Grant and Paige: the "final week of July" and the transition into August

Can you believe it? July has come and gone. We are going into our 4th week being at the Grange School of Adaptive Agriculture!

I had an amazing, busy and long weekend. I couldn't make a post on Saturday because I was out camping in the middle of nowhere with hundreds of loving people who came together with great intentions. So, here I am doing this on a Sunday. I will get to explaining what I have done over the weekend later into my post.

Love is grand. It really is.. man. Sometimes I get so lost in love around here and I forget that a society exists out there and how there are billions of humans who aren't aware to some extent of what Love is and how much nature can provide for them in abundance. It is both a beautiful and heartbreaking feeling. This is why I believe we are in a very weird time in our humanity. This is because there is "no one way to farm" and there is only ONE reality and ONE Mother. Our All-Mother is an organic being, so that means there is definitely one way to farm, since she is "a singular system". The one way to farm is through Love. The fact that this is being thought of shows how divided we humans are as a race.

"The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings." - Masanobu Fukuoka

LONG LIVE PARAGON!

So, my third week shall be recapped. I feel as if it went by fairly quick and most of the lessons 

Monday, July 25, 2016 was an easy and normal day. We went from breakfast to fieldwork for a few hours then lunch to a class on how ruminants are different from monogastric animals such as dogs, cats and us humans. As well as, the business aspects of these ruminants. Ruminants are animals that have a complex, compartmentalized stomach characterized by one large compartment in which microbial fermentation of ingested feed occurs. The ruminants comprise the cattle, goat, sheep, antelopes, deer, giraffes, and their relatives. We also learned that having the right breed matters for business in breeding, dairy, meat, fiber, and land management. It was a fun class. I was mostly interested in the meat and fiber aspects. This class opened some doors in my head on the road to Paragon. Because I am definitely going to collect wool for its multipurpose use and I am slowly learning about the meat industry and would like to do my part to feed people healthier unprocessed meat.

Take a look at this good link below about a Harvard research study on processed meat VS unprocessed meat. This post is 6 years old but still relevant.

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/processed-meats-unprocessed-heart-disease-diabetes/ 

On Tuesday, July 26, 2016, we learned about "cereal grains" ALL DAY long while at a field trip to a local farm/garden called the Biointensive garden which is situated on the Golden Rule Ranch. The word "grain" was ingrained into our minds that day, hah. It was a very informative day though. We learned about the main whole grains such as, barley, wheat, rye, corn, rice, oats, and quinoa. There are a lot of varieties but we were only introduced to a few, which are the "cereal grains" and their methods of growing and harvesting. The Biointensive garden teaches techniques to individuals from third world countries, on how to break down grains without technology. They also have programs that teach individuals how to farm biointensively. Other than that field trip, the heat was very brutal throughout the day and everyone was sweating their grains off. I remember the eve coming by and the coolness of the air made a huge change. We all relaxed well that evening.

Wednesday, July 27, 2016 was another typical day of breakfast to field work for a few hours and lunch then some R&R before a class on holistic planning/mapping/diagramming a farm. 

 

(A picture of the field being worked on by our group on a Wednesday morning.)

We mostly learned that planning and mapping any farm effectively helps a lot of people down the road with operations when their farm becomes more established. We were taught to view the landscape in terms of boundaries, zones, and common features in a way that simplifies and clarifies the relationships on the land. We also learned about different open source software available to keep maps/plans of the land. There are main overlays such as, boundaries, zones, future human development space, cultivation, livestock living areas, pipelines, environmental variables, and flow diagrams where most human traffic goes. It was an interesting class. I also remember how incredibly hard it was to stay awake because I was exhausted that day from field work and had to get up in the middle of the lesson to get some raw cashews so I could gobble on them in an attempt to stay awake for the remainder of the class. It worked well, hah.

After the mapping class, I excitedly hurried over at full speed, on a bike, to the ranch community center, with Sky, for our weekly Wednesday night dinner. I think if I remember correctly, the bible mentioned that we should always build bigger and longer tables so more people can be fed and that everyone can get together. I have seriously lost track of how many potlucks we have gone to while being here. I realized communal living is necessary for a thriving community.

Thursday, July 28, 2016, was consisted of little field work in the morning and a class in the early afternoon then a trip to town for the farmers market. Every Thursday morning, we harvest and prep the fresh food for consumers for the market that afternoon. Before the farmers market, we had a local individual who is a powerhouse in strategical social media/marketing come lecture on what we could do to get ourselves out there. His name is Ian, and he works for a local organization that connects new farmers to the community and he does a great job at it. The internet is an awesome tool because it is kind of a level playing field that connects all of us together. While learning in class, I was slowly realizing I was a little ahead of the curve because I had already thought of these strategies that were mentioned in class that day. But it was definitely a good refresher to learn these things again from a professional. Basically, to brand something.. CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING.

