Native Ideals, Arlee, MT

Native Ideals, Arlee, MT

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Thom and Thow ( TnT ) the dynamite couple

Hello all!!!! Logan here from FooteHills Farm.

Once again we arrive at a new farm expecting something completely different. Luckily so far the farms have been better than we imagined. We arrived at FooteHills Farm thinking there were children and the farm would be gigantic. Instead the farm is the smallest we have been to and no children. I chose this farm because Tori practices herbal medicine, and I have things to begin to learn. They are not quite ready to host WWOOFers, but we have Teddy. Tori and I walked the property gathering st. johns wort the first day.. we also gathered yarrow. I had learned about yarrow at our last farm, Native Ideals. Feeling uplifted by my knowledge gain I started spotting a lot of native wild flowers, like blazing star. (Shout out to R&B @ Native Ideals Seed Farm) But now i was going to learn to use it to make an oil. Yarrow is an antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and astringent. It is recommended to treat wounds, bruises, and sprains used as a poultice. Herbs and wild flowers are so amazing. I am only beginning to learn about the basics, but before long I will be growing my own and mixing them in tinctures and salves. TnT has allowed us to their amazing collection of permaculture and herb books. Thom even wrote us a message in his first permaculture book and gave it to us as a good luck i hope you succeed. They allowed us to join them at the Spokane City Council meeting  our second night. We were there to oppose the ordinance on Neonicotinoids. If you have not heard of this epidemic you must do your research... this poison is hurting bees, and if you have not seen The Bee Movie then you need to also do that.  We also had an amazing dinner with some friends of theirs Mike and Cara they offered for us to also stay on their farm to help out and experience more permaculture. They have a food forest we are dying to see. Thom is a pun-ist, I just made that up he is just very punny, killing us with puns. Thom is a hell of a man and Thow is a hell of a woman they are the dynamite couple. It has been a blast. We, as in the Tripod, feel this has been our most educational farm. It makes sense beings TnT are retired teachers, and only a few years ago started their journey into permaculture. I must say they are on their way to a progressive operation. Their minds are fresh with knowledge they want to spread, and they have hit us with it full blast. The Tripod has learned a lot from our past farms also, we showed up and immediately started spitting off plant and weed names we have learned. Thom has given us some pretty challenging list, but we finished them both. We have had a great learning experience, although short, but we must move on to our next adventures; and Jordan Brittany and I are ready to see the Pacific Coast!!!!

                                                                     Thanks for reading,
                                                                     Logan

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Picture Update!

Hey there!

It's Jordan and I just wanted to thank you guys again for checking out our blog and loving us from so far away. We can't wait to see you again (even if we just met on this adventure). WE LOVE YOU!

Here are some pictures from Arlee and our journey across Idaho to Spokane.

Enjoy!

NATIVE IDEALS SEED FARM
Arlee, MT

 These are our amazing hosts from Arlee, Bryce and Rebecca. They are amazing! We truly loved our visit with you guys!

And this is THE cat lady, Logan, with Huey at Native Ideals. 


This is our new favorite game that Bryce and Rebecca introduced us to, Settlers. You should only try it if you're ready to be addicted. Hehe, we even debated making our own for the RV!


Bryce is a creative one -- do you see the ship and waves?
 

This is our first Sam WWOOFer. She was staying with Bryce and Rebecca when we arrived and came back to visit for the Clarkia party. 


This is Sunni and her beautiful memorial garden we helped her with. We laid that walkway and all of the surrounding brick and gravel. IT WAS AWESOME!


We also weeded and set up these boulders around this bed for Sunni and Merrill.
 

This is Rebecca's parents' front flower bed that we completely weeded. We pretty much made a whole new flower bed.


And this is the other Sam WWOOFer we met while at Native Ideals. This is the night we did karaoke at Stockmans', the only bar in Arlee. 


HIAWATHA TRAIL
Montana/Idaho border


Our super cheesy start of the trail picture.


 This is a funny GIF from after we rode through the first tunnel of the Hiawatha. It was 1.7 miles long, pitch black, and 40 degrees! Whoa! But it was so awesome!
 
