embraced at trout gulch

i had a wonderful visit at trout gulch farm.

i got a little tour from my hostess cole when we arrived in the late afternoon yesterday. she even took me down to take a look at the neglected three-acre plot where they want to establish the farm. i could feel the potential there. it used to be an apple orchard. we hung out in the outdoor kitchen before dinner. sean fed us delightful and smokey slices of seared lamb heart he cooked over the fire! i shared slices of a wonderful sweet pepper i had been given from the alan chadwick garden. i prepared a miso soup and sauteed greens (leek, onion, fennel, romanesco, brussels sprouts, and nettle). cole made radical refried beans and fatty rice. after dinner i kept warm by the little fire pit, meditating and then doing some wood carving on the mini-mask project i have carried with me from orcas.

i slept in a treehouse that was tall enough to stand in and just long and wide enough to sleep in comfortably. books line some walls(clever insulation idea!). i read an old national geographic article about micro chips before falling asleep around eleven i think. i felt really cozy with a mason jar of hot water in the foot of my sleeping bag.

it was a beautiful day starting with a beautiful morning. when the goats were moved from their night time pen to the daytime paddock i jumped up to join the herd. i saw that they could use fresh brush to munch and asked jeremy if i could get some. he showed me where i could cut some oak branches for them. this was a comforting chore as i used to do this all the time for our goats at wild's edge. i also harvested some trailing blackberry for these fine goats later.

the family who owns the land requested volunteers for a work party to pour concrete into the cinder block forms that are becoming the walls of a new room below their current house. this room will be for their youngest son. i was happy to have the chance to help, to give back. the position i took in the party was as the one to pour the concrete into the forms, overseen by a most vigilant man experienced with this kind of work. i enjoyed talking with him. he is writing a book about psychology as it relates to biophelia. i think that is basically accurate. anyway he had some interesting thoughts and appreciated where i was coming from.

i didn't get to meet the main farmer fellow there, but met many of the other members of this loving and hard-working community and was very impressed. it was very tempting to stay, but i felt ready to head on and left feeling elated.

tonight i am staying with some very pleasant 'warmshowers' hosts in seaside. the ride here was taxing and i rode the last twenty miles or so after dark. almost the shortest day of the year! tomorrow i'll hit the big sur coast. we'll see what happens there.