It’s been a few months since I’ve checked in and I thought it high time to do so.
Since we last chatted on the initial “how’s things” discussion threads, the rhetoric here in Canada continues to degenerate into outrageous attempts at division. Did everyone see our Prime Minister calling people that haven’t been vaccinated against the rona “misogynists” and “racists”? How about the Quebec Premier announcing his intention to tax the unvaccinated for their cost to our decrepit “healthcare” system? We’ll leave the obese and chronically ill with diseases of lifestyle out of the equation for convenience. It goes on and on.
So, it seems our collective realities aren’t so collective (at least on the surface). Depending on where you live, life may be going on as normal or it may look like some dystopian novel come to pass. Where I am, we are going on well over a year of no access to sports, gyms, any form of arts (plays/theatres/concerts/festivals), restaurants or coffee shops. Healthcare workers have all been fired if not vaccinated. Children cannot play sports or take lessons if they (and their parents) are vaccinated. Some schools remain closed, then open, then close again. Children wear masks to school. Most workplaces require vaccination for employment. Some rare ones don’t. As I said earlier, one daughter gets twice weekly testing at her job and has to wear a mask, but she is grateful to have not been fired outright (she was earlier kicked out of a college program she was attending that refused any sort of exemption). Our other daughter is also part of the constant testing protocol but now must wear “two masks or one N95” mask. Her teachers and others in her Traditional Chinese Medicine program are “demanding” that their regulatory college make vaccines mandatory for all TCM practitioners. Kind of like what the naturopaths are doing. I can tell you that I wouldn’t go to an alternative medicine practitioner that called for the mandates of anything that reduced our personal health freedoms. Seems a little hypocritical, no?
On a personal note, we have been aggressively paying off what remains of our mortgage. We see this time, and the impending unrolling of further measures to steer this ship of ours into the hands of globalists, as a time necessitating as much untangling from every system we can. We see any debt as liability and a point of insecurity that leaves us vulnerable. To that end, when my husband loses his job, we don’t want to be destitute. Everything we have been doing is in an attempt to safeguard us and our family, financially and otherwise. It’s covid now, climate next, food security always.
I think it’s important to note that these decisions are not taken with fear governing our hearts. We make these decisions with conviction and confidence in bettering our lives. Yes, it’s challenging, but what isn’t that’s worth anything at all. Yes, we can sacrifice joyfully for long-term rewards. We have gotten pretty good at that and this is just more of the same.Have things changed for y’all in the last few months? Where are you at? How are you feeling about things? How are my Aussie pals doing now? Any changes?
On our last thread, I felt compelled to respond to everyone. I probably won’t be able to do that this time, but I do read every one. I hope we can all chat amongst ourselves here, free of censorship. I don’t care where you are with the choices you have made, I just care that we can come together as humans and respect each other, share our stories, and offer each other some compassion and good will.
Hello from Western Australia which is said to have some of the strictest restrictions in the world for basically having no Covid in the population. My partner and myself have been working so hard for the last two years to buy our patch of land in the country side to start our simple lives closer to nature. We have both lost our jobs due to the mandates here and are so close to our dreams it’s been so cruel and hard to swallow what is going on. Have not found any work, the mainstream media and government have done a great job creating a complete scary myth… we currently are only getting 20 cases a day and have been shut of to the world for almost two years. Pretty much everyone who is unvaccinated is unemployed and trying to cope with the general public seeing us as the issue when we are only 6% supposedly. I want to wake up from this nightmare.
Hello- we are in country Western Australia (near York) and luckily, for me and my husband, we are hardly affected by this whole thing (yet) as we had opted to drop out of the system and quit our jobs 6 years ago. We live mostly self sufficiently on our little block. We bought it cause it needed rescuing (broadacre farming history and salt affected) we have been planting so many trees and digging drainage etc etc and now this little place is rescuing us! Much of the wildlife has returned, much of the land is useable now and our animals are thriving. We have lots of different heritage chickens- all raised naturally and with no chemicals ever, that give us eggs and plenty of meat, we have merino sheep that provide us with milk, meat and organic wool (to sell for a small income and cover most costs) we have a few cows- mainly got them to get the dung beetle population thriving- and will be milking our favorite young heifer 'Tara' later this year. We feel very fortunate and we would like to connect with others and especially would love to help people who refuse to be mandated by providing food money can't buy in exchange for some help or just a chat around the campfire :) Lots of love to everyone and stay strong!
I'm sending you a huge hug ❤ and all my love and support. I've been keeping up with what is going on in Australian via Avi Yemini and my heart breaks for the people of Australia.
I'm in Ontario, like you, and after 3 of the darkest weeks, the hope that the Truckers Freedom Convoy is bringing is the brightest light right now! Even if things don't go as planned with the convoy, what they have done, bringing people together, giving hope, is the MOST important thing right now. So many people have felt so alone these past 2 years, and this convoy is showing them that they are not alone, never alone. It is the most beautiful message. I pulled my son from school this year, after he said he didn't talk all day wearing a mask and they said not to talk to their friends at lunch and he cried every morning before school. Homeschooling him has been wonderful and really hard. But I know it's the right thing to do. Thank you for your writing, it's filled me up at times and put to voice exactly how I feel - sending love!
We have been up to Ottawa twice and will be going back - I think I'm getting addicted to that mass infiltration of joy and love. It's been so long since I've seen so many hopeful, beautiful faces. I found homeschooling pretty touch initially as well. You'll find your rhythm and he is so blessed for your dedication. xo
You are a good mom. ❤️Homeschooling is wonderful and really hard. The most important thing you're teaching your son is to stand up for what's right and to sacrifice for the people you love.
I never planned to homeschool and had some pretty cloudy prejudices about home school from my own childhood interactions with home schooled kids. My oldest has been homeschooled since her kindergarten went online in March 2020 and my youngest has kind of always been asking for that ride, but technically didn’t “go” to kindergarten this fall.
It has been an unearthing for all of us. Aside from a rotten spot here or there, we’ve mostly unearthed a deeper connection between us, stronger voices and self-advocacy, and just a lot of fun many days.
You are showing your child love is strength and rules are to be considered before being followed or not. Those lessons are more valuable than the name of a random river 6000 miles away or history sorries told from the skew of the victors.
I feel so bad for your son and the other children but so glad that you are homeschooling. It will be better for him, mentally. I am hearing how devastating this whole ordeal will be on our children in the years to come. It’s criminal. May God bless you and your family.
Hey Tara! It’s your loyal teenage fan boy from NZ again. Perhaps your remember me from your last discussion thread.
NZ has been its usual socialist self. We are about a month into summer and the government announced we are going back into heavy restrictions after the huge billion dollar marketing campaign “two shots for summer” promised everyone they’d be free again. It’s honestly hilarious being unvaccinated and watching all these people who got jabbed be denied everything they were promised. They were all good boys and got their good boy passes yet still can’t go out.
They are happy to see thousands of us loose out jobs and get shut out of all places but when their favourite club gets closed it’s suddenly injustice. Either way though, it’s thankfully ruffled a few feathers this time and for the first time in two years I’m seeing friends start posting about it being bullshit. A slight yet noticeable turn around that may create an avalanche of disobedience.
For myself it’s been alright. Have a couple months worth of savings to live off left and a few of opportunities have presented themselves. Hopefully they will pull through. My fake pass has also been getting me into any restaurant/holiday I need to. It makes me sick having to show it though. Living in the city is so incredibly motivating because I want nothing more than to make my wealth and escape this muzzled up obese land of zombies. Live the homestead life, build or join a community and raise children next door to close friends. The vision has been made so clear these past two years. It is inevitably going to be my future. I must thank the pandemic for helping with that.
Anyway. It’s good to hear your progressing still. I love your writing so much and often share it with close friends. They really liked your recent piece about the beaver. Hope to support join you behind the paywall soon as well. If you start selling mugs or merch though I’ll be mad 😂… Goodnight & let’s go Brandon!
Side note: have you seen the video where the CEO of Pfizer says the two jabs offer “very little protection, if any” that had me laughing my arse off. Too good. Everyone in NZ has Pfizer lol. Watching the world degenerate has me laughing out loud every day. It doesn’t have to be doom n gloom
"Live the homestead life, build or join a community, and raise children next door to close friends." You've got wisdom beyond your years, and I wish you well in this endeavor. If you're not a reader of Wendell Berry you should be!
“Live the homestead life, build or join a community and raise children next door to close friends. The vision has been made so clear these past two years. It is inevitably going to be my future. I must thank the pandemic for helping with that.”
Logan that is so beautiful and just by you putting it down into words has put this out into the universe and your manifestation will become your reality. I repeated something very similar to myself over and over until I made it happen in my life. This pandemic has led me to the most beautiful place in my life. Not because of my scenery but for the lessons it has taught me and the deep satisfaction that comes with staying true to what I believe in, and being unwavering in my values and decisions. Thank you for your post.
