"Laugh because it is your purpose in life." - Yogi Bhajan

A friend of mine dreamt that we were having uncontrollable, teenager giggle fits and I hadn't told her about the dream I last posted about! So, LAUGHTER is in the air, it is the best medicine and even Yogiji says it is your purpose in life! In the daily practice in Cafe Gratitude's Abounding River Personal Logbook, one of the assignments is to laugh for 1 minute everyday. It feels ridiculous to start to laugh on purpose, but it is contagious and Yogi Bhajan also says "Fake it 'til you make it." On your mark...get set...

Raw Ranch Dressing

I dreamt last night that I was traveling with my soccer team and we went out to eat. I saw a teammate scraping cheese out of her salad dressing and off her pizza. I thought, "She must choose not to eat dairy like me," and I told her I would get her a vegan dressing, like an Italian vinaigrette. When I went up to order my salad, the clerk told me I would have to order a combo...pizza, a corn dog and 32 oz soda to access the salad bar. "Soda is actually more absorbable than coconut water," she added. I found this to be HILARIOUS and was doubled over in laughter for the rest of the evening! It felt so good to be shaking with laughter in dreamtime!

So, I thought I would share one of my favorite salad dressings today...

Raw Creamy Peppercorn Ranch Dressing

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

2/3 cup hemp seed

5 cloves garlic

1.5-2 tsp black peppercorns

1 tsp salt

--Blend all of the above ingredients thoroughly. Then add

1/3 cup olive oil-- and blend again.

Makes an amazing salad dressing and/or veggie dip. I also added it to shredded cabbage, grated carrots and a dash of goji berries for a delicious raw cole slaw!

Have FUN today!!

(cue the Pink Floyd)....Hello...Hello....Hello....is there anybody out there? Just smile if you can hear me...

Back by popular demand from mom and grandma (and a new, way faster computer), I may just be able to blog more frequently. Our daughter Sage is my TOP priority and she is napping right now :) She is 8 months old now and such a miracle!

I have questioned whether I sure write on a blog Called "Raw in Montana" when I am not all raw, but I do love to include lots of raw food in our diet and aspects of our lifestyle that are so important to me seem to be on the same vibe with the raw food community...so the name remains :)

I have recently been inspired by webcasts available on www.healthforce.com. Click on Superfood Education to listen to all kinds of great talks. I started using their products while on my Juice Feast, as recommended by David Rainoshek. I began my Feast earlier than I had originally planned, so I experienced 10 days without their cleansing products before 20 all juice days + 10 more days of juice and smoothies with them. I felt an amazing difference with them and was grateful to feel the contrast...awesome bowel releases with my colonics and feeling the clarity and energy from getting the toxins I was releasing OUT of my body!

I have enjoyed their Vitamineral Green whole food green powder and have listened to some interviews with Jameth Sheridan which made me feel great about supporting a company with such high quality product and life dedication as well as intaking the best greens available out there! I have waivered in my mind about taking a powder (even though it is a whole food powder, rather than a supplement) and feel like I should be getting all of my nutrition from fresh food, but I must admit...it makes me feel awesome! And I love getting everything in one heaping scoop...probiotics, grasses, seaweeds, greens. The calls are inspiring me deeply-thank you to Bethanne and the whole Health Force crew! I am excited to feel some of their other creations in my body. When not using the cleansing products, I have focused on Vitamineral Greens and Spirulina and take Olive Leaf extract when sicknesses are popping up around me. I had tried Earth but didn't like it much because I used it in smoothies. That doesn't work well with it's savory flavor. I just got some more and am going to try it as a broth (bring 1 Tbsp Earth and 1 cup water to a boil, then turn off heat).

What is inspiring you as we soon welcome in a whole new calendar year? The angel is awake! One LOVE!!

The arrival of our Angel!

My goodness, how do you write a post, when it has been over 3 months and among the most transformational 3 months of your life?! I have enjoyed many Yogic journeys and this one takes the cake. Introducing...Sage Saffron Ordway!

