Better Living Through Literature
Words + Projects + Stuff I Like
If you dream of ditching your desk job for life on a ranch, why not make it life as a cheesemaker in Switzerland? The Atlantic posted a photo essay by Denis Balibouse about 5th-generation farmers in Gruyere, Switzerland. Check out the whole thing while you’re at your desk today.
(Photos by Denis Balibouse. Also: COW FLOWER CROWNS!)
I’m thinking about the horse-and-alpacpa-and-goat ranch/yoga retreat/organic farm I want to retire on lately, and, since it’s me, I’m also thinking, “What does one wear on the imaginary ranch?” Good thing My Friend Flicka can tell us what Nell wears:
When Nell walked up to the stables she was dressed in well-cut jodhpurs made of carefully softened and faded blue-jean denim…A darker blue jersey polo shirt with very short sleeves left her brown arms bare; she wore pigskin gloves, a round blue linen hat with a narrow brim to pull down over her eyes and stick on against the Wyoming winds…and on her feet, under the straps of her trousers, soft tan jodhpur boots.
Somehow I ended up on fancy ranch real estate sites yesterday and look what I found:
It’s the LaSal Wildlife Ranch–8,800 acres 50 miles east of Moab, surrounded by national forests, with 310 acres of water rights, herds of elk and deer, and views like this: 
There’s even a lake somewhere in there:
Of course, its average elevation is 7,500 feet, it’s mostly undeveloped, and it’s currently not habitable in the winter, but if you can afford the ranch* I think you can afford to build a new ranchhouse and get this operation going. Who’s in?
*Um, yeah, it’s $8.5 million. Plus about $10k a year in taxes. (Oh yes, I downloaded the PDF.)
They’re just so cute.
These are the new arrivals at Blue Moon Ranch. You can see them in person at the end of next month at Open Barn Days, or buy some yarn made of their fluffiness at the Great Basin Fiber Arts Festival at the end of this month.
I finally made it to the fair Friday to check out my entries. Check out first place in the not-so-competitive “Blouse” category: 
And check out fourth place in the much more competitive “Cable Sweater” category: 
I was a little bummed about fourth (and about the fact that they had put my sweater on a hanger and stretched it all out of shape), but then I saw third place, which was exponentially more elaborate than mine and only got third: 
This year I looked at exhibits in the 4-H building and the Creative Arts building, which I usually skip, an it was really heartening to see all the nice work from the young kids in 4-H. And we can all heed the advice of this sign:
I know being a “cool” person and liking the state fair is supposed to be ironic, but I think the fair is great. You think farming is disappearing or becoming totally industrialized, and then you see the eight-year-olds showing sheep or the lucky, lucky teenage girls* riding their horses and you realize that it’s closer than you think.
Maybe that’s why I like the fair: If I win a ribbon for sewing, I can imagine that someday I might win a ribbon for an egg from my chickens, or even be one of the people who drive in from their ranch and show their animals. Someday, I guess. Until then, I can enter things in the fair.
*Teenage girls, I hope you realize how lucky you are to have your horses. Some people are still longing for one at thirty. I’m just saying.
I really enjoyed that extra day off I took this weekend. Friday I ended up going to Antelope Island to see the lake (still stinky) and then stopping at a u-pick farm with my parents for some strawberries.
I think u-pick farms are the way to go: All the fun of a farm with none of the upkeep! It was nice to be out in the strawberry fields in the sun–until someone got “Strawberry Fields Forever” in my head. So now it can be in yours:
This video is kind of what Monday mornings look like to me anyway. More coffee!
What’s going on at the alpaca ranch, you ask? Lots of baby alpacas! Karma the alpaca had a little daughter, Jasmine:
If I had bought Karma two years ago I’d have doubled my investment now. (Such a shame I lacked a spare $15,000 at the time.)
Be sure to plan on visiting during Fall Open Farm days, too–the last weekend in September.
So Mr. Isbell’s parents became chicken owners this spring, and the chickens are now big enough to wander their back garden freely. This is all kinds of cute:
They’re really soft–even their feet–and have so much personality. They take sun baths and stick their leg out like Toby!
Obviously, I do not eat chicken. I do eat eggs, but I make sure they’re at least cage free, if not Certified Humane. (I’m really looking forward to eggs from these girls!) But after seeing these chickens up close, I’m now hyper-aware of the eggs from unhappy factory farmed chickens used in things like mayonnaise and ice cream. So Mr. Isbell and I are exploring the strange new world of Vegannaise and Soy Dream.
It’s a good thing his parents don’t have a pet cow: I’d never buy shoes again.
Upset by the latest news? Feeling blue? I have two words for you: Baby alpaca! The first cria of the year was born at Blue Moon Ranch Saturday:
Something about shirtdresses make me think I could wear them on my imaginary ranch, while gathering eggs, visiting my loyal horse friend in the stables, standing at the back door looking out over the Wyoming mountains, etc. (Not, of course, while actually doing ranch work and getting dirty. Nobody ever mentioned that in My Friend Flicka.)
Anyway, here’s the pattern–I added the sleeve cuffs on the left to the straight-skirted version in the middle:
Here’s the fabric:
And here’s a rumpled and dark modeled shot at the end of yesterday:
On the ranch I’d never be rumpled, though. I’m sure of it.