If your going to local markets there probably won’t be many restrictions. Rural places I’ve been to recently (not many) have their small towns that still require all the mandates and passes for most things. The local people themselves don’t ask or seem to care, their view just seems to be a classic kiwi style ‘ahh it’ll all blow over’. They aren’t afraid or really care, they just get their jab without worrying or thinking about it
Anyway maybe that helps, best of luck with your move and progression into homesteading!
I joined a few expat returning home groups and many are moving out of NZ if they haven’t done so already. The news obviously doesn’t mention any of this....no surprises there. But there has been thousands and thousands leaving. I do think we are in for a rough ride here. So many jobs being advertised. Online training to care for stroke victims, jobs as a doctor or in nursing. You name it. It doesn’t bode well.
Yes fingers crossed it gets better but I have a sinking feeling. 😔
I would wait it out to be honest. I think prices have plateaued. Lending is more strict so prices might even fall? Life is very restricted here with no end in sight. I’m sure one day you will achieve your dream. 🤞🏻
I am writing from the southern U.S. where most things are normal except for a few who are still wearing masks but that's mostly near the city where there are more liberals. The suburbs and rural areas don't participate in that. Individual businesses still have the option to require the mask but many have stopped. I will be moving to Florida in the spring and never coming back. Watching the truckers fight for everyone's freedom. I hate what Fauci and the others have don't to my children's psyches. We all need to keep holding on! Stay strong!
Hi Tara, I've talked to you so many times over the last few years. It sounds ingratiating to say that you have been the catalyst to the chain reaction of changes that have happened to me and my family in the last year. I didn't get a chance to check in the last post, but i'll tell you now. I went from living in central Minneapolis, MN for 30 years to now living on a farm 2 and a half hours north of there, down a dirt road, 15 miles from the nearest grocery store.
I started reading your posts and i started looking at my own belief system, and i started realizing that i didn't like what was happening to the city i loved for so long, and i didn't agree with the intolerance and lack of civility and condoning of zero person responsibility...I started grieving the life I had created there, and started untangling myself from it. I lost many friends due to the political duality here in the states....that's another story entirely - but it's enough to say that it has been a painful and sometimes regretful loss.
We went from rioting, burning, drive by shootings, car jackings, catalytic converter thefts, murders, complete intolerance for any thought that wasn't the group think of the neighborhood, of school closings even if there was no covid breakouts, .... to being the caregivers of a beautiful Jersey who provides us with milk every day, to physically working so hard we drop into bed, to being in the sun and the clean, crisp freezing air, learning to make cheese, bartering with neighbors for their eggs and marrow bones, snowshoeing into our woods to collect Chaga, standing out in the pasture and looking at the kabillions of stars that I weep, watching pheasants, eagles, deer, wolves, bears and turkeys make their way through our yard, watching our calf be born with my sister and our kids watching the miracle of it....my husband and i have a singular purpose and a deeper connection with our shared work. Wow.
Where I live now in relation to COVID: Oddlly for being considered "trump county" , people are extremely tolerant of personal choice - if you want to wear a mask in a store -great - if you don't - great-. Take care of yourself. If you are vaccinated great, if you aren't great - take care of yourself.
I work for the government oddly enough, as a social worker administering a program for vulnerable and disabled people of all ages. It's the biggest county in Minnesota - so big in fact that it is bigger than all of the other counties in the state combined. I don't work with the people directly, i administer the program so I was able to keep my job since it is 100% online. I have good benefits, good pension, good retirement plan, lots of vacation every year and lots of flexibility. AND. I am in a public sector union who has voted to go on strike in 5 days. so here i am at another crossroads with my thankfulness for the job i have, the consequences of crossing the picket line, the consequences of striking.....I still don't know what I'm going to do. So that's happening.
But it was -20F here and we are still milking. I was out there this morning with my bovine friends - the most sacred space and my favorite time of the day. I love putting my face into her flank and breathing in her wonderful smell. I love leaning into this life. I'm now sitting in front of our wood stove, my husband is remodeling my kitchen right now, my old hunting dog is sleeping next to me, and i can see our cows out in the pasture munching away on the hay bales we bought from our neighbor this fall. I have salmon from my brother thawing for dinner and a pot of broth going on the stove. I can't think of any place i would rather be!
I am thankful to you Tara! I am heartbroken for you with the unspeakable death of your precious child. You and your hubs have a lot of stuff coming down the pike...and i really appreciate hearing how you are contingency planning, how you are keeping your relationship solid...how you are muddling through it. Is it a lot of pressure? Having all of these people who consider you a beacon, a rope to hold on to to keep from falling off the cliff so to speak, a voice in the isolation we all feel? Maybe it's a gift to lean into right now?
Last thing - i have been obsessively watching the freedom convoy. i see all the videos of the throngs of truckers. I read the headlines with the misinformation and downright lies. We have so little coverage of it here in the states and it is literally our close neighbor who we all love here and most of us don't even know what's happening up there!!! My mind if reeling at the irony of having so much social media at our fingertips and yet not even knowing what is going on in the pasture next door. Bananas. <3 Kristin
Esther, greetings from Pine City. We too live on a farm and I am blessed to work from home part time and homeschool our 6 year old. My husband commutes to the city for work and I worry for his safety there. For the most part I feel our life is fairly normal with the TV turned off. I am still on social media and what bothers me to my core is the divide and hatred toward others with different beliefs. I wish the world would turn the TV off and technology and unite with their families and reconnect with nature. It would heal them and be a big step to heal the world. Prayers for peace around the world to all you great people.
Farming in upstate NY, selling organic pastured meats on land I don’t own. Land security sure sounds nice but it’s not an easy number to make it work. Especially in our communist regime here in New York. Finding ease in knowing that no matter how bad it gets, it’s still Gods plan, and we need to remain firm in our convictions even when city dwellers who moved up here our asking things like vaccine status from their local farmers. Baby on the way, truth will prevail in the end. And I am not afraid. I feel like the richest man on earth between all this nourishing food, soon to be a father and knowing that we’re in Gods hands.
It is very much like Canada here is Vermont - all the art venues - music, theater, talks - require proof of vax and booster if appropriate! and for kids 5 and older now! Mask mandates in many towns - kids masked all day in school. We are selling our house this spring in order to be debt free even if it means living in a camper trailer while we slowly build and get off grid. Like you said, not out of fear - but out of conviction that we don't want to be part of this new world technocratic system. I love seeing the truck convoy - so exciting! Also, we have made wonderful new friends through all of this by hosting monthly or twice monthly potlucks with 20 plus people coming to our home and hugging and singing and forming new friendships. Thank you for your writing - sending love. - Tonya
In VT too. Very grateful for the few close friends and family we have that we can be fully honest and free with. And am grateful to live rurally where I can breath and find calm. But many of of my family and formally close friendships are strained. Just yesterday I wrote a letter to friends and family, most of whom we just haven't really seen or talked to in a long while, presenting my position and feelings about where the mandates taking us. It was terrifying to hit 'send' on that, but I have gotten to the point where I need to tell those I love that I am taking a stand and that certain things are not ok. Thank you Tara and thank you other readers for helping me feel not so alone in the world.
I'm moving to Vermont in April and would be lying if I said I didn't have some fear around the culture of vaccinations up there. I'm hoping we'll be able to find a small group of people to be "honest and free with", like you said Erin! <3
We currently full time in an RV but desperately want to homestead and we’re looking at Maine. I have no idea if it’s anything like Vermont but if it is we will steer clear from there. Do you know if Maine is better in terms of mandates?
Hey Michelle! I’ve recently moved to Central rural Maine to get away from my hometown madness on the coast of NH. No mandates here, everything is voluntary. I would recommend staying away from all coastal towns which are flooded with brainwashed liberals. There is a very high population of elderly folks so that influences a lot of towns but overall the collective energy of rural Maine is not going to bow. The fertile land abounds and so many folks have their feet in the soil doing the good work of stewarding the land! I hope that helps, feel free to reach out!
Thank you so much Taylor! That really does help. Can I ask what county you are located in? Would you say that all the center counties are pretty much safe?
We moved to Central Maine last year & have been very welcomed by the community overall. They are very welcoming of younger people moving back. I feel much freedom & opportunity here. Some stores have a mask mandate but that is their personal choice as a small business owner - everything else is mostly open. I went to a comic show a few weeks ago & we had to wear masks going in, but once sitting we could remove them for the entire show. I'm very happy with my decision to move here. Hope that helps! Lots of beautiful land ready to homestead on
Hi Michelle, life time Mainer here also in central Maine. We are not Vermont, but we are also not as free as Midwestern and Southern states. There are mandates in certain cities, such as Portland, Bath and others. There are also mandates for all healthcare workers with no exemptions except medical. We also have a law that prohibits children from attending any school if they do not have all vax, narrow medical exemptions only. The legislature may add new vax to the schedule at any time and are expected to add Cov as soon as EUA is taken off for children.
Just some things that aren’t common knowledge but have definitely affected quality of life for many of us.