My husband and I had a beautiful Angel of a baby girl on April 16th! I was able to birth her at home and we were so grateful for that experience. It felt so very right to labor at home, taking a very slow walk down the driveway, stopping frequently for contractions and watering the Growing Dome on the way back...drinking coconut water in the bathtub and trying to relax as much as possible during contractions. Our midwives were here for just 4 hours before Sage arrived and their support was essential and perfectly timed!

The deep level of LOVE that opens up in this magic of Parenthood is indescribable...it is one of those Unifiying principles of the Universe...a silent smile exchanged between Mothers in between full moments of caring for their children...an understanding glance during a meltdown session in the grocery store...judge not, you may once find yourself in their position! She has opened up my heart to feel on deeper levels...the absolute Bliss of her gummy smile or gazing into each others' eyes while nursing and also the challenging moments when I feel her cry in my cells- quite a magnificent journey!

On the health tip, we are still growing lots of our own food on the property this year, although the garden is receiving less attention than usual, as I am busy growing the most important gift ever! She is thriving on breastmilk and it is fun to watch the color of her bowel movements change with deep green Spirulina smoothies and to be assured she is indeed receiving my intake. Pregnancy went very well. I was able to stay active and eat healthy, gaining 25 lbs. One week after delivery, I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight-I was amazed and happy! That being said, it doesn't mean my body is exactly the same..things are tighter around the waist, as my belly is softer and I am sure my hips have widened to aid in her arrival :)

I am still craving extra protein and have been enjoying Sun Warrior brown rice protein powder daily...in my green smoothie with lots of wild lamb's quarter...
with ice, a dash of cacao nibs and fresh mint leaves for a Choco-mint shake...
or just shaken up with water for a quick, satisfying snack. Cucumber juice has been key on warm days and the basil has been abundant enough for fresh pesto! Our new favorite salad dressing is the Balsamic Fig Dressing from Cafe Gratitude's book. Other mainstays include dehydrated buckwheat crackers, avocado wrapped in nori, chia porridge with bananas, and lots of salad and asparagus from the garden topped with edible calendula flowers and violets!

Deepest blessings to anyone who may still be reading this-may your day be filled with Gratitude and Joy! p.s.- Here is Sage's beautiful gyan mudra!

6 Weeks until our Due Date!!

Baby Ordway soaking in the evening sun in Mexico...ooh lala!

The growing family in front of our rustic cabanas called Buena Onda (meaning good vibes!)

Excited Kelly holding a brand new baby sea turtle that locals were releasing into the ocean!

A happy baby instinctively crawling towards the water to begin its long journey :)

We took the mounds of advice given to us to take a trip together, so we enjoyed the delicious sun of Mexico in January-here were some highlights:
-soaking in the glorious sunshine-I was definitely born an Arizona sun goddess!
-drinking fresh squeezed orange juice and fresh coconut water almost every day
-digging a hole in the sand for my pregnant belly, so I could lie face down for a nap
-sinking our toes into the sand as soon as we stepped out our cabana door
-stretching every morning, bathed in the sounds of the waves and soft sunlight
-taking Spanish classes
-watching the baby move since I was usually in my bikini instead of loads of winter clothes
-food delights...papaya, pineapple, tree-ripened bananas, fresh, warm corn tortillas, guacamole.
I brought nori sheets and we made our own version of veggie sushi with avocado, jicama, red bell pepper, lime juice and hot sauce. I also took chlorella tablets daily to keep my iron levels up and my iron test was awesome at 13 (whatever that means) at my midwife appointment right after I returned.
-reading Anastasia in our hammock :)

And how amazing quickly the body continues to transform and the baby grows in one month...here are a few photos from today :) Sending all great Love and Gratitude as we feel so blessed to be welcoming this angel into our lives and growing into a family! p.s. We are eating spinach, kale and a dash of parsley out of our geodesic dome! An amazing gift in February in Montana!

Prego Photo Journal :)

Aaaaah...lying on the shores of a lake just outside of Glacier Park after hiking Dawson-Pitimakan. I had no idea I was pregnant, but indeed I was...or else I might not have undertaken an 18 mile hike in one day. It was a glorious weekend with my love in the mountains!!

My belly at 11 weeks before heading out for a long walk in the woods with one of my best friends who is due 10 days behind me! The blessings keep on rolling in :) I was experiencing some nausea, but no vomiting, thank goodness!

