(sentimental) musings from the Farm

Hello all! Here I am, back on my beloved farm nestled in the great gorgeous magical mystical forests of the Pacific Northwest. I've dreamt of being back here all year long, since I left last summer, and it feels amazing to wake up on this land again. In a way though, being here can be a bit confusing and challenging at times as well. I'm surrounded by all of these incredible and inspiration people, and I share some kind of connection with nearly everyone, which makes this place so important to me. But on the other hand, there's also the underlying force of The Farm on which most of them Live and Share so much time, energy and love, all year round! They are more than willing to share and open their hearts and home to me without hesitation, but I feel a certain disconnect from it at times, and that's okay. Those are the challenging and more uncomfortable moments for me, where I realize I'm an outsider in so many ways - for better or for worse. Times like those make me wish I lived here as a full-time resident, but they also make me think of my own "tribe," or my place of belonging and the people that I share it with. I belong somewhere too, wholeheartedly connected to a land, a place, and a people - and those people are you! and that place is our tiny corner of the country, nestled away in our own magical mystical land of forests, farms, mountains, streams and lakes. And that realization empowers me, brings me peace and happiness- bittersweet as it may be. As my last semester at Amherst approaches, I think about how I won't have a real Reason to be there anymore after December. But then again, what reason do I have to be in Portland, Oregon in the middle of August? None except to share some time with people I love on a land that nourishes me, spirit mind and body. So, that will be Western Mass for me as well. I will look to the land and the people (wherever you may be) as a haven, a respite, a place to rest my soul and come home. My tribe.

Feeling blessed, sending love -
Carmella

PS I helped kill two chickens today. Dinner!