A year ago today, my best good buddy Choca died in my arms. Many of you were part of my community here at the time and remember it. It kicked off a year of loss: our dog, our unborn baby, my job. This is why I was convinced Sassy wouldn't make it to 2022. Choca was my hiking partner for many years, and because she never said anything, I came to enjoy silence rather than the adrenaline and distractions of my life off the mountains. I think my career in TV news eventually ended because of that - as the silence allowed me self-relfection, which brought self-awareness, and with it, awareness of the world around me. Choca's death was a violent one in the sense that natural death, I've heard, isn't always how movies depict it. This was the first time I'd ever been there for a last breath and for months after it, I woke up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat and had other unexplained health problems. This may seem an odd reaction, but as a child I accompanied my doctor parents to hospitals and witnessed sickness and dying at a very young age. Avoiding death, while trying to understand it, became a driving motivation for me. Perhaps it is, in part, why I went to seminary and eventually became a reporter. I sought distraction from my own mortality while also seeking to control it through knowledge. A losing combination. In the book he wrote about his wife's death, CS Lewis said, "No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. I am not afraid, but the sensation is like being afraid." That was my experience. And I had no choice but to sit through it. Then to confront it again and again throughout the rest of the year. But as I sat quietly, I realized something. I had believed that if I could unlock the secrets of death and finally come to peace with it- the ultimate question of existence that has eluded philosophers for centuries - I would finally come to know God. Instead, after last year, I now believe that I had gotten it backwards. Instead, it is coming to know God that brings one peace about death (and all other things for that matter). And thus begins a new journey, not of the head but of the heart. I'll end with another quote from a favorite Lewis book, the last lines of Til We Have Faces, “I ended my first book with the words 'no answer.' I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice? Only words, words; to be led out to battle against other words. Long did I hate you, long did I fear you.” Blessings to all of you on your journey. Thank you for being a part of mine.
We moved Peter and Tod to a new pasture and with them, the bachelor pad they call home. Lynn put skis on it so he can pull it behind the tractor.
I was a little nervous when we first set out the shelter for them that Peter wouldn’t let Tod inside but the two share quite well. Someone once told me you can’t put two intact bucks together or they’ll kill each other. Our boys had it out the first day but since then have been the best of friends.
Did you know goats only have teeth on their bottom jaw up front? They have top and bottom molars in the back. I fixed my battle with chronic cavities by taking the fermented cod liver/concentrated butter oil from https://greenpasture.org/ which is packed with vitamins A, D & K along with omega 3s. The butter oil and the fermentation process are what really distinguish this from other fish oils, many of which do nothing. Use promo code “ALISON” at check out for 10% off.
The USDA says it’s protecting you while the CDC reports chronic disease is on the rise and more than 3/4 of Americans have one.
The system is set up for health and transparency to lose, as small farmers are pushed out by big corporations that own our government. Some USDA slaughterhouses kill 500 cows everyday. If the rules were about safety - why are we so sick?
If you’re a consumer who wants healthy food, dump the grocery store and buy direct as much as possible. Websites like EatWild.com are a great place to start. Tag your favorite small producer in the comments with a location and let’s build a movement.
It’s time to end the war on small food.
Our friends at The Wagon farm (who currently have Maisy cow with their bull at Love Camp) gifted us some of their worms to start our own worm farm. We were all very excited about all of the nutritious soil we’d soon have for the garden. That is, until rats decimated our new friends. 😫 I had no idea worms would be so vulnerable to rodents!
We will try again with a more secure container. There is always something trying to eat on this farm - some we like, some not so much.
Good thing I have the energy to start over again many times, which is required on any farm I suppose. We take the fermented cod liver/concentrated butter oil blend from Green Pasture, which is packed with omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins A, D, & K. Ditch the cheap fish oil that does nothing. Use promo code “ALISON” at checkout for 10% off. https://greenpasture.org/
This is why politicians love data centers, the money. They get more and decide how to use it. All the problems from data centers are your burden. They get the money, you get the hassles. And the only people who will see any of the money. Are people working for them, that they feel deserve it.
The teachers getting $50,000 bonuses thanks to a massive Meta data center
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-teachers-getting-50000-bonuses-thanks-to-a-massive-meta-data-center/ar-AA25qvQd
