I have always been a goal-setter and a go-getter, but unfortunately, I am not a planner. I've never been much for researching in-depth before I just jump in and try something. Such as the time I refinished a desk I found free on the side of the road by just grabbing a piece of sandpaper and grinding away (later to realize an orbital sander would have completed the job in a tenth of the time). Or when my husband and I snagged a dismantled chicken coop from someone on the internet last year, and decided to swing by the local Urban Farm Store on our way home to see what they had, returning with three chicks, some feed, and a heat lamp in hopes we could pull off chicken-raising in the backyard of our small southeast-Portland, Oregon rental. I tend to follow my heart and find that I prefer to research and solve problems as they come at me, rather than trying to foresee and forestall life's ups and downs in advance.
All that being said, what my heart has been longing for (if you couldn't tell a bit by that chicken info) in the last several years is to become closer to the land I live on. To produce more of the food I eat, to find my body lovingly exhausted after a day's hard work building, tending, making something that will sustain me and my family. Right now, my family is just me, my husband, our rescued shelter dog Murray (a black lab, black chow chow mix), three heritage-breed hens Polly, Lily, and Adobe, and a fish tank full of tiny, colorful, fascinating freshwater pescados. Don't worry, no plans for them to be on the dinner table soon! Someday, being able to quit my day job in an office, stuck at a computer all day would be lovely, but I'll stick with the goal of exploring what a sustainable, creative life might mean for me right now, without huge changes.
My first step is to journal about my dreams, to put the words out there so they are no longer musings, but tangible goals. Step one-point-five is to build/find a community of folks who have similar dreams, enjoy similar work, and can encourage, mentor, or challenge me with their knowledge and experience. One of my biggest dreams is to start a small farm, complete with a herd of sheep. I am an avid knitter, and I want to learn to process wool from the shearing to the shawl. Just yesterday, I visited a fair of community supported agriculture (CSA) farms in and around Portland. One small farm caught my eye with a picture of lambs in a pasture, so I chatted them up about their lambs. They have only had them a year, and still have all the wool from last year's shearing sitting around because it was extra-dirty and full of hay, and they just don't know what to do with it or where to sell it. These farmers kindly offered for me to pay a visit and take some wool home with me. How can I resist? So here is where my journey begins - I will call them up and visit this farm, as well as another friend-of-a-friend who is raising sheep, and see what this wool journey brings. Jumping head-first into a (hopeful) pile of raw and wild wool, I can't even guess what I will learn or how this will change my dreams.
And maybe I'll change my nature by being more in nature, just a little. While on my way home from walking the dog on the Columbia River Slough shoreline today, I dropped into the library and picked up a stack of books I cannot wait to devour. I'll try my hand at research, and share with you here what I learn. Planting the seeds feels perfect right now.
Thank you for reading and joining me on this journey. If you have a similar story, aspirational dreams of farming or shepherding, or just want to share what passions and dreams drive you, I would love to hear. Please comment or shoot me an email and let's build community wherever we find it.
