Revel in the Glory of What You Have Accomplished.
The Reverse Oregon Trail. . .
Unloading the Goats for the Last Time. . . after 3000 miles. (Don’t worry they got some rest in Colorado and Missouri.)
It took us years, it took us miles
Some tears, a million smiles
But we made it!
Our journey began in the Western Sierras, but now we find ourselves deep in the Western Appalachians. Anyone who has followed our story knows that I used to be some computer dweeb stuck in a pod working for the Dystopia Valley of the Silicons.
We have come a long way.
At some point years ago I began to read... and I began to realize how ignorant Technology had made me. Especially us silly engineers but really all of us. We are be-dazzled by technologies shining baubles and trinkets. In exchange for it we have traded in our dopamine-loving souls. Some of us have begun to see the rouse, I hope. The last few years should have opened up some eyes. WIDE OPEN. some sad few still remain with eyes thinly peering through covered slits.
The people with such big heads who still surround us think they know it all wielding their tiny keyboard power from their Ivory Towers, only finding out a little too late, this is not what builds a fruitful life of fulfillment. Tik-Tok, Snapshat & Twitter XXX; with their dopamine inducing shorts leave you feeling deeply empty inside. Fulfillment is only something which can be found WAY-OUT in a field somewhere; while seeing a fresh born Spring fawn raise up its head and stretch out its legs for the first time. The anticipation of watching it squirm & struggle to suckle from its Momma Doe in the glistening sun lit dew for the first time. Firsts are deeply important. Without that first quench of natural raw milk this new life would yet pass away. Then sitting upon your perch and watching your ancient Akbash pup run over and lap up the newborns afterbirth with delight. A Great horned owl watching this show from above your precious heads, its own head adorned with HoneySuckle vines. It nods in appreciation too.
As you might know, it feels like forever ago now, I met this awesome girl from the land of the Peaches and Cream and we began to build a farm. A Goat Ranch to call our own deep in the Sierras nestled near Yosemite and its Glorious Mountains. We had two boys and began to grow our farm and ourselves. We had 120 goats near our peak, over 200 births and 30 or so puppies in our 5 years on that farm. All working as one unit. One righteous herd. It tried us and it humbled us, but we kept at it. Our compost pile was amazing in the end. Our tears lined its bottoms. Our happiness and veggies sprung forth from its riches.
We realized we needed more land & then search began...
We took the best of our flock and loaded them and us into a trailer last Spring and we headed East. The Reverse Oregon Trail Exodus out of the West.
We passed through 11 states on our way, a little over 20% of this Country we call Home. We spent some time in Colorado. We rode the Durango-Silverton Railway. We caught Trout. We spent some time on a pastoral farm in Missouri. They taught us how to bale hay. How a diverse set of stock can help avoid some diseases in your fields. We prayed with them on Sunday. Rural Missouri is a wholesome place.
We saw busy people trying to make a dime out of a nickel. We saw farmers trying to tame a field with a sickle. We saw people who could not get out of their own way trying to busy their mind, and we saw people thriving out in the fields and pastures trying to comfort their souls in kind. We saw young men helping bring in the hay after a long day of work. We continued on to Almost Heaven, West Virginia. Where we are typing up this dispatch from.
We made it. Our Goats made it. We are all happy. We have proven to be a resilient bunch us thirty-three. We had many close calls and bear some scars to prove it on our wounded knees. I am sure our fifth wheel and our horse trailer have some more stories to tell than I can do justice with my own written word. Now we find ourselves having to learn even more.
Learning to help heal a 1910 farmhouse and its outbuildings.
The previous owner tried the best he could. His 28 year old self should be proud of what he accomplished but alas, his problems with his female counterpart proved much harder for him to tame than this old farmhouse should. If I had a time machine I would tell him, you have to build a firm foundation under your feet first. I wish I could have told my youthful self the same. We are the third owners since 1910 and we will try to do the original centenarian owners proud by our accomplishments in the fields instead. The neighbors tell us old Granny Hazel and Romeo and their little boy Tiny lived their heart out for over 100 years at this old homestead before time and tide wait for no man or woman.
Keep learning friends.
Where Can You Find It?
You never know where you may find your Almost Heaven. Just past those muddy waters for sure.
Up by that old Church on the Hill. The towering ancient Citadels that mark the weathered paths near its shores. Up past the old creek you will find it. Out past where no Cell signal can endure.
That's the story of my life. Sorry, try again.
I'm gettin too old to try again once more.
That leaves one last dollar. You have to play to win.
You’ll find it out on that brighter shore. . .
Just remember folks, A Soul Can’t Rest In Peace Beside a Four Lane…