Oh, Tara. I am going to miss your words and insights and wisdom so SO much, but of course you are making this choice and I love you all the more for it. Thank you so much for all you have given us. Thank you again for leading by example. I feel a bit like a nervous little one leaving home for the first time (what will we do without her?!)ā¦ you have been such a guiding light for our family these past years. Anyway, Iām rambling. Lots of support, gratitude, and love to you. And our thanks!
Dear Savannah, thank you for your beautiful comment. How blessed I am to have women like you think such kind things about me. It's been an honour and a true privilege to have been able to share my writing with you. Thank you for being here. š
You wrote what many people are thinking these days. So much wisdom in your writings. Time is fleeting and precious. Digital friends are not the same people we can touch. People we are accountable to. We all must get back to that or we are doomed. Lot's of love sent your way on your new journey!
I am going to miss your writing but I have such respect for your decision! I grapple with the same feelings. I just wanted you to know that your words have meant so much to me. They have inspired and genuinely made me a more resilient person. Your book will live on my bookshelf for-my-ever, scribbled with notes and sentences underlined. Thank you for sharing so much of yourself. Wishing you everything that is meant for you. Go follow the geese!
Gosh, now I'm getting all misty! I love that you've marked up my book. The best of all compliments. I will follow those geese always and forever. Maybe one day I'll even fly with them. Here's hoping.
Thank you for your kind words and for having respect for my decision. It does mean so much to me. š
Your words and instagram page have brought me so much comfort over the years. I found you in 2020 after starting to eat organ meats. Being on your page and reading your substacks helped me feel connected- something that I hadnāt felt since my mom passed 15 years ago. These digital spaces you curatedā¦ they felt like home to me. Like I had a piece of my mom, of myself, back. I will miss searching for #slowdownfarmsteadeggs and not seeing your beautiful orange salt cured yolks. I bought the book MEAT based on your recommendation and loved it. Iāve learned so much from you. Things I wish my mom could have taught me. You changed the way I think about nutrition. My two year old son has raw milk and raw kefir and chows down on organ meats. Thank you Tara. With my whole heart - thank you for sharing yours with us for so long. Thank you for helping me to be a better mom. A softer human. I would love to hold your future words in my hands. I hope you release something in the future. Would love a newsletter or something like that from time to time. So much love to you.
Dear Christina, what a lovely soul your mother gave this world. We are all blessed by your kind heart. Thank you for taking the time to share this with me. If yours were the only comment here I would still feel overwhelmed by the kindness. What more could I hope for in what I've shared? But you're the one that made it all happen. I hope you honour your conviction and devotion. Words are just words without the person to bring them alive. Give that little one a squish for me. ā¤ļø
Tara, all I can say is thank you for all the years of pouring yourself out. You have been instrumental in helping me be true to me. You shall greatly be missed in this space. I will always be happy to see you again through the medium of choice. God bless and keep you.ā¤ļø
Maya, what a beautiful compliment to give me. To be true to yourself - yes, that's all there is. Sending you much love and God's tender, beautiful blessings.
Itās been such a real and vivid time in my life.
Thank you for it all Tara. Youāve changed my life over and over again. Expanded my mind, tested my perseverance, brought me to tears.
Itās been such a gift to be in community with you and learn from you. A true elder. I will carry and share all that youāve taught me.
Would love to have all the Q&Aās available in another form. And the audio versions of your essays.
I visited the archive weekly for so much info on life, farming and cooking. I donāt bother googling things because Iāve been so lucky to have this chat and all of your wonderful Q&Aās.
Sending you so much love! Your bravery is a catalystā¦ I think youāve set something big in motion with this one. ā„ļø
Oh, Jasmine, thank you. What a sweet and joyful comment. You had me chuckling there - a legend I am not, but I'll warmly wear the mantle of "elder". At least, I have decided to devote myself to learning how to be and earning such a prestigious title in my ageing years.
Your words have really touched me. This is all I've wanted from the start - the convincing and sharing of these things I've picked up to be seen and carried by others. That's all we can do, find the worthy gems and share them with others. Otherwise, what is this all about?
