good folks of langlois

sometimes one wonderful host leads me to another. on the 15th i departed after lunch from lynda's and made my way by bike to the home of some friends of hers in langlois, a small town on the 101. this was only a 35 mile ride or so and i had a tail wind much of the way. soon after i started out i noticed i might have a slow leak in my read wheel's tube. i had a spare tube to put in and i'd patch the hole later at my host's.

i arrived just before dinner. the meal included mutton burger (sans bun) from one of their sheep, cucumber, green beans, and zuchini fresh from the garden. she also told me she had a little pork from a pig they raised, but i did not have that pleasure. once again i was blessed to find myself hosted by kindred spirits.

donna showed me the pasture where the ramney sheep are, then showed me around her garden. there are fruit and nut trees and well-established herbs such as a 6' tall, 6' diameter pair of rosemary plants. she says they may be producing about 70% of their food at home! she has grown grain and dry beans, including oats, farro, and rye, which i got to grind on an old, handcranked mill for porridge! haven't had fresh-ground porridge since i left home, so this was quite a treat. and it was grown right there at the house where i cooked it up in the morning, which adds to the value for me. i decided to give them a packet of the bullwhip kelp i dried and brought along to give as gifts.
donna also saves her own seed and allows some special plants, such as a hopi tobacco, to seed themselves in a volunteer patch. she is fertilizing mostly with horse manure, along with the compost they produce from yard and food waste.
during my stay i dug the two rows of garlic with her and helped her eat some of the strawberries and blackberries. i made a nice pan of sauteed greens and zuchini for lunch.

donna has other self-sufficiency skills too. she had two spinning wheels set up in the living room. she had sacks of her sheep's wool dyed, carded and ready for sale. in her bathroom was a big jar of blocks of soap she had made. and she meditates. this is one radical lady, doing what she can to provide all she needs herself. she's done well in approaching subsistence.
her husband is a computer security specialist, but has gotten pretty good at this farming thing too. it's an unlikely combination that i kind of dig. he showed me great kindness in our brief interactions.