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.
Owning livestock is like running a suicide prevention hotline. Almost every day, one of the animals is trying to bring itself to a slow and painful death, or sometimes a quick one. When I came out to put the chickens back in the coop one night recently, I saw that our rooster and a hen had gotten stuck in between the tarp and the coop. I have no idea how long they’d been there. What they were trying to do in privacy, I don’t even want to know. But they could have died from heat exhaustion in this weather.
This is why I avoid Chicken brain by taking the fermented cod liver/concentrated butter oil from Green Pasture. It’s a great food-based source of Omega 3s - and because it is fermented unlike most fish oils, it preserves nutritional value. Not to mention, the concentrated butter oil brings in necessary vitamin K to absorb the vitamin D and vitamin A in the cod liver oil. Get 10% off at checkout with promo code “ALISON”. https://greenpasture.org/
(Also, no Farm Report live ...
If you live in our part of Florida, it is only a matter of time before you drive down the road and spot a gopher tortoise in your way. Will you drive past it, or pull over and move it to a safe location? This question can be a dilemma as touching a gopher tortoise is technically illegal, though I have read that if you are relocating it out of the road, this is allowed. In other circumstances, touching a gopher tortoise can bring a 5-year jail sentence and a $5000 fine.
I keep my gopher tortoise spotting eyes healthy with the fermented cod liver/concentrated butter oil from Green Pasture. It is packed with inflammation reducing omega-3s and vitamin A, which is extremely important for sight. The cod liver oil is fermented to maintain nutritional value compared to fish oils that undergo high heat processing. Get 10% off with promo code “ALISON” at checkout. https://greenpasture.org/
We have only been trailering our horse ourselves for a few years, but typically Lynn is the one at the wheel. The kids had rodeo camp recently - to which they needed to bring Sassy - and Lynn had an unexpected meeting to attend. That left yours truly as the only option for a driver. I have been riding horses since I was 5 years old, but I have never driven a trailer of any kind. I got one quick 10 minute lesson around the neighborhood and then off we went. Thankfully the arena is only five minutes from our house and I was able to take back roads most of the way. Of course, as a 33-year old horse who has traveled to Seattle and back twice, Sassy is a dream horse for a newbie. We made it safely and I feel much more confident now.
I keep my driving eyes healthy with the fermented cod liver/concentrated butter oil from Green Pasture. Vitamin A is great for low light vision and omega 3s are important for retinal health. Get yours at 10% off using “ALISON” as your promo code at check out....
https://open.substack.com/pub/imahealth/p/the-community-doctor-local-food-real?
Real food = real health