 (Lynz washing some red/white onions for the farmers market. With Garlic cloves sitting to the left. and a beautiful mountain scenery is sitting in the background.)

Later that evening, a group of us went to get some ice cream at a local place around the corner from the farmers market. Scoops is a local favorite, and was a good way to wrap up a hot day.

Friday, July 29, 2016 to Sunday, July 31, 2016 was a good weekend. On Friday morning we did our weekly group check in to emotionally recap on the week and on what we could do better for the next week as well as acknowledging other members in our groups for what good they have done during the week. We did a little carpooling and livestock management planning so we could all attend the "Not So Simple Living" Fair throughout the weekend in Boonville, California which is a little drive south of the farm in the middle of Anderson valley. We promised the event organizers to do volunteer work so we could get in the fair for free the entire weekend. Most of us were assigned to different shifts on the fairgrounds. 

On Saturday, we went to the fair to attend workshops/demonstrations all day from 10am to 5pm. After the workshops, Sky, Paige and I chose to work in the kitchen with a wonderful old lady named Barbara who was incredibly loving, talkative and loved our dreadlocks. We were the SWAT team for the flies in the kitchen, did some cleaning, ate some good juicy watermelon and cantaloupes while helping fair guests cut their fruits/melons and breads that were brought in for the potluck dinner that night. We did so much in the kitchen and worked longer than planned. Barbara loved how hard working we were and excused us from our volunteer shift the following morning. She said if anyone says differently, just tell them the kitchen Nazi says so! The lil old lady had some power around there, haha.

We set up our tent in the late evening and then when the darkness came, the stars were so extremely bright you could see the milky way's spiral arm, the dark rift and the meteor shower. We left the tent shield off so we could see the stars through the mesh while laying down in our sleeping bags. It was so beautiful and peaceful.

Sunday morning came by and we had a big pancake breakfast then one workshop demo, which was the hunting demo and then we headed back to the farm to take care of our livestock and I started working on our blog post.

I could write pages about the event I attended but I don't know where to start. It was too informative and exposed me to many awesome methods of living. I learned about blacksmithing and forging, a little about medicinal herbs and tinctures, a little about rocket stoves and hobo cans, and hunting. there were about 15-20 workshops going on at once during each hour, so you could choose to stay for the entire workshop/demo or just attend 5 minutes of each workshop and see all of them. But we chose to stay for most of the time to make sure we absorbed good amounts of information.

http://notsosimple.info/

Check out the link for information on the fair. It was very cool and I look forward to next year's fair.

Here are a few random pictures I have took over the week.
 

(Our camping circle at the camp area in the fairgrounds. There were hundreds of people there. I did not have time to take good pictures of my time at the fair over the weekend because we were very busy meeting people and learning stuff. I considered the event very unique because there were old people and young people all learning from each other. And everyone was there to learn so the vibe was amazing.)

"There is no such thing as away" (Everyone at the Not so Simple Living Fair does their best to either recycle or compost everything to create as little waste as possible so they started a crafty little mandala with all the items that couldn't be recycled or composted.)

(Trash monster on the Art of Waste Mandala)

(Next to the fair is Pennyroyal farms where we took a short tour before returning home. They produce goat milk products and wine which we were able to taste at the end. VERY delicious!)

(The beauty of this picture sings with me. You are looking outside of our kitchen into the mountains.)

(Mom Cat looking very fancy and relaxed. She likes joining us at the dining table under the gazebo when we are all together)

(One heck of a meal, beef with beans and rice and quinoa and some pepper with garlic cloves on top of a big cabbage leaf)

Kelsey: "The Minimalists" Inspired Packing Party

Good Mornin everyone! I'm sorry I've been a bit quiet lately, life gets so busy if we don't pay attention to taking time for ourselves doesn't it! The other day... maybe a week ago? I decided to do a small youtube video about minimizing my personal belongings and how I'm going about it. Now I know some people won't understand, some people will think I'm nuts... but that's ok... I am! 

I'm not entirely done with my packing party and I'm hoping to get more work done on it today as I have half a day off of work, but we shall see! Anyway without further ado, my face, on youtube. 

Much Love!

"Simplicity involves unburdening your life, and living more lightly with fewer distractions that interfere with a high quality life, as defined uniquely by each individual."

                  Linda Breen Pierce - 1947 

Grant and Paige: the Week of July 17 to July 23

Friends and Family,

The second week has passed!

I shall open my heart and set free of all the light I have from within. and I will not falter! Our roots in the present moment are becoming deeper and stronger. We are becoming even more conscious of the Now by dwelling in the All-Mother's infinite love and eating what She provides us. Our growth is Paragon's growth and the growth of Paragon Sustainability will result in the upliftment of humanity!