Halloween 2009! We were just headed into town for dinner and busted our our disco suits at the last minute. Things are changing at week 16 (including no more nausea)!



Welcome to 26 weeks! Baby Ordway has been moving lots! The midwife said it sounded like s/he was doing kick flips in there and Michael got to feel it from the outside last week. I am feeling great, loving Yoga and long walks while I practice speaking Spanish with my Ipod!



I dug this carrot trio in our garden this Fall and thought it was pretty symbolic and beautiful!


Blessings to you and joyous welcoming in of 2010!

Workshop with Qala

Good morning! Wow-another blog post within a week...it must be rainy season! That afternoon after I posted last, I had my 2nd prenatal appointment with my midwife and got to hear the baby's heartbeat again! I actually had thought that was a special treat the 1st time and didn't realize we get to hear the heartbeat at every appointment-I was delightfully surprised! Everything is going perfectly and our angel's heartbeat was in the 140's again. Michael was wondering how they were going to differentiate his/her heartbeat from mine until he heard it and it sounded about twice as fast!

Today started by moving slowly, watching the rain/sleet fall and singing an invocation chant to my little one. I guess their hearing is developed enough to physically hear us now and it feels so lovely to sing and talk to this being growing inside me. A juicy orange, nettles/oat straw tea and a green smoothie with wild huckleberries, Vitamineral Greens, hemp protein powder, SunWarrior protein powder and banana are fueling me before I head to work. Yum!

I wanted to share with you some insight from an amazing workshop I attended a few weeks ago. We were so blessed to have this woman Qala join us from Australia. She has perhaps the biggest, purest heart I have yet to experience. The 1st evening was called "Igniting the Field of Love in your Life-Making Your Life That Much Better Through the Power of Love". I feel like I have a pretty open heart and I also realize that there are infinitely deeper levels of Love, Compassion and Gratitude to open up to. Here are some keys that I loved and she said to share freely:

Give Gratitude to Mother Earth EVERYday! Fell her underneath you and also all around you as her trees grow much taller than you.

Give up negative thoughts to their highest good. Purify your mind. Don't judge. Offer the negative thoughts up. If you do judge or think negative thoughts of someone, apologize to them telepathically.

Before you fall asleep each night, ask to be taken to the planes of Light. A light guide will come and take your Soul to Light. This is particularly good for bad dreams or fear. Teach this to your children and others. If you wake up feeling heavy, ask to be taken to the Chamber of Love before falling asleep. You don't have to understand this with your mind, simply feel it with your heart.

Resolve everything with Love. Never leave the room without resolving the energy.

Always follow your Heart Dream! Never give up!!

When you feel like pushing away, Embrace with Compassion!

Take everything into your Heart. Expand your heart by taking long, deep conscious breaths into your heart center. Feel your heart expand 6 feet in every direction. Do this EVERYday! Move the awareness in your mind down into your heart.

If you want o explore more, check out her sites at: www.qalasriama.com and www.TheDivineUniversity.com. The simple daily ritual of breathing expansion into my heart center and giving Gratitude to Mother Earth has been very powerful for me. Blessings to you!

A Very Exciting Announcement!!!!

Michael and I are 16 weeks pregnant!! How's that for big news? We are so very happy, grateful and excited. We started sharing the good news right away (at about 6-7 weeks) and I wanted to share on here, but felt like I had so much to say and little desire to add more computer time to my life. Our computer is sometimes painfully slow and likes to just shut down occasionally, but we are looking into a new computer that might be more inspiring to blog more. I did experience a period (about 4 weeks) of relatively mild morning sickness...actually, it was more like all-day sickness. I thought "I'm so healthy, I'm not going to feel sick", but I did. I never thought I was going to vomit and never did, but it felt like a low to medium level of constant nausea. I desperately looked for subs for the yoga class I was teaching because rapid movement and bending over to touch my toes sounding like a really bad idea.


