Announcing Cold Antler Confidential!MAKE THE DREAM HAPPEN!

Cold Antler Confidential is a workshop for anyone dreaming of a farm of their own, but isn't there yet. It's a day dedicated to serious discussions on making this happen and building a plan to do so. It's a ruthless workshop, a place for dreamers who are ready to become doers. We'll start out with introductions and our stories but quickly dive into a step-by-step list for making it happen. You won't leave the workshop with a farm, but you will leave knowing how to make it possible and surrounded by support, success stories, and the honest truths about what this life is like - good and horrible.

The Confidential part is this: sometimes our farm dreams are secrets, or the intensity of them. Too many of us are told how ridiculous it is to want to "Go Back to the Land" or get chickens in our suburban backyards. We're told it's nice to think about farms for a retirement goal, but to actually pull up stakes, buy land, and start ordering from seed catalogs in bulk is considered reckless by some and idealist tripe by others. This is a workshop were you can rest-assured everyone shares your disease. Everyone there will have barn heart and will want to laugh, vent, share stories, and more. I know i'll want to do the same. Come and ask me anything, about the public life and the blog verses the hard realities of living alone on the farm. This will be a place all of us can get out some of the frustrations we've come across. There are things I just don't feel comfortable writing about on the blog. Some things are just easier to talk about in your living room, you know? It'll be that kind of session!

And we'll figure out plans of actions for us. What are your current limitations (remember, current is just that, CURRENT) and what can you do now? We'll discuss grants, crowd funding, bartering, blogs and special programs for new farmers or rural development.  It was just such a program that got me on my land and knowing what to ask for and how to find it could have you planting your own kale patch next fall.

I'll try to have local farmers and neighbors join us, explaining how they got started and what caused the mental shift to make it happen. It'll be a flurry of conversations, inspirations, stories and plans. Some of you may have all you need to start a market garden now. Some of you have more than enough space to start breeding meat rabbits and poultry. Some of you may have cottage business talents, waiting to pop out. The truth about making a living out here is diversity, frugality, and flexibility. So you can leave with a list of ideas, resources, and steps you will start taking that very day to get towards your goal.

Everyone's story will be totally different, everyone will have different limitations I'm sure. Some won't be able to move. Others will be picking up local real estate flyers. I hear about local places all the time, through chatter and messages. The realtor who sold me this farm recently emailed me about a homestead for sale up the road, just in case anyone is asking. People ask all the time.

This will be in indoor winter workshop here in the farmhouse. It'll be from 10AM Saturday to 4PM that night with an hour break for lunch. Bring notebooks, pens, and you'll have a little homework to do in advance but not much. There will be a fireside conversation, literally, and warm dogs and cats in your laps. I will do my best to clean up the dog hair.

SO! If you share my dream. If you are scared to "come out of the tool shed" to your family about wanting a rural life. If you have been reading enough memoirs and want to create your own story, come to Cold Antler Confidential! It's a day about doing.

Cold Antler Confidential
Sat. January 18th 2014
10AM-4PM
Jackson, NY
Cost: $100

THERE WILL BE KALE!

I Am An Addict

I am an addict. I truly am. I'm the worst sort, too. The kind that goes into frenzy for what she wants, driving miles out of her way to get a fix. The kind that consumes without thinking, without noticing the growing consequences. The kind of junky that suffers from mood swings, bloating, tooth aches and maddening desire. Yes. It is scary to admit, but also a huge relief to finally come clean.

I, Jenna Woginrich, have an addiction to sugar.

I didn't realize it until I started a huge change in how I eat. I started a primal/paleo diet a few weeks ago and refined sugars are not a part of it. Neither are grains, soy, high-fructose anything, white potatoes and beer. This has been an amazing gift to myself, this kind of eating. I am losing weight, have clearer skin, and brighter eyes. I am never hungry, finding myself having to make myself eat. I have double the energy. I feel lighter, and clearer-headed than I have in a long time. I am a a month into eating this way and this morning I woke up feeling the way a chimney must feel after a good cleaning - all the gunk removed. I also feel like just now I am finally gaining the benefits of my martial arts training, farm chores, and walks. My body knows what to do with energy better. I'm an efficient machine. It is wonderful.