 




The trail was full of chipmunks (on the rock) and trestles (train bridge in the center of the mountains).

This is the view down from a trestle. It was really awesome to see and learn about where the railroad originated.  

Super ready!


 Our chipmunk buddies loved the crackers we brought!




SPOKANE PARKS
Spokane, WA


Riverfront Park had a really neat GIANT red flyer with a slide!


The Tripod by the Falls. 


Spokane Falls located at Riverfront Park.


Admiring the majesty of the falls.


We also went to Manito Park, which was designed by the same people as Central Park in NY. It was beautifully manicured and had a Japanese garden.



 By the end of our adventure Teddy put some flowers in his hair to celebrate being so close to the coast!



It's been a great adventure so far and we all cannot wait to see what's in store for us next.
We hope you enjoyed the photo journey. We also wish you could be here to see it all in person.

All our best wishes,
The girls.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Adventure to spokane

Oh Fridays how you creep up so fast time to leave another farm. Bryce an Rebecca were a blast from working on the native flowers to showing us the town it was another learning experience under the belt of many. We were also able to meet Sam Thearing of New York who is a great singer check her out on Facebook. We hit up stockman's the only bar in arlee but on a Thursday you can catch a game of shoes with the locals, get great survive from the bar mate Rita, and sing karaoke with guru charla from Oregon.  It was a beautiful last day in arlee we had a farewell dinner with Sunie an Merrill  it was all so delicious we had cheese filled raviolis, fruit salad, veggie burgers, and sausage with bacon an pineapple in them. They have defiantly boosted us with positive vibes for our long journey. They had amazing stories about Their own adventures an cool things they have done in their many years on this earth. Now off to Spokane we head deciding to stop an sleep at the look out pass so early sat morning we can spend the day on the Hiawatha trail longest scenic bike path going from Taft Montana all the way through Idaho it's a 30 mile coarse an man was it beautiful couldn't have asked for a better goodbye to all the great things we've done in these states. After a long day on the trail we continued on our journey but stoping in state line sleeping in the free walmart parking right next to a water well an power how lovely to to have all those things with a bathroom can't bet it we will make it there tom. Sunday here we are Walmart Parkin lot using facilities an grabbing Things we need an on to the next farm the adventure continues an I couldn't be happier. 

Friday, June 20, 2014

See You All Later (Triste Voyage)

We are taking off and I am kind of sad to leave our new friends Rebecca and Bryce. I love the conversations and laughs we have shared: and the way they have welcomed us into their lives. I am not going to go into detail because we will blog about it, but it is a matter of getting used to building relationships just to ride away after a few weeks-- over and over again. In a way this trip is kind of sad, but i can hope someday we are all in the same place again laughing and catching up on good times. We have promised to keep in touch and I believe we will. 

We have created enough memories with all of the amazing friends we have made that we will remember them regularly. We (as in the tripod) have a good amount of time to just sit and reminisce. The memories we have whether they are from the "good ole' days" or last week. they usually leave us laughing. I am grateful for all of my old and new friends-- the memories we share are what makes this easier. You guys can not hide from us we love you too much. For now, all I can say is, we'll see you all later.

Thursday, June 19, 2014

To Do Lists.

One of my favorite things to do is to organize and put things in there place. 

That being said, I love making to-do lists. I like being able to see and cross off the things I need to do. 

I remember making lists when I lived in Lafayette that would take me 3 weeks to finish. THREE WEEKS! Holy cow. Between working, biking, animal sitting, friend-ing, and drinking -- my life was chaotic, to say the least. After getting out of the Rat Race, as they call it, my things to do have gone from too many to barely being able to think of 3 bullets for my lists. It's an absolutely wonderful feeling. 

Now a day in my life should make people jealous. It's so simple
Simplicity is key.

Our days consist of : waking up at our leisure (usually before 8am), coffee/ breakfast, 5-6 hours of gardening, and then literally ANYTHING WE WANT TO DO for the rest of the day. 


