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I became a Godmother and a land steward in the same month. The roles seem related. I feel very seen, very honored to be entrusted with the responsibilities. Especially because I’m not conventional. I often feel like I don’t fit into this world, but it is finally making space for me. Now I can say for sure that the work works. That every trial and tribulation is necessary. That the universe is intelligent - always watching, listening, mirroring. I’ve never felt so hopeful.

Summer harvest soirée on the homestead. Everything grown from seed. The rancher wasn’t so sure his city grandkids would want to eat chicken so fresh but they were eager to discourse on the killing of sentient beings so I showed them how to honor the sacrifice with copal smoke and by giving thanks to the creator for the most abundant gift of the chicken. Then we ate the heart. Followed by homemade tortillas they rolled out themselves and flipped on the campfire. They went home after desert (garden honeydew melon) and I sat in the bathtub under the stars in awe of this exquisite handmade life, this deep remembering, this opportunity to share, create and celebrate.

Summer harvest soirée on the homestead. Everything grown from seed. The rancher wasn’t so sure his city grandkids would want to eat chicken so fresh but they were eager to discourse on the killing of sentient beings so I showed them how to honor the sacrifice with copal smoke and by giving thanks to the creator for the most abundant gift of the chicken. Then we ate the heart. Followed by homemade tortillas they rolled out themselves and flipped on the campfire. They went home after desert (garden honeydew melon) and I sat in the bathtub under the stars in awe of this exquisite handmade life, this deep remembering, this opportunity to share, create and celebrate.

My youngest brother is an ag/bio engineer at UF and he recently told me that seeds which are bred for select traits reach a genetic pinnacle that can only be maintained for one life cycle, and every subsequent seed they produce will be less fruitful. At first I was surprised to learn there is a cap on evolution, but then I realized it’s just the same with humanity - we’ve reached the point of diminishing return. For all our obsession with progress, we aren’t getting better. I’m not glorifying the old days, or condemning technology, but there has to be a balance, and that nuance still eludes us. We don’t know when to stop. If we play it out, we can see where this insatiable race takes us - to our own destruction. Well that’s pretty fu***ng stupid. Maybe I’m extreme to pull out and go off grid, grow my own food, live plastic free, build my own world out of natural materials, build a tribe of likeminded folk, but it feels so fu***ng right and every single day I laugh and sweat my ass off, swim in the river, sleep like a rock and wake up smiling with the sunrise, so I’m gonna keep going like this with no plan b. I know some of y’all are with me and I salute you!

(dress sewn by me, dyed with local plants & bugs)

The magnitude and altitude of Machu Picchu is mind blowing. I kinda cried the whole time. Maybe I thought it would be overplayed with 10,000 tourists a day, but now I know, you just have to see it for yourself. Gotta download the code firsthand. Like going to Burning Man, or reading Harry Potter, or living in NYC - there’s a reason why so many people do it. Because it’s worth it!

Typical hiking outfit. Of all my excursions I’ve never needed anything from REI. If natural materials were good enough for ancient peoples, they’re good enough for me. (wool locked & loaded in my backpack for when the temp drops.)

Peruvian Pima cotton dress by
Approx 10,000 mile on these boots
Climate beneficial wool socks
Buffalo wool cowboy hat

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Land ho! In one month I move into a tipi and kiss this little cabin goodbye, with a ranch hand residency under my belt and a new frontier on the horizon. I'll be building my permanent homestead, ranch & retreat from the ground up, based on natural building, off-grid systems, permaculture, recreation, education, community, collaboration, manual labor & the magic of circularity!

Onions. So straightforward.

“For the wildish woman, duration is one of her greatest strengths.”
- Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Piola, 14, wearing scraps from the homestead: rattlesnake, deerhide and organic TX cotton dyed with prickly pear & cochineal

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Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to wear polyester 💗

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