Thank you so much for this information. It’s much appreciated and good to know. Sounds a little too strict for what we are comfortable with. We would want to homeschool though thankfully.
Hi Tonya and Erin - I'm in Vermont, too, in Richmond. As much as I love it here it sure is crazy! I have many friends who understand my views and even agree but go along with everything for whatever reason so I've felt a bit isolated in that regard. So many folks tell us not injecting our kids is the right thing but no one ever wants to take a public stand - so frustrating. Would love to connect with others in person if either of you are nearby.
I live in very rural Georgia in the US. I’m constantly forgetting about Covid but I suppose I need to be in prayer for people in areas like you are in. We farm and homeschool so my kids have never put on a mask a single time and I refuse to let them. Everything is normal here. There are a few who choose to wear masks everywhere and I feel sorry for their fear. Everything is open and normal for the customer. Most places even the employees are ignoring the requirement to wear a mask and vaccine mandates here were shot down in court. Come move to the US. It’s warmer too. 😂
Hello Tara and All, my name is Ann and I live in Michigan. I am grateful the SCOTUS struck down Biden’s vx mandate because my husband’s job was at risk. We will see how long it is until another way is implemented to achieve their goals.
I am amazed at how the official narrative is world wide, how the media does not report truth, and fear has gripped the populace. The US military has reported an increase compared to the last 5 year average, in miscarriages amongst its female population by 300%, and in the general cancer rate of 200%. I heard these numbers on a credible alternate news source. This entire evil experiment is indeed to reduce the world population and take global control. It blows my mind how blind people are to it.
We are also working to pay off our mortgage and plan to have it done by April. We are small time homesteaders and have been working toward food security for years, growing and harvesting and preserving what we eat.
Ultimately, we daily look to God, who is our source for all things, and trust Him by doing what He asks of us. I am thankful each day for who He is and what He does.
Hi Tara and everyone, I'm in Toronto Ontario. The restrictions we are experiencing are unbelievable. I am busy learning new skills in hopes of working online, after being terminated from my 32 years of employment with the library system here. Most days, I feel at peace with my decision, and being immersed in learning helps me to forget the nightmare we are going through, albeit temporarily. I have moments where I want to gather my family and flee south...but knowing there are others like us fighting and surviving, in their own way, quells that urge, at least for the time being. I go in and out of social media, to keep up with, support, and cheer on the resistance. I do my best to be aware of what is going on, but not stay stuck there. It just brings me down and despair starts to take hold of me. I've been listening and reading spiritual type books, new age thought etc., to remind me of what our purpose here is really all about, to take comfort in seeing everything from a higher and divine perspective. And I realize that what I focus, think about and speak, has power. So I choose to turn my attention, either through dreaming or envisioning, a world where our freedoms are intact. A world without fear. A world where we are able to live our lives in peace and relative harmony with one another. The mainstream media continues to perpetrate the fear based messaging of Mr. Global (as investor Catherine Austin Fitts calls them) and I now realize you and I have the power to choose differently, to think differently. May sound simplistic, but in a complex world this is what is working for me. If this resonates with you, help me dream a world that is free for all, and spread the message far and wide.
I have been in central Florida for the past year, where I moved from NYC because nothing here is locked down. I am not vaccinated, and no one ever asks me. I never wear a mask.
Still, though, I have been feeling listless and depressed, and I know spirit is asking big change of me right now. I am feeling called to buy land and start a homestead in North Carolina, though I don’t know where. This is terrifying to me, since I’ve lived my 20s with no semblance of “home”, bopping from city to city renting apartments. To root down is what I most yearn for, and also something I’m terrified of. What if I don’t like the place? What if my neighbors aren’t nice? Big wounding around “home”. I also really want to buy this land/small cottage *cash*, to avoid debt, as you wisely mentioned, which basically limits my options to run-down houses lol.
I just gave my three weeks’ notice at my high-paying software job, because it just feels dead and soulless. But I do not know how to make money in a more soulful, “real” way. I just know I need to be on land. I know massive existential lessons await me there. I feel terrified and lonely and everything feels foggy and unknown, and yet I *know* I’m somehow on the right path. Experimentation will lead to *something* better than stagnancy where I am. I cannot live another decade like this. 💙
Greetings, Sophia. If spirit is calling you to something then I imagine spirit is with you to help align you with that which you feel you want to do. That also means that everything placed in front of you, neighborhood, community, passerbys, etc. will all be in alignment with your frequency. So you see, it makes no sense to worry about the things you are worried about. Everything and everyone you encounter on this path will be a match to your frequency. Anyone who challenges your frequency is also meant to do so that you stay in balance with yourself. Those challenge are re-affirmations. I say this from experience. I no longer am meeting people or being moved into spaces that don’t align with what I intend. You have to believe this since belief is the most powerful mover of love.
I identify with so much of what you have shared about your life. Since 2002, I’ve lived at 20 different addresses and I too am ready to settle on some land to call home. I know when I find that place it’ll be with others like you because that is what I welcome into my space. It’s what I believe. 🙏🏾
I was so happy to see this in my inbox, because sometimes you just need to get it off your chest. Even if you just did last night haha.
In BC they just announced the vaccine passport will continue to June 30. For a vaccine that is doing absolutely nothing to slow the spread of omicron. I had the rona last week (along with most people I know, vaccinated or not. Actually come to think of it I know more unvaccinated people who dodged it) and my son has it now. So we have natural immunity, proven to be effective unlike the shot, but that counts for shit all apparently. For all five of my family members, the virus felt like a mild to moderate flu. I couldn’t stop thinking, how are we shutting down the world for THIS? You’d have to be at deaths door already to be at much risk from it. Like the flu. I say it all the time. I feel like I’m beating my head against a brick wall.
I’ve been mostly doing well with the whole pandemic situation, in terms of outlook. We, like you Tara, are looking for ways to be more secure and self reliant. Our mortgage isn’t going away any time soon, but it’s manageable. My husband owns his own business and it’s doing well, so he will never be shut down due to not having the jab (he does have two doses in fact, but he’s not getting any more). We’re putting away food, getting a generator tied in to our household power, more than doubling our water storage, and getting a big diesel tank.
A big goal for us right now is making our property make money for us in the form of rentals. I’d love to have our acreage all to myself, but there’s a LOT of personal security to be gained from having rentals here. There’s a severe housing crisis where I live, not nearly enough housing to go around and the prices are insane. So even if my husbands industry tanks, our land can make money for us and keep the mortgage paid.
Lately I’ve been having a harder time keeping positive, and I break down and cry sometimes when I think of what this is doing to our kids. What is the world going to be like for them? How dare these people fuck with our kids like this and make them responsible for other peoples perceived safety? All kids, even kindergarteners, have to wear masks in school. They just made a change that they cants sit face to face at lunch times (or any other time). What is this doing to little ones that haven’t seen their teachers faces for years?
Forthe government to even suggest that we should inject our children with an experimental drug when they have no calculable risk from the disease is criminal. It’s so fucking criminal. They’re making children responsible for protecting adults. My children are homeschooled but it’s still such a part of their lives and it’s so sad. There are so many things they’ve been missing out on.
I’m angry now, and sad. Not sure how hopeful to be any more.
But hey, the truckers convoy is so incredible right?! It brings me to tears to see the footage. I wish I was there with them.
Writing from the San Juan Islands, Washington, a county with the highest vaccination rate in the US, and a complete and utter shit show of craziness… on our island we’re a couple of hundred of underground dissenters that meet in clandestine locations, but we marched in public on Sunday in solidarity with the rest of the world to end the mandates. Oh the furor! Oh the indignant rage! Local social media has erupted in an outpouring of pissed off vaccinated people who think we should all die because we’re not. Oh well. Having a network has been a lifesaver for us and I cannot emphasize enough how creating one has given us the strength we need to persevere. We have had meetings on how to use a nebulizer in case you get sick, meetings on how to approach local government officials to hold them accountable, actions on how to address the school, etc. There IS strength in numbers and we are not alone. We are connecting with other islands too and focusing our efforts on making change locally because the state is a joke but our homes and our lives and our community are worth fighting for. Draw a line in the sand and just say enough is enough. And get a milk cow! Ha. That always helps, no matter where you are.
Hey fellow Washingtonian! I’m in the butthole of king county though, in a wonderful small town but still... Always loved the islands! Keep fighting the good fight and FUJI 🤠
I'm a nurse at a hospital in New Mexico. We are required to be vaccinated, which i did, no problem, no issues. NOW, we are in "crisis mode", where if one tests + for the rona, one is required to work ANYWAY... If not THAT sick.
It's that way throughout NM, and also NYC, according to my friend who is an ICU nurse.
But visitors are limited. Does this make ANY kind of sense?
Here in the land of the free, my husband continues to wage the fight for our military members to have that freedom. As a Chaplain, and an airman that is truly a calling that he takes seriously. It is very discouraging to help dozens of people craft their requests for exemptions and to have the leadership deny every single request. But that is what is happening every day and I see how it weighs on my husband. We are the “land of those who have lost our way.” God help us.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak on this "Bell Let's Talk" aka how bug can we get our government tax break to get off the backs of our paying customers day, Tara.
