musings on "Eat, Pray, Love"

After so many people raving about this book and specifically thinking it would appeal to me (as a wanderer, I have to assume) I finally read it. It was a quick, easy read and was certainly amusing at some points. I believe this book embodies why so many women in this country spend countless hours of their lives in yoga studios. We as the maternal keepers of our culture are trying to find any kind of spiritual lifeline to hold onto amidst a sea of doubts, emotional repression, and various naysayers. Here Elizabeth actually dared, as a result of her life being in seemingly utter shambles, to bring her yoga-life outside of the safe walls of a Manhattan studio. She does a lot of interesting things but it's just very hard for me to view them at all as 'adventurous' or daring seeing as she never has to worry about financial or emotional bankruptcy. It really wasn't until Bali that I could relate, or really empathize, with her at all. Go figure, it wasn't until she took an unplanned leap based off no solid or reliable evidence that the best opportunities presented themselves to her. That is something I had the pleasure of learning years back when I started my wandering. And she didn't find love, it found her when she engrossed herself in a selflessly loving act  (i.e. getting her friend a house).
So while I don't think I'll be reading any more by this author, I guess its nice to know that people seem to value the idea of self-exploration in the form of 'exotic' travel even if most of them can't or won't actually find the time for themselves. Ever wonder what would happen if you took the $14 you could spend on a book like this and bought a stranger lunch to hear their life story?

For anybody who wonders what the heck I'm doing out here in the woods

Life here isn't so different. You know, get up, start a fire, check the rain meter and go mushroom hunting. Well, maybe a bit different. Nothing comes for free out here but money isn't the price. You, or someone, have to work to stay warm, source and cook food, or even just have social interactions. Hot indoor showers are the reward for good fire tending skills. Warmth comes directly from combustion and electricity from the sun. 

The day to day tasks include mostly wood chopping and stacking as well as trying to stay on top of the cobwebs . The garden and orchard could always use a little attention but this time of year its pretty easy. 

Excitement comes sporadically, normally when nature gets the upper hand, weather or wildlife. Such as when we had to liberate a sizable redtail hawk from an enclosed part of the garden. Some times Marvin, the dog, looses against a skunk and we have to rub him down with all manner of products in an effort to de-musk him. The ravens also love to mess with you and the rodents don't quit. 

Oh the mice! For the first few weeks the mice were partying it up every night in the kitchen area. Seeing as I was sleeping feet away from said party; I took this issue personally. So with Art's approval, I made a few calls and picked up a couple barn cats from a lady in the dollar store parking lot. Now you have to understand these are not cute, sweet pet store cats. These are semi-feral, live outside, and kill for fun cats. Since our feline additions there has been significantly less rodent activity. Let's hope this isn't a coincidence. 

Art and Amy both keep quite busy with paid work as well as ranch jobs. Marvin demands walks and playtime, serving as mandatory mental breaks throughout the day. And those walks around almost 80 acres of land hold new surprises every time, new mushrooms, freshly downed redwood limbs, fluctuations in the river flow, or even an animal or two. 

Social interaction also varies, like the weather. Some weeks I might be here with just Marvin but some weekends we might hava a full house of visitors. Eventually the M.A.S.H. tent will be re-homes in a better place and all decked out. It will be the first 'guest house' of sorts here. With visitors from "the city" comes fresh conversation, new food and booze, and sometimes kids and dogs. The neighbors that I've met so far are all plentiful with personality and charm. There's Carol the sweet, kind, honest, pistol pack'n grandma down the road, the family of hippies I sometimes work for, and then there's the Big Stump boys. Suffice it to say, you know its a party over there when you smell coors light, gunpowder, and chainsaw fumes wafting down the valley. While they get a little rowdy, they mean well. 

But most days its mellow; eat, sleep, keep the woodroom and fridge stocked, and keep the dog happy. I'm about to finish my second book this month! I can't remember when I did that last, maybe back in college but voluntarily. 

As the days pass here my ranching kills are exercised as well as my ability to really be with myself and in the moment. 80 acres of lush redwood rainforest is a great setting to get to know yourself better. Nothing comes for free and personality sprouts from challenges and experience. Those are two things that pop up like mushrooms here. 

ranch life

So the next few months I've decided to slow it down a bit and opt for saving over fast-paced job juggling. A few months ago I discovered a distant family member who lives out in the redwoods a few hours North of San Francisco. Upon weighing my options for the winter months, it made more sense to opt out of busy, expensive, stressful urban life for a while to try and figure a few things out. Like many suburban-raised offspring, the hectic, stressful, and demanding lifestyle doesn't seem all too odd. Its the times when I am forced to stop and listen and look critically at myself and my place in this world when it all seems to fall apart. This means I need to work on that skill and what better setting to do that than a quiet ridge full of good food, physical labor, and stimulating company.

At this point I've been here for just going on two weeks and I'm starting to get into "valley time". There's not much danger except when the alcohol and firearms mix, and luckily that doesn't happen here. The biggest problem is the dog getting skunked every once in a while. The woods are full of mushrooms to be found, poked, prodded, and sometimes even grilled up for dinner! The birds are constant and plentiful from ducks, herons, jay, ravens, and tons of little song birds. Once the sun goes down its time to chop some wood, turn off electronics and open a good book. The fire heats pretty much everything and the only entertainment is what you can provide yourselves.