Today I turned 40 years old with a bottle of champagne and my family on a summit overlooking the North Cascades. We kicked off the weekend on the Pacific Crest Trail at Harts Pass near Canada. The PCT was the first “big girl” trail I hiked after moving to Seattle in 2013. Spending time in complete silence (for hours) was a first for me. It truly changed my life. When I finally grew comfortable paying attention without immediately reacting, I was really able to listen and see life around me in a way I never had before. If someone asks what really led to the end of my career, it was an internal shift I have a hard time describing but ultimately resembles self-awareness, and it probably began on the PCT. I met several through hikers this weekend who started at the Mexico border and were almost done. I asked what they planned to do after such an accomplishment. “Go home and get back to work,” most said. At first it seems anticlimactic but I remember Trent Peterson, a young man whose story I told years ago, as he rode wild mustangs along the PCT. He used to say that the PCT is just a trail, what matters is that we slow down, pay attention and see clearly whatever path we’re on. I looked up a quote from that report to share with you all.
“This isn't to advocate for the PCT. The PCT is just a trail. Get out of the rat race and slow down. Pay attention to the little things, not just the big things, because it's the whole picture we need to be aware of," he said.
We just sold homemade superfood chocolate at our first farmer's market. Here's a look at what it was like - and what we learned for successful sales!
COD LIVER/BUTTER OIL (Promo code "Alison" for 10% off):
https://www.greenpasture.org/
WINE CLUB:
The call every farmer dreads but knows will come someday: your cows are in the road.
I got a few “cholesterol is bad for you” comments on my coconut oil homemade chocolate, so I figured I’d repost this interview with Dr. Makary. When people get a high cholesterol diagnosis, the doctor often says “stay away from high cholesterol foods like eggs.” This doctor is uniformed due to massive corporate food & pharmaceutical spending. When someone has high cholesterol, it is almost always due to eating processed carbs/sugars and other inflammatory items like processed seed oils or glyphosate. The body’s natural healing response to this inflammation is to produce cholesterol. Stress can also cause this reaction. Dietary cholesterol is almost 0% of that # you get from the lab. Our bodies, especially our brains, need cholesterol. The bad medical advice is how we got a country where 1/3 of the entire population is on statins and almost 50% of men over 75 take the drug. According to a study done by UCLA, patients studied with early mild cognitive impairment taking ...
I used to work for ABC Action News. I read this article about raw milk, now as a farmer who produces and drinks it. I’ll let you share your opinions of the reporting before I share mine. Does anyone have a suggestion for a raw milk doctor interview?
https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/state/its-crestfallen-experts-alarmed-by-raw-milk-illnesses-in-florida
This is a very good read. Despite any appeals made to COVID and the scam called "global warming". Because the fleece is in, by Executive Order.
These Are the Plunderers: How Private Equity Runs—and Wrecks—America by Gretchen Morgenson | Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63068853-these-are-the-plunderers
Ultra-processed foods make up nearly half of US grocery purchases, raising public health concerns
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20250428/Ultra-processed-foods-make-up-nearly-half-of-US-grocery-purchases-raising-public-health-concerns.aspx