At times, all I wanted was a good quality ginger brew from the health food store and I finally bought the all-natural saltine crackers and they tasted like Heaven. Most raw foods are rapid transit foods and that is one of the amazing beauties of them, but when I feel nauseous (like I have experienced when traveling in the 3rd world), my body calls for something incredibly dry and plain. Green juice continued to be delicious (especially the "Buzz Bomb" from the local Bean Hive Cafe, which is a folic acid queen with spinach, beets and oranges. Fat sounded yuck, so away went any cravings for high-fat raw desserts and I gave away delicious little raw coconut pie tartlets that I had. The mega-high flavors of many raw foods sounded yuck as well and green smoothies sounded...yuck. I had some chlorella tablets that I hadn't used because I prefer the fresh powder and those came in handy, so I could swallow them, now that I wasn't desiring my usual green smoothie sludge.

I have also been adding local game to my diet. My husband is a hunter, who is as compassionate as you believe hunting can be. He spends so much time outside, knows that elk love to eat arnica and is so aware of life in the forest.This is something I have vacillated back and forth on in my mind. I honestly added it simply out of listening to my body. And eating local food is really important to me. I remember this Spring, I went to buy some bulk tahini from our health food store and couldn't because there was a world-wide shortage of sesame. This was a big wake up call. Where is sesame grown anyway? None of my nut/seed protein can come from a local source. I have definitely focused on honey as my main sweetener because I think it is amazing...and I can get it local. I do also use stevia because I love the no glycemic index. One of our local farmers (Judy at Terrapin) had baby stevia plants this Spring. It is a tropical plant, but so far it is still alive and well in the dome. My friend's children loved it and kept running to the greenhouse for more "sweet leaf".

As I have been feeling awesome in my 2nd trimester, loving physical activity (mostly mountain biking, walking and Yoga), I have also been enjoying adding more raw back in. After a walk with a fellow pregnant amiga and a green juice in town, I satisfied my chocolate craving with raw chocolate avocado-banana pudding. I have been really light on the raw cacao lately as it is my only source of caffeine and I have only recently craved in back in my diet again. Messages from my body and Spirit feel extremely clear (and sometimes urgent) at this time. All of a sudden, I can just lay down and be asleep instantly. Just from listening within, I have known what exercise and food feels appropriate & nourishing and the most important thing is that I feel unbelievably blessed to have this angel growing inside of me-it is such a miracle! I feel it's presence very much energetically and my massage practice feels beautifully enhanced. We are planning a home birth (due date is April 7th) and are not going to find out the gender ahead of time...it will be biggest, most joyous surprise ever!

I hope life finds you in deep Gratitude and effortless JOY! I send you love from my heart!

Harvest Season!

Wow! Over a month since my last post! What can I say...it's Harvest time! September keeps me so busy, as the fruit is only ripe for a few weeks. My Excalibur dehydrator has been running nearly non-stop for the past few weeks :) My family was here visiting from Arizona this weekend and we all pitted plums and chopped apples to make the best fruit leather ever! (dehydrated at 145 for the 1st hour and then at 105 to preserve the enzymes) I am learning to keep the leather softer, as it rolls better and taste delish! My 1st batch got dehydrated too long and got too crispy. Now, the pears are ripening (much to my nephew's delight!). I will be freezing them for green smoothies and dehydrating some, which tastes like candy! I have also canned a bunch of applesauce and am slow cooking some plum butter right now (not raw).
Apples and plums and pears, oh, my! I have been a busy young lady!I have been lagging on the wild huckleberry picking compared to last year, but I still have a little time :)
It is such a extra special treat to walk outside with a harvest basket, pick fresh, gigantic cucumbers, shake some apples off the tree, wash the soil off some beets and pick kale from the oak barrel to make juice for the day-such an amazing time of Abundance and Deep Gratitude! Sending Love direct your way and asking us each and all to focus on all the amazing gifts we have in our lives!

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." - Anais Nin

I will have to take photos of the abundance we have growing around us, but for today just a quick note and perhaps some huckleberry picking. We are starting to receive cucumbers, tiny ripe apples, tomatoes and broccoli. I am about to make a big batch of juice with cucumbers, beet, kale, peas, apples and ginger (the ginger is the only plant we didn't pick from our property). It is so magnificently gratifying to grow and welcome into our bodies, such vibrant foods grown with love!

