It’s Official: Stone’s Throw is for Sale!
How to Plan a Perfectly Balanced Life
10 years ago, my partner John and I bought a tri-level house on a third of an acre in Belgrade Montana. At the time I was a full-time Ghostwriter. I was beginning to experience a lot of back pain, neck pain, and headaches, whenever I spent a normal full-time day at my desk. When we moved to the new place, I looked at the giant yard and thought, “This is an opportunity to explore my interest in regenerative agriculture.” I would convert the bad lawn into a micro-farm, and then I would begin providing educational tours.
I hoped to divide my work life 50/50 between writing and permaculture education. I hoped that this change in my work life would be a better balance for me physically and spiritually: half my time spent outdoors and half indoors; half physical work and half desk work.
Picking sage in the Grape Arbor Garden.
Life is What Happens When You’re Busy Making Other Plans
I could not have predicted what really happened. Three years ago, I caught a post vaccination case of COVID-19. That infection poured inflammatory fuel on the fire of a genetic degenerative condition called “hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome” (hEDS).
I developed life-limiting nerve pain, sudden bouts of nausea, motor control problems, and poor balance. I learned that the pain and headaches I was experiencing ten years ago, were simply the early symptoms of the condition I have. I also learned the hard way that the combination of BOTH desk work and farm work is really bad for me.
These two beautiful ways to spend a work day—farm work in the morning, writing in the afternoon—were definitely not a “balanced life” for me. Instead, “My Perfect Life” quickly became “My Perfect Storm”.
Any time I use my hands to work on a repetitive task (writing, typing, weeding, planting), my shoulder and neck muscles begin to pull my neck vertebrae out of place, which pinches my spinal cord. This triggers the whole cascade of neurological symptoms. The feeling is akin to experiencing a lower brain concussion. Several times a day. Seriously???
It’s Official: We’re “Selling the Farm”
We have to sell. We have to, because I can no longer maintain this little paradise. It takes me ten times longer to do any physical task now. I can’t afford to hire help, because it takes so long to do the most basic maintenance tasks, I can’t work enough at my paid work to have enough funds to hire help… You see the endless cycle there. We gotta’ sell.
The past two months have been a tumult of preparations. John and I have completed what we call “Downsize Phase 1”. Finally, the real estate photos were completed last week. Our realtor placed the sign this evening. It’s official now. You can see the listing here.
Sitting by the once-barren apple tree and her new guild of companion plants.
Remember That Time…
I recently asked John to take a few pictures of me in the main planting beds. As you look at the images in this post, realize that when we moved here, those areas were just dying grass and weeds. The apple tree in that picture above was here when we moved in, but it was sick too. Everything else is something I planted myself.
Most of the plants in these photos, I grew from seed.
Some plants were gifts from friends.
Friends and members of the permaculture community helped sheet mulch and build the garden under the apple tree, the entire plum food forest, and the hoop houses in the kitchen garden.
The barren apple tree was revived by the infusion of sheet-mulching underneath her.
Over the years, John used his old theatre van to drag salvaged timbers to build raised beds, countless loads of bricks and stones, and innumerable loads of cardboard for sheet mulching.
Visitors from all over the globe have stayed in the Stone’s Throw Guest Haven, to tour the farm and learn more about microfarming and permaculture.
Stone’s Throw Microfarm is way more than a quirky “yard farm”. It’s a tribute to community care, local food systems, and global connections to empower others to grow their own food.
Shit. I’m gonna’ miss this place!
I pray that the next owners will steward it even better than I have. Please help me find those owners. Share the MLS Listing with anyone you know who might be interested in this little permaculture paradise in Southwest Montana.
A Mindful Final Season
I want to remember this final season here, and I’m trying to do all the usual springtime tasks with more mindfulness. I will keep these pictures as evidence of what I did in this past decade—a monumental effort, just before I went into a physical decline. It kind of reminds me of how many plants will “go to seed” only when under great stress.
Don’t get me wrong. I’ve still got decades of writing time ahead of me! By using a mix of adaptive equipment and voice-to-text apps, I will be able to write and edit for clients and work on my own books for many more years. Because I know more about my condition now, I am able to adapt my work space and work schedule, to prevent severe symptoms from happening. That’s something to celebrate!
Saying goodbye to the farm will make it possible to preserve myself physically for this new chapter in my life. A chapter characterized by greater focus on my client work at Montana Coauthor, my own writing, and taking many small walks throughout the day to keep this body happy. Come to think of it, that doesn’t sound too bad.
As I’ve said in past posts, the one thing that life here has taught me is that everything has a season. I’m entering Autumn a touch sooner than I thought I would. But I’ve finally been empowered with an accurate diagnosis. I know what I need to do to care better for myself. I’m ready to embrace this new season.
Stay tuned as we look for the new owners of Stone’s Throw!
