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
Autumn Updates
After a stint in the city, we are back in the Similkameen Valley.
We are back to the stillness, back to the trail rides, back to the rooster crows, back to the big burns. Boy does it feel good to be back!
Our new home is being delivered later next week and we can't wait! It will still take a few weeks for the crew to put it together, but we are all going to breathe a big sigh of relief when she is sitting pretty on the foundation.
What I've learned about building a home, is that it takes a village. The community involved in putting this home together has been amazing. Bryson's mom Margot has been an absolute superhuman organizing everyone from the foundation contractors, septic tank delivery, septic tank installation, insulation contractors, electricians, plumbing, post-pounding, gravel and sand delivery. The list goes on.
We've hauled, sand, soil, and rock to help create a more secure earth for the large trucks to drive over, and Margot and I have been working the posts, wire, and rails to create a safe yard for Ruby and our future flock of hens. With Bryson's help yesterday, we were able to finish installing 600ft of wire around the posts and about half of the rails. We live on a large acreage, but next to a busier road now, so we wanted to ensure that Ruby had a safe place to roam when she isn't being supervised.
Once our home is ready and we begin to unpack, I'll be settling my studio up in the guest room for the winter. When the snow begins to melt, I'm going to tackle the rest of the Airstream renovation and move my studio in piece by piece. The next steps for the Airstream renos are to sand and rivet the inner panels back into place, to lay out and adhere all the vinyl flooring, and to find myself a small wood burner to keep the space nice and cozy during the cold nights where I can't seem to put my tools down. I can already see myself sawing and soldering by fire and headlamp.
I should also let you know that all but two of our hens have died. Both our red girls died mysteriously of some illness a few months back. Luckily whatever killed them did not spread to the rest of Margot's flock, and they both died peacefully in the night. Our two remaining Columbian Rocks have fallen madly in love with Rusty the big red rooster, and we feel badly about moving them away from their new flock since they've settled so nicely. Because of this, we've decided we are going to start fresh with our new flock, and hand pick our new pullets in the Spring. I can't wait to get some Easter Eggers, Polish hens, and Plymouth Rocks!
Things are coming together my friends. I can't wait to share more with you as time goes on. I've decided I'll be having a big holiday sale in my shop sometime in the near future to help clear old inventory before our official move-in. More on that later!
I hope you are all doing well and keeping warm as the nights grow colder. We are off to watch two beautiful people get married tomorrow! It is going to be a night to remember!
Sending all my love,
Chloe
Up And Up
For Thanksgiving weekend this year, we decided to meet some friends for a night of camping in a nearby provincial park, and take on a 22km hike up into the high alpine the following morning.
We spent our night huddled around a beautifully hot fire, with cans of warm soup and cans of ice-cold beer. After hours of stargazing, and storytelling, we set up our tents and huddled up into our sleeping bags for the night.
It was tremendously cold!!
After hours of tossing and turning, rubbing our palms together, and adding layers and layers of wool and nylon to our cold bodies, Bryson and I finally fell asleep for a total of 3.5 hours.
We woke up bleary-eyed to the sound of Whiskey Jacks on our tent, and the roar of our friend Amanda's very much appreciated propane fire pit.
We huddled up once more, ate our oats, sipped hot tea out of our tin cups, and prepped some snacks and sandwiches to fuel our bodies later on.
After a few hours of talking, packing, and funny aerobics to wake us up, we were off down the road to the base of the trail.
We lightened our packs to the best of our abilities and threw on as many layers as we could carry.
As we climbed the switchbacks we could see the beginning of winter on distant peaks, and soon we were surrounded by the warm mustardy hues of the famous larches.
Oh, the larches!! A truly holy sight.
I so wish I could keep their glow in a box to revisit when I need a bit of light. A reminder of this wild place.
We climbed up and up into the cold air. The wind was loud and at times bone-chilling as we made our final ascent to the peak. Slick patches of ice and snow, every second stone unseated, adding a little uneasiness to every step.
This all making the peak just that much sweeter.
Eyes stinging, throats twinged, noses raw, and hands without feeling.