Leading the Juice Feasting group went well. One young man has released 22 lbs since he began changing his diet 3 weeks ago. It is fun to watch him blossom as he dives into his interests of Yoga and eventually organic gardening. May we all be so courageous to step out of our current realms to explore something new!

I am savoring the juiciness of summer and thus spending less time right here. I am consciously putting my feet directly to the ground more often to feel the Earth instead of spending hours with my Crocs on :) I am diving into the cold Montana water and am constantly amazed how much it cleanses me each time... a clean slate...refreshed, rejuvenated, empowered! Sending Summer Love your way!!

7 Day Juice Feast

Treasures fresh picked from our garden

Hello lovely angels of the Universe! I am guiding a small group through a 7 day Juice Feast; the journey begins this Wednesday July 29th and welcomes back fresh, water-rich raw food on Wednesday August 5th. I am announcing this, in case you feel driven to join in some capacity. The group energy is very helpful! If you are not interested in all juice, perhaps dedicating the week to all raw foods, no processed starches or specifying something you would like to focus on releasing from your habitual patterns, whether it be tortilla chips or being judgmental of others. Please share what you are letting go of for the week (by leaving a comment), as we empower and inspire each other to our highest potential!!

"Live your succulent wild life! Choosing succulence is a delicate act of revolution. It means waking up! Embracing your true self, studying your patterns and letting out your most alive self. We all have one. " -Sark

Outta the Hype and Into the Wilderness...Healthy Camping

My hubby and I were recently able to getaway for 5 nights in the wilderness (don't ask where...hee-hee!). We car-camped, in perhaps one of the most remote car camping spots around. I love sleeping at night in a tent ( to protect us from the mosquitoes) rather than in a home that has an electrical force field, even when most everything is turned off. The sound of the river strummed us to sleep and days were spent hiking to a waterfall, reading Anastasia and doing Yoga by some other falls, floating the river and hiking where my hubby could fish. It was such a treat, just as the pace of Summer was approaching light speed. I always have my wild edibles book in my pack and am a kid in a candy shop as I walk through the abundant forest. If you choose to pick wild edibles, please be respectful of the plant. Always pick a small amount of what is present and I always ask the plant if I may pick it before I do...sometimes they say no and that feels good too. Here are 2 of the wild edibles we enjoyed...

Stonecrop

Shooting Star



Besides the wild treats, it was fun to prepare and pack healthy foods to camp with.
We brought:
4 quarts of prepared, then frozen green smoothie
1 quart sunflower seed/brazil nut mylk (made concentrate by adding less water when blending and then adding more water to our morning cereal bowl while at camp)
soaked and dehydrated buckwheat and goji berries for cereal
big bag of leafy greens from the garden
ingredients for salsa and guacamole
fresh, frozen pesto made from the organic heirloom basil we are growing
2 zucchini for "pasta" noodles
zucchini hummus
dehydrated crackers
bananas, apples
lemon and cayenne for our morning quart of water
homemade raw trail mix

and probably some other yummy things I'm not recalling right now. It felt really good to keep it clean when away from home :) Do you have any camping/hiking food tricks to share? HAPPY SUMMER!!!

Home Grown Event at Stillwater Landing

The event last weekend was fun! The Stillwater Landing is absolutely gorgeous! It's like our own little private Montana Gorge venue. Carlos Nakai (amazing native American flutist) and other artists are performing there Thursday July 2nd. Last weekend, Mother's Power (a local company owned by Jeff Arsell) had a trailer with wind and solar power that completely powered the stage with open mic. Eastern Montana has gnarley wind and in his presentation he stated that Montana has the capability to be the 5th highest wind producer in the world if we harnessed this beautiful energy we are gifted with. They have a project going on NW of Browning on. I would love to incorporate alternative energy sources with him for our home :)



The local raw food posse was there as well. Shoot the Moon was serving up fresh juices, raw pizza, fresh local salad, raw soup and lots of raw treats such as Spirulina pie! Here is Shoot the Moon with Kailie, Emily and Wes and some of their gorgeous goodies made with Love!!




