Gratitude.

by reallykindofamazing

Chay, Suuri, Beaker, and Kelly

We walked up to the farmhouse in the cool November climate. The air was crisp and clean, the ground – soft and wet.  We were greeted at the door of the log cabin by a new, yet familiar face. Chay welcomed us inside and introduced us to his friend Beaker perched on his shoulder. The home was dark and cozy. Warmed from a single wood burning stove in the corner of the living room. After our introductions and reminiscing about the mutual friend that connected us we sat at the table and talked of our trip; where we’d been and where we were going. Chay brought out the well worn world atlas and we shared stories of our travels. An hour passed before we were told it was time to bring in the goats. They were grazing in a field across the street and needed to get back before dark. Carla and I embraced the idea of acting as temporary farm hands and jumped at the opportunity to help. We would later pull vegetables from the garden for homemade stew and milk the goat for cheese and lattes. During our stay Chay and Kelly described their life on the farm and the long list of experiments that got them from dependency to the nearly self-sustainable life they now lead. In fact, they’re producing so much now that they’ve entered a Northwest co-op that utilizes an alternate form of currency, called the Life Dollar. We learned so much from them and were reminded that happiness can come in so many different forms. We still can’t help but think their formula of “doing it our own way” is quite possibly the best we’ve heard.

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