The birthday giveaway winner is…but first… locavorey!

Hello to the new subscribers. Thank you so much for joining us! I truly enjoy putting together this mini-publication of our ranch life. I guess it is kind of like a public journal?

I feel so fortunate to live where we do like we do.

I got a new-to-me bike for my birthday and we have “Clancy’s Chariot” hooked to it: a bike trailer that was passed on to me from my childhood. Clancy, Monty, and I took it for a midmorning adventure to access a small creek-sized irrigation ditch.

The water is already low for this time of year but I waded into my calves(a better water year would have the water to my thighs at least). I plopped Monty in a couple of times before carrying Clancy in to dip his toes.

The day before yielded wet thunderstorms after nearly triple-digit heat. Clancy preferred to scratch at the dampened dirt “ditch rider road”, operating a massive excavator in his wonderland.

Along this road are a few massive ponderosa pines. It feels like we travel to a different world in this 30-yard stretch of land. High desert pretends to meet mountain foothill country.

This subtle change feels stark and refreshing.

Much like how a visitor may feel when they wander down our lane, into our free-range, wholesome life.

I reflected on what our UPS man must think when rolling into our garden to find Clancy dirt-smudged and half-naked cultivating imaginary crops with trusty tractor in hand and me at work, overseeing the crop-planting and embroidering with my work basket at my feet(multitasking like a true woman).

Clancy had some serious business(if you catch my drift) to take care of whilst on our bike outing. He let me know that he wanted to pop a squat as I had just done (to pee). Off went his pants and diaper, shoes and socks, and out popped something else.

I forded the ditch to harvest 8-10 inch flannel-soft mullein leaves I’d spotted on arrival. Bringing a couple back with me I explained to Clancy that it was anti-inflammatory for acute infections of the lungs when burned and the smoke inhaled. (I later looked up that it was very safe to take as a tea for respiratory health.)

…And that it also made excellent toilet paper for wiping bums!

He was really delighted by this. We folded up a spare leaf and tucked it in his shirt pocket, which actually came in handy later in the day!

I couldn’t help but think about how wild and rangy our daily, normal life was compared to most family’s camping trip experiences.

As we explored more I saw noxious knapweed rearing its ugly head and I thought it was a real shame that the bike and chariot were not equipped with a trowel to dig it up, improving our native ecosystem with some proper stewardship.

I’ve been feeling guilty and disappointed that I haven't found local strawberries to harvest so that I can process them away to be pulled out of our theoretical larder to be enjoyed over Cordelia toast on a cold, dark winter day. That I missed rhubarb season and dandelion peak season. Harvests have just begun and already seem to be passing me by, yet again.

I then realized I missed the opportunity to harvest a medicinal herb to dry! (We went back later and I harvested the most select-looking mullein leaves.)

Living at Big Rock and living from Big Rock are two different things. A locavore mentality was once mandatory, taking no extra thought… and now it is (very arguably) a hobby for the quaint. But just because we (again, arguably) can choose to eat however we so desire… does that mean we really should?

I will highly recommend Barbara Kingsolver’s non-fiction book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A year of food life, to the conscious consumer wannabe(I say lovingly as I refer to myself as well, this being an adventure and process). Her family commits a year to reasonable locavore-y.

What is a locavore? Locavore is a North American term to describe “a person whose diet consists only or principally of locally grown or produced food.”

They aren’t 100% pure/strict, but they are 100% realistic, and their venture has helped inspire me to embrace not only living a rural life(not that I needed much help) but building ourselves up from our rural terra firma. It confirms in me that it is both noble and worthy work for our health, our earth, and even our souls. Nourishment, connection, and fulfillment.

I already wanted to preserve surplus veggie and fruit crops before reading this journey; taking advantage of abundance to fill my plate during times when non-domestic foods take over my plate.

I envision myself a cavewoman, gathering for leaner days. (I’ll now refer you to Jean M. Auel’s Earth Children Series.) Or drying and fermenting foods like an American pioneer.

I’ll try to remain gentle with myself as I become enlightened to using Big Rock flora, learn new skills like canning, and attempt to stow away summer goods for our first larder. All the while sharing with YOU and continually fighting the urge to swim upstream rather than enjoy the slow flow of life from and of Big Rock. It all can be so overwhelming but I continually remind myself that it is progress over perfection and I don’t aim to ever be perfect!

It is all the little actions that make the most impact. Buying local honey, growing lettuce in flower pots, investing in a freezer, and buying local meat ‘off the hoof’. These are radical, empowering actions to take to support health and the local community.

To see a plate and know the food. To say thank you to the animal by name, to have harvested the green beans, to have talked to the baker of the sourdough loaf. That fills me up.

Thank you to our local birds who have been buying bags of greens and dozens of eggs! We will be buying our chicken feed in June from money earned on the Ranch!

LOCALS please mark your calendars for FRIDAY JUNE 19th 10am. We will be harvesting noxious thistle and managing horeshound in our pastures. Please join us with sturdy footware and thick gloves(a long sleeve and pants recommended). You will be rewarded with your choice of Big Rock goods! Lamb, beef, greens, and eggs will be available in thanks for your help. We will also have a lunch at noon.

May was a BIG birthday month and while I have been chipping away at blog posts, I haven’t managed to finish any! Instead, enjoy this peek into my latest GF sourdough experiments…

Cordelia went big for a Gluten-free Sourdough Chocolate Cake on Clancy’s birthday!

A John Deere tractor and manure spreader adorned his spirulina-dyed buttercream frosting pasture, spreading chocolate chip compost. Of course!

DRUMROLL…

The winner of my FIRST giveaway is…

CLARA HANSON!

We’ll chat and design an embroidered tea towel special for YOU!

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As luck would have it, I have a sweet photo of Clara with a fresh goat kid(Sunny) from 2018! Thank you for subscribing, reading the newsletter, and being a supportive friend in the flesh too, Clara!