I am winding my time down on Dianne's farm as I prepare to leave next week. This has been an amazing adventure, culture shock, and wake up call. I have grown soooo much spiritually, emotionally and physically. In 7 short weeks I have witnessed and participated in a farm that IS becoming the change they want to see in the world: sustainable lifestyle, forest farming and permaculture being practiced and taught. Dianne and her family are a fast growing population all through world as they gear up to the 100 mile diet and post carbon world.
I hope I can write more often as I process what I have learned to pass on. My culture shocked brain could only absorb so much as literally everything is new to me!



My first lesson has been living in a permaculture environment:  Permaculture is a design system based on ethics and principles which can be used to establish, design, manage and improve all efforts made by individuals, households and communities towards a sustainable future. How that  shows up here is we recycle almost everything.  We took the trash to the dump yesterday and for a family of 5 of us we filled one tall kitchen trash bag (cornstarch plastic) for one month!!!  There is a no new plastic rule so when you buy at the market you take your own containers and refill using the bulk bins.  We don't buy anything that's not in a 100 mile circumfrence from here.
Her organic garden grows most of the food for the year.  We have been collecting seed for next year (Heritage), canning and freezing for winter.  She barters some of her food and medicinal herbs for local organic turkey and beef.  She does buy grains and dairy.  Her garden is grown in permaculture, forest farm style.  Forest farming is an agroforestry practice characterized by the four "I's"- Intentional, Integrated, Intensive and Interactive management of an existing forested ecosystem wherein forest health is of paramount concern. It is neither forestry nor farming in the traditional sense. Forest farm management principles constitute an ecological approach to forest management through efforts to find a balance between conservation of native biodiversity and wildlife habitat within the forest.  We wild craft into the forest for many medicinal plants and roots also.
If any of you have questions please email me!
 
Fare thee Well,
Janet

more Kokanee Lake

If you plan to spend the night at one of the many lakes high in the alpine regions you must wrap your car up from the porcupines.  The come out at night and eat your brake lining and tires!!!  There is plenty of chicken wire and stakes laying around for that purpose.

Lola had it made.....she is really fitting in....everyone loves her here.  The only issue is she can't come in the house because Dianne is allergic to cats and dogs.  She has to sleep in my car at night.  It's fine right now with the weather and I'm sleeping with her in the car at night.  When the weather turns.....?????  
The last photo is Bonnie Jean...what a sweetheart!  I dropped her off at an ashram across the lake a few days ago.  She might be back to wwoof in a few weeks.

Kokanee Lake

Kokanee Lake is a 3 hour up hill climb into alpine.
I think this was one of the more strenuous and most beautiful hikes I have ever been on.  This is my new back yard!
The kids (22 year olds) back packed in to the glacier and spent a couple of nights. I didn't want to intrude on their new love affair that started here on the farm!  I'm glad I didn't go because a storm moved in and Mark was hit by lighting!!!  He was ok.

Party night

This is Dianne playing her Dolcimer.  It was the last night the Quebecqua's were with us.  The fresh baked apple pie/cake was gifted to Dianne that night.  The idea came to make every night  some ones birthday to initiate a celebration!  I was awarded the first pie!  It was accidental...Mark thought he heard Isabelle say that it was my birthday. What she really said was,  wouldn't it be fun IF it were Janet's birthday!  What a surprise it was when I came home from a meeting and was given a cake!  It was so much fun because I got to pick an age I would like to be....I picked my current age...54....I love being me.  Isn't that a gift!

Job Description as a Wwoofer

This is Mark from Quebec.  As you can see he's peeling apples.  We dried apples today.  We also weed, water, pick seeds (paper bags hanging in bags in photo below), dry herbs in one of the many driers, wild craft into the bush for many different herbs, press herbs (photo below), help with medicine making, pick fruit, pick ripe vegetables and make dinner or freeze, make AWESOME, organic fresh picked meals, sing, yack, contemplate and rub my sore muscles with arnica cream! 

The Gang

The Wwoofing crew of Laird Creek Farm my first week.  From left to right:  me, Mark from Quebec, Dianne our wwoofing host, Isabella from Quebec, Bonnie Jean from Nova Scotia, Noah- Diannes grandson

Laird Creek Farm 2

These are more photos of views from the farm.....
Laird Creek, Alpine Meadow, sub tropical meadow

