years later the first AIDS cases were reported and my world and the world of countless others was thrown into chaos, horror and death. Through it all, however, I was able to return to the Yuba River, over and over and over, and found solace and comfort there. “Don’t be afraid,” be- came my mantra under the starry skies there, and whenever I did become fearful, I put it into the river where it was whisked away. Read more about the Yuba and my life during the early days of the AIDS epidemic at https://substack.com/@edwolf. Yuba River by Barbara Matthews, CC 3.0 License.Next >