Fruit (and Nuts)

Now is the time of year when we think about harvest (of course), and we think about fruit. Which is another way of saying, we think about all the things we have accomplished lately. Or for the last month, season, or year. What is the fruit of all that we have done?

Willa and I were walking to the ranch house after chores tonight and we noticed how nice things are looking. Not nice in the sense that everything is completely landscaped, because it sure isn't (yet). But nice in the sense that a lot of things are cleaned up (weeds), and things look a lot cleaner than they did last year. There's been alot of work done this last year and it really shows.

Still, there's a lot left to be done. Like I said, we aren't landscaped yet--but we will be someday. We could get discouraged if we think about it from the perspective that we still have a lot left to do. So the best thing is to keep our perspective evenly balanced, looking at what we have done together at the same time as looking at all the things we will do together.

Here's where the nuts part comes in. Last week, I got turned on to Earthbag housing. I think we are going to build a nice simple root cellar next spring to hold all our "goodies" from the garden. Now this might just seem kinda nuts. But since it fits with our mission statement to be good stewards of the environment, it fits for us as a community. The best part is, we get to use some of that barb wire we've been taking down and putting in rolls. Yes, feed bags, barb wire, dirt and cement. That what it will take for our root cellar to come into existence. That's just really cool.

Of course, if this works well for us, I think I'm going to try and see if I can get my home built that way. It is just too close to a "hobbit hole" for me to pass up. Of course, that will be decided by consensus, which means I need to talk everyone else into being just as nuts as me.

Can't wait to see what happens next around here.

Open For Business

Hi, I'm Willa Rose, one of the partners in Dream River Ranch. Our Ranch is located in Oasis Idaho, about 30 minutes to the east of Boise Idaho and about 15 minutes from Mountain Home Idaho.

The Ranch is located on land that would be classified as steppe if it were located in Central Asia.

The air is perfect, generally pollution free and we are sufficiently outside of the city that there is no light pollution in the evening. As such we have excellent views of the night sky and it's like living in a planetarium.

We chose this land and purchased it to give life to a common ideal, the formation of an equestrian community based on the concept of intentional community. As our Mission Statement says: "

Dream River Ranch is an intentional community centered on a quality horse facility. We have created a society based on consideration for others where diversity and acceptance of others is a priority. This is a place where learning and creativity are encouraged; where we are committed to conflict resolution through consensus; and where we are dedicated to being good stewards of our environment."

If you think that this is a bunch of hippie blather, rest easy. We are hard working professionals who have a common interest in both working hard, and having fun. I'm a equestrian instructor with more than 30 years of experience. My husband is a counselor. And other members of our community are an executive secretary, an IT professional, and a physician.

Read this blog, it will help you follow our adventure.