The Four Deep Seasons
Hello, hi. I have felt compelled for a while now to share our experiences with our land similarly to how I shared our experiences from some of our thru-hikes (you can find our Colorado Trail and Pacific Crest Trail/Long Trail blogs on this site as well). By creating a space to share photos and reflections and then open it up for people we know and love to see what we are up to and how the progress is coming along.
We bought just over 5 acres of Vermont land in June, 2021.
One of the first things I want to acknowledge about this land is that this is Abenaki land. On our one-year land anniversary, Keith & I felt compelled to start a tradition of not only acknowledging this part of our land's history, but also, to make a donation to the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation (https://abenakitribe.org/). We pay land taxes, because we are required to, but I believe a part of what we can and should do in this role is to give money to they people who had this land stolen from them. What we give is not nearly enough. But, it's something. As time goes on, I hope to increase what we can give as our personal reparation in acknowledgement of the original and rightful stewards of this land.
Second, I want to acknowledge that privilege has helped to get us here. To be land-"owners," caretakers - or rather, stewards of this beautiful land. We hold gratitude for this space we get to hold onto for a while and will use as a living space sometime in the near future. We had help from family to be able to pay for the land in a way that worked best for us. Buying raw land with the intention to live on it is not easy if you don't have the full amount in cash to pay for it. This privilege needs to be acknowledged.
Lastly, I want to acknowledge that I am a highly sensitive person (HSP) and that the past few years have been particularly heavy for me. I am working on healing. Some of the topics that are on my mind may arise from time to time as I am a believer that one part of our well-being is connected to all of the others and that we are also all connected to each other. I know many people have been going through turbulent times. You never know what someone else is going through. I always will ask for kindness, compassion and understanding as I share these parts of our lives because I believe in learning and growing as a person and that openness, vulnerability and sharing with honesty is one way we can grow and learn together. I offer you that same kindness, compassion and understanding.
Now, about the land. ✨
Finding this spot was quite a journey for us. We both felt unsure that we would ever find "the right spot." We had been searching for years, in different states, in different places within each state. We came close many times to no avail. But we found it, and we love it, and we keep falling even more in love with it. It brings us peace and calm each time we visit it. In a time where there has been much turbulence, this land has helped to ground us in ways we have needed so deeply.
This land was raw and undeveloped when we got it. It is far from "perfect" for any type of typical development, which is why it sat on the market for so long and also why it was so affordable in such a beautiful area. It is essentially a giant hillside with wetlands, and creeks and streams and rocks and roots and lots and lots of trees. Last fall (2022), we had about ~95% of a gravel driveway put in and completed. When the snow melts and the mud subsides, we will get the last ~5% done which will be the first, completed step in our process to create an accessible and livable space for us.
We are taking things one step at a time and after much deliberation, still need to decide what step will come next. We plan to begin with humble yet sustainable beginnings. Basically, we have plans to live in a 25' yurt. The state of Vermont requires that we be connected to a septic system, although we would greatly prefer to use a composting toilet. We would love to begin with living off of the grid but also may need to think ahead about what we need to get in place before we set up the yurt if we want running water and on-grid electricity in the future. We are working to save up money in between each project while also affording to live in the apartment and life we currently live in. It is a tricky little balance.
Some of my favorite pictures we have captured so far are of this special spot near the creek, looking south, into our opening with a fen, under this beautiful tree (a fen is similar to a swamp, except that it has water running through it.) This tree flows over the creek so beautifully. We have revisited this spot multiple times, in different seasons to capture the changes that come in the four deep seasons of Vermont.
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