movin’ to the country

i really didn’t think that things could go much more perfectly here than they already have. but i was wrong. seriously, Robert and i were fated to come here- this is exactly where we’re supposed to be and that’s an incredible feeling and realizaton.
(it doesn’t help me miss the rock climbing gym any less, but i realize that some sacrifice is always involved in order to make forward growth)

anyway, where to start? this is another series of syncronicities that just blows my mind. ok, so i told you all how shitty the landlord situation has been. actually, it’s all but gone away and the guy has completely chilled out, but…. something was lost for me in the whole thing. the motivation that i had to be part of a project there- to build things and create things- is completely derailed. and, honestly, i really really don’t like sharing a kitchen or having the kitchen be in a completely seperate building from my living space. food is such an intregal part of my life and i really thrive having culinary projects surround me. at our last apartment in Denver the kitchen was the center of everything and, no matter what i happened to be doing, i would often stop and start baking something, make a pot of soup, infuse some vinegar or vodka, make jam, pickles or ketchup and just generally always be creating. i don’t do that in our current house because it’s just more trouble than it’s worth. and that’s making me depressed. there is also one roommate that drives both of us crazy and well, after a brief 2 month stint at the whole community house thing- we’re bailing.

well, that’s a bit of an overstatement, because we weren’t going to.  we can’t afford to move right now and deal with a security deposit and all that jazz. but in that brief moment when we thought maybe the landlord would evict us, we did start scouting Craigslist for a new place to live. Robert had found a listing for a cottage for rent on a farm out in Pleasant Hill which is where my work is. when things calmed down we just dropped that idea as something that we would pick up again after the winter when we’d saved some money.

but one night Robert went to a potluck with some of our new friends. i was feeling a little under the weather so i stayed home. at this potluck Robert met a young woman who just happened to know that very cottage for rent very very well… because she had lived there for 6 years. the woman renting the cottage is a good friend of hers and, as it turns out, is also a very good old friend of Mazzi, the guy that Robert is working for. enough coincidences? not quite. the woman renting the cottage also happens to, 1. be a master herbalist 2. do a bunch of work and trade with Mountain Rose (my work) and 3. be Sharol Tilgner.

who is Sharol Tilgner? this is from an old Mountain Rose newsletter:
Sharol is “the founder of Wise Acres Farm, the Northwest Herb Fest, Wise Woman Herbals, and The Pacific NW Herbal Symposium, as well as the editor of Herbal Transitions and associate editor of Medical Herbalism. Sharol has been an herbalist for over 20 years, is a licensed naturopathic physician, and is the author of the well-known and loved book “Herbal Medicine From the Heart of the Earth”. In addition, Sharol manages a biodynamic farm which includes a full herbal garden, goats, and much much more!”

holy shit.

so this encompasses everything that we are doing and trying to learn. okay, so red flags started slapping us in the face that maybe, just maybe, even though we have no money to move and we would feel shitty leaving our housemates, particulary Chrystal, who has been so very good to us- maybe we needed to look into this further. so we send Sharol an email and set up a time to come visit the property. it is just as everyone at Mountain Rose told me it would be- beautiful, amazing, fertile, gorgeous, productive- and Sharol has done most of it all by herself. the woman is amazing. the cottage had a few drawbacks (electric stove, no bathtub, etc), but the pros far unweighed the cons. there is an outdoor kitchen, a river on one edge of the property, Sharol grows grapes and berries and makes her own wine and beer just like Robert, there are goats and chickens and a border collie and she offers tenants an entire acre of land to farm. AND it’s only about 4 miles max to my work instead of 15- i could ride my bike to work again!! (which by the way Mountain Rose pays 20 cents a mile for)

this isn’t even the best part. the best part? in exchange for two 7 and 1/2 hour days of work per week~  free rent. that’s right. full trade. and biodynamic farming is what Robert came here to learn in the first place, so it’s…. well, perfect.

so i’m excited beyond belief as Sharol takes us around her amazing land and she tells us at the end of it all that of all the many people that have come to look at the cottage she likes us best. i don’t know what warranted that, what we said to make her like us (because i know i was awkward and nervous and trying not to babble too much about how much i admire her), but once again everything just magically fell into place here. it feels as though there is a divine entity following us around and blessing all we touch.

so Robert is starting work trade with her tomorrow and we’re scheduled to move in on the 15th. we do owe her a chunk of money but she is working with us to make that as easy as possible.

also, Robert has been working really well with Mazzi and they’ve become fast friends. the other day Mazzi offered Robert an acre of land on his farm to do with as he pleases. as Robert began talking about his permaculture ideas to grow grains on a rotation Mazzi said “hmmm. well perhaps you’re just going to need 3 acres then”.

i almost can’t believe it’s all real.

~ by dreamofgreen on November 8, 2009.