Adjustment

I recently read that the art of adapting to your surroundings is true spirituality in motion.  Interesting...

Five days on the farm and we've learned to feed, milk, and care for 72 goats from babies to bustling bucks, as well as make goat milk soap, handle horses, collect and clean cloaca-fresh eggs, and package goat cheese for the farmer's market. We wake up each morning around 6am and work until about 9am, have breakfast then work until Noonish, taking the afternoon off and beginning evening chores at 4:30pm which last until about 7pm. We have dinner together about 8pm, and everyone takes a turn cooking one night a week. Our long days of hard work are fueled with all we can eat yummy food including organic fruits and vegetables, fresh goat milk and yogurt, unique goat cheeses (all made in the farm's dairy), and when we eat meat it's from the farm's very own livestock (no mystery meat!) It's motivational to have full access to all of this amazing food everyday!

The people on the farm are a treat as well. The farm owner's are knowledgeable, nurturing, and hard-working hosts who are passionate about being part of the 2% who feed the 98% in the U.S. (and passionate about increasing this frighteningly small percentage) Our fellow farm worker's are amazing folk to be around too. Everyone is unique, super-friendly, and we all share kindred spirits in having the courage to live the life we truly want. The level of team work is incredible and everyone's motivation and high-energy feeds one another to get everything done without an ounce of drama. The farm has such a peaceful energy to it, and during our down time it feels so good to just hang out.

There are some heavy adjustments that come with our new lifestyle. We get up early, work hard and work a lot!! A bit different from my previous life of sleeping until whenever I want, about 10am, and days filled with a few hours of teaching yoga and other lovely randomness. And as we work our booties off on the farm we're usually surrounded by a lot of animal poop! Goat, horse, dog, chicken and duck. And because the farm is a welfare approved farm, there is a lot of work that goes into cleaning the coops and pastures so that the animals are well-cared for and happy. While the animals are amazing it does take time to learn how to interact with them.  I had a little run-in with a buck in rut yesterday who was way too anxious and excited when I walked in to feed him. Oh, and I'm still adjusting to the sleeping quarters as it's no Ritz Carlton, however we're not sleeping in the chicken coops either, so it's just something I'm choosing to adapt to for now...

Overall, it's been a kind of life-changing experience at the farm. I look forward to feeling  adjusted and grounded which comes a little bit more each day we're here.  We're unsure on how long we'll stay, but not knowing is part of living the dream. And I'll begin teaching yoga at the farm in about a week, which everyone is super stoked about. The owner bought a handful of yoga mats in anticipation of us arriving, and every time I walk past this pile, no matter how tired, hot, or covered in dirt and random mystery stains I am, I can't help but to smile big!

Much Love Ya'll,
~The Yogi