The group here is amazing. We are becoming a tightly knitted group with great vibes. We respect and care for one another. I do think this 2016 Fall term could go down into the Grange's history as one of the best terms. I will credit this to the cohesion we have been developing over the past 2 weeks. Also, I have been teaching us ASL for the past week. I definitely think this has contributed greatly to our ability to be cohesive. They are picking up very quickly and I believe they could know the language well by the next 2 months and we have 3 months to go!

Ah.. It is time for me to do a recap of WEEK TWO! I shall now reminisce.

(A beautiful picture of a Tree and a Chair basking in the love of our Sun. This was taken next to the gazebo on a lovely Sunday evening.)







Sunday, July 17,  2016, was one of our days off. I believe I mentioned before in one of my previous posts that sometimes we will have 2 or 3 days off through Friday to Sunday. This will vary depending on local events, festivals, and sometimes one class will fall on a Friday.

One of the highlights on this day of relaxation was receiving a cute little bundle of 40 yellow fluff balls. Yes, the yellow fluff balls are baby chickens. Actually, now I remember that all 40 aren't yellow fluff balls. There are two baby fluff balls that happened to be black/white and brown/white. Those two babes are as cute as the yellow fluff balls though.

(A baby yellow fluff ball being held by Sky)

(A baby Paige looking very happy and cute while holding a baby chicken with a part of Grant's creepy eye looking down at the camera. We are attempting a "welfie" which is a group selfie.)

 Our Sunday was composed mostly of relaxation and the excitement of the arrival of these little chicks.

On Monday, July 18, 2016, we woke up to a foggy and cloudy sky for the first time while being here, surprisingly it wasn't a terribly cold morning as most mornings around here are. On our way up to breakfast we noticed an "ant crossing" sign which gave us a good belly laugh.

(The first cloudy morning we had here. This is the view from our tents on the way to the gazebo which we go to every morning)

(Aforementioned ant crossing sign)

For some reason every morning/night the ants cross this specific area. It has something to do with the the grass on the left on this picture. They like to bring seeds back to their homes which are giant ant hills to the right of this picture. I don't know who made the sign but it was really random and funny.

Later on that morning, we did some field work for a few hours. The first few hours was mostly spent weeding and then for the last hour I used a hoe to create a dirt path next to a block of cabbage growth so it would be easier to weed that certain side. Because it was full of dense vegetation and wheat grass and tall thistles.

(Dead on cabbage on the far left and Savoy cabbage in the middle and Kale on the far right)

To the far left you can see dense vegetation of tall grasses and whatnot. That is the area I cleared and made a good dirt path. 

After field work, Paige and I took a well deserved nap before our Poultry/Swine classes. We learned so much about Poultry/Swine. It was kind of fascinating to know that there are more than 21 billion chickens alive at any given time. We learned about the history of poultry/swine as well as their lifespan. Pigs are easy to get but it can cost alot of money to feed and raise them for meat. It takes a while to raise them to the right condition people want when eating pork meat. Whereas raising chicken is pretty cheap and takes a shorter amount of time to raise them. It was a fun introduction to the business of Poultry/Swine and livestock in general.

On the morning of Tuesday, July 19, 2016, we witnessed our first cow butchering on the ranch and learned about how a cow should be slaughtered humanely. It was a very real and fascinating experience to see a cow go from life to food as well as learning a little about the anatomy of a cow. As much as I want to post these step by step pictures I took of it being skinned to being butchered into 4 quarters, I won't because I respect that some people do not want to see too much blood and guts. But if you are that interested and would like to see some of the pictures and 2 videos I took then you are more than WELCOME to message me on facebook or comment below and I will get ahold of you and send them to you for the sake of your curiosity. :) After this butchering, we put the 4 quarters into a commercial meat freezer and then headed back to our farm for lunch then had a class on Plant/Crop Botany! We mostly learned about their growth and how it is critical to make sure they are growing healthily to ensure a productive agricultural system as well as vocabulary for describing parts of a plant, identifying male/female plants(male parts being the Stamen and female parts being the Stigma, a "Perfect Flower" is known as having both male/female parts) and so on.

Feel free to check out this link below to see a "perfect flower" and the parts of it. It is a pretty cool slide-show kind of link so its informative and short.

http://www.slideshare.net/iqbal1313/flower-morphology-25998589

Wednesday, July 20, 2016, was a normal day of field work in the morning then we had lunch. In the afternoon, we had Food Safety and GAP's(Good Agricultural Practices) class. We were mostly introduced to current "food safety" regulations and requirements while looking inside the politics of these regulations and whatnot. Such as why GMO's, glyphosate, high fructose corn syrup are not food safety issues when in reality they are very serious issues and contribute to food bourne illnesses.. We also learned of a few places to go to for legal certification and how there are SOP's(Standard Operating Procedures) for farmers to follow if they want to market their fresh produce. This is kind of similar to writing up a business plan, as a farmer getting into business, you must develop a system to ensure that the food you are selling is healthy and does not make people sick. To make sense of this, you must basically have a site on your farm that prepares and cleans the food when it is harvested, etc etc. Honestly, GAP's pretty much require people to have common sense. One just needs to be aware that someone is going to be eating your food and you don't want to make them sick, right?