My husband, unfortunately, is still not back at work. He may be able to go soon but who knows. I've taken the children out of school and am tying my best at this homeschool thing. It's temporary right now but how knows if it will stay temporary. Doing this the last 2 weeks has shown me HUGE gaps in the modern education system and its left me incredibly frustrated.
Tomorrow, we will be lining our community to stand in guard for the truckers that will be making their way to Ottawa. I want to show my children what can happen when the plebs stand together. Ive seen the videos online and the amount of unity I've seen leaves me in floods of tears. I expect our benevolent leader to invoke Marshall law, as his father before him, when these truckers make it to Parliament Hill. I expect things to get much worse but it's been refreshing to see ordinary Canadians come together for something bigger than them.
I used to be proud to be a Canadian. I now hang my head in shame and disgust at our "leadership."
I'm praying for all my fellow humans who don't think someone else's vaccine status makes them worthy. We are all one and I wish all of you well. ❤
It sounds unbelievable draconian in your part of the world. I have been raging this morning about our buffoon of a prime minister and the wonderful exceptions to the rules his party make for themselves whilst enforcing the rules for the rest of us. Honestly nothing this government does shocks me anymore. Our covid restrictions have been suddenly relaxed as a very clear distraction technique from the ruling party's ongoing inability to act like decent human beings, although in my opinion all the data points to c circulating like a cold or flu and that's how it is. I am grateful that things are feeling normal, masks are off ( or on, your choice) and again, all our stats are looking positive at the mo. I am double jabbed but haven't had a booster shot and have no intention of getting one at this point for reasons many and varied. There has been a lot of noise about mandatory vaccines for our nhs workers but I am really hoping that this doesn't get enforced and suspect it won't be. On a lighter note, I have so enjoyed your posts on all things home and health. I am LOVING sleeping in snuggly, organic linen. It's a game changer. I am also making my own cultured butter and am feeling pretty bloody good about it! Love to you, hope things lighten up considerably where you are.
You don’t want to hear about Florida - we are fairly close to normal life here. So if you look south for hope there may just be a little. You are spot on in the quest to become fully free from financial obligations to uncertain lords in our future. We are on that path too.
I live in New York. We are basically experiencing the same as you in Canada. I agree that financial security is important now and we are working toward this. I don’t recognize my country anymore and I’m hoping people start fighting back. I pray daily for all of us.
thanks for opening this space for updates and checking in, it's always so lovely to feel a part of a community -- even if we are all very far dispersed geographically, sharing similar values and ideas and dreams makes it feel like a genuine connection nonetheless. it strikes me as I read through the varied comments that the movement back to the land is where the real hope for the future lies, where what we're working towards now has the greatest chance of creating a good life for the the generations following us. it's not an easy path, for all the reasons, but when we gather and talk about it, we help each other out. I am in west coast mexico, where the living is very good, and I'm grateful every day that we made it out of Canada just over one year ago, though my heart hurts for all my friends and family in BC who have experienced one trauma event after another (heat domes, wild fires, floods, freezes, bare grocery shelves, fear, fear, fear). Here in Mexico, our small town has seen a few waves of Covid and vax rates are probably lower than a lot of places, although still pretty high. I feel like now I can say from my personal observations that yes, the shots seem to be keeping many vulnerable people from getting Covid when they are exposed (for example, my parents and my inlaws), and perhaps it will become something like the flu shot -- available to those who want it, not forced on anyone. Seeing the news that the UK is stepping back, things like a more vocal and visible resistance in the trucker's convoy, talk of the sickness becoming endemic, and many ppl having experienced it and losing their fear, all these things are giving me a bit more optimism that we're getting closer to better times. I've recently decided to start focusing more of my attention on taking small steps towards the better future I'm allowing myself to imagine with wild abandon: raising chickens and goats in the back yard, building space to welcome friends, grow community, and earn a living (we have a small casita that will be ready to rent out in a few weeks, and plans for two more over the next year if anyone is considering relocation to west coast mexico). I'm researching school bus conversions, with the thought that eventually we will be able resume our migratory pattern between Canada and Mexico, over land, slowly, from farm to farm, perhaps. I could see a world in which this exists: open borders, networks of communities, opportunities for anyone to root and settle and grow or travel and migrate and explore--land and farm co-operatives, DIY networks of tools and supplies and knowledge sharing, art and music festivals, the reawakened rhizomes of all the things that we've been missing and longing for in this two dark years, with spaces like this one working as some kind of digital mycorrhizal network to keep sparking growth, imagination, courage and optimism as we individually in all our small corners of the world help each other to set roots and grow, a new movement like some kind of miraculous and astounding phenomena that in actuality is just life doing what it does, unfolding, growing towards the light.
I’ve been dividing my time between Granada, Spain (Andalucía) and Stockholm, Sweden this whole time and it’s been fascinating to see such different approaches to the situation.
In the beginning, Spain had total lockdown, choppers and drones patrolling to make sure no one left their houses. Slowly the restrictions eased up, but very confusing to keep track of what was allowed where. Different in different regions (Andalucía), and also different rules within the provinces in the region (Granada), and even different rules within the region! Where one village was in a lockdown, where you could move freely within the village but now leave.
Sweden has been fairly open the whole time, in comparison. Higher education has been online, and restaurants have closed earlier, cultural events cancelled etc but no lockdown whatsoever. No mandatory masks. Government not allowed according to our constitution (hallelujah for that!).
Sweden in general is big tho on the social pressure aka shaming ppl into conforming. Big ad campaigns with celebrities showing off their band aid on their jabbed arm. So much polarization between people and many restrictions in the healthcare system. No visits in hospitals, women have had to give birth without partners etc.
Some health care regions in Sweden require their workers to be fully jabbed, not sure how legal it is actually.
I’m studying to be a nurse so I’ve spent quite some time in the system, and I’m choosing who I share my unjabbed status with, bc of the harsh rhetoric in lunch rooms.
Since late last year, Sweden implemented the C passport, meaning you need to be fully jabbed to attend events with more than a certain amount of participants. I think the current number is a few hundred.
On Saturday there was a big demonstration in Stockholm against the C passport and we were thousands marching for freedom. I’ve seen reports of between 8000-18000. Old media ofc highlighted the fact that there was a fringe nazi organization in the March.
Failing to mention the doctors, nurses and other people from all the walks of life - everything from dreadlocks to dress shoes.
I’m strengthened to read your sharings and it gives me strength to stand strong in my convictions.
I am in Northern California. If we stay local almost no one wears a mask, go into the city there are more. A lady asked me if i had a mask the other day and i said no if you give me my coffee ill stop infecting your restaurant. Ha!
Ive got my 2 pigs in the pasture, my chickens are starting to lay again yay! Meat rabbits, im finally learning! I bought 2000lbs of feed from a local farmer its not the best but its a step! We will be looking for a steer soon, but i cant raise one here. I've got steep hilly mountain land. I found a local milk hookup. So i have been buying most of our food without the grocery stores. Thank you Tara for all of your time and knowledge and love and thank you for bringing us together ❤️ I appreciate you! Sending you a big hug !
I live in New South Wales in Australia - the scare mongering and absolute drivel coming from our state and national governments are now just laughable. There are some that are willing to question what we are told, think critically about everything, but this is causing huge divides. We are so sick of hearing about covid but it drives every single conversation between friends and family now - but not a single person (in my experience) has used the last two years to question their overall health and immunity. The message from the government is that we need to be vaccinated to protect each other, but those who choose to try and have an honest discussion and share their concerns and thoughts are very quickly shutdown. Groupthink, anyone? Never mind the latest callout to vaccinate all children (?!!!?) against this virus. It's mind boggling.
Thank you always for sharing your stories, we need to keep questioning what news is being forced down our throats, and be brave enough to question our friends and family when they regurgitate messages from the media.
here, in Lithuania last week we managed to stop our parliament to vote for requirement to be fully vac(now its 3 shots) to be able to work in healthcare and social welfare system and to cancel the plans to implement green pass for 12 + kids ( +18 from last Sept).
victory, hopefully not temporary !
Still, for certain professions you need to test periodically and the tests are rather expensive.
This month the positive tests skyrocketed and I guess there will be no people left without immunity (this term means you have all shots or you was c sick approved), more evidences on shot ineffectiveness and more people convinced to go against that absurd.
At the same time some restrictions cancelled due to the specialist shortage in healthcare and education systems.
As for green pass - yes its needed to participate in cultural events, to go to cafe or restaurant, to shop in non food shops and big mals.
Still the community is not so bad, not scared very much and many small shops or even gyms just let you (15 min allowed) in and not check the pass.
Our family managed to catch the virus and get positive test (just running nose and bit sore throat for a week) during holidays and now the kids are able to go to gym and movie theaters and mom doesn't need tests for cultural events and dad no more pushed in his job.
