Nothing shortens a learning curve quite like a decent mentor. The people who I have learned the most from were never on a stage giving speeches. They were rough around the edges, and often had never sat in a college classroom. My first (informal) mentor for raising goats was a chain smoking mail lady with a heart of gold. I learned about ranching and cattle from older guys who rarely left the ranch. I learned about sourdough from a retired National Park law enforcement officer (who served in Vietnam as an Army Ranger) originally from Georgia. I learned a ton of fencing tricks from a lady sheep rancher 12 years younger than me. My favorite mentors learned from grandparents or the school of hard knocks. They can be shy about sharing information, and it definitely requires building a relationship to get their help. Most important is to listen to the stories, and the long version.. To ask specific questions, and be ok if they don't have an answer. Often, they may get back to you with the answers you needed. Mentors can save you years of mistakes, and definitely make the journey a lot more fun. You never know when or where you might cross paths with just the person you need to learn from. Keep your ears open and be open to meeting new people of all walks of life. Image: Agnes the cow looking over her new hay feeder.

The winter plague has hit my house, and I am not winning the immune battle today. After nearly fainting on a zoom call, I went back to bed and slept for 3 more hours. But... There are no sick days in ranching or caregiving. Lucky for me, I have built systems that keep my house and farm running almost on autopilot, so I can do a very bare minimum and my 2 humans and 83+ animals are all taken care of. What I set up: Being an hour away from the grocery store means there is no such thing as a "quick trip to the store" for more decongestant or food. There is already a months supply on hand at my house, and so there was zero worry that we had what we needed. Soon, I will release a module in the classroom walking you through my process for prepping for winter bomb cyclones or zombie plagues. The farm maintenance has everything really streamlined, so feeding is quick and easy. I had hoped to move more hay to the goats before the next big storm hit tomorrow, but there is enough to get through even if I don't (because I seriously can't). Thanks to the systems I built, I can do everything little bits at a time, and spend the rest of the day sleeping. Wishing you all a happy (and healthy) Christmas.

Baby steps for the week of Dec 21st

There are two habits that lie between burnout and powerful progress. 1. Aligning your goals with your deepest values. 2. Celebrating your progress. I will discuss goals in a few days. There is a rhythm for developing habits. Cue, action, feedback, reinforcement. I will be going into this into much more detail about habits in the classroom soon . Much of the work we do doesn't have visual cues of completion (feedback and reinforcement). Or it is a task that is repeating with the only feedback being shame if it ISN'T done (laundry, eating vegetables), or the payoff is so far out that it doesn't feel real (investing). Even the most disciplined will take action to completion, see the results, but do not take the time to register the success. This keeps the loop open in the background in our brains. Eventually it feels like we are constantly working, and we start burning out. Celebrating the completion is the reinforcement that our brans need to close the file in our brains. It turns "work" into "progress". That feeling of progress is what releases the dopamine reward that reinforces that the actions were worth the effort. It also frees our mental energy for the next task. Effective celebrating varies by the person and the task. Sometimes we celebrate just trying. Or we celebrate the 5th repetition. Small acts of recognizing the effort can be saying kind words to yourself or sharing with a supportive person. This is where having a community group that has similar goals (like this one) is helpful. As the action becomes more automated, the celebrations will shift. They might be farther apart, or a smaller recognition. But they need to still be there. The action needs to continue to feel relevant to deeper personal goals and values, and celebrating cements the relevance. This is how life long habits are maintained. What is one action or habit you are celebrating from 2025?

Indoor gardening counts! House plants can significantly improve mood and overall well-being, and it is a way to continue the gardening fun all winter. This jungle window has a combination of almost 60 food and decorative plants (counting the terrarium underneath). Some of the decorative plants I have had for 15 years or more, or they have a specific purpose (Jasmine or the carnivores). I inherited the big Easter cactus in 2003. Indoor food plants in this image: Purple and orange sweet potatoes (leaves are edible and nutritious) Coffee Tea (Camellia sensis) Lemongrass Rosemary Orange (baby from seed) Other good choices that I have had luck with: Basil Mint Banana Cuban oregano Aloe Ginger Garlic Peas Micro greens Thyme Parsley There are many more that can work as well. What is one food plant you have wanted to try growing indoors? Bonus: share your favorite indoor plant.