Wednesdays are one of my favorite days of the week. Because in the evening of every Wednesday, we go to the local community center where people of the ranch and the Church of the Golden Rule come together for a big dinner. Good food and a full stomach makes a happy and content heart.

On Thursday, July 21, 2016, we had our first fieldtrip to a local farm and a local nursery. These fieldtrips were probably the highlight of this week. In the morning we went to Tequoia farm which is ran by a beautiful couple and they host international folks that come to stay for a while. 

(Tequoia Farm, Hunter is the owner of this farm is on the FAR left and then James, Lyndsey, Paige, Caroline and Grant. One student is missing but this is the group that we are living with! The picture was taken in their strawberry patch)

Over the next 4 months, we will have about 35-40 field trips to different farms around the county. This was our first farm we visited. This farm is proof of how two normal people can get into farming from scratch and make a very decent income! ($2,000 a week!) Although, we are aware it takes alot of work, blood, sweat, and tears. I think they have about 1,500 strawberry plants or something. I am not too sure of the exact number they are growing but it is A LOT. They are so red and DAMN JUICY, I tell ya. We also talked about how he left his job as a banker and married his wife who moved from Mexico to where they started small then became big. We also helped weed a couple patches a little. I was amazed at how fast we are able to clear giant patches full of weed with a good group of people. It made me realize more that farming should always be approached by a community/group. Abundance is everywhere. It was a very beautiful farm packed with good and healthy growing food. He uses multiple methods of growing in his farm. Such as the no-tillage method for his tomatoes in one area and dry farming(no watering) quinoa etc etc. He also uses irrigation systems.

Later that day, we went to the San Hedrin Nursery in the town of Willits, CA. 

(Starting from the far left stands, Caroline, Eva, Grant, Paige, Lyndsey, Dave and Jenny Watts, James, and Ruthie.... then Pomona the farm dog)

This nursery has been running for about 35 years by the same loving couple. This is not a farm but a form of business(a nursery). We are learning about the different varieties of businesses. Dave built the nursery-business house right next to their original house 35 years ago. It takes a lot of dedication to keep up with the size of the nursery they operate. They grow pretty much EVERYTHING including 30 different varieties of tomatoes! Even for that one customer who only wants that one specific plant that no one else wants or isn't trending in the market. They are willing to help propagate anything and GROW only for the community! Such kind hearted people they are.

Jenny collects seeds of all kinds, plants them, and takes care of the baby stage. once they are mature enough they sell the plants to local farmers and homesteaders. It was a very cute nursery run by a loving old and smart couple. 

Friday, July 22, 2016, was a day off for us. We had a group check in to recap the week which we do every Friday at breakfast in the Gazebo. I also had a meeting with Ruthie, our director of operations of the school. It was a very enlightening meeting and pretty much changed the course of my direction here. I was introduced to a certain project which will take about 3 months to develop and finish. I don't want to exactly announce everything yet until I get more information and confidence together because this is something I have never done before and I hope my project will be a good contribution to this school. Because I love this school and I love everyone. Be in love, Always.

Saturday, July 23, 2016, is a day off for me and I am using the day to write this blog post and prepare for the upcoming week. Lessons and classes will get more deeper, science-y, and business-y. I would also like to mention Paige is managing herself so well with her interpreting. She has never interpreted in her whole life but for the past 2 weeks she has pretty much acted like a "professional interpreter" and has been by my side since the beginning. I want the world to recognize that because her muscles ache and she continues to interpret as hard as she can with those little cute fingers.

Kelsey: Less is More

Hey World,

Sunrise on Wednesday July 20, 2016 - Central IL

I never really know how to start these posts; so I'll just dive on in and hope you'll forgive my plain speech. In reading the posts by Grant and Chris you'll notice a vastly different vocabulary used. Here's the reason: I write like I talk, simple... plain-spoken midwestern English. Grant and Chris write in a much more elaborate, descriptive way as English to them is NOT a simple language, it's their second language and as such they have delved into the nuances of vocabulary and use expressive words much more than those of us who say things in the least number of spoken words necessary. I think it's almost like a written version of ASL. When you're signing with ASL you don't simply move your fingers and hands. It becomes a dance of your whole body, your face contorts to extreme expression and your hands and fingers simply form more of a punctuation than anything. I could sign sad, but if my face doesn't also read sad... it seems meaningless. Anyway, just a difference I've noticed. I love their posts though, Grant's photos make me LONNNNG to get out to CA... as if I wasn't already chomping at the bit! Chris' thirst for learning and how he has jumped into Braille as a third language truly impresses me.

