A Dexter Cow takes care of mowing the grass

I have enjoyed waking up to this sight the past few mornings. Who needs a lawnmower when you can have this instead? Tim and Jane have a little Dexter dairy cow that they set out on a tether to “mow the lawn” when the grass needs to be cut back. It’s a particularly enjoyable sight as the sun rises over the mountainside in the early morning. Simple pleasures, you know?

Our lives in Berea are busier than ever. We’ve officially been here for six months now, and I am enjoying it more and more. Preparations for our 2014 natural building workshops are keeping us quite occupies and giving us a great opportunity to work more with folks in the local area, and we continue to meet new people doing all manner of exciting projects, creating music and art, growing good food, etc. There is a lot of very tangible positive energy in the air here, and it just feels really good to be a part of it.

Our search for land is continuing, and it’s more of a slow investigation than a full-force pursuit. We are very much drawn to one particular area, and the trouble is that we’ll have to dig a little to actually see what might be for sale, since there is little property that is clearly advertised as such. I can’t help but feel very hopeful based on how well our transition has gone so far. The trick will be to remain patient. There is nothing more I want right now than to dig in on a piece of our own land and start down the path to creating our own slice of homesteading goodness.

What we’ve got going for us right now is solid, however, and all things will happen in due time. There is so much to enjoy and appreciate already.