| #3 | Blog Number Three : A Slow Process (Kyle)

Hi. This is Kyle. I don't really know how to start blog posts so I'll just start with that.In our instant gratification culture, social media is no exception. In fact it often magnifies some of humanities less than flattering characteristics. We are becoming a society where clicks matter more than content, memes are shared more than meaningful discussion, and if a video doesn't load within a couple of seconds we move on or get frustrated. To be clear I am just as guilty of this as most. I bring this up only to serve as a disclaimer. This is not what our journey will be. The Bird and The Beasts Farmstead is going to be a slow process. Like anything worth doing this is worth doing well. And often that means taking your time.

We don't have the resources to go out and buy everything it takes to build to Farmstead. We don't have the connections/friends to make this happen overnight. You won't see silky chickens running around our yard next week. You won't see baby goats bouncing around our yard this fall. One day you will. At least that is our goal. We don't have merchandise to sell, we don't have 100% organic cotton, fair-trade, t-shirts with The Bird and The Beasts Farmstead on them, nor will we. Our goal is to explore the journey of living in a more harmonious way with the Earth, living by our convictions, and becoming more independent in our every day life.
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So many times we see people on social media living a life that looks like the life we wish we could live. We see people in exotic places, resting in hammocks against the most picturesque backdrops, trying the most delectable foods, with their impeccable style, not having a care in the world. Or it's more simple, people living in their tiny homes in a idyllic forest in the Pacific Northwest, or cradling their latest rescue dog, or splashing in the waves at the beach with their "tribe". (Is that the term we use now for our friends or is it still "crew"? I can't keep up). But rarely do we see how people accomplish this "ideal" life better yet the failures they had trying to reach their dream. And this is where Athena and I strive to be different. We are starting from a typical America home in Western North Carolina. We want to document the little steps it takes to accomplish this Farmstead, the tiny yarrow plants we place in flower bed, the giant rubber bucket we are using to grow a small herb garden on the back porch, plants that we lose to slugs and disease, hoops we'll have to jump through with our local jurisdiction to make sure we appease the bureaucracy, all of it. We want to share the ups and the downs, the hard work and the small victories it takes for an "average" family to create their own Farmstead. And it's going to take years. We may only keep 5 people who follow us on this journey. Shoot we may not keep anybody's attention. And that's ok. I get it. This is going to be a slow process. We hope you enjoy this journey with us as we learn and grow and share with the world.
~Kyle

(Left to right) | My foot print and Adi's (hard to see) at a local creek/swimming hole | One of the first pictures of the Westwood Children's Garden, a children's garden we designed and maintain at the Westwood Cohousing Community | Kyle and our daughter Adaline this year on our first ever hike in North Carolina, our new home state |