As for me... whew. A much more... boring... segment of life! Haha! I don't know if that's accurate but yeah. Here's what's been going on:

I've sold almost all of my furniture. I"m keeping a few key pieces, My hammock, table and chairs (for my family dinners), two bar stools (I use one for sitting at my bar height counter for meals and one acts as a night stand next to my hammock. And buried in my room of requirement is a love seat that doesn't really belong to me, and my recliner which I keep for when my adorable tiny grandma comes to hang out with me.

I have also finished most of my house's packing party but I still need to do one for the garage, but that's going to wait for cooler weather, this 98 degrees with 90 percent humidity is just a load of... well. yeah. Along with that heat my garden has grown like a jungle and the tomatoes are just starting to turn red. The beans have produced more than I can hope to eat so I've been canning them as I pick them. (That tiny grandmother of mine taught me that!)

Some more exciting news is that I officially have decided I'll be adding a new member to my family (of the furry three-legged variety.) Once he's weened from his mother in a few weeks little Jasper will be joining Nellie and I on our road to Paragon. Now Jasper was born a bit unique but don't you dare tell him he's only got three legs and can only see out of one eye; he doesn't know any different and he think's he's perfect. For that fact, so do I! My heart melted when I first saw his photo pop up on my facebook feed and I immediately messaged the breeder. She told me that she was so excited that I messaged her because she'd felt like I'd be the perfect fit. But I was apprehensive because Nellie is my baby. Nellie generally doesn't get along well with other dogs. Soooo I told the breeder only if Nellie and the Pup got along well would I take him. So this afternoon I took Nellie with me to meet the Pup. Not only did her tail not stop wagging, she licked him all over and when he stumbled and cried out she ran over and nudged him until he was happy again. My heart is at peace knowing that this was the right decision.

Jasper in all his sweet fluffy glory!

So tonight I rest with a smile knowing that while not everything is right with the world, tonight my world is right. Buenas noches mis amigos!

Grant and Paige: the Week of July 11 to July 16

Friends and Family, a week has gone by, it is now July 16 and we have had a life changing week. Everyday we are learning something new. Our consciousnesses are expanding greatly as each day goes by. I joke that by the end of these 4 months I will have subsumed the entire Universe.

I will now do a recap. My plans for this blog is to take a good amount of pictures and choose several to expand on as I type and recollect my memories about the past week.

On Saturday, July 9, 2016 we arrived at the Grange Farm School and were the first two students to get there out of 7. We arrived a day earlier because we wanted to leave San Diego ASAP. The rest of the students were going to arrive on Sunday, July 10. We were astounded by the beauty of the surrounding mountains and giant redwoods. We were greeted by 3 beautiful individuals of which we have grown close to over the past week. Their names are Eva, Sky, and Daniel. I love their peaceful natures and willingness to be. As soon as we arrived, Eva and Sky welcomed us nicely and took Paige and I to forage for the first time! We traversed a pasture full of cow-pies and ticks to forage for blackberries which were so extremely divine and delicious. We have never tasted such blackberries before. The juice in each little small berry of a whole berry was very warm and not to mention, some were very big! We love walking by and seeing a wild bush and just stop for a few seconds to eat a few berries.

(Paige and Eva in the background picking blackberries. They are also trying to avoid the thorny pricks on the stems of these pretty dang big bushes.)

(The pretty big smile on a little girl after a long big day of roadtripping from San Diego, California to the Ranch which was about 12 hours of nonstop driving.)

We harvested a few buckets of these beauties and froze some blackberries for future uses such as making jam and cobblers. Most of us are eating a vegetarian diet with some optional meals that have meat included now and then. We have noticed our consciousnesses and health has improved greatly with this adjustment in diet. *insert joke again*

(A blackberry with a lady bug on it, the quality of this picture is really good and I love the macro effect. I used my iphone only which is pretty dang cool for this type of picture.)

I then declared this a lucky blackberry so I ate it. Of course, after I set the lady bug's preciousness elsewhere. I am not that morbid. :)

(Redwood Giants sitting in the forefront of a large mountain with more giants. Beef Cows are grazing in the pasture sitting in front of the aforementioned Redwood Giants. The valley has already been consumed by the shadows of surrounding mountains. But the upper half of the redwood giants are still receiving sunlight!) 

We are very lucky to get the chance to see this sight every evening because this is from our Gazebo!

On Sunday, July 10, 2016 we woke up feeling so weird and out of place but very content at heart because we knew we were with nature and that we were going to be living around this beautiful huge ranch.