Here in central Wisconsin my hubby and I are getting the barn ready for spring pigs and considering our first few cows. We are preparing to separate from the world even more, that path has already been determined for us. I continue to see a few patients remotely and hope that is not taken away. We also stay open to that voice of God that consoles us and gives us courage.
again, i feel like don't belong here, and probably shouldn't post, but i think it's important for all voices to be heard in this thread. i trust tara, when she says all are welcomed.
i live in phoenix, arizona, and my family is fully vaccinated and boosted. my grandparents (they're in their 80s) just tested positive for covid and we are beyond grateful for the vaccines because they are immunocompromised. things would be far worse if they weren't vaccinated.
i still wear a mask in busy public places because i do not have time to be sick for x amount of days. my family's small business is thriving, but if one of us were to get sick (with anything!) it would make things extremely stressful. there's four of us here, and if one is gone, then things get overwhelming.
i still see fear on both sides. i'm still confused how a global pandemic became so political.
the pandemic has given me a deeper sense of community. in the beginning, it gave me a valid reason to say no to a lot of things, and it helped me realize what truly matters. my friendships are deeper and there's more respect and love than ever. we've grown closer to our neighbors - enjoying meals and beers and watching each other's pets. my family is the tightest and strongest it's ever been.
terribly, my family has experienced first hand the side effects of having the schools shut down and the mental costs it's having on young children. the kids should be in school. period. so why does it matter if they wear a mask or not? if the goal is school, then let's have mitigation efforts that keep them in schools. i worry about what this pandemic and the divisiveness is doing to the children.
i also find it interesting that among my liberal, city dwelling, vaccinated friends we don't really talk about the unvaccinated/mandates/fear. we don't even talk much about covid any more. we're out running the trails and laughing. we're going backpacking and feeling the sun on our skin. we're talking about books and movies and music. it feels normal and whole and good.
if anything, i hope we can all agree what we need more of in this world, no matter our beliefs, is empathy and compassion and community. i really value seeing the everyone's perspective here, even if it's so different from mine.
Thank you for sharing your perspective. I certainly appreciate you being honest about reading here and seeing how different our views are from yours. The way you spoke about running trails , laughing and never discussing covid with your friends was a bit eye opening. Here in Canada , it’s all anyone talks about and in my community people expect you to share your medical status with them. The ones who don’t are immediately ostracized. I’ve also received multiple emails from places I’m a member at , for example, the local public recreation centre where we once worked out and took swimming lessons at. They have stated the unvaccinated are not welcome. Imagine being told you’re not welcome? With that said, we still have community and still laugh enjoying the company of folks who understand the hardships the non jabbed face. But I certainly sympathize with immunocompromised individuals and can understand the personal choices in regard to their medical health that must be made. Just praying that my children and grandchildren’s futures aren’t forever compromised by the politicization of what one chooses to do/not do with what goes into their bodies. It brings me great joy to read and hear about people living lives in our world where covid seems to not exist❤️ It offers hope and an optimistic outlook!
Perhaps though if you couldn't go to restaurants, bars, theater, take lessons you might talk about the mandates more. I really appreciate your sharing and respect your point of view.
i think you're right. if i couldn't do any of that, i would be talking more about mandates, but my whole life i've been taught there are consequences for our actions. sometimes they're justified and sometimes they're not. for the record, i strongly believe in medical freedom. i believe in your choice to choose to get vaccinated or not, but our choices don't come free from consequences.
i'm not tara, but i think you are more than welcome here. i know this because you are a complete stranger to me, yet you are not attacking & belittling me for my beliefs when i have seen friends & family label those who are unvaccinated as "little bitches," etc.
all of my family is twice-vaccinated but not boosted, except for me. i take care of my 90-year-old grandma and my uncle who is paralyzed waist down from polio; i'm over at their house twice a day. they both are also twice-vaccinated but not boosted, and luckily neither have gotten sick so far. the only time they actually felt sick was when they got their shots and felt those first symptoms. maybe the vaccine helped them; maybe it's their own immunity; maybe it's diet; maybe it's an accumulation of these things -- who really knows. regardless, i don't feel like i am a threat to them.
i think you and those who share your political beliefs, lifestyle, vaccine records, and good spirits are just lovely, but you're all also very rare these days. wish there were more people like you and your friends, but i've seen family members go at it and cut each other off ever since the covid happenings. i feel like the recent presidencies and election blah blah blah has also made everything so very political, specifically when we see which states, even down to the cities (red or blue), have the most restrictions vs. medical freedom.
what the pandemic is doing to the children is 110% alarming. they definitely need to be in a place where they can interact and be kids, but many of them haven't even seen their friends and teachers faces for a long time; i think that is alarming as well. it also seems like they have fared well during a two-year long pandemic, so that might be why a lot of people don't agree with mandating the covid vaccine for their children. there are an overwhelming amount of parents who cannot afford to have their children not be in school, let alone homeschool.. so the decision to not vaccinate is not easy either. i mean, who wants that? who wants to lose their livelihood over a shot, whether you are a child or an adult?
i think i saw your comment about our choices not coming free from consequences, and that's absolutely right. i chose to get an exemption and not vaccinate in order to keep my job and education, so i have to do weekly testing; it is what it is, and i'm fine with what it is.. going back to that though, what about the risks of the vaccine being an everlasting consequence on my body? i mentioned that my whole family was twice-vaccinated and they're all doing okay, but what if i don't feel okay? who really is going to live with what will come from that other than me?
those who have been vaccinated and have been physically fine, i'm genuinely happy for you. if you haven't gotten sick, that's even better news. but what does that have to do with those who chose not to get the vaccine? i say that because i think we've seen enough cases of people who are fully vaccinated and boosted and have still gotten covid; some didn't have it bad at all, but some said they felt like they were dying. on top of that, those who refused to get the vaccines even though they were covid negative (consequentially got fired from their jobs) are now witnessing those who are fully vaccinated and boosted get tested positive for covid, yet they get to keep their jobs. all because they got vaccinated?
so someone can get vaccinated, but still get sick, and spread it to others.. but be in the clear. however, someone who is unvaccinated, can also get sick, and spread it to others just like the vaccinated -- are a threat to society and society's health? that's where it doesn't make any sense to me.
anyway, i hate to take up space here and must get going with my day; i also hope i don't feel like i'm verbally mistreating you or anything. if i did, that really was not my intention. thank you for the conversation!
i think it's really important that we get out of our own echo chambers. i follow tara for a ton of reasons that i agree with or things i want to learn about, but i also follow her because our lives are so drastically different (and her writing! it's so beautiful). i don't always agree with her, but i'm forcing myself to remember that is okay! we need more dialogue between the others - red/blue, vaccinated/unvaccinated, liberal/conservative, religious/nonreligious, urban/rural. there's so much more nuance to the world than any of us allow for. thank you for making me feel welcomed. :)
I have seen data from Ontario referenced multiple times now by doctors in the states showing that hospitalization and case rates are higher among the vaccinated than the unvaccinated and yet the government in Ontario seems unable to read this or more likely just doesn't care. I chose to come back to Ontario from BC to retire closer to family, particularly my 89 year old father. Last time I was with family they were all talking about having got or when they were getting their booster. I bought a new home here and am in the process of renovating but now I seem to always be thinking about where I could move to. I don't know if I will be able to last his lifetime.
My family lives in North Dakota, my hubby is in the medical system here. Preparing ourselves of losing his job eventually, but right now his exemption was granted and they have not made weekly testing mandatory yet. Hardly anyone wears masks here, most local business do not require it.
I am slowly learning to disconnect from social media outlets (one of the many reasons I'm thankful for your emails). Trying to establish friendships with our neighbors, homeschooling our girls, focusing on growing our food, chickens, turkeys, and as much goodness on our little acre of land. Holding on to our God and family....
Love and prayers to you all. I find so much encouragement reading through these comments. Now if we could only be together in person!!
I am also in North Dakota which has much more freedom than some states in US. No masks here I see a few people in bigger cities (Minot, Bismarck) wearing them but not mandated. I am a RN and did receive an exemption but must be tested weekly in order to keep my job. I am currently looking for an online RN position to get away from the N95 and all the bullshit that goes on at the hospital around Covid! We have people locked up in their rooms for 10 days right now because they tested positive. Most have 0 symptoms at all. Inaccurate tests I am sure. It should be a crime to lock someone in a room for that long! I can't stand what has happened to our healthcare system. Just last week we had an email from higher ups that we needed to wear our regular mask with a cloth mask over top to protect ourselves and others. I couldn't take it, I emailed them back telling them how ridiculous that was and none of my education was I ever taught that a mask topped with a cloth mask was going to keep an airborne disease from spreading. Not to mention that the staff are working with low O2 saturations, it is just horrible! When I am home on our homestead I forget about Covid and tend to my animals and live life on my terms which is how it should be.
