New Year
Happy new year wonderful people!
Wow, where do I begin?
After moving, building, fencing, planning, painting, finishing, and latching for the better part of a year, WE ARE HOME!
If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you may know that we have officially moved into our new house! I cannot begin to describe what a blessing it is to have our own space again.
It was fun being somewhat nomadic for 6 months, but boy does it feel good to stop living out of a suitcase.
Day by day we've been chipping away, unpacking, arranging, and everything is finding its place. It has been really special reconnecting with each item as I pull them out of their dark cold boxes.
I have to admit there have been a few tears shed on my part when finding clumps of Trout's hair on blankets, or his old chewed-up toys. When we put up our Christmas tree, we made sure to place his favourite ornaments where he used to be able to reach them.
I've really taken a liking to this new landscape we live in. To the herds of elk, the whiskey jacks, the blue jays, the ponderosa pines, the soft ridges of the rolling valleys. It is all starting to feel like home now.
Now that we are mostly unpacked, I feel as though I have emerged from a hibernation of sorts.
Reinvigorated and hungry for life!
My temporary studio is set up in the guest bedroom until I complete the Airstream in the spring, and the silver and stones are calling my name. I've already been fiddling with some designs for this year and I can't wait to share them with you!
Until then, I have a big sale happening in my shop starting tomorrow at 6 pm PST!
I hope you pop by!
We are back to heating our home with wood and honestly, there is nothing better. I have missed our early mornings huddled up on Ruby's dog bed taking in all the heat from a freshly lit fire.
We still haven't hung up any curtains in our new home and I am loving it. Waking up to the bright light of day, and watching the sun set and cast rainbows through the teardrop crystals we've hung in every window feels so magical.
Our new kitchen is incredibly spacious and I can't even contain my excitement about canning season!!!
I'm already dreaming of our future garden. I hope it is bursting at the seams with crops of garlic, tomatoes, cabbage, herbs, mustard seeds, the list goes on. And OH the flowers I will grow!
I am very excited to start a new flock of chickens, and back in November, I was lucky enough to meet someone down the road who has agreed to let me watch them process their honey. As you may know, I have been wanting to learn how to take care of bees for a long time so this is very exciting!
There is another rancher down the road who breeds milk goats and livestock guardian dogs. I was able to swing up to their property for a visit last month, and the puppies were the most beautiful and loyal creatures I have ever met. Although only 70 days old, they knew their purpose from birth and followed the goats and horses like clockwork. After milking a goat, trying the milk, and then having a spoonful of freshly cultured goat yogurt, I can't stop thinking about getting us some Nubian crossed with Alpines.
There is so much to learn about animal husbandry and I feel as though I have just skimmed the surface.
There is so much beauty and difficulty with the lifestyle. One important lesson I have learned over the past 3.5 years of us living with livestock, is that if you want the rancher lifestyle, you have to learn how and when to ease the suffering of your animals by granting them death. I don't think it gets easier, and I dread having to do it myself, but after watching it, I truly understand the necessity and the bravery it takes.
To learn that there is life and death on a ranch is a blessing. I wouldn't want to live any other way.
Work hard, sleep deep, and I'll see you tomorrow for the sale.
All my love,
Chloe
