travel organic

organic farmin', hikes, and mountaintops.

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possum kingdom kreamery, north carolina

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Do you have any WWOOFING suggestions for Michigan? If I start WWOOFING I would like to try it near home :D

Ahhh, sorry. I've never wwoofed in Michigan! Only the south + colorado :)

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Barefoot Among Reeds

A lingering voice says somehow I've betrayed myself. I am a woman of wide open spaces. I am a woman of rolling sky and jagged earth and the sun's breath all for me. But I've lived that already. I am a woman on horseback leading a cattle drive wearing nothing but a billowing sundress and five thousand freckles. I am a woman with mud along her cheekbones, barefoot among reeds. I am a woman of the elements --- wincing against snow, a dull knife poised at an animal's neck. I have nostalgia for the sight of first winter's frost, the lingering smell of last season's hay and morning's baked bread, the appreciation of running my fingertips along freshly milled wood. Memories I've never formed in this life come back to me in these moments. They are whispered to me in a gentle wind passing throughout forgotten fields or translated from the gaze of a horse I don't yet fully trust. But something in me has stirred. My heart and chest are a concrete mixer, mashing mountains and aspens and kind humans and familiarity. I want to sift through the rubble and select pieces to keep --- the debris of the settled, the assured, the things that are beautiful. Assumptious thoughts led me to believe people that gravitated towards cities were shallow. They were insecure and petty. They haven't experienced a sunrise over the Rockies or the view from a cliff's edge in Big Sur. I felt sorry for their naiveté. Maybe the soul doesn't always need the grit of the earth or the brambles of forbidden fruit. Maybe we need variations of change. We are ruled by the moon who shifts with the days but we always choose more of the same. Maybe I need new energy, to feel afraid of new things, maybe I need new interactions. I think sometimes we get caught up on the natural word --- chasing sunsets and tall rocks and ferocious waterfalls --- that we forget that humans also satiate. A mountain doesn't argue. She doesn't tell you it loves you. She doesn't move away when she loses purpose. She just is. Sights can take our breath away, but humans can be our sustenance. Vulnerability amongst one another is as beautiful as that river winding through the Rocky Mountains --- the surge of a stranger's eyes can drown you, too. I have a memory not from this life, but from another. For feeling unstoppable arms reaching for thickets and branches and thorns. Grabbing. The hurt, the pinch, the irresistible risk. The reward. The soft, sweet flesh. Juice runs down your chin. Your pupils dilate. You don't call this home but it's home for now. A place to lie down. A place to feel full. Your stomach is soft and round --- a morning sun peeking solely to see what shadows she casts. There is no shame. No gluttony. Just a body seen as what it is, a temporary shell for the sake of transportation. You realize your skin is only useful to keep your insides from escaping. Visions are revealed in the wood's grain. You see your future. This is just a place, this is just temporary. Remember who you were, remember who you wanted to be.

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first travel blog post

Messy and rambling, but describes my mission, my job, and my creative perspective. In the last 3 weeks on my off days I've flown to Austin, Nashville, and NYC. All in the company of friends. Now time to brace travel "alone" and let the universe bring humans to me. :~) www.happyalone.org/blog/first

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Hello! Do you think it's realistic to plan a wwofing trip a month and half before?

Totally! As long as the farm has space. Yup, yup.

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Hey love! I loveee your blog. I will be wwoofing in Colorado hopefully. Do you have any suggestions on farms there?

I worked at Turtle Lake Refuge in Durango! It's not technically a "wwoof" farm, but similar principal. Perfect for learning all about foraging and a vegan lifestyle. The farm is linked to a nonprofit "cafe" that is open a few times a week and serves raw + vegan meals! Awesome place.

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Soooo I work at the airport in grand rapids, mi. I get free standby flights within the US and super cheap international flights. I get hardly any days off but plan on making the most of it. Heavily contemplating making a new travel blog dedicated to solo travel via my free flights. I wanna go everywhere but friends/fam have "lives", so a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

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Me and Captain: A Goat Love Story Set To ACDC. Hehe.

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This is a different anon (hello!) but what did you major in when you were in college, and for how long did you go? I love your blog so much by the way!!! It's my favorite :)

I went for a year and a half. My major changed twice! I was a communications/marketing major and then changed it to environmental biology. After a year and a half sinking into debt and (suprisingly) hating college, I dropped out and found what "environmental biology" truly meant --- not sitting in a musty classroom but rather feet on fertile soil and fingers tugging on goats' teats in North Carolina. It's easy for me to say I've learned more in the past 3 years sans college than I did when I was enrolled. Truly.

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Hey lovely! I'm wanting to start wwoofing in a few months and need some advice! Some posts I see say I should just commit to two weeks on a farm just incase I don't like it but I'm trying to plan for a years worth of farm traveling! So I wanted to stay at each farm for a couple months. And need to make those commitments so I have a for sure place to go (I don't have a car and am going to be traveling by train/bus) How should I go about doing that then? How did you?

First off, that's awesome! If you want to guarantee a great stay you definitely need to communicate to your prospect farms and ask every question you can think of that worries you. Just getting a sense of who they are through their tone/attitude can make a world of difference when it comes to committing to help on their farm for a long stretch of time. As with all things, respect is a two-way street. So absolute worst case scenario if you feel you have to leave, make sure you have a "security fund", and try to see if that next farm has any space due to unforeseen circumstances. As far as wwoofing via bus goes... I've never done it! As long as they're receptive to helping you out with rides, I don't see why not! It is fun to be able to explore on your days off, if that's at all an option. I hope I helped! The takeaway is: communicate!!!

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Will you go back to college? I tried going and it just... wasn't for me, and now I don't know what I'm going to do with my life.

Haaaa, wellll. I'll go back to school if I hit a dead end, know my goal, and need a degree to obtain it. Right now in my life I want more ranching experience, perhaps to work for an organic supplier that works with farm-to-table restaurants / is a wedding venue / bed and breakfast type eco-tourism. I know my heart is in farming and guess what... no one ever said you need a degree to own your own farm. Or own any business for that matter. Huzzah! My advice for you would be to hit up a library... walk around the nonfiction section and see what peaks your interest and listen to it.

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My life in Michigan looks a little like this. Over and out.

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Howdy!

Returned back to Michigan a little over a month ago. I’m currently employed on a farm-to-table food truck as well as beginning employment at the airport. I’m already scouring goodfoodjobs.com for the dream lil farm set up to pursue as soon as possible. Life keeps rollin’.

If anyone has any questions about my recent four farm wwoof-capades, just holla. I returned to one farm I have wwoofed on before two years ago, but added 3 new ones to the mix! 

Going to return to Possum Kingdom Kreamery in South Carolina next kidding season because holy hell, those people + animals are utterly amazing. My soul feels sweeter just reminiscing about it.

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When you expect a hike to be somewhat dry but then end up tromping through a fairly deep river in your Doc Martens and end up at a super bad ass waterfall in Tennessee - whaaaaaaaat!!!

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Freeing the heck out of my nips while leading the milking herd back into the pasture // Possum Kingdom Kreamery

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Getting on with our Eliza Thornberry instincts // @ Magnolia Plantation - Charleston, SC.

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Homer @ Four O'Clock Farm 🐱