(The Canvas Tent Paige and I will be living in for the next 4 months.)

We love sleeping with the cold nights and waking up to a heated tent and going outside into a very brisk chill every morning then have the sun rise into the valley and immediately giving its love and warmth to everything. The valley is pretty much a diamond shape and its upper point faces north as the bottom point faces the south. You can feel the sun and the shadows dancing around you because the sun rises from the east to west. It feels somewhat divine.

(The views of the tent area. our tents are about 50 yards from the Gazebo and Schoolhouse of which sits on top of a good sized hill)

(This was midday of Sunday, July 10, 2016. We decided to walk towards the redwood giants to the left of this picture. You also saw these giants in previous photos of the sunset and cow pastures. It was about a half mile to get there.) 

We also stopped at the purple little field down there. The pretty purple flowers are called Pennyroyals and they have a very heavy mint aroma. It also repels some bugs and ticks which is pretty cool.

(Tents on the Left and schoolhouse on the far right and gazebo in the middle with the kitchen sitting on the left of the gazebo. and the tool workshop sitting to the right of the gazebo. The picture was taken from a distance on the west side of the farm facing the eastern mountains. The sun rises over that mountain)

(Field of pennyroyals as you saw in the other picture above from the Gazebo)

(Sky and Paige approaching the redwood area entrance mentioned in the previous pictures. Those trees were just the outer area and are already too big to fit in that screen on my iphone.

(A very dreamy picture of the old growth redwoods)

 As soon as you enter the shade of that old growth area, you immediately feel the shade and fresh chill air and the certain smell of the forest. The difference is about a 15 degree drop. 

 (This picture says enough. Paige is very precious compared to this very big old ancient tree.)

(Paige standing under an altar frame of crafted wooden sticks. This circle was used for a few weddings I believe.) The area is very beautiful. The area was circled by the redwoods and other little trees and shrubbery. Very private and breezy. It was indeed a beautiful place for two humans to announce their vows for eachother.)

(On the way back to the farm from the Redwood Area, we collected a bunch of pennyroyals and decided to make them into wreaths as well as put them everywhere in our tent to repel bugs)

(The three of us, Sky, Paige, and I made wreaths for the new students who were arriving later in that day)

(A Cob House being made)

Later on the evening of Sunday, July 10, 2016, Sky, Paige and I decided to walk a little distance over to a neighboring property on the ranch to help them with their building progress. It was a fun and laborious experience. This is one of the many methods to build houses with. It is not my most favorite but was still nice to get the experience to see how some of the cob was being made and knowing the Ratio sizes of the mix and stuff. This houses total cost was about 6,000 dollars and has an upstairs loft and is spacious It is amazing what we humans can do with our hands. 

On Monday, July 11, 2016, we woke up with all students present. We learned who we all were and why we came to this very school. We have a very good group dynamic and the vibes are good.

 (Our calendar for the month with notes about that certain day)

 (White Board right in the Gazebo where we meet for every meal and in the morning)

 (The Field where we will be working on nearly everyday and harvesting our own food from the same very field. Most of the vegetables and food also goes to the farmers market which we will get experience with down the road over the course of the next few months)

Monday, July 11, 2016 was mostly a day of adjusting into your surroundings and had a ranch orientation where walked around the entire ranch and got to know our surroundings as where the field was, where the orchard was, and all that stuff. Later on in the evening of Monday, we had to move the sheep into pastures down the road. It was a good experience with some good belly laugh moments. We also had to move their pens and we simply put it on one of the farm trucks and just moved it there. hah.

 (Pen has been put on top of a truck which isnt the best idea but it worked well at the time)

(Sheep pen on a truck. Three of us holding it down so it wont slide back and forth on a bumpy and gravelly road)

On Tuesday, July 12, 2016, we realized time was going by fast on the farm. Entering our second day of school and really enjoy the nature of our classes. Our classes are either lectures outdoor or indoor. We learn at the field or will be provided reading materials and make our own notes. So every day will be different. I have my own binder and maintain my reading materials they provide and keep them in the binder. There is not exactly much writing but I know we will get into that over the next 4 months. The day was mostly about the curriculum. Which most of you already know I plan on mastering 5 units, Livestock management, Industrial Arts, Crop Production, Business management, and holistic management.

I learned alot on this day for what values I will be bringing into  

Paragon Sustainability.

We talked mainly about values we should be having on that day along with our currilicum. I can sum up everything into 3 words. These 3 words are very loaded and can result in a deep discussion.

It is known as CPR -

CONTEXT

PURPOSE

RESULTS 

  

On Wednesday, July 13, 2016 we had a good long day spaced out with several activities. We had a tool maintenance workshop and learned a lot about little nuts and bolts to tool practices and about the shop itself in general.