I do wish I could figure out the Q&A stuff. There is so many hours of audio there and I know others would like to have access to it, too, but I don't know how to do this. Do you? I've already run into some well-meaning folks sharing my essays on other servers. I can't have that. I need to have control of my work or the purpose of me taking my packed bags and leaving these digital realms is defeated in some ways. Maybe, when things go analogue we can do an "Ask Tara" segment where people write to me and I write my answer back in my little booklets. It would be very slow and careful and tedious and maybe that's what we need! Remember Ann Landers? Sometimes people would have to wait months or a year before their question made it into the newspaper for all of us to read and learn from. :)
Sending you much love back, Jasmine. I really do hope I may have sent a little snowball tumbling down this mountainside. I can't wait to see what happens from here. ā¤ļø
Maybe you could put the audio on usb drives and sell it like an āaudio bookā but you just ship us a usb drive? Hmmmā¦ Iāll think on it.
Iām also a fan of the newsletter and
I would absolutely write in to āask Taraā
I would compile my questions and plan my projects accordingly :)
If you ever find yourself wanting to visit the North Coast of Oregon please reach out, would love to show you what weāve created during āthe era of Taraā haha ie post covid madness.
The values youāve instilled have been woven into every aspect of our work in our community food system, on our farm and within our family. We love a good days work.
Tara - I respect your decision so much and I hope to have the same clarity to make the same decision for myself.
Can I ask you turn the ability to download podcast episodes on so I can save your words for future listens? It says itās disabled right now and they are such a balm for my heart.
I'm not sure if you saw this conversation in the chat, but I can't do that. I'm so sorry. I know it's disappointing. It's disappointing for me, too. I have hours and hours of effort and time and care wrapped up in those audio recordings.
Unfortunately, because of what I alluded to in this essay, I cannot leave up audio recordings. As a further note, I have taken everything down here and on IG because I have learned that content, when one is away, is often stolen. My content is copyrighted to me, but the internet doesn't really care and I won't be here to monitor what's being done with it. I've had over a dozen accounts pretend to be me, steal my pictures and my words (verbatim). It took so much of my time and effort to have those things taken down. I just can't do that again.
It's been a joy and a privilege (the real kind) to chat with you and share some house pics with you, Deanna. Thank you for being here. Sending love right back your way.
I never did get that dumb waiter video loaded, but The Home Network Canada (formerly HGTV Canada) popped by for a quick tour last month and thereās a snippet of it there. I was nervous as heck while filming, but hereās the link if you fancy a watch:
Please come visit if youāre ever in our neck of the woods, weāre south of Calgary out by Millarville. Troy and my hubby can swap hockey stories. ā¤ļø
I have received rich blessings by what you have offered. But, you leaving will force me on my own two feet for soul thinking. Where I should be anyway. Fair well and God speed.
Thank you, Emily. I have absolute faith in where you go and how you grow. There is no redundancy or superfluous creations in God's work. Shine on, dear girl.š
I feel the analog pull too, itās moving through humanity and it wonāt be stopped! We are going to see a renaissance of human creativity and connection, and we will get to take part in it. But it may also be the beginning of the bifurcation of society, analog and digital.
Thank you for your story and experiences, Iāve followed you since the earlier IG days, version 1.0! Iām glad youāre listening to your heart, your Angel - the surest way to follow your true path.
You're darn tootin' it won't be stopped! It's coming in like a wave and it sure smells like hope and renewal to me! And, it may be that way, too - the bifurcation, but all I can do is move in the direction I'm called to and hope others will do the same with whatever is right for them. If we don't do it, how will anyone know there's even another way in the years to come?
Thank you for sticking around so long, Anna. It's an honour. Love to you in Vermont.
Tara, I came across your writing when I was crossing the threshold - losing my mother and welcoming my first daughter simultaneously. Your maternal presence has been such a gift. I love your book. Endless gratitude. My daughter and I recite Rachel Fieldās Something Told the Wild Geese whenever we spot them or hear their call. She is four now. āSummer sun was on their wings, winter in their cryā. Many Blessings to you and your family.
What a beautiful parting gift you've just given me. Thank you. I will remember this poem forever. Winter is in my cry now, only I'm headed into it instead of away.
How profoundly lovely that your daughter has a mama that speaks such words with her. You, and so many mothers here, fill me with outrageous hope and endless love. Thank you. The future is bright in your loving hands.