So sorry you are having to test so often! Crazy we are in the sanford system, and I think its just to big for them to be able to do the testing yet. So glad you spoke out regarding double masking. Keep fighting!! Thankful for all you do and so glad you can sneak away to your homestead!!!
Hi Tara, I am so glad I found you. Everything you said echoes in my heart with a resounding “hell yeah”! I live in Vancouver, and I teach grade 5’s. I try to let them get away with as little of the mandatory regulations as possible behind my closed doors. They are all fine. I am fine. What bothers me is that no one is talking about getting healthy to increase your odds against this virus. In El Salvador there is a commercial on tv that encourages people to get exercise and eat well. Unfortunately they say to limit unsaturated fat, but at least they are acknowledging that a healthy, fit person is going to fair much better. I am in complete agreement with you about getting out of debt as soon as possible. It’s scary out there but if we are smart, we will navigate through these rough waters. All the best to you.
I just have to thank you for letting your students “get away” with things as much as they can! I know how difficult it’s been for teachers in BC who have been trying to make accommodations for our kids.
Feeling more and more constricted by the day, currently in New Jersey. Looking for land to cultivate and steward. Feeling drained, and trapped at the moment. Calling in freedom, guidance, and opportunity.
We are now in sunny SW Florida. Truly grateful to be here! We moved from CT ahead of our original plans last July. It's life as before rona here, for the most part. Rarely does a place require masks, though many ppl wear them by choice. Sadly, my son's private Montessori school has a mask mandate. Glad I got him a medical exemption at the start of it all. The fact that a Montessori school is doing this here, where public school mandates have been banned is very infuriating. We home schooled for a year and a half before moving and it was great, he loved it but also missed interaction with other kids. Fingers crossed the school cancels masks soon.
I dreamed of having land here and growing and raising some of our own food, but for now that remains just a dream and is far from reality, as is being debt-free in the near term .... real estate prices doubled just as we were moving here! Being debt free would require going far inland with fewer school options and far from the beach. And that's a tough trade off to make and we are not ready for that. Thankfully we have access to local foods, including grass-fed meat and raw dairy. Hoping FL remains strong and stays free.
Tara, - thank you for your writing.
Sending love and wishing everyone here all the best.
Hi from New Zealand. What you have written sounds like you could have been living here! It’s tricky home educating our boys now that we can’t have access to libraries, galleries, sports, swimming pool, museums etc. Are little home ed classes can’t operate either.
But we’re so glad we are home educating as we have heard stories of children getting jabbed without parental consent. Bullying is rife with jabbed children alienating those who aren’t. The division is real. Friends have lost jobs due to mandates. Because who needs fire fighters and doula’s? 😤🙄👎🏻😡
We live on a small holding of 6 acres. Sadly we will never pay off this mortgage in our lifetime. So we will have to leave soon. We have two of our pigs at the butchers right now though, collect eggs daily and have 2 sheep getting done soon and we’ll take some honey off the hives next month, so we’re grateful for those things for as long as they last. We would rather be under the governance of crazy Boris in the UK who has started scrapping all the mandates. We may return but we will lose the chances of living off the land 😢
Sometimes I really wish this world was a lot smaller. I'd offer to help with your mortgage in exchange to build a small home in a corner of your 6 acres. Then I could get onto the land and you could stay.
Wouldn’t that be amazing?! I can’t wait to share the skills I’ve learned in the time I have been here. We spin the wool and weave with it as well as felt it. Make cheese from our goats milk etc etc We really miss workaway people staying to share skills. It was great to have company too.
Currently full timing in a RV with the hubby searching for that dream location in the US. Spent last summer in Montana and loved it. It was like old USA there. I have deactivated all social media accounts and I basically stay in the loop by subscribing to my favorite peeps’ newsletters. So tbh, I kind of forget that there’s a suppose-ed “pandemic” happening. However when I went to New York recently I discovered that they have a state wide mask mandate. I walked right into the gas station, the only soul in the whole building without a mask. Then later went right into camping world maskless. Luckily no one said a thing. But everyone else was following suit and wearing their mask. I can’t live in a world like that. That’s why I also have a fear of settling down. Because governors change and politics can always change in a state too. Ideally I want to find a red state that we can homestead on. We are looking at the rural parts of Maine which is a purple state now. It reminds me of the scenery of my home in Washington state in the PNW. However that place is too far gone and there’s no going back. I’m hoping Maine has a chance and doesn’t go off the deep end like the West coast has. Would love if anyone reading this could share some insight on Maine and the situation there.
Politically we have a governor who kept the emergency powers up until last July, and a legislature and senate that leans far left. We had a lot of restrictions up until the summer: churches shut down or restricted, kids in remote learning until April etc. The state prosecuted pastors who had too many gathered even at outdoor events. Private gatherings were also limited and you could report your neighbors. Many of our friends have moved south and Midwest to escape what seems like a direction towards Washington state type politics.
There are a handful of us trying to maintain more freedom here. Many of us were united when a new law was passed that removes all philosophical and religious exemptions from vax requirments for daycares, schools, colleges, and all healthcare workers. We’re outcasts in our home state. Many people moved out due to the new law before Covid even hit. Many are moving now bc of Gov Mills and had lost their small businesses. If you’re new to Maine you might not have noticed this - but we were experiencing economical growth - finally!!- but had many businesses shuttered permanently due to pandemic.
I don’t think we are Vermont or NY or California - but when we traveled south last year we couldn’t believe the freedom! You could go into a store unmasked! If that happened in Maine pre June and the store didn’t enforce it they could lose their license. Dear friends lost theirs for a time because they weren’t enforcing and were reported. So even in rural Maine, lots of people were reporting to the state if they saw people not following orders. We wore masks to protect small business owners from losing their livelihoods due to those type of people.
Oh wow. I had no idea. That does not sound good. I was hoping this whole thing would die down and that the truth was coming to light. But I guess it seems like the pandemic is still a very real thing to some people. Thanks for the info.
California here. If you’re not in the Bay Area or LA, life is pretty much normal. I guess you could say we live a fairly “abnormal” lifestyle to begin with it, but like you, Tara, that is our own sovereign choice. My parents live in the Sierras, and when we visited for the holidays, there is nearly zero indication of restrictions, it’s like going to another state. Larger church gatherings with little to no mask use, no one wearing masks at the grocery stores, etc. In our smallish town, people will wear masks outside but hey that’s their prerogative.
We flip-flop often: should we stay or should we go? Most of our family is here, so we can’t just uproot. But if things get worse and weird even in our small community, do we leave then? Nonetheless, we are not promised the tomorrows and what if’s, so today I will continue to enjoy California and all her beauty.
It been a hard winter on the prairies. Cold and isolating and yourself as well as a few others have made it much less lonely. Thankfully SK is slightly less insane than the other provinces but our premier came out condemning the un-shot in the fall and discourse deteriorated after that. I am a highly logical person and the lack of sense and logic will often drive me mad unless I avoid it. Thank you for introducing me to the Dark Horse podcast last year. While I don’t agree with everything they say I really appreciate their logical and scientific assessment of all that is going on. We are on a farm now so I feel more secure but we didn’t have time to acquire livestock before winter so that and seed starting will be our big preoccupation come spring. I would love to hear a bit about your grazing system for the various animals and maybe a bit more about your electric fencing. We do have permanent fencing here but in disrepair and I’m not sure if we bother fixing… I am on leave from work for various reasons ( I worked for the govt) and I feel complete disgust for it and for a while with being Canadian. The support for the convoy and the drivers are restoring my pride in the people who live here!!! Thank you as always for creating this space where we can realize we are not alone!!!!
i live in california, and they are currently working on a bill that would require the shot for all students k-12 starting next year. yeah...
i'm both a student and employee at a (community college) school district. it was either get vaccinated, get an exemption, or get fired. i was able to get my exemption approved, but i have to get weekly covid tests on campus... even though i work and attend classes completely online. it's not very logical, but what can i do about it. i guess it's all done for the purpose of "logistics," so i have to drive 1.5 hours back and forth to get tested only on campus because i'm not allowed to get tested anywhere else. if you work or attend hybrid classes on campus, you also have to wear mask while at school and check-in at this covid kiosk to get a little wristband like you're at the club or some event. in this case, it is an on-going shit show.
i'm fine with it all because at least i got to have a choice and now i guess i just have to abide by whatever follows my decision, but the nose swabs started to really irritate my nose and throat -- it would just burn. every time i took a test, i would feel like i was getting sick. by the third week, i was so over it that i decided to swab the top of my hand; it came back inconclusive. :-) you know, i was going to swab my shoe or my steering wheel, but i was afraid i'd be quarantined for carrying AIDS or ebola.. and if i chose to spat on the swab, somebody at the lab would be thinking "who's gonna tell this one she's got fucking oatmeal up her nose?"
so i started to DIY it. i use sinu orega's nasal spray before swabbing, and i now bring my own q-tips to the drive-thru testing that they offer (i don't think i can get away with what i'm doing in-person.) i swab with my own q-tips, and then i transfer it onto their swab. but before opening the vial with the pink solution, i actually wear a disposable mask because i think the fumes that they have on the swab and in the solution are what burns me. then i drive off and air out my little car with the windows down. my last 4 tests have come back negative, so it surprisingly works. and i don't feel bad about it because i'm not sick, nor am i ever physically on campus other than for this weekly testing.
hopefully this is useful information to someone who has the same sensitivities. and if not, i apologize for the uselessness. i also really love and admire your writing, the farm photos, the food photos, and the sincere connection through everyone's comments.
