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.
I am sure most of you already knew this, but I was truly shocked to learn that it is very common to eat rooster sperm. Yes, many eggs are fertilized and the way you can tell is by looking next to the yolk. Do you see a white substance that looks almost like a little tail? That is rooster sperm. Extra protein!
I keep my egg-eating chompers healthy by stocking up on the fermented cod liver/concentrated butter oil from Green Pasture. I used to get chronic cavities and this stuff turned all my dental visits to “cavity free” even before I changed my diet to fresh eggs from my own farm. Use promo code “ALISON” at check out for 10% off. https://greenpasture.org/
It’s more like Carla walks us, but she is getting the hang of it! It’s great to live in a neighborhood where you can walk your chicken down the road on a leash and no one says a thing.
Training a chicken to walk on leash requires patience and energy, which comes from solid nutrition and a regular practice of stillness. I have been taking the fermented cod liver/concentrated butter oil from Green Pasture for 15 years. It’s packed with anti-inflammatory brain-fueling omega 3s as well as vitamins A, D & K. Ditch the cheap fish oil and try it out. If you use promo code “ALISON” at check out, you get 10% off. https://greenpasture.org/
We made chèvre with our goat milk for the first time and it was so incredibly easy, I cannot believe I have been buying soft goat cheese for so long. You may remember that our mini Nubian, Sundae, had kids who would not drink off her left teat, so we had to milk it out ourselves. She produced way more milk than they needed even with bottle feeding one of them. We had a surplus of milk that just did not taste right because the first couple weeks, there is still colostrum in it, and it is somewhat bitter. We tried making pancakes with it and pudding, but really needed to use up quite a bit. Our friend suggested making cheese. We went to her house to learn how. We got so much cheese from what was probably a couple gallons of milk, it likely would have cost us over $100 at least to buy it. And it is delicious!
One of the reasons we love fresh goat milk from our goats who are out on pasture all day is the amount of vitamin K2 in it. It is such an important nutrient to help calcium into your...