The longer one denies what they feel to be true, the less real they become to themselves. We will miss you for sure, but I for understand how that works.
Happy Trails Tara. Thanks for sharing your beautiful gift. Crumbs, dried leaves and a sweet sound like a perfect plan. God bless you and your family and thanks for making a difference. Your words have helped me in so many ways. Till the geese return.
Wyatt, thank you. That something I shared might have helped you in some way, means so much to me. It means a lot to receive that. Thank you and fair winds.
Well. Tears are prickling and my throat is tight. There are two polarizing emotions warring with each other in my heart. You are one of a kind, Tara, and you have awakened something within me that was asleep for a while. I think of you as a kindred spirit, but a wilder version of myself for sure. You will be terribly missed. I will think of you often and Iāll reread your book many times. I will wonder if your heart is fulfilled, content, and how your granddaughter is doing. I understand your decision and truthfully Iāve been sensing it coming. You need to live your life without an audience, or judgement, or input from strangers. I get it. But! I am so sad that your insightful, tender, raw and illuminating words that make me cry every Saturday morning will cease. Thatās just me being selfish. Go and be free, be blessed, and as Carnivoreaurelius says, āhave yourself a silly goose timeā. Fare thee well, Tara! Much love ā¤ļø
Petra, I have enjoyed every interaction with you. I've often thought how much fun it would be to sit under a tree chatting with you. You give me hope in teachers and, really, just good, solid women of character. I like you, of that I'm certain.
I feel the same way - that conflicting set of emotions. So much indoctrination and sense-making that's been implanted in my noggin' tells me I'm being foolish, "throwing away what you've built", but I know those metrics are bullshit. Mostly know. It's a hard thing to shake myself out of. This trying to figure out what's mine and what's been overlaid on me is tough.
Leaving that aside, it's people like you that I feel I've got to know a little bit, that I feel curious and invested in, that bring sadness into this decision. But, sadness doesn't mean wrong as we know and I still think it's right. What blooms from this I do not know, but the earth contains multitudes of seeds invisible to us. All we can do is tend what we have with faith and care.
You need not wonder if my heart is fulfilled and content. It is right now and right here. I don't hope for a different life or different things to bring me peace, I just want to burrow into the depths of what I have - to feel it and live it without the distractions of screens. I wonder what that land is like and who the me is that lives in that.
I would love to give you a hug. Let's just consider it done for now. Love to you, Petra. Rich and full. ā¤ļø
Thank you, Tara, for sharing your insights into a life that values authenticity above all. I wish you all the best and I hope that some day, I will meet you in person to give you a well deserved hug!
The time we live in calls for people to be creative and resourceful - something that is falling by the wayside due to the spoon feeding through social media and AI.
So what will creative me do? Since I know a few of Tara's subscribers in my geographical area, I will contact them and suggest that we start our own newsletter via snail mail. My idea is that the members will each take turns writing the newsletter once a month, sharing resources, creative thoughts, and hope. I am positive that it will work very well! And I encourage you all, dear friends of Slowdown Farmstead, to do something similar in your area!
Well I just absolutely love this! These are no small things, they are great feats of honouring the beauty that we have been given in these lives of ours. I really don't think this is starting something as much as it is tapping into what already is. And things grow from there, always. If we can just tuck away our little doubts and silly insecurities and DO THINGS, it's amazing what grows from there.
I hope you enjoy your well-deserved solitude and your journey into the unknown. And I do hope we get to read about it somehow. ā¤ļø Thank you for everything youāve shared.
Oh, Tara. I am going to miss your words and insights and wisdom so SO much, but of course you are making this choice and I love you all the more for it. Thank you so much for all you have given us. Thank you again for leading by example. I feel a bit like a nervous little one leaving home for the first time (what will we do without her?!)ā¦ you have been such a guiding light for our family these past years. Anyway, Iām rambling. Lots of support, gratitude, and love to you. And our thanks!
Dear Savannah, thank you for your beautiful comment. How blessed I am to have women like you think such kind things about me. It's been an honour and a true privilege to have been able to share my writing with you. Thank you for being here. š
You wrote what many people are thinking these days. So much wisdom in your writings. Time is fleeting and precious. Digital friends are not the same people we can touch. People we are accountable to. We all must get back to that or we are doomed. Lot's of love sent your way on your new journey!