Fellow Californian here (waves), and I wanted to say I wholeheartedly understand the absurdity of this state. I wanted to offer another potential way for you to swab. Someone I know blows their nose into a tissue and then swabs the nasal secretions on the tissue so it eliminates putting anything up your nose. Hope it could help.
(waves back) thank you so much for the idea. i will definitely do that soon because i'm sure i'll forget to refill the q-tip baggie any day now. & i'm glad there's still many of us in pockets of this state who aren't psychotically 'cancelling' each other & all that other lame shit over something that is completely personal & also a constitutional right. wishing you & your loved ones a healthy 2022!
Hey, I'm glad to hear you got your exemption and can attend college. I'm from the LA county area.
We just need to keep counting our blessings. We will find ways to keep power over our own lives.
If you can reply... was keeping your job or job hunting also difficult? I'm just anxious about job searching and having to explain that I don't want to get the jab. I just hope there is more employers that don't care about jabs.
hi! i'm south of you, so i know everything here is much different from la. keeping my job was easy because i was able to get an exemption and i also work remotely. if i were on campus for half of the day, i'm not sure i'd feel the same way.. but in the end, i think i'd still be happy i got to make my own decision under a state-wide mandate.
i think you should inquire about exemptions from your potential employers. even though they are required to accept them, i've heard of some employers rejecting (religious) exemptions. they say they'll accept them to cover themselves legally, but the HR department might not even look at them -- that was my friend's office.
i'm sure there are places that won't make it a requirement & will leave it up to you. maybe a job that will allow you to work remotely could be your best bet. they might just be harder to find though. in any case, i wish you luck on finding a good job!
Tara I am always so thrilled to see your writings in my inbox.
I’m here in the southern okanagan in BC
Our province is just as terrible as Ontario. No progression, just Groundhog Day over and over again. “Health Officials” spewing useless lies and garbage from theirs mouths, somehow convincing people to keep doing what they say and the gates of heaven will open for them and all will end. Yet never relinquishing one mandate and just adding more and more to the pile. I shake my head, I scream at the mountains, I pray oh my do I pray, and most importantly I enjoy my family and friends who also think the insanity has reached peak levels. The utter ridiculousness of this whole this situation just leaves me mindfucked everyday. I’m in awe over people’s inability to think freely or do an iota of research that goes beyond mainstream media, I’m gobsmacked that I can give people actual data contradicting the whole narrative and they look at me like you have horns growing out of my head. I am an eternal optimist and even though I have lost all faith in any governing official to stand up and say stop, I am seeing people begin to say it and I hope for the sake of my two beautiful children this country can regain its feet and come out a better place with less stinky people running our lives. I’m quite frankly sick and tired of not seeing peoples beautiful faces.
I reside in southwest Florida. My heart breaks for those having to deal with these COVID mandates and restrictions. I feel deeply for all the families (especially children) affected.
As for me and my family, we have been living completely normal since 4-5 weeks after COVID became a thing back in early 2020. The only time we’re required to wear a mask is on flights or (some) doctor appointments. Some doctors/dentists don’t require it at all. Some places have their “masks required” signs up, but most everyone here doesn’t abide. And most everyone else doesn’t harass us for it. My sons school instituted a mask mandate, which was an easy work around. I easily (no questions asked) got a mask mandate waiver from a sympathetic doctor’s office in one day, which I did pull my son out of school just for that one day until the waiver was in hand. He also has a religious exemption for vaccines which allows us to vaccinate/not vaccinate at our pleasure without being barred from public schools. Folks truly are able to live a completely normal life where we are at, and most do.
We have seen more masks lately, mostly snow birds. There are many others flocking here to seek refuge from the lockdown states. Which does make the real estate market down here very tricky and frustrating. Seeing how much the cost of land has gone up from just a year or two ago is daunting for a family looking to carve out their own slice. At this point I just hope the migrants don’t bring their politics with them — we like our freedom down here! Some restaurants and grocery stores even allow their staff the option of whether to wear a mask or not. One local restaurant even has a “no masks allowed” sign outside their establishment.
I’m not sure what the mainstream media says about Florida or our governor (I don’t pay attention). But I know many in the medical industry and their biggest complaint are their employer’s vaccine mandates, not overcrowded hospitals and unvaccinated patients. I’ve lived here all my life and can tell you from experience that our emergency rooms are always crowded this time of year due to an influx of snow birds without local primary physicians.
Oh we haven’t travelled as much as we usually do which I do miss. But it is by choice. It’s comfortable here not dealing with any mandates — there’s really no place else we’d rather be at this point in time.
Hey again, I commented on the last how’s things post. I’m the anxiety riddled 26 year old from Washington🙋🏻♀️. I have since dove into getting my diet and horomones in check. It is helping without a doubt in the overall sense. I still have an uncomfortableness about where I am. I’m not allowed to eat out at most restaurants, go to events, etc. I get many glares and comments as I don’t wear a mask and refuse to support anywhere that enforces any of the mandates. I am nervous that things are going to get so much worse before they improve. The prepper in me feels like I need to do more. I’ve signed up for weston price, I’ve tried reaching out to my chapter leader but haven’t gotten a response yet…
On my last post you had asked why I haven’t jumped ship and moved to useable land where I want to be, and well it’s because I for the first time have financial stability in my life. I got a job this last year that typically requires a degree, that provides full health benefits, and a stable salary (don’t get me wrong, it is so boring and I loathe being at a desk all week). My boyfriend who I live with has been with his company for fifteen years so they make it hard to walk away from. I also have just received the opportunity to travel and hunt through a company endorsement. The types of bucket list hunting and fishing I don’t think I’d get to do otherwise. So for now I feel stuck in place, but am at least trying to get things moving in that direction with traditional eating, and prepping. Patience…never been my strong suit, but this season of life (and all seasons truly) requires that, and I’m learning. I have a lot of trauma that I’m actively working through which has been a great experience. It’s nice to be able to be so honest with myself because it’s necessary to growth, and I want so badly to actively be the best version of myself. You’re a lighthouse in my book right now, a beam shining saying this is all possible and I will get there. Your writings and posts mean more than you could know.
Hi Kailey, I admire you so much in the progress and growing you've done! I'm from the east side of the state, and stopped wearing a mask about a year and a half ago..... couldn't breathe well enough. Most stores apparently are requiring (because of L&I?) their employees to wear a mask, then the actual wearing varies; but most customers don't at all! I work in agriculture, so it's fairly easy to avoid masking, though we did for a month or two at the beginning (never again). I'm going to invite my neighbors for a bonfire and hot cocoa soon, see if we can start to build a sense of community. I'm sick of this, and I'm starting to fight back beyond being able to breathe! Thank you for being here and your story! I'm glad there's another Washingtonian here! 🤗♥️
Hi Rachel! Oh do I love east of the mountains! Every time I go to visit my brother over there it’s just a breath of fresh air. I do most of my hunting with him on that side, except deer but that will change next year. A bonfire and cocoa sound dreamy. I’ve really learned to be so thankful for good neighbors! I recently moved into my boyfriends and boy we have some rotten neighbors. My old neighbors were the sweetest, they loved that my chickens would garden for them, I’d bring fresh eggs and she would bake me fresh bread. Always great conversation, and we all always kept an eye out on the town. It really was a great sense of community. Over here on the other side of town let’s just say the feeling isn’t the same…hoping to change that with an egg and flower stand in the spring though. I’m so glad you commented! I’ll be at your fire in spirit 😊❤️
Writing from QLD Australia. My last day at work is Monday due to mandates. 13 years in the Disability and Mental Health field in a job I truly love. Crazy thing is my job was home based long before the Rona.(Telehealth) I offered to rapid test if I had to go to the office but that wasn’t good enough. There was only one option they want and that is to be jabbed. My main worry is for my young adult kids. Virtually every retail and hospitality job requires the jab even for a $10 an hr McDonalds job.
Hello from Slovenia, there are laws being written without media coverage where the gov can lawfully mandate vaccines, nothing on the news about whats going on in Australia or Canada. In Austria there's Naci like propaganda convincing people to get vaccinated... I am a nursing student working with testing for covid( in december the numbers on the news were so high while we had at most 2 positive a week) and the stories I hear are horrifying of what the vaccine does and so many people blindly believe everything thats going on, thank god most of my family won't get the jab... It does hurt to lose good friends just because you want to help them see all the lies.
