This week I have begun to peel off my hermit shell and reach out to the amazing plethora of awesome people I have access to in my life. Particularly, there is a family I want to share with you all, the Whitmores for those of you that know them. Somehow I am deeply comfortable and have so much love for every single one of them, which is saying something since there are what, 8 of them? I've lost track. Anyways, yesterday I walked around with Father Whitmore, deep in conversation about farming, family, business, and my personal hero, Joel Salatin, who is a deep advocate of the prior. As we walked he showed me scrap materials from his business that he could set aside for me, including a ridiculous little woodchuck that popped up amongst some fence posts. What a blessing... That evening I went over to the house to look at fruit trees, berry bushes, and do some weeding with one of their sons, one of my absolute best friends from highschool. I learned to lacto-ferment beets straight from the garden with Momma Whitmore and then was cooked a superb garden-supplemented meal from another of their sons, who for reference just accepted a job teaching gardening, nutrition, and cooking for an elementary school in Oregon.
This is just a sliver of the people here that I get to love.
Earth Momma: Upstate New York is a gorgeous place. Hills that dip and swing, roads up and down to reveal series of big lakes, open stretches of farmland, and wooded hillsides. The drive from my place in Dryden into Ithaca is along this backroad highway that at one point opens up to overlook Cayuga Lake, one of the famous Finger Lakes, with the city of Ithaca smattered on the hillside in the background. It is one of the most breath-taking views I've seen in my wise-many years... haha, but seriously its worth coming out here for that view alone (and then to come visit me, of course).
Waters: There are more skipping stones in one creek here than in all the rivers combined from Washington. Flat, smooth, slate-colored stones destined to sail across the smoothly-tiered creeks and rivers that run all over this water-loving landscape. Enough said.
Trees: I've been working with wood a lot this week, mostly designing and building a compost toilet to replace the flush one we have in our downstairs bathroom. For those of you who've never used one, and I'm not talking a pit toilet or a fancy boat-toilet, don't knock it till you try it. If it helps, the only reason my Mom is open to it is that she was forced into using one when she came to visit me in WA, and realized it's actually a very pleasant experience. Now that we are going to be eating food off of our own land, it's especially important that we complete the cycle of those nutrients back onto this land and not just flush them away into the septic system where they then get deposited who knows where. No shocking splash of cold water as your poo hits the bowl, just a sweet aroma of wood chips and a clean conscious.
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| Cleaning out the barn: one of the many cleaning projects to get ready for an efficient, productive farm experience. |
Plants: The blackcap raspberries are coming out our ears now and every meal is supplemented with kale in some form and a side of snap peas. This weekend I'm getting a visit from one of my best college friends and plant nerd experts that I know, which mind you is probably a lot more than the average American. I'm so excited to walk this land and learn MORE species to eat, make medicine from, and increase my general ecological understanding of this paradisiacal place I'm living.
Birds: Saw my first predatory bird the other day while sprawled out on my back soaking up the hot sun rays after a playful swim in the pool. I was deep in conversation with another highschool friend about life, Spirit, prayer (you know, surface level stuff), and I probably startled him a bit as I shouted and pointed up at the sky. Wayyyy up high, circling smoothly, was some sort of Buteo hawk--most likely a red tail. Thank you universe for answering my desire. So... now I want to see a cooper's hawk or an eagle, please. (-:
Animals: I got my first tick-bite. Found the little bugger on the inside of my left ankle. I pulled it off and taped it up on a piece of paper with the date, time, and location found and then titled the paper "Universal Reminders." Haha, perhaps that joke only makes sense to me, but honestly the tick has become one of my greatest allies. Getting lyme disease and spending the last 8 months under extreme lifestyle reconstruction and heavy antibiotic treatment has given me more gifts than I could explain on this blog. Ticks are now my reminder to be grateful for my health, to treat my body with love and respect, and look at and acknowledge my emotions from an outside perspective. Thank you ticks. Thank you lyme disease.
Sky/weather: Well the universe is giving me an easy transition from the Washington dampness. It's been raining here and cloudy pretty consistently, and living in a tent has created a bed of damp comforters and sheets--the only blanket that still feels warm to the touch is my trusty wool and rabbit-fur throw. Come on sun! What chu got??
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| "Be more, need less." |
Body: Can a person wear overalls too much?
Inner tracking: Still in love with this life. Cried again yesterday on the ride home from the Whitmore's at the sheer beauty and connectedness of the life I'm living. Sometimes though, I wish I had someone to bask in it with. I mean, yes, I have my parents and my friends, and they are happy to see me so happy... but some nights I really look forward to the day I'm ready to open my heart up again and share the absurd amount of love and joy that is spewing from the cracks of my being. All in good time... I'm happy that this is a journey I'm starting on my own... as my own lover. It feels really good to love myself this deeply and honestly. Thank you for letting me share that openly with you all. It takes an army of support to believe that so fully.
Much love,
Estelle
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