Thank you, Mary Lynn. And I agree, I think many of us are feeling it. That gives me great hope! Sending love right back your way š
I am going to miss your writing but I have such respect for your decision! I grapple with the same feelings. I just wanted you to know that your words have meant so much to me. They have inspired and genuinely made me a more resilient person. Your book will live on my bookshelf for-my-ever, scribbled with notes and sentences underlined. Thank you for sharing so much of yourself. Wishing you everything that is meant for you. Go follow the geese!
Gosh, now I'm getting all misty! I love that you've marked up my book. The best of all compliments. I will follow those geese always and forever. Maybe one day I'll even fly with them. Here's hoping.
Thank you for your kind words and for having respect for my decision. It does mean so much to me. š
Your words and instagram page have brought me so much comfort over the years. I found you in 2020 after starting to eat organ meats. Being on your page and reading your substacks helped me feel connected- something that I hadnāt felt since my mom passed 15 years ago. These digital spaces you curatedā¦ they felt like home to me. Like I had a piece of my mom, of myself, back. I will miss searching for #slowdownfarmsteadeggs and not seeing your beautiful orange salt cured yolks. I bought the book MEAT based on your recommendation and loved it. Iāve learned so much from you. Things I wish my mom could have taught me. You changed the way I think about nutrition. My two year old son has raw milk and raw kefir and chows down on organ meats. Thank you Tara. With my whole heart - thank you for sharing yours with us for so long. Thank you for helping me to be a better mom. A softer human. I would love to hold your future words in my hands. I hope you release something in the future. Would love a newsletter or something like that from time to time. So much love to you.
Dear Christina, what a lovely soul your mother gave this world. We are all blessed by your kind heart. Thank you for taking the time to share this with me. If yours were the only comment here I would still feel overwhelmed by the kindness. What more could I hope for in what I've shared? But you're the one that made it all happen. I hope you honour your conviction and devotion. Words are just words without the person to bring them alive. Give that little one a squish for me. ā¤ļø
Tara, all I can say is thank you for all the years of pouring yourself out. You have been instrumental in helping me be true to me. You shall greatly be missed in this space. I will always be happy to see you again through the medium of choice. God bless and keep you.ā¤ļø
Maya, what a beautiful compliment to give me. To be true to yourself - yes, that's all there is. Sending you much love and God's tender, beautiful blessings.
The era of Tara.
What a legend.
Itās been such a real and vivid time in my life.
Thank you for it all Tara. Youāve changed my life over and over again. Expanded my mind, tested my perseverance, brought me to tears.
Itās been such a gift to be in community with you and learn from you. A true elder. I will carry and share all that youāve taught me.
Would love to have all the Q&Aās available in another form. And the audio versions of your essays.
I visited the archive weekly for so much info on life, farming and cooking. I donāt bother googling things because Iāve been so lucky to have this chat and all of your wonderful Q&Aās.
Sending you so much love! Your bravery is a catalystā¦ I think youāve set something big in motion with this one. ā„ļø
Oh, Jasmine, thank you. What a sweet and joyful comment. You had me chuckling there - a legend I am not, but I'll warmly wear the mantle of "elder". At least, I have decided to devote myself to learning how to be and earning such a prestigious title in my ageing years.
Your words have really touched me. This is all I've wanted from the start - the convincing and sharing of these things I've picked up to be seen and carried by others. That's all we can do, find the worthy gems and share them with others. Otherwise, what is this all about?
I do wish I could figure out the Q&A stuff. There is so many hours of audio there and I know others would like to have access to it, too, but I don't know how to do this. Do you? I've already run into some well-meaning folks sharing my essays on other servers. I can't have that. I need to have control of my work or the purpose of me taking my packed bags and leaving these digital realms is defeated in some ways. Maybe, when things go analogue we can do an "Ask Tara" segment where people write to me and I write my answer back in my little booklets. It would be very slow and careful and tedious and maybe that's what we need! Remember Ann Landers? Sometimes people would have to wait months or a year before their question made it into the newspaper for all of us to read and learn from. :)
Sending you much love back, Jasmine. I really do hope I may have sent a little snowball tumbling down this mountainside. I can't wait to see what happens from here. ā¤ļø
ā„ļø
Maybe you could put the audio on usb drives and sell it like an āaudio bookā but you just ship us a usb drive? Hmmmā¦ Iāll think on it.
