Learning to live with nature ..... & dogs, cats, horses, goat...

Cowboys! for a day

I have always been fascinated by different lifestyles that people have. Till recently, I have not seen a lot of lifestyles. Sure people have different jobs and different routine life, but it starts and ends with going to office, coming back and spending time with family. I am not talking about a student or a college hostel life, because in the end they also thrive to follow the same routine.

People do have variations in job, but almost all of them have similar lifestyle and same complaints - long working hours, no passion for work, insufficient salaries, etc. I feel people are mostly lost in their routine life and forget their passion and their individuality in the process.

Farm House in a forest

I met Jess and Lita in Charlottesville - they are an amazing pair. They are both very affectionate and have seen a few more years than us. Lita mentioned she has a horse and since then I was very excited to try my hands on horse riding - and pose like a cowboy :). We decided to meet on Sat morning - 4th May and have my little adventure.

It was a 10 minutes drive on a dirt track off the main road to reach the farm. We could not have imagined a lush green farm of around 80 acres after driving on a trail. Farm is owned by Apu (name changed) who graduated from Stanford around 22 years back and since then has traveled around the world as a sailor - that was her passion. Her partner, also an Ivy league graduate, was more passionate about wood work and has a comprehensive workshop there.

Feeding apples to Gazar

Juhi Feeding carrots to Gazar

We roamed around the farm, picked up fresh asparagus from the garden and finally reached the barn. There were 9 horses and I got to learn a lot about how to maintain horses and also the differences between the Western and the English style of horse riding.

'Pretty Please' - Twister's way of saying 'Give me apples'

Before we left the farm, we went inside the lovely house. Even though Apu wasn't there we felt welcomed inside - mi casa es su casa is what Lita told us - it is good to have such friends! I enjoyed the story how Apu followed her passion and is living in the woods.

On our way - heap of horse shoes fixed by Jose

We visited another friend of Lita and Jess - Jose (name changed). He has double Masters (in Maths and Finance) and has been living for years in a similar farm as Apu's, in the forest. He has a garden of various herbs (origano, basil and many more), mushrooms, vegetables and chickens. We saw how mushrooms are cultivated by drilling holes in wood logs and seeding the holes with spores. Their toilet was nothing but a seat in open with a view to a never ending forest.

Lastly we went to visit Lita's house - another 5 minutes drive on an unpaved road. As we drove into the forest, her house with a very beautiful driveway came up out of nowhere. It was a very cosy 1 room and a 2 storey house with no electricity and no running water. I didn't expect that living would even be possible in such a lifestyle. But as Lita showed us around, I found it be the most beautiful house I have ever seen. It has a small generator to power her kitchen and a natural stream of water nearby (a few meters) for most of the water needs. She has a music place, fireplace, dining table, kitchen, bathtub and a warm bedroom - but no cupboard and no useless furniture. Her refrigerator was something that my granny uses - clay pot refrigeration. She herself made her house - how amazing is that!

Spotty the goat & Shaka the dog at Lita's house in the woods

Just outside her house, she has a pet shelter for - 1 rooster, 3 hens, 1 goat, 1 pig, 1 cat and 2 dogs. Many of these were rescued by Lita. Lulu, one of the dogs of Lita, was miraculously saved by vets after Lita found her half dead on a road. Now, they all live happily together and were very friendly and loyal to Lita. Spotty, the goat, considered himself as a dog and would do everything that Lulu and Shaka (the other dog) do. I had never seen such amazing lifestyles and real people who would follow their passion in farming (or non corporate systems).

After taking all the inspirations I knew I would blog this experience to read it after a couple of years and get inspired again :)