I should also note the word "diet" is a bit of a misnomer. Paleo eating is more of a concept than it is a set of rules you follow. For more on this read the great essay by Jack Spirko I linked to above. I'll post about this on Facebook so we can have a full out discussion there, too.

However, this new enlightenment required a few weeks of all-out misery. It wasn't until I stopped eating sugar that I realized how much I was consuming. It was in my coffee first thing in the morning. I'd eat it with something else sweet, too. It didn't matter if it was syrup on hash browns or a pumpkin muffin, I was eating sugar. Throughout the day I would binge, both on natural sugars and unnatural ones. Even though I thought I was eating healthy most of the time, I was far from it. Eating a plate of free-range eggs covered in cheese with three pieces of toast is no healthy meal, regardless of how happy the birds are.... And I realized that when I got serious about changing things in my diet and really stopped the intake.

When I stopped eating as much sugar I had horrible headaches, cravings, and I swelled up like a balloon. I was grumpy, beyond grumpy. I would sneak in bits of sugary carbs here or there, feeling like the shameless addict I was. For example, I would buy a Stewart's muffin and eat a bite and then give the rest to Gibson in a guilty fuss. He'd chomp it down and I'd feel that rush you get from a hit of the good stuff. Sublime, like pouring smiles on your brain. Oh, sugar. You were the one for me.

That was back at the start of the diet, now those cravings are gone. Yesterday I did that same bit. In a moment of weakness I bought a muffin and took a bite. I thought I would get that little buzz but it felt like chewing wet cardboard. Glory Be! I thought about the meal I ate earlier in the day, my own pigs' bacon and fat drizzled over cooked kale with herbs. It was a cereal bowl's worth and I had to make myself finish it. Besides a cup of coffee and this bite of crapffin it was all I ate that day and it was nearing 6pm. I probably wouldn't eat dinner. A few weeks ago one bowl of food would have left me ravenous, but since all those refined things are gone what was once filler is now fuel. A meal like that is a primal mix of meat, fat, and mostly vegetables. It is what our bodies have been designed to consume since the earliest phases of man's evolution, as we are the descendants of hunter gatherers. Siberian kale and domestic pigs might be a modern take on that ol' diet but the honesty is the same. I gave the whole muffin to the dog. Dog food is what it is.

I wanted to share this because of how great it feels and how well it is working. I have been struggling with my weight for years, being the kind of person who eats her feelings and then feels bad about it. I have tried so many fads and extremes, from veganism to carbless to juicing fasts. But those diets weren't me. This one is. This is the food I grow, that my neighborhood grows. It embraces farming, hunting, high-activity lifestyles and my love of a rare steak. This I can do. I look forward to sharing the results over this winter and hearing other folks' stories as they kick out grains, excess dairy, soy, sugar and starches. It sounds like zero fun and hard to do, but I can tell you I am far from restricted. I am enjoying the eggs, meat, and veggies this region produces with gusto. And I have been known to splurge on some "paleo" junk foods as well like Chinese spare ribs and chicken wings with blue cheese. But mostly I just crave real, fatty, meaty meals with lots of veggies. Every once in a while I'll splurge on a beer but since it's just bread in a bottle I stick to cider. And you know that is no big sacrifice for me. Hard cider is really high in sugar so that is a special treat as well, but I don't end up blowing up like a balloon after two bottles like I do with ales.

I think a primal diet is a wonderful diet. It embraces the foods us homesteaders and grass farmers produce. It is a perfect way to support local CSAs, veggie stands, farmers markets and meat producers because the diet strongly urges to avoid confined meat and chemically treated veggies as much as possible. Some think this makes it elitist or too expensive to do, but like I said, I ate one bowl of food yesterday and could hardly finish it. When you eat better for your body you need less, and want less. his means you SPEND less. When you aren't causing your glycemic index to impersonate a roller coaster, you don't want to shove bread down your maw every 5 hours.