Why don't more people garden? Why are people so afraid of "hard work"? 
Gardening is challenging in its own ways, but not anything like the rat race. Not anything like your brain being so full of thoughts and to-dos and whens and wheres. Don't think that I haven't been there. There was a time in my life when my dad told me I was sending enough texts in a day to fill up every minute of my day. I was also working, driving, schooling, friend-ing, family-ing, and sleeping somewhere in those days. That is absurd! No wonder I ended up totaling my cars, dropping out of college (twice), and going to a counselor. 

What I've learned: Life is as hard as you make it. You complicate your own life by the decisions you make and how you let it effect you.

Through the last few years I have learned to breathe, relax, and go with the flow.








I don't think this lead to where I expected it, but there it is. Now we're off to start our last day in Arlee, MT. We are going to do some gardening for Rebecca's mom, move some boulders for Sunni and Merrill, and then get ready to roll tomorrow morning. 

We love you. We miss you. We hope you're well.
Have an amazing Thursday.


The Adventure Continues,
Jordan.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Rainy days will come when least expected!!!

Another gloomy day in arlee mt but besides the rain, coldness, an super lazy pets we are blessed to be in this beautiful place surrounded by mountains an all the native plants. We have gardens to touch an weeds to pull but our weather tells us different. I did manage to hook up three outdoor receptacles, one outside light for cabin, and of course two beautiful lights to shine right on the horseshoe pits. We don't have long left here can you please come out an play mr sun for I would be forever grateful. We do love the people an the place but we have so much more to see an learn so soon we will say our goodbyes an be back on the road again.                                          
Sincerely, Brittany     (Cold girl in the red hoodie an purple robe )

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Pictures from Curley Creek

my favorite part about the trip is the animals freedom... the cats especially enjoy the grass sun and shady trees.
 


Copper and I (Logan) taking a dip in Curley Creek.


Yaak Falls 

Juan Sitting on Brayzli

Our hike with Jenny and Jordan swinging in Jenny's yard.


Us with Fishburn Pete and Heidi on the farm.

Reflection on Curley Creek

I would like my first blog to be about Curley Creek. I am certain this will be my favorite farm throughout this adventure.

Our arrival to Curley Creek could not come fast enough. We left Fort Collins sort of behind schedule and had a flat tire on the way, luckily we had a spare, but also had some treacherous weather through the mountains. We arrive in Troy for noon, but still do not have the exact directions to the farm: little did we know the phone we were calling had no one near it to answer... Marcus calls back after we left a couple of messages and we get the directions. He greets us; we park Theo and start the hike back to the farm. Heidi is waiting for us there, putting away the massage table Fishburn earlier occupied-- he pulled a muscle in his back lifting something the day before, he was out for our first few days, she speaks and an instant connection with Heidi started to form. She gave us a small farm tour and asked if we wanted to jump into a freezing cold creek-- we could not turn this down, it is the beginning of our adventure, might as well jump in. The creek was freezing; we learn its the run off snow from the mountains, but we could not really jump just dunk-- Jordan and Heidi dunked together. I was unfortunately poorly dressed and Brittany does not like anything cold... we just put our knees in. As we dry off under the warmth of the sun; Pete and Juan (the dog) arrive home from saving the buffalo... dinner is made, we all wear amazing hats as a welcome to the farm-- this is of course my winner HATS! The man brought out hats just for dinner all of them different and unique, instant LOVE!

Pete along with being our best friend is a performer, lover, bee enthusiast and buffalo savior. I believe it was our first night Pete showed us some honey combs, just the wax, that he wanted to melt down to separate the bee parts from the wax and propolis (which can be used in a lot of medicinal ways). Our adventures with Pete come later in the week; when we go to Sheamus' house to help in his garden. A lovely man we consider a dear friend and were very glad to meet and spend the day with. After Pete has promised he will show us Yaak Falls, they were rushing super fast but we all wanted to be on the edge looking in. Pete also had us gathering boulders on the side of the road-- this was probably the hardest job he gave us the whole time, some took all three of us to lift. It was a long, but really great day, definitely a favorite.

