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.
A couple years ago we discovered wild blackberry plants growing in our back pasture. This year, the harvest was not very large due to the drought. However, it has me thinking, maybe this is the one fruit plant I can actually grow without killing it? When we first moved to Florida a couple years ago, I invested several hundred dollars into trees like a mango tree and a peach tree and an avocado tree. Later I bought a pear tree and a nectarine tree. Sadly, none of them are still alive. I am now hesitant to invest even one dollar into more fruit bearing plants until I figure out why I continue killing them. Anyway, the wild blackberries have inspired me to try that as they seem to be growing here with no care whatsoever. What do you think? Any suggestions on what to try?
Don’t forget to head over to Green Pasture for the fermented cod liver/butter oil blend - one of the best nutritional investments I’ve made for my own health. Full of vitamins, minerals and omega 3s to support ...
This was one of my “rest” days last week. I had to unload 4 bales of hay each weighing 100lbs. Then 6 bags of feed weighing 50lbs. At 44-years old, I love soaking up some natural light while building strength and hope to be doing it many decades from now. I think city folk call this “functional fitness”.
Keep your muscles and bones happy with the fermented cod liver/butter oil I’ve been taking for 15 years to support full body health with omega 3s and more. Go to Green Pasture and use promo code “ALISON” at checkout for 10% off. https://greenpasture.org/
Honest question: did any of y’all know training a dairy cow to be milked can be really hard? I had NO CLUE what I was getting myself into with this one! I truly thought you could just walk up to any cow and they just let you milk them. What a journey this has been. If I charged for my labor per hour what I used to make in TV news, I’d be rolling in milk money by now.
I believe one day we will be milking Maisy. For now, I’m planning to stay the course, slow and steady. Until the day we get our first gallon, I’ll be getting my butter oil from the fermented cod liver blend at Green Pasture! I just went to the dentist yesterday and got a clear check up. No cavities. Hallelujah! Use promo code “ALISON” at check out for 10% off. https://greenpasture.org/
1st the hunting ban, next the 2A ban.
Radical Initiative to Ban Hunting and Fishing in Oregon Is One Step Closer to Making the Ballot | Outdoor Life
https://www.outdoorlife.com/conservation/initiative-petition-28-oregon-surpasses-signature-threshold/