We smiled as we attempted to peel the eggs that our friend Justin had boiled for us as a summit treat.
We were here!
A New Day
First of all, let me express my heartfelt gratitude to those of you who have come to read this post.
Your support after my fairly long hiatus on this platform means the world to me.
The past 4 months have been a time of sadness, defeat, rebirth, and incredible growth for me.
As many of you know, we moved out of our beautiful home in the Cariboo at the beginning of June. It was a very hard goodbye. Many tears were shed, and I felt a true ache in my bones as we drove down the dirt road away from the comfort of our little log home in the wilderness.
We moved all of our things to where our new home is being built in the Similkameen Valley and then hopped over to my mother's new home on acreage in the Okanagan, where we planned to spend the summer.
Bryson was working about 2 hours away in another city every other week, and I spent my days market hopping with my wears and spending time with my sister and her family.
I met some truly incredible people while spending my days vending at farmer's markets. I learned so much about what steps I wanted to take to advance Clove & Hound, and I gained a real love for the amazing community who showed up each and every day to support each other.
We spent the cooler evenings tending to my mother's garden and the hot days bathing in the cool lake water and catching up with friends. The garden was in full bloom and was still producing when we left only a few days ago. We were drowning in zucchini, tomatoes, potatoes, sunflowers, lavender, cabbages, dahlias, beans, onions, garlic, and cantaloupe the entire summer. My sister is a canning queen and filled the pantry with countless jellies, pickles, ferments, sauces, and relishes. We ate well.
If you follow my YouTube channel, you might know that Trout disappeared two weeks into our Okanagan stay.
I began frantically posting his image on the internet, paying for online ads, stapling flyers to the post boxes and bulletin boards in the area, scouring the property day and night, talking to every neighbour who answered their door, and after weeks of trying to find him, Ruby came face to face with a coyote in the backyard. After a few bays, the coyote continued on its way and in that moment I knew that Trout was gone and that the coyote was coming back for another meal.
The wildfires had displaced so much wildlife in our province and it was terrifying watching the flames grow day after day across the lake. Bryson was working day and night helping communities evacuate, we watched as friends lost their land and homes, and towns we had once loved visiting burn to the ground within minutes. This, with the reality of never seeing Trout again, brought on a true world of hurt.
I fell into a depression.
It is a strange thing to share your grief with others, especially online, but what I have come to realize is that although grief is so deeply personal, it is also deeply known by everyone.
The knowledge of loving so fully knowing that someday, you may have to let go, even when you least expect it.
Mother nature is sunrises, wildflowers, and freshly hatched chicks, but she is also forest fires, a hungry coyote, a ruthless old hag.
After a month of seemingly endless sadness, I started researching therapists. I found a wonderful counsellor my age, and within 30 minutes of my first appointment, I felt an unbelievable sense of relief.
Slowly but surely, I started to find joy in the little things again. I rediscovered value in my work and felt excited to sit at my bench and create every day. I started designing stickers, crafting bolo ties, picking up my paintbrushes, and even began to work on my Airstream project and film the whole process. More on that later! I also decided to take the plunge and completely re-do my website. This included moving my shop from Etsy over to my own platform.
A week ago we moved over to the Similkameen Valley where we are awaiting the arrival of our new home which should be here in early November. The idea of a home being built in a warehouse is still a very new concept to me but I'm diggin' it.
It is tremendously beautiful here this time of year, and this weekend we will be heading out on a 22km hike with friends up into the golden larch-covered and snow-dusted peaks of high alpine. I promise to share that experience with you.
Sometimes this blog feels so one-sided and I wish I could have you all over for tea and cook you a farm-fresh feast and listen to all of your stories.
Maybe we can do that someday.
I'm going to sign off now and go split some wood to fill our shed for the upcoming winter.
Thank you so much for bearing with me and taking the time to lift me up day after day. For being nice people.
I couldn’t do this without you. You amaze me. Thank you for being you.
Tomorrow is a new day, grief gets easier, and there is always someone out there who will listen.
Let's talk soon.