Michelle Berry of Berry Good Living was there too and made some amazing creations for the dinner like raw enchiladas with spinach tortillas, pumpkin seed pate filling, olive tapenade and chocolate mousse pie!! Unfortunately, we weren't clear until we arrived that we had to RSVP ahead of time to join in and donate for dinner, so we didn't get to savor any of her goodies this time. She recently began her own blog called www.berryblissful.blogspot.com -check it out!

The lovely Hutterites were there as well making homemade ice cream with this funky old John Deere motor. I was mesmerized by this awesome old school contraption until it started spewing nasty fumes which were less cool. XOXO!

Local Awareness is Spreading!!

Indeed, Awareness is spreading in so many conscious avenues and I am grateful to see it firsthand in our community! On Tuesday after work, I walked down the street to our local Farmer's Market. It used to be on the black asphalt parking lot in front of McDonald's. Thank goodness some folks got it together and moved it to the end of our lovely downtown street, in the park. Big kudos to whoever worked to make that happen! It has become a major community gathering from May to perhaps October (the months we're not covered in snow) with live music, many modalities of body/energywork, hula hoops, crafts, local farms and now, a Raw Food Booth called Shoot the Moon. It was their 1st market on Tuesday and they created 2 types of yummy live pizza, green granola, chapati and some desserts. I was so happy to see them there and actually recognized their faces from the IONS (Institute of Noetic Sciences) meeting last week. IONS sponsored Jeanette Cheney and Alee Delsack from the Wellness Center as they spoke about juice fasting and raw foods. Jeanette is a graduate of the Hippocrates Health Institute Health Educator Program and has led more than 2,000 folks now through the 7 day juice fast program! This is very significant, especially considering the size of our community. Alee has begun a raw food prep/education series which began last Monday and runs every Monday night from 5:30-7pm through August 10th. You can contact her at 406-260-3266 for more details. Next week's class focuses on Alkaline eating and demonstrates how to make a warm miso sea veggie soup.

Several weeks ago, Beatrice Arroe, who also leads Raw Food Classes, sponsored (with others) a Tibetan nun named Ani Tsering to share her voice in meditation and prayer with us at the O'Shaughessy Center. To my surprise, there was a Raw Food buffet (where they usually sell Costco cookies) with amazing creations available by donation. Michelle Berry is starting a business called Berry Good Living with rumors to perhaps have some raw food available when the Green Tea House opens next to Wasabi!!

AND...this weekend at Stillwater Landing is an event called Home Grown which is being promoted by Citizens for a Better Flathead. There is outdoor music on the lake from 4-6 pm, dinner from 6-7:30pm and more music inside the airplane hangar from 7:30-9:30pm. I'm not sure when the speakers will present, but there is a focus on energy and if I understood correctly, growing algae for both energy and food. The Shoot the Moon posse will be there offering up raw treats and maybe green smoothies in the morning for campers! I will keep you updated! Home Grown is happening this Saturday, June 20th, 15 miles north of Whitefish at mile marker 143 on lower Stillwater Lake. Leave a comment if I might see you there! xo!

Raw Oatmeal and Raw Nut/Seed Mylk

Yum! This is a tasty treat to mix it up and have something different than green juice, green smoothie or a piece of fruit for breakfast. I wasn't sure how this would feel in my body, as I don't like a ton of grain, but if felt really good and my hubby loved it as well. Soak oat groats in clean water overnight (1/2 cup per serving). In the morning, drain and rinse the oat groats well. Put them in the food processor or blender with just enough water to get the consistency you like. You can also a date and some sea salt before blending. To the bowl, I added some local, dried plums, goji berries, frozen huckleberries and cinnamon.
For the nut/seed mylk, soak the nuts or seeds of your choice overnight. I usually use sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds. If you forgot to soak something, you don't need to soak hemp seeds and they are delicious too! In the morning, drain and rinse your soaked nuts/seeds and add about 3-4 cups of water for every cup of nuts/seeds. Blend well. Many people strain their mylk with a nut mylk bag, but I just leave the extra fiber in there. I also like to add a little vanilla stevia and a dash of Himalayan Pink Crystal Salt before blending (fresh vanilla bean and a dash of honey is awesome too!).
Why does she keep spelling mylk like that?! The raw food community tends to write mylk and cheeze like this to separate the spelling from it's better known dairy version.
Nut/seed mylk is the very easiest way to digest nuts/seeds. The 2nd easiest is nut/seed butter and the last is raw, sprouted nuts/seeds themselves. Enjoy and let me know if you try this recipe! Cheers!

