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enamored by “god's own country” circumstances and a happy ending. looking for some version of that life.
i've been hanging out in remote east-central new mexico for about a year and a half now, where my heart seems content to stay. most of my effort goes into building a small self-sustaining base through regenerative agriculture and land stewardship. i usually avoid calling it permaculture, but for conversation's sake, let's call it that.
coming from pennsylvania, the adjustment has been dramatic. the romantic vision of growing food quickly gave way to reality: wind, heat, cold nights, poor soil, water management, infrastructure, shade, and a land that doesn't particularly care what i had planned for the day. so far, it feel less like success or failure and more like paying tuition haha
still, i love it here.
the wide-open scrublands, the big skies, the silence, the feeling of enough room to think. i enjoy the slower rhythm that comes with remote living: tending projects, sharing meals, watching storms move across the horizon, and ending a day pleasantly tired from meaningful work. the place is far from finished, but it has become home, and i find myself looking deeper into it rather than elsewhere.
i'm in my early 50s, predominantly vegetarian, and tend to borrow from zen, buddhism, and taoism for perspective. growing up in pennsylvania also left me with an appreciation for amish notions of simplicity, utility, stewardship, and making do with what you have. ambivert is probably the closest label. i enjoy practical problem-solving, creative wandering, thoughtful conversation, and people who can comfortably move between those spaces.
i'm fairly open-minded about who people are and how they identify. what matters more to me is how they move through the world. kindness. curiosity. self-awareness. the ability to communicate honestly. a willingness to continue growing.
richness and wealth have always seemed like different things to me. the life i'm trying to build values the former: cooking and shared meals, having small gathering with like-minded folks, shared effort, shared learning, and the quiet satisfaction of creating something meaningful with another person over time.
if any of this resonates, i'd enjoy hearing from you.
