Sometimes, a change is gonna come...

I've been putting off writing this post for about 2 months. 

I've put my house up for sale. Annie is in training and not at home, Prize went to a much better home than I could give him, given the craziness that is currently my life.  It's very weird not having livestock at home (other than poultry). With Annie in training until mid-September, I don't have to worry about her. When I pick her up, she'll be rideable, and I will be able to continue her training in dressage and driving. Kiri will be caring for the 'Tater (Who's Your Daddy), who won't be weaned until at least December, and probably later, given that mid-winter isn't a good time for that kind of stress.

I have come to the realization that I can't live where it rains 80-90 inches per year.  I have asthma, and this last year has just about killed me.  My 1984, semi-permeable mobile home is full of mold, mildew and assorted fungi - probably the reason I developed my anaphylactic mushroom allergy. I have had more lung problems in the last 2 years, than all the years before, and find myself increasingly short of breath (ok, I'm out of shape, too, but not that bad...).

I've also realized that I'm not like normal people.  I thrive on change.  Oh, I can stay put in a job for several years, but then I need to be doing something different. I've been at my current job for 6 years.  To say that I'm feeling chaffed, is putting it mildly - twitchy is a better adjective. My current job is as close to a dream job as you can get - good people, good, interesting stuff to do, and good pay.  However, it's in a location that will do me in. 

Some of my favorite jobs were temporary in nature.  I would go, clean things up, kick butt, take names - they loved me and I moved on. Life was good.  I also really enjoyed working for myself, setting my own hours, doing fun stuff in between doing my work.  I'm not all that concerned with my future - so long as I keep putting in my share, the universe has always provided what I need at the time.

So, my plan is to sell the house (mainly the land - the house isn't worth much), and move east to central Oregon.  The climate is more like Reno - I miss that way more than I thought I would.  It's has more "big sky" than where I live now. Walton is in a canyon, and while the trees and green are very nice, my eyes are feeling squished. 

By the end of summer (Sept/Oct) I will have relocated.

The hardest part right now is that I feel like I've failed as a farmer.  Anybody can have chickens...  Someday, I'll have another place and have pigs and sheep and maybe goats (along with the ponies), but for now, even the chickens are going to a new home soon (which they already have, thank goodness). It's very strange not to have hooved stock outside the back door - that's what brought me to Oregon in the first place! I wanted a place where my sheep could graze for at least part of the year, so I wouldn't have to feed so much hay. Now I have unused hay in my barn.  It won't go to waste - I'll haul it over to Correy to help feed Kiri and 'Tater. But it's like it's the end of a dream. I'm hoping it's just a suspension, and that I'll get back to it. 

The universe may have other ideas, though.  There are other things in the works, which are too nebulous to mention now.  If they solidify, I'll post about them later.

In the meantime, I'm purging stuff like mad.  I'm hoping to get down to just the bare essentials beyond bed, loom, fiber stuff, cd's and books - that's not asking too much, is it?