yum. my shorts were purple and are now brown from who knows what, and i reek of goat shit. BUT! i know that when i walk out of the kitchen and into the barn i will be greeted with big fluffy wagging tails thumping the ground and the sight of momma goats and baby goats cuddling and nuzzling.
i am currently taking a hiatus from climbing and traveling and working on a goat farm. it has been something that i have wanted to do for quite some time now and was not planning until this winter... but an opportunity i could not pass up came and i snatched it. what do we do here on the farm? well, we wake up and drink coffee of course. it's important to start the day off calm, peaceful, and satiating any addictions we might have. in my case it's coffee. then it's off the feed the pigs, feed the bucks, feed the babies, and feed the preggos and new mommas. finally 8 am rolls around and it's time to do the fun and frustrating task of separating the mommas and the babies so that we can proceed to milk milk milk! the babes are crafty little squirmy things that like to run away from you when you want to catch them but love to nibble on your hair, clothes, skin etc... when you just stand there. so after a few hrs of milking it's time to eat again. we eat a lot on this farm. it's part of staying energized, healthy and happy... and i'm beginning to realize that it is those three things that are vital to sending positive vibes in all directions.
anyways, enough mundane prose describing day to day activities. it's much better to experience interactively :)
everyday i think about how much i learn about myself, others, goats, farming, etc... it can be as simple as discovering the healing powers of pinyon trees or as eye opening as the task of cracking open walnut shells. it is when one must sit patiently to separate the shell from the meat of a walnut that one finds appreciation, at least i did. i wanted to put walnuts in with my dinner, out here stuff doesnt come packaged and ready to eat. if you want walnuts you shell them. if you want tortillas you get out the flour and heat up a pan. if you want eggs you go to the barn and put yourself in a chickens shoe and think: "now if i were a chicken hiding eggs where would i put them?" if you want cabbage or tomatoes you grow them. the list goes on... this fact of life out here also makes you work slower and think a bit more about what you are doing. sitting patiently and quietly shelling walnuts is not only going to provide delicious things to put in your mouth but it provides an opportunity to be meditative. you are forced to sit quietly (or not) and let your mind wander wherever it wishes. that is the beauty of it all. the simplicity kills me at how lovely everything symbiotically works! it's a win win in the most beneficial way!
...and at the end of the day i crawl into bed and i am thankful, happy, contently tired, stinky, and smiling... for my dreams have already become taken over by goats!