So am I still a sweet addict? Absolutely. I will always be one. My brain is trained that way, but I'm not going back to that life. I have no doubt my extra pounds will slink off in a matter of weeks and the way it'll feel to slide into a size 8 jean again and work outdoors all day will be a far better feeling than any French Toast platter. But for the now, based on how I feel as I write to you, how excited I am for the pulled pork in the crock pot and picking kale out of my own garden for dinner….. the old me can keep her French Toast. This girl's gone wild.

Wx Woes

Has rained everyday for almost a week. Due to clear up at the weekend. Blue skies on Saturday. 40H booked for my next adventure here in Oregon.

5 Season Passes On Sale!

Here at Cold Antler Farm I offer a bunch of classes, workshops, and private lessons in everything from fiddling for beginners to milking dairy goats. My homestead is also an education center and the experiences poeple have here are one of the main inspirations to keep this place going strong. I am offering Season Passes (come to any workshop, for a year) on sale for $250. That is less than the cost of one fiddle or archery camp. The only extra costs to season pass members is for supplies, so if you buy a season pass and want to attend fiddle camp this summer, you still need to buy the fiddle. Same goes for bows, dulcimers, or whatever else I may have come up with. Workshops planned for winter and spring include working with wool, knittnig, spinning, chickens, rabbits, horses, archery, dulcimers, soapmaking, fiddles, writing, gardens, goats and more. It's a chance to not just read about, but become part of the blog and community here in Jackson. Workshops are the main place I have made local friends and am so grateful for the folks who have been coming for years now. To some it is almost a tradition!

It's a great deal and a great way to support my farm. If you are interested in one of these 5 passes let me know, and when you do sign up you can nap spots for fiddle camps, upcoming archery events, and so one. You get to just email and say "I'm coming to (fill in event here) and the spot is yours! Neat!

Contact me through electronic mail here: Jenna@itsafarwalk.com

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Learning The Ropes

The gang down at Common Sense Farm (the commune three miles down the hill from me) have recently taken on some draft power in the form of two donks. It was a slow start, getting the right tack and learning to work with the clever equines but over the past two months they have really started to perform. Here is my friend Othniel's son learning the ropes of ground driving with Ramona. It was the first time they worked her in a full collar/harness/bit rig and I was floored by how well she did. I expected the donkeys to panic, or balk, or perhaps just stand there looking bored but they did everything they were asked with purpose. I can't get that out of Jasper most times in the cart, so you can understand the smile on the boy's face!

Rob from the Washington County Draft Animal Association was there, as he was the guy I put them in touch with to outfit their donkeys. Othniel is exactly where I was when I started with Merlin, excited to drive but in need of gear, lessons, and practice. Rob was there to help show him how to train up the donkeys and outfit them correctly since he specializes in ponies and had plenty of extra harnesses, collars, and lines to sell for a good price. So a deal was struck and Othniel now has two harnesses for two very encouraging donkeys! If that wasn't cool enough, Rob also brought his wagon team and gave all the kids at Common Sense a wagon ride while he was there. That's 38 rides, folks. Talk about customer service!

I was touched to see this all happen. Touched to see neighbors working with neighbors, touched to see a pre-teen with driving lines in his hand instead of an iPhone, and touched to hear about all the laughter and smiles the kids got riding behind a team of trotting ponies under the fall foliage, which is AMAZING this year. I am so grateful to have the Common Sense community in my life. I really am. While I'm not cut out for their church or regulations, seeing a group of people living in voluntary simplicity warms me. Their life, like mine, isn't easy or always pretty but somedays it is. Somedays there are good animals working in harness, and beautiful blue skies, and children laughing behind the clip clop of a pony cart on a weekday morning. This is a place where those things happen, and I am awed and honored to get to share in the effort and the rewards.