Horse Manure and Fruit Trees!!

Friday after work, we made it to Columbia Falls Nursery and bought a bunch of fruit trees...yahoo! We got 1 Toka plum, 1 Pipestone plum, 1 La Crescent plum, 1 Sungold apricot, 1 Moongold apricot, 1 Luscious pear, 1 Summercrisp pear and 1 Lapin cherry!! Then, we dug up 8 holes and our hot Friday night date was shoveling horse manure into the back of the truck to feed our new trees! We actually loved it! We are lucky enough to have a horse ranch for neighbors and an unlimited supply of free horse manure :)

On Saturday, we made it to the fencing supply and got enough fencing to encircle each tree so the deer don't munch them down. We now have a total of 15 fruit trees on the property and we are so happy to continue to transform our home into more and more of Heaven on Earth!


Happy Raw Spirit Festival weekend to everyone! I was definitely there in spirit as we continue to manifest our dreams! XOXO!!

Golden Fields Of Dandelions!

Dandelion is considered a noxious weed, but I savor it's beautiful glory! It takes me breath away each day and I savor each moment it brightens my eyes particularly because it is so short-lived. The dandelions close up at night, so it's true glory is during the blazing sun and before long, the petals will transform into puffballs carrying wishes through the fields!!




This is our garden and hoop house-we are growing LOTS of our own food this year!! I have been enjoying slightly bitter dandelion green smoothies-a deeply healing liver tonic...Nature provides us with Spring cleaning! We are also enjoying the year's 1st asparagus-Yum! I have actually been lightly sauteeing the asparagus because I remember hearing that asparagus is one of those vegetables that is toxic when eaten raw. I just did some researching on the internet and everything I have found so far says it is completely safe to eat raw. Tonight, I am going to marinate some via this recipe I found on www.naturalzing.com and will let you know how it goes...

Marinated Asparagus

1 bunch organic asparagus
Marinade:
1/4 c Nama Shoyu
1 T organic onion
1 organic lemon, juiced
2 T organic balsamic vinegar (or Braggs unpasteurized apple cider vinegar)

1. Cut 1" off the bottom of the stems and save for your compose heap, then cut the stalks in half.
2. Mix marinade and pour over asparagus.
3. Marinate overnight and serve at room temperature.
(serves 4)

Asparagus is high in folic acid and a good source of potassium, fiber, B6, vit A, C and thiamin. It contains a pre-biotic called inulin that helps form probiotics in our colon, is high in rutin which is known to strenghten blood vessels and according to the National Cnacer Institute, it is one of the highest tested foods containing glutathione, one of the body's strongest cancer fighters!! Enjoy this gift of Spring!!

Garden Greens and Wild Edibles!

Mmm! A mini-bouquet of wild edible violets! These gorgeous flowers are in great abundance right now and fuel me as we walk around the property playing frisbee golf!


Red Russian Kale, Bok Choy, Lacinato Kale and Carrots growing in the greenhouse! Salads and green smoothies galore!

Can you recognize this? This is the full growth of the sprout picture I posted (2 posts ago) with the seeds planted in the form of a Peace sign. Watching Peace GROW indeed!

Needless to say I have been spending most of my time Massaging, doing Yoga and Gardening! I am happy to be maintaining my commitment to my Yoga practice. Often I drop it this time of the year when I am so busy doing very physical labor in the garden, but my practice is keeping my body OPEN and helping to counteract all that forward bending. Also, integrating the principles of alignment from Anusara Yoga are really helping my knee heal-Hallelujah!
What kind of wild edibles are available in your area? If you don't know, maybe it would be fun to Google it now and go on an adventure!! xoxo!

Juice Feasting with the Family & Anusara Yoga!!

For some reason, I couldn't get these photos to move, but they are a group "Sunburst" Yoga group shot, me and my two homegirls after 2 1/2 days of heart opening, leg strengthening Yoga and my parents fridge in Tucson!