Working in the garden one day, and Pete decides the manure they received a few months ahead was tainted with a poison farmers use to kill weeds in their grazing fields-- well the cows eat this but their bodies do not absorb nor breakdown this chemical so when the manure comes it is still vicious and can last up to three years. This will stunt the growth and sometimes kill the plant. We had to find more and in a hurry-- we had tons of vegetables to plant. Pete and I rush down the road to a local farmer whom had just moved back to his residence-- we made a trade of vegetables for the manure and the gentleman even sent us off with a gallon of fresh from the cow milk. I found this heart warming to know you do not need money for everything.

Working with Fishburn; who is also a farmer along with Pete and Marcus,was different and fun. Everyone starts a project different it was fun to learn from a different point of view. Brittany and I helped build trellises for tomatoes -- B man handled the chain saw cutting up the posts; we took turns "moshing" them in the ground. On another occasion he had us move the chicken coop: this was easy until we lost a chicken-- then it was a matter of chasing the chicken back in the fence, everything successful. He allowed us to be a part of planting his germinates of several species of tomatoes and peppers-- he makes a delicious tomatillo salsa (salsa verde) we were lucky enough to try several different years and all of them delicious. Fishburn had to depart from us as soon as we made a connection with him unfortunately, but we will cherish the memories and lessons we have.

Heidi. Really nothing more needs to be said. She is our sun dog in every sky. We share a love for her that she built with us-- from her group hugs and song circles to the way she could express a feeling and help you to understand it. This woman taught me just as much about love as Pete and Fishburn taught me of plants and soil. Heidi is: a great adventurer, yoga instructor, lover, songwriter, noise maker and an amazing builder of a bag of fresh greens, but even that does not fully describe her. She brought us on a few adventures around town; first being to the State Line Bar were we would meet Mike, our first paying job, and Perry to fall in love with his pizza and save our conscience later. Second we went to Perkins Lake, the lake Curley Creek runs into, with Kina-- of course we swam and yes it was cold. She left us with Kina to drive on the wrong side of the road for fun and end up at the State Line again-- here we meet Kim, whom is a Kootenai descendant, she becomes a great friend and we later have dinner with her and her family. We could never express enough appreciation to Heidi for the lessons and advice she has given us, and the mission to go off on the lovers revolution.

This brings me to our favorite Montana family and it's Kina's. Kina is our sister from another mister, although we all have a large crush on her mother Jenny. We met Jenny while working at Mike's -- I barbecued, with Mike's instruction, it was my first time -- we also met her youngest Emma Rose who we enjoyed the company of (for being a child). Jenny was breathtaking we immediately wanted to hang out with her to get to know her. She made arrangements for a hike from our farm to her house in Idaho, but still along Curley Creek. The hike was amazing we saw sights and peaks we could not have from anywhere else-- there was an in-ground house left from as hippy commune that once lived up and down the creek later to be left abandoned and rotting.

Arriving at Jenny's was a picturesque moment like a scene out of a movie you could tell they put a lot of work into their yard. She introduced us to her husband Aaron, and her other two sons arrived later, Aaron was interesting and really left a mark on us. He has trained himself in all ways primitive practicing regularly just to prove to himself he can do it. He makes bows and arrows (the real deal) survival huts out of logs bark and ferns... these are for last minute survival purposes only not for long term living-- at least I would not live in it long term it was kind of short. They treated us all to a dinner and Emma Rose gave us a nice performance on the coffee table after.

Kina disappeared for a few days up the Yaak River for a memorial day event, we missed her terribly. When she came back it was on again but time for us to leave a few days later; so we kidnapped her. Not really we had to go meet the family at Grandma Carol's in Bonners Ferry, Idaho and in love we fell again. Grandma Carol is our Grandma away from our own-- she moved from California about a year ago to be closer to her son Aaron. We are very glad she did or we would of just had an extra stop in Cali. We couldn't stay for dinner this is the day we were invited to Kim's to have "authentic Indian tacos". We arrive to find out that the rain has brought some unsettling news so we have dinner and visit for a while. Heidi comes and then it is back to Grandma Carol's to sleep. We instead stayed up talking until around 12 in the morning all in our bathrobes. The next morning she made pancakes and we had about 4 pots of coffee also in our bathrobes. This would be a sad day that a million pancakes and pots of coffee could not fix. We had to leave and head back down to Arlee, Mt to be at our next farm on time.

