It is amazing how quickly time passes here. Although, I know there is that old saying time flies when you are having fun, I guess I am having all the fun then!
Today, we have been in our new place for exactly a week, and what a week it has been! On top of trying to get settled, there's been a bunch of mini emergencies to take care of here, so we have been hitting it hard.
Also, as we are in the PNW, time is ticking til winter gets here again, so I have had normal homesteading things to do, like harvesting berries (all of which decided to get ripe right as I got here), noxious weed species that were carelessly introduced by the last ranch manager (GRRR) to get mowed down in order to mitigate the spread, and a literal ton of equipment to maintenance and repair due to the aforementioned creatures.
However, out of this came my new job title, I have now been assigned the title Restoration Consultant. My situation here is very unique, I am not really a ranch manager so to speak, nor am I a free-grazing friend, instead I am a person who has come into a struggling system, identified it's pain points, and am attempting to bring balance and healing to this place. In other words, restoration.
I like my new title.
Also, you wouldn't believe what we've got done in one week's time. The ranch owners are in awe, they keep talking about it, and they seem so much more relaxed than they were when we arrived. The more we learn about the previous occupants and what went on here over the last two years opens my eyes as to why. I had an inkling there were difficulties just from observing them and the place when I visited, and yep, my inkling was right. What's really blown my mind is how they have put their complete faith and control over the operation and care of this place completely in our care already. Both the hubs and I feel honored, but honestly we aren't working any harder than we would for anyone else or on our own homestead, there was just a huge amount of advantage taking occurring here.
So, the restoration will continue.
What's super exciting though is all the life around here!
The ranch lake has one of the 72 pairs of common loons in Montana, and they have not one but two chicks! I love my little loon friends, they glide over by the house every morning and frolic a bit. They are precious to me already!
I picked the first of a very soon to be large harvest of raspberries this morning and popped them into the freezer. The owner has always wanted to freeze dry them, but hasn't got a chance, I will soon have so much ready for them to enjoy! (Okay, I get to enjoy them too, and even ate a couple as I picked, they are soooooo good!)
The ranch owner also ordered ten pounds of assorted seed garlic, so I will be soon getting that bed ready so it will be good to go later this season for planting. I also plan on renovating the neglected garden space and seeding some fall crops here this next week. We are quite a ways from any sort of store, so having fresh produce will be a boon!
The other day while I was out with the hubs removing a long flat tire off of a piece of equipment, I spied a massive field of huckleberries underneath a mountainside of larch. I went back with the owners, who were amused that I was perfectly content to perch on the back rack of their giant ATV, and showed them what huckleberries looked like in the wild because no one had ever bothered to do that. We started picking but were drenched in a sudden thunderstorm, although we didn't leave until we both had a cup to enjoy. The sourdough huckleberry muffins I made the following morning made my baker's soul elated and the hub's tummy joyful!
Today, I whipped up some chocolate chip pecan cookies to feed the hubs, the owners, and a kid they got working here with us. Everyone has dropped by my kitchen and left with a smile on their faces, funny that.
One of the greatest things that is happening to me here as I go about restoring the ranch to its former glory is that I am already being restored too. For the last three years, and the last quarter of this year especially, I have lived in a state of mania. My nervous system was cooked, and it was only because the sun's out I haven't crashed into a pile of autoimmune-sickness goo. Even though I am busy here, I am in such a state of peace already, I can't quite describe how I feel, just lighter. Many, many people drew from me in my old life, and I also have raised, and help raise a lot of kids. Both the hubs and I are so incredibly grateful for this gift, and will continue to treat it as such.
