Bone Dry Ridge

Selma and Markthor, making tea.

This past weekend I had the great pleasure of visiting a lovely farm in my area.  Bone Dry Ridge focuses on raising livestock, with an emphasis on sustainable land use and husbandry practices.  Selma and Markthor, the owners and operators of the farm, raise a medium sized flock of Icelandic sheep, and a handful of pigs and Highland cows along with a flock of 50 chickens and several hives of bees. They have an elaborate water catchment system, which comes in handy in the late summer when the water on the land dries up.  I was completely charmed by Selma and Markthor, their passion for what they do, and by their animals and land.  When you meet people who are living their dream, you can't help but feel inspired and uplifted.

Good Dog, Kata: Photo by Nash

After touring the farm, Selma invited us in for tea, and proudly produced a jar of her homemade yogurt.  I probably don't need to say that it was the best yogurt that I have ever eaten!  Selma perfected the recipe over many months of experimenting with different strains of starter.  She would bring the end product to her neighbors with a survey until she eventually came up with a recipe that was the most liked by everybody.  Now she is hard at work on a business plan that would allow her to have her own creamery.  I'm so excited to be her first customer!

And the cherry on the cake was that I have recently been loaned a fancy digital SLR camera, which I used on this trip.  I'm pretty excited with the expanded photographic possibilities! And I would be remiss if I didn't thank Nash, my talented artisitc companion on this trip, who helped me with the elaborate menu system and some of the finer points that particular camera.  Thank-You Nash!

New Work

I'm crossing over a little bit to talk about the new work that I'm doing in my other business, Mercy Me Designs.  I'm so excited to introduce these new little cycle caps.  We're making them out of wool for adults and children alike.  You can see more information in my blog post over here about them.

A Brighter Shade of Blue

My Dearest Reader,

It has been nearly three months since last I wrote.  I won't lie, I've been having a hard time.  I often thought of coming to my blogs to write about my experience, but I felt so dark and so wobbly, that I thought it would be scary for anyone else to look at.  Inside myself, I knew I wouldn't leap off of the beckoning precipice, but you might not know that, and so I kept quiet. 

Looking back at it now, I would call these past few months a soulful time, but in the thick of it, it just felt hard.  Bronwyn's birthday came and went, and the weeks bookending the date were as painful as anything I can think of.   This pain is just something that I need to experience and integrate into my life now, and I cannot believe that I'm saying this but it does get easier. 

Finally, I am breathing deeply again.  The world feels less viscous to me now; I feel like I can move more easily, more lightly.  In the midst of this, what I will euphamistically call "hard time," I was comforted by friends and relations, by little notes of concern from you, and by spending long hours in my studio; sometimes creating, sometimes thinking, and sometimes just doing nothing.  I'm so grateful for all of that time and loving care. 

One emotional turning point for me came just a few weeks ago, when my Husband and I took a camping trip to my all time favorite beach in the Deception pass area.  I spent a long time sitting on a bluff watching birds soar, waves crash, and kelp sway in the swirling water below me.  I let the wind go through me, felt the rocks below me, and the vastness of space moving around me.  I was a speck, and it gave me perspective. 

I know that as much as I experience sorrow and emptiness from the physical loss of Bronwyn, spiritually she is with me more now than ever before.  She is that seed inside of me that encourages me to shine, to take care of myself, to have compassion for others, and to be fully present in the world.  Love doesn't die in the absence of one's beloved, which has been such an important discovery for me.  I will love Bronwyn until the day I die, and hopefully I can let that love continue to grow and come through me and everything I do.  Now that I'm starting to understand this concept, more things seem possible.  My mind is swirling with new possibilities and new hope.  I wonder what will happen next?