Laird Creek Farm 1

Hi from Nelson, British Columbia!
I am wwoofing on this amazing medicinal herb farm in Kootney Lake Region.  The Kootney region is part of the Columbia River running south to Spokane, Washington.  On the pollution global maps this area boasts the cleanest water and air in the world!
The farm is run by Dianne Luchtan.  She has lived in the region for 40 years.  She is a true medicine woman, women's rights activist, and revolutionary.  She is on the cutting edge of sustainability and environmental issues. Her land is 30 acres, most of it still forest and Laird creek runs through it.  Her 2 sons and their families live here in their separate homes (one son lives in his converted very cool bus!) Her sisters also live here.
Her business, Laird Creek Essentials, is medicinal tinctures, creams and salves.  She also sells heritage, organic seeds.  Along with the growing of some medicinal herbs, she grows all of her own fruit and vegetables for the year.  Which means right now, being fall, we are picking for freezing and preserving for winter and harvesting seeds for spring seed sales.  She also participates in 2 local festivals at the end of the month.
Her water comes from an artisan well and they just hooked a pump to the Laird creek.  She is in the process of researching water power alternative energy to eventually live off the grid.  We recycle everything!!!!  I mean almost everything!!  She only takes 1 large trash bag to the dump once a month!  This house also practices "no new plastic" and everything she buys is local with the exception of coffee (and that is fair trade organic)! 
Fare Thee Well.....more photos to come!
Pioneer Janet

        Lola's House

One More Friend

August 2010

Don't ever forget to enjoy the fruits of life!!!

New Friends

August 2010

Lola sneeking kisses to Karen












Strange Charecter named Lief Erickson.....honest....real name!

Silver Lake, British Columbia

August 2010

My new friend Bruce is traveling about 5 days ahead of me and stumbled upon this little gem of a campsite. It's near the town of Hope and is part of the very most north section of the Cascade Mountain Range. I met a wonderful new friend Karen. We spent quality time sharing our stories. She is true gem of a lady and full of a very bright light. She was camping by herself too. Yay! I was only going to spend 1 night;but I loved it so much here and the weather was so delightful I spent 3 nights. I ran out my battery for the first time! I am learning about the inverter. Can't seem to get off the grid!

Quiet Passage

August 2010

I've been on beautiful trails, a meeting every night, and have met many new friends. I sprained my ankle and overdosed on oregano oil (deeper respect for herbs!). Life, a journey to experience your personal legend.

Early morning, quiet mind, and a joyful heart I cross the Howe Sound back to Vancouver. At this moment I decide to make the sun my lucky star!

Fair thee well my friends,
Pioneer Janet

Leaving the Sunshine Coast

August 2010
I marvel that I didn't run over or I should say I didn't feel one "thump".














I love the simplicity of a single pier in what appears to be in the middle of endless unoccupied beaches.  I've had some amazing moments of a quiet mind at the end of this pier looking out toward Vancouver Island.

an incredible flower photo

Flower Farm or Flower Shoppe?

August 2010

Now this I could do!  They're not organic flowers but I could convert it eventually.  Inside the barn here is a flower shoppe.  I applied for a job.  When I told her my story she was surprised that I lasted as long as I did in the business.....florists work hard........don't they Leslie!

yurts

August 2010

My dream home!  I found a fiber artist colony of yurts!
They were very helpful and informative.  Langley, BC and Portland, Oregon are the pacific regions largest distributors.  They are made for rain; unlike the original mongolian.  They have vinyl exterior vs felt for rain.  A 650 sq (round) foot with electrical and plumbing runs around $20,000 canadian.  The energy feels really good inside!  Now to find where I want to put it.

The Sunshine Coast, British Columbia, Canada

August 7, 2010
On the road of the Sunshine Coast with just me and my Dog and God.  I've said my "fair thee wells" to family for awhile and off to explore and try to figure out what I am up to! Tootling around is what am doing! I am learning to tootle well! 
We're having a heat wave (32 celsius)....and I feel like I am back home, temperature wise. This is an unusual temperature and there is actually a water shortage going on!  Hard to believe that they conserve water way more than we do and they have 10 times more water than the US. I hiked through this cool furry forest near Egmont.
It boasts the Skookumchuck Narrows which are the most powerful rapids in the world.  It was a like I was in a dream or a movie set of Lord of the Rings or Avatar. I was chased here by a horse fly till I could barely breath. I was quite a spectacle to other hikers as I was screaming and batting at it with giant fern leaves.  As I surrendered to the fact that it was going to win and take my arm or leg off because I was so out of breath and would probably die from lack of air anyways, I remembered reading from Gina P's book "Backcountry Betty" not to wear certain bright colours and I had bright orange on.....well the minute I took it off....bug be gone!!!!  I survived with all my parts and lungs.  Lola thought I was playing chase.

I spent the rest of the day lounging around this lake contemplating life.  Questions that come up for me are:  Mexico this winter to learn spanish and should I put down money to reserve a place at the herb school in Shasta?  What am I expecting to learn through this experience?  I want to control my outcome and it's really hard to let go.  I am not into the flow yet, whatever that looks like, since it's a whole new flow! I am constantly reminding myself that its the joy of the journey and allowing life to summon me through that joy.  Fear is a companion that I new was there but had been able to keep at bay.  Now my tools of the program are foremost in my mind to use, thank God!  One thing for sure:  I am going to learn a whole lot more about this woman named Pioneer Janet from Free Range
Fair thee Well my friends,
Pioneer Janet