Iām also a fan of the newsletter and
I would absolutely write in to āask Taraā
I would compile my questions and plan my projects accordingly :)
If you ever find yourself wanting to visit the North Coast of Oregon please reach out, would love to show you what weāve created during āthe era of Taraā haha ie post covid madness.
The values youāve instilled have been woven into every aspect of our work in our community food system, on our farm and within our family. We love a good days work.
What a gift!
Tara - I respect your decision so much and I hope to have the same clarity to make the same decision for myself.
Can I ask you turn the ability to download podcast episodes on so I can save your words for future listens? It says itās disabled right now and they are such a balm for my heart.
Thank you, Sarah.
I'm not sure if you saw this conversation in the chat, but I can't do that. I'm so sorry. I know it's disappointing. It's disappointing for me, too. I have hours and hours of effort and time and care wrapped up in those audio recordings.
Unfortunately, because of what I alluded to in this essay, I cannot leave up audio recordings. As a further note, I have taken everything down here and on IG because I have learned that content, when one is away, is often stolen. My content is copyrighted to me, but the internet doesn't really care and I won't be here to monitor what's being done with it. I've had over a dozen accounts pretend to be me, steal my pictures and my words (verbatim). It took so much of my time and effort to have those things taken down. I just can't do that again.
Also would love this, I get so much value listening to the q&aās which arenāt writtenā¦ š„²
I'm sorry, Chloe, but I can't. I explained why above. :(
I agree!
Emma, I explained why I can't do that in my answer above. Sorry :(
Happy trails, Tara. May the path ahead bring you a bounty of blessings. And may it one day cross mine. Sending you and yours big love.š¤
It's been a joy and a privilege (the real kind) to chat with you and share some house pics with you, Deanna. Thank you for being here. Sending love right back your way.
Thank you, Tara.
I never did get that dumb waiter video loaded, but The Home Network Canada (formerly HGTV Canada) popped by for a quick tour last month and thereās a snippet of it there. I was nervous as heck while filming, but hereās the link if you fancy a watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrXtosBTiTQ
Please come visit if youāre ever in our neck of the woods, weāre south of Calgary out by Millarville. Troy and my hubby can swap hockey stories. ā¤ļø
I have received rich blessings by what you have offered. But, you leaving will force me on my own two feet for soul thinking. Where I should be anyway. Fair well and God speed.
Thank you, Emily. I have absolute faith in where you go and how you grow. There is no redundancy or superfluous creations in God's work. Shine on, dear girl.š
I feel the analog pull too, itās moving through humanity and it wonāt be stopped! We are going to see a renaissance of human creativity and connection, and we will get to take part in it. But it may also be the beginning of the bifurcation of society, analog and digital.
Thank you for your story and experiences, Iāve followed you since the earlier IG days, version 1.0! Iām glad youāre listening to your heart, your Angel - the surest way to follow your true path.
With love from Vermont ā¤ļø
You're darn tootin' it won't be stopped! It's coming in like a wave and it sure smells like hope and renewal to me! And, it may be that way, too - the bifurcation, but all I can do is move in the direction I'm called to and hope others will do the same with whatever is right for them. If we don't do it, how will anyone know there's even another way in the years to come?
Thank you for sticking around so long, Anna. It's an honour. Love to you in Vermont.
Tara, I came across your writing when I was crossing the threshold - losing my mother and welcoming my first daughter simultaneously. Your maternal presence has been such a gift. I love your book. Endless gratitude. My daughter and I recite Rachel Fieldās Something Told the Wild Geese whenever we spot them or hear their call. She is four now. āSummer sun was on their wings, winter in their cryā. Many Blessings to you and your family.
Something Told the Wild Geese
by
Rachel Field
Something told the wild geese
It was time to go,
Though the fields lay golden
Something whispered, "snow."
Leaves were green and stirring,
Berries, luster-glossed,
But beneath warm feathers
Something cautioned, "frost."
All the sagging orchards
Steamed with amber spice,
But each wild breast stiffened
At remembered ice.