Blessings amigos! I just had a week long visit to be with my family in Tucson and had such a rejuvenating trip! The sun was abundant everyday...it even broke 100 for the 1st time this year...and I loved it! We got to take my niece and nephew to the swimming pool, take some amazing Anusara Yoga classes at the Yoga Oasis and...my mama wanted to juice while I was there-Hooray! So, we drove down to the co-op, stocked up on lots of cucumbers, celery, spinach, chard, beets, carrots and some apples and juiced away. Both my mom and my sister had never experienced a full day of juice and they both did 4-5 days of all yummy green juice! My sister even survived an aromatic Cinco de Mayo buffet at work (which is a big deal in the southwest) and several people at work were really interested in what she was doing and supportive. My dad incorporated some juice as well- Congratulations my family!!

I have returned to lots of rain and a beautiful GREEN Montana. I also returned to an amazing Anusara Yoga workshop lead by Ross Rayburn. It was south of here 1.5 hours and such a blessing to have such a high level teacher lead us here in the Flathead Valley. I wasn't initially going to sign up for the lunch buffet even though it said it was Vegetarian/Vegan, but they said it was going to be fresh/delicious and created by the local health food store, so I signed up and was happily surprised to see several raw vegan options-WOW! It's amazing to see such progressive change happening even in the more remote corners of Montana! There was a beautiful fresh salad, raw salad dressing, raw kale salad, raw zucchini hummus and gorgeous fruit bowl...all very fresh and made with lots of LOVE!!

Do you see positive change happening in your local corners? xoxo!

Farmer Kelly

Wow-can it be true that it has been nearly a month since my last post?! I apologize those who look forward to reading. I have been savoring some deeply me time and it has been sacredly delicious! Blizzard season suddenly shifted to dry warmth and the garden transformed from being buried in 2 feet of snow to fully defrosted ground in a week!! I was all about it! I have been playing in the Growing Dome, we got the plastic up on our big hoop house and then, the garden was available for playing as well...hog heaven!! I have been grazing on our sprouting greens and if my hands are filthy from digging in the soil, sometimes I just kneel down and eat like a deer...try it, it's fun, makes me laugh and is just a wonderfully different perspective! We are growing tons of greens (spicy mesclun mix, bok choy, chard, kales, spinach and wild harvesting lamb's quarters) as well as sprouting wheatgrass, sunflower sprouts, watermelon, heirloom tomatoes, corn, basil, radish, broccoli, ETC!

I have been allowing and honoring myself to move in a very natural rhythm lately. If I am digging intently in a bed of the garden and notice a gorgeous sun bow overhead, I give myself the time to lay on my back, stretch out my body and enjoy the beauty I am surrounded by. Seeing the geese fly north (rather than south for the winter) makes me downright giddy....winter can be a long stretch here in northern Montana and it gives me the gift of deep gratitude for sunny days and budding trees. Every year, spring is as fresh as my first and that is a beautiful gift! Two days ago I was riding my bike with a dear friend in Glacier Park in shorts and a tank top, savoring the sun on my skin and relishing the breathtaking beauty and cascading waterfalls. Yesterday, I stepped out of the 70 degree Growing Dome and it was SNOWING...hard! There is a saying here...If you don't like the weather, just wait 5 minutes (it changes quickly!) Happy spring everyone!!

p.s. I have a new yummy snack I have been enjoying...Living Tree Community Tahini with cacao nibs and goji berries...their tahini is off the hook delicious!

Tahini, 16oz, (Living Tree Community)"> Goji Berries 16oz (raw, organic)">



Watching Peace grow! Ma-in-Law planted these kale seeds and I couldn't figure out what was going on as they seemed to be sprouting randomly rather than in rows. That beautiful woman planted them in the shape of a Peace sign and now we get to watch Peace GROW everyday!

Isn't he a doll? That's my hubby installing our 1st vent. The vents open and close with no electricity. From what I understand, the pistons have beeswax in them. When the dome reaches a certain warm temperature, the wax softens and pushes the piston out to open the vent. Later, as it cools, the piston slowly closes. It has been working perfectly!