(Master Takashi Yogi's workshop. We have an amazing old japanese craftsman who lives among us and maintains the farm and can fix literally anything.)

I look forward to learning more about industrial arts from Takashi. He is a very humble and intelligent man who escaped worldwar II and moved to America. He has so much respect from us. We are learning Orderliness and Mastery from this individual!

We also went to the local ranch community center and had a big potluck dinner and met the people who own this ranch and found out Seabiscuit the legendary Horse lived here and that the ranch has alot of history to it. As well as a very well known Native American child's graveyard. There is sacredness around here.

On Thursday, July 14, 2016 the day went by quickly with 2 classes. It was full of good food and was mostly about how there are different Agricultural Philosophies(bio-dynamic farming or biointensive farming or big AG way or growing GMO's or monocropping for money only or the organic method or concentrated feed farming as in livestock only food or the conventional farming using certain synthetic insectides and calling it organic)

There are many agricultural philosophies and it was mentioned that there is no one way to "farm". I found this very unpleasing and contradictory because if only one reality exists along with Oneness then Planet Earth can have a method/infrastructure towards how we live on this planet. Just like how there is a "society" but everyone again is dominated by their ego and we do not have a way to talk about this. 

I believe Paragon Sustainability can slowly bring this Oneness into reality!

I thought about that notion all day on Thursday. 

 On Friday July 15, 2016 we found out we will kind of have a 5th Unit which will run through all the other 4 units. We have an instructor from Holistic Management International and she plays a very big role in that institution of some kind. She will be teaching us for the next 4 months about stuff related to running businesses as a powerful conscious entity with VALUES.

This is a good site that shows what HMI is about.

http://holisticmanagement.org/

I am grateful that we will have her around to teach us what she knows. She will definitely instill me alot of new visions and approaches I will have with Paragon. I will add some reading stuff which I have as a little card. Feel free to zoom into it to get an idea of being introduced to holistic management.

 

On Saturday, July 16, 2016 we had our first day off. In the morning I went to a local bakery to taste on local deliciousness then went to an amazing local organic food market which had a whole bunch of different stuff that made my mouth water. I also spent most of my day figuring out what content to put up online and sorting through pictures so my day to day activities make sense. I hope my people enjoy reading about my first week here because I truly loved it and am looking forward to the next 13 weeks.

Here are are random pictures and an updated picture of me.

One of the most delicious meals I've had in a long time. Applesauce made by our own apples and cinnamon and rice and good salad harvested from the field.

Grant Whitaker and his good Hat friend.

This is one of our many cute animals that lives on the farm. This is Nueska or something that sounds along the lines of that. This cat just runs all over the ranch and finds a cool spot and sleeps.

Grant and Paige: Our circle of hearts, which beat in rapturous love.

Friends, Family, and fellow human beings of which I have not met yet,

My name is Grant David Whitaker and I would like to share a story. A story that will never end. First, I would like to emphasize I did not start this story. I merely picked up an already opened book and started writing into it. The story will make much more sense later on when my vision becomes more clear.

I was born profoundly DEAF. All I see is the silence of all Creation. Growing up I came from humble and innocent beginnings, my authenticity was doubted many times, or rather my silent voice was not heard my awareness was not being seen or acknowledged. I was tormented by my own existence and mind. I misunderstood myself, the infinity of our inner-silence, and the powers of Being. I became depressed. Life was chaotic and meaningless with all the mayhem happening to me. My existence was doubted for far too long to the point where I was forced to grow up as a being dominated by my own ego, in order to survive. The innocence of my childhood was overtook by the harsh reality of the "World" out there. My afflictions led me to consciously understand my self , my ego, and all the illusions and karmic strings created by the egoic mind. I then saw the Grace of God, the Geometry of Divinity, through the love of another human, my beautiful Lady, ..Paige. We met at a VERY young age and we grew up together. This lady allowed me to see into the mind of another human, over time I watched ourselves develop into One Love. This connection helped me understand that there is and only will ever be unconditional Love.

One day, I got out of a complicated and corrupt "matrix" called the educational system, this system desensitizes geniuses. I was a young boy that was 18 years of age and voluntarily decided to go homeless so I could strip myself naked to the core of my being, as well as stay around Paige so I could help her finish her senior year of high school by being there, my grandparents who I lived with my whole life decided to go back to Illinois from Maryland, so I did not exactly have a place to stay. Something was pressuring me to detach myself from everything. I later found out what that Something was, it was merely the Universal Consciousness Entity, the One that dominates all Creation. It put its gaze on me while I was innocently stripping myself naked to my being, open to all the vulnerabilities of the corruption out there. It also put its gaze on those who I love and for everyone else that I meet, because I asked it to. This is so I could not be the only one basking in such unconditional Love. I met so many people over the course of my time being homeless. I saw how Love is consciousness and matter and energy in its entirety. I conquered so many illusions through Love alone.