Something told the wild geese
It was time to fly,
Summer sun was on their wings,
Winter in their cry.
What a beautiful parting gift you've just given me. Thank you. I will remember this poem forever. Winter is in my cry now, only I'm headed into it instead of away.
How profoundly lovely that your daughter has a mama that speaks such words with her. You, and so many mothers here, fill me with outrageous hope and endless love. Thank you. The future is bright in your loving hands.
The longer one denies what they feel to be true, the less real they become to themselves. We will miss you for sure, but I for understand how that works.
Yes this reminds me of Purity of Heart is to Will One Thing by Kierkegaard
Oh my, thank you for this. I just looked it up and now it's on order. I've read Kierkegaard, but not this one. Thanks so much, Abbey!
Thank you, Tina. I will miss you all, too. š
Happy Trails Tara. Thanks for sharing your beautiful gift. Crumbs, dried leaves and a sweet sound like a perfect plan. God bless you and your family and thanks for making a difference. Your words have helped me in so many ways. Till the geese return.
Wyatt, thank you. That something I shared might have helped you in some way, means so much to me. It means a lot to receive that. Thank you and fair winds.
Well. Tears are prickling and my throat is tight. There are two polarizing emotions warring with each other in my heart. You are one of a kind, Tara, and you have awakened something within me that was asleep for a while. I think of you as a kindred spirit, but a wilder version of myself for sure. You will be terribly missed. I will think of you often and Iāll reread your book many times. I will wonder if your heart is fulfilled, content, and how your granddaughter is doing. I understand your decision and truthfully Iāve been sensing it coming. You need to live your life without an audience, or judgement, or input from strangers. I get it. But! I am so sad that your insightful, tender, raw and illuminating words that make me cry every Saturday morning will cease. Thatās just me being selfish. Go and be free, be blessed, and as Carnivoreaurelius says, āhave yourself a silly goose timeā. Fare thee well, Tara! Much love ā¤ļø
Petra, I have enjoyed every interaction with you. I've often thought how much fun it would be to sit under a tree chatting with you. You give me hope in teachers and, really, just good, solid women of character. I like you, of that I'm certain.
I feel the same way - that conflicting set of emotions. So much indoctrination and sense-making that's been implanted in my noggin' tells me I'm being foolish, "throwing away what you've built", but I know those metrics are bullshit. Mostly know. It's a hard thing to shake myself out of. This trying to figure out what's mine and what's been overlaid on me is tough.
Leaving that aside, it's people like you that I feel I've got to know a little bit, that I feel curious and invested in, that bring sadness into this decision. But, sadness doesn't mean wrong as we know and I still think it's right. What blooms from this I do not know, but the earth contains multitudes of seeds invisible to us. All we can do is tend what we have with faith and care.
You need not wonder if my heart is fulfilled and content. It is right now and right here. I don't hope for a different life or different things to bring me peace, I just want to burrow into the depths of what I have - to feel it and live it without the distractions of screens. I wonder what that land is like and who the me is that lives in that.
I would love to give you a hug. Let's just consider it done for now. Love to you, Petra. Rich and full. ā¤ļø
Here here š
Thank you, Tara, for sharing your insights into a life that values authenticity above all. I wish you all the best and I hope that some day, I will meet you in person to give you a well deserved hug!
The time we live in calls for people to be creative and resourceful - something that is falling by the wayside due to the spoon feeding through social media and AI.
So what will creative me do? Since I know a few of Tara's subscribers in my geographical area, I will contact them and suggest that we start our own newsletter via snail mail. My idea is that the members will each take turns writing the newsletter once a month, sharing resources, creative thoughts, and hope. I am positive that it will work very well! And I encourage you all, dear friends of Slowdown Farmstead, to do something similar in your area!
Well I just absolutely love this! These are no small things, they are great feats of honouring the beauty that we have been given in these lives of ours. I really don't think this is starting something as much as it is tapping into what already is. And things grow from there, always. If we can just tuck away our little doubts and silly insecurities and DO THINGS, it's amazing what grows from there.
You're wonderful. ā¤ļø
I hope you enjoy your well-deserved solitude and your journey into the unknown. And I do hope we get to read about it somehow. ā¤ļø Thank you for everything youāve shared.
Thank you for being here and for your kind words, Tahnee.