Saying goodbye to Heidi Kina and Grandma Carol could not have been harder. We said our goodbyes with the hopes to be in each others company again. We take with us on our journey all of the lessons we have been given from each person and that is to live your life where and the way you want to and the memories we have made together are priceless. To be in Curley Creek again is a goal among us all. We love you our Curley Creek family. See you soon.

                                                                                      with love and hope,
                                                                            Logan/The Louisiana Gals
                                                                                         




Sunday, June 15, 2014

Sunday Funday

Hey, guys! This is Jordan coming to you (still) from Native Ideals Seed Farm in Arlee, MT. Happy Sunday and Father's Day.

Today has been a great day. We finished our memorial garden project we've been working on with Sunni, our new friend/Arlee neighbor. We started yesterday morning and worked hard getting a slate walkway formed and lining the already existing beds with brick. Today we laid and leveled another walkway made with pavers and filled all the little nooks with sand and gravel. We still have some weeding to do tomorrow, but that's a piece of cake.

It was such a reward to see the smile on Sunni's face after we finally finished.

Sunni is one of our new favorites. She has a wonderful energy about her and while we worked with her we did get the pleasure of some great stories. Sunni is an artist, former-hippie, author, traveler, and lover of beautiful things. Our relating moment though came when she and I found out we both had our spines fused at the age of 17! Can you believe it? I couldn't. I love meeting people who have also had spinal fusion, especially due to scoliosis. It's fun for me to learn how other people cope and the complications I may encounter one day. So far the best advice I've gotten is to stay active and yoga. I think the path I'm on should lead me in the right direction. Besides, that's what Logan, the medicine woman, is for. Herbal healing, y'all!

Speaking of herbal healing, we're leaving Arlee this week to head to a farm just north of Spokane, WA. It's a small farm set up by two retired teachers from Alaska and the woman is into natural medicines and herbal healing. They are actually fully booked for the summer, but are allowing us to stop by for a couple of days as a mid-way point between here and Seattle, which we have to be in by July 15th. It's going to be a great learning stop and we are all super excited. Today Sunni told us about a place called Lookout Pass in Idaho that I vote we HAVE to stop at. It is a bike path along the old railroad that involves great scenery and some sweet tunnels! I am stoked!

Anywho, that's all the information I've got right now. We will upload a few pictures soon so you guys can see what all of that meant. I hope you guys have an awesome Sunday!
Talk to you soon,
J.


Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Adventure Tiiiiiime.

Here are some pictures from our journey so far.

Enjoy!

BabyKitty the rock climber!

Dirty dogs on the patio.

Brayzli guarding the the tipi. 

We helped Shamus in the garden, he was AWESOME!

Grandma Carol is our grandma away from grandmas.

We had a pancake breakfast with Kina of Curley Creek.

Jordan and Copper lounging in the sun at Native Ideals.

Playing horseshoes is serious business up here.

Weeding the camas at Native Ideals.

Brittany grew half a stache while weeding.

Ellie Belly loves nap time.

We helped Rick in his garden and he bought us a beer!

Box building with Rebecca of Native Ideals.

Merrill was our box building facilitator.

In a nutshell.

After some soul searching, inspiration from our close friends, and moving from the swampland of Louisiana to the Rockies of Colorado for the outdoor activities. We are all in our mid-twenties and taking this opportunity to see the country, learn about sustainability, and meet incredible people. 

In our journey we want to learn about self-sustainability, primitive skills, and gardening from all aspects. Gandhi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." Well, we are taking that to heart. As a group we are all interested in making our carbon footprint as small as possible. (With exception of Teddy because he hauls us around) WWOOF is changing our lives for the betterment of Mother Earth and ourselves. We have finally found the direction we want to point our lives in. 

We have spent the past quarter of a century not fully appreciating this beautiful earth we live on, but we have decided to make the rest of our time here count. The mountains taught us how big the earth really is and that we are truly at the mercy of this planet. We should respect and live for her because without her generosity we wouldn't be here. We want to learn all of the things there are to learn about being self-sustaining and hopefully be able to live off the grid one day.

We only get one chance to write our story, and ours just got started!!

All Our Love,
       Logan, Brittany and Jordan.