There is a certain illusion I conquered that I would like to share today and how this conquest led me to this very moment. The illusion of the nature of the duality between Fate and Free will. It is because of Fate we have Free Will. It took me a long time to wrestle with this. I realized that there is only the All-Mother, our precious planet Earth that supports us, she did not come to exist with our human-will. I realized our Mother gave birth to us. She is Powerful and we must respect Her. I saw that while being homeless that no one respects her or acknowledges her existence collectively in the same manner as how people from certain religions acknowledge each other.

If a man's heart is away from Nature and the All-Mother, it hardens so does the Ego. This separation from nature creates individuality. I realized that we all have the power to end our individuality.

This has led me onto a huge scientific journey. I decided that the best and only option to create a better Earth was to become a "farmer" or rather a Perfect Master of Earth and Being, and basically develop an innovative drive that cannot be stopped just like how Evolution cannot be stopped. I realized I had to grow my own food and help others return to nature before anything else could make sense, such as Space and the Universe.. It is similar to the idea of building a bridge but if you don't finish the bridge, you cannot drive across it. We need to have each human return to nature before we can transcend Earth and become a space-faring civilization. The universe is patiently waiting for our wits to be sharper. All 7+ BILLION people have to be on the same frequency and on the same page for a one world holistic government to work. I have often encountered people who said this is impossible. But I noticed that those who say this are saying this out of their ego. They do not know enough unconditional Love to be able to live with other people collectively for they do not understand themselves. This unconscious suffering makes me suffer along with many other individuals who know this too but do not know what to do about said suffering.

I decided I had to do something about this system of misunderstanding and pain. I knew what it was like to be depressed and lost. I knew all the illusions I had to conquer and how hard they were to overcome. I knew I had to share the experiences I had so my self healing path could eventually be a self healing path for many others. This led me to a bigger quest and vision with the help of a few individuals. All of these experiences and realizations have led me to the creation of an entity called, Paragon Sustainability. Paragon's end game goal is to be the epitome of Sustainability and revolutionize the industries of construction and real estate to create the future of Earth. Paragon is looking to allow people to return to nature with a step by step like ease, and still be able to work collectively in their local areas but still be connected to the greater world. The phrase "Think Globally, Act Locally" would be a good fit for this explanation. This will allow people to still be able to partake in society.

♪Paragon Sustainability♪

For the past 4 years since graduating from high school and that so called complicated matrix, I have been learning about permaculture and bio-dynamic farming from books, the internet, and beautiful human beings. I am now 22 years of age and am well versed in a lot of areas such as the science of consciousness, methods of living, and much more.

A few months ago from now, Paige and I decided to leave San Diego, CA so we could roadtrip to North California via Pacific Highway One, with a good friend and future Paragon member, Cody Reidy. During our trip up north, we finally met a beautiful young lady of which I kept in touch with online for a while, her name is Gowan, and she runs a nice sized business-farm(Fortunate Farm) near the coast and she allowed us to stay there for a night. While staying there and seeing the beautiful conditions of her farm, the contentedness of her heart and family, we realized we had to move to North California immediately so we could go to school and become a part of the future of farming and, of course, the oneness of the beauty up here.

Gowan, was a HUGE catalyst that set off our new chapter on Our Road to Paragon. She is the one that referred us to a certain school that I have been putting my interest on the past 4 months up until July. Fast forward a few months to now, we are attending an amazing and new premier agricultural school that teaches the many differences of old and modern agricultural philosophies and helps individuals pursue their dreams.

♪Paragon Sustainability♪

This is our dream in progress. You may follow us and see how Paige and I are doing in school and how our members are doing while Paragon is being birthed. We are now diving into a new scientific journey. Learning how soil science works and how to grow the food you normally eat everyday. Over the course of the next 4 months I will be blogging about my learnings with hopes of motivating other people to invest in themselves so they too can return to nature and do what we are doing!

Exactly a week ago on Saturday, July 9, 2016, I arrived at the Grange School of Adaptive Agriculture(GSAA) which is located in North California, situated between two beautiful towns that go by the name of Ukiah and Willits.  I have been here for a week now, so far.

(The entrance to the Grange Farm School situated on Ridgewood Ranch)

(The Mission Statement: The Grange Farm School aims to train the next generation of farmers to address challenges of farm business success, community food security, and ecological stewardship. The Farm school is building on the rich agricultural heritage of Mendocino County and the Grange in its diverse and holistic educational programming for farmers, aspiring farmers, and youth.)

I will be posting about my activities weekly along with beautiful pictures and updates on what kind of knowledge I have acquired that week. I hope you stay in tune with us!!

With Divine Love,

Grant and Paige