Like you, we’ve been prioritizing freedom from debt, something we can control at the moment. Also, discovered an “awake” massage therapist at a local TCM clinic in the Okanagan BC.
Love the entire office of warm and inviting practitioners. Thankfully through my hubby’s work, we have this glorious allowance to use up annually! What’s happening in the alternative practitioner realm is breaking my heart. Around here we speak in code to figure out which alt practitioners are safe to go to. I feel for your daughters situations. Thank you for sharing a glimpse of what they’re experiencing. Makes me cautious and slightly worried about my daughter who is graduating high school this year.
Hi. I'm from Norwalk, CA. I just subscribed, and I enjoy reading the people's journeys here. It's encouraging to hear from real people.
I'm a 24 year old Filipina immigrant, but I go to school here since preschool. I don't want to go back to the Philippines. The president is crazy. My family there is crazy. I'm the black sheep of my family here, also. I've been saying no and cursing at them until they got tired. I'm grateful that my family and I are living peacefully. Their minds will never changed until there's a tragedy like one of them would have a heart attack... and their doctor would ignore their worries.
Right now, I'm just looking for a good job, but I also feel anxious. Also, I'm open to meet up. I'm not interested in joining protest rally. I don't want to get injured or doxxed.
I moved to be closer to family and where I am now there are no vax requirements or mask requirements. Most people don’t wear them. But it has been a heavy week as my sister-in-law has developed the inflamed heart condition associated with getting the you-know-what. She is quite possibly facing death right now and has had little improvement and if she makes it will most likely need a heart transplant. She is in her 30s! It has just been a heavy week of lots of prayer.
Hello Tara. I'm Cindi and I live in cottage country here in Ontario. It is with tears non stopping that I just read Mila's Story. I wanted to scream at those who are so accepting of all this but that would do little good so I turned my facebook banner black with a single beautiful daisy in the bottom corner and wrote in white lettering....In Memory of Mila. . I posted your story on my Facebook page and asked people to please read it-- “May you honour her young life by finally letting her voice be heard. No one would listen when she was begging to be heard. Please do not turn a cold shoulder and uncaring heart to this beautiful child -- she needs to be heard as it was silence and apathy that was the author of it.” I will never forget your precious daughter. Reading her writings is like stepping into the most beautiful heart. The loss of it is tragic. You are in my prayers and heart forever. I posted this under Mila's powerful story about A Deer in the Headlights but wanted to put it here, too. So you could know that those crumbs you left made a difference. Cindi Goodall. https://www.facebook.com/cindi.goodall
Really feel for you!! We are living in a very rule enforcing area her in BC. The truckers are offering Canadians so much hope even amidst all the bad and fake news it’s receiving on our mainstream news channels. People who don’t want to pay attention are the ones spreading misinformation about the freedom convoy. I cannot wait for when they arrive at their destination! So much hope fills my heart! We’re doing similar things to you and supporting our local farmers and have subscribed to a farm delivery service. I barely if ever have to go into a grocery store here. The ones that don’t harass about my bare face are our natural foods grocery store and superstore. It’s amazing how many people are choosing local farms and butchers. Way to go!!!
Your poem was beautiful, Erin. Thank you for sharing that with all of us. I am filled with such joy that you were able to find a way to get on the land and be free of ties to debt and the system. Watching the people we love decline, especially when we know of ways they could help themselves but don't, can be so painful and frustrating. I think our sick care system teaches and enforces a sacrifice of self responsibility in return for the illusion of big daddy taking care of you. I see this in my extended family, too. It's hard to witness, but we cannot do anyone's work for them. We are all on our own journey here, how lucky and blessed your mother is to have your love. I'm sending mine to you.
Erin- thank you for sharing…”the one who stands alone” conjured a vision from years ago when my husband and I took a drive up the “road to the sun” and saw a lone tree growing from a crack in the side of the mountain, I recall looking at that old tree and imagined all the weather and winds it endured and still stood firmly grounded and learned to bend and creek..i feel these are the days we invoke this energy…knowing…
Beautiful poem Erin. And thank you for sharing! We are in Saskatoon and have a strong community of like minded family and friends in the city here and in areas outside of the city. We have been connected with a lot of our farm friends which has been such a blessing during this time. I wonder if we can connect in some way for us Sask folks?
Hey Liz, that is awesome to hear you have lots of like minded folks around you. We would definitely be interested in connecting with more SK people. We are pretty far from Saskatoon (4+ hours) but open to ways of connecting somehow!
Erin - beautifully written! I know how much time a farm consumes (as we're also farming) so I'm even more impressed that you made some time to create something so beautiful and lasting.
Beautiful Erin. We are in SK too and on the same journey although still a bit too close to Regina for comfort. My husband is still working in the system.
Thank you Jenelle :) We are still very much apart of the system, but working hard to remove our dependency on it. A big factor has been raising, hunting and trading for our own food as well as being debt free, heating our home with wood etc. However, we do worry about these QR codes being tied to our ability to bank and participate in commerce. Haven't quite found a way around that yet, other than investing some money in crypto. I've found that by focusing our energy on the aspects of our lives we can control, it works wonders in coping with the aspects we can't. Glad to hear from another person in Saskatchewan who follows Tara also! She is so full of wisdom.
I live in Mexico and so far there is no mandate, no one checks vax status. I see many people on the forums who are trying to get out of Australia and into Mexico, although it's not as easy as it once was to get a 180-day tourist permit. Hoping things stay relatively free here, so far so good.
Sully, I'm in NSW. I am vaccinated so I have not experienced all the ins and outs of the mandates, but I do know that NSW lifted its vaccination mandate for entry into all venues deemed non-essential (shops, retail, cafes etc) in December. There are still mandates for some government sectors, in education and healthcare, for instance, and also border/airports etc.,. but otherwise, there aren't. I know many people who stopped work (mostly in retail and hospo) for a few months and then started again once the restrictions lifted in Dec. Obviously you will also know that our hospitals are under enormous strain from Covid, so if you feel like you may need to access care, then NSW probably is not a place I would travel right now, but if you are healthy and confident, there is plenty of work. Sorry if you already know all this!
Hey Sully. I too am in WA, not far from Perth and am doing the same presently. Seems the best thing we can invest in is our skills and knowledge huh. I have also been doing work trade and that feels really fruitful. Feel free to email me at jake@countryhomesteading.com.au if you'd like to connect!
Hello from Western Australia which is said to have some of the strictest restrictions in the world for basically having no Covid in the population. My partner and myself have been working so hard for the last two years to buy our patch of land in the country side to start our simple lives closer to nature. We have both lost our jobs due to the mandates here and are so close to our dreams it’s been so cruel and hard to swallow what is going on. Have not found any work, the mainstream media and government have done a great job creating a complete scary myth… we currently are only getting 20 cases a day and have been shut of to the world for almost two years. Pretty much everyone who is unvaccinated is unemployed and trying to cope with the general public seeing us as the issue when we are only 6% supposedly. I want to wake up from this nightmare.
Hello- we are in country Western Australia (near York) and luckily, for me and my husband, we are hardly affected by this whole thing (yet) as we had opted to drop out of the system and quit our jobs 6 years ago. We live mostly self sufficiently on our little block. We bought it cause it needed rescuing (broadacre farming history and salt affected) we have been planting so many trees and digging drainage etc etc and now this little place is rescuing us! Much of the wildlife has returned, much of the land is useable now and our animals are thriving. We have lots of different heritage chickens- all raised naturally and with no chemicals ever, that give us eggs and plenty of meat, we have merino sheep that provide us with milk, meat and organic wool (to sell for a small income and cover most costs) we have a few cows- mainly got them to get the dung beetle population thriving- and will be milking our favorite young heifer 'Tara' later this year. We feel very fortunate and we would like to connect with others and especially would love to help people who refuse to be mandated by providing food money can't buy in exchange for some help or just a chat around the campfire :) Lots of love to everyone and stay strong!
I am also in Western Australia. Anybody reading this close to Perth feel free to hmu on jake@countryhomesteading.com.au if you would like to connect 😊
Sending you and your partner good vibes Tahlia.
I'm sending you a huge hug ❤ and all my love and support. I've been keeping up with what is going on in Australian via Avi Yemini and my heart breaks for the people of Australia.
I'm in Ontario, like you, and after 3 of the darkest weeks, the hope that the Truckers Freedom Convoy is bringing is the brightest light right now! Even if things don't go as planned with the convoy, what they have done, bringing people together, giving hope, is the MOST important thing right now. So many people have felt so alone these past 2 years, and this convoy is showing them that they are not alone, never alone. It is the most beautiful message. I pulled my son from school this year, after he said he didn't talk all day wearing a mask and they said not to talk to their friends at lunch and he cried every morning before school. Homeschooling him has been wonderful and really hard. But I know it's the right thing to do. Thank you for your writing, it's filled me up at times and put to voice exactly how I feel - sending love!
We have been up to Ottawa twice and will be going back - I think I'm getting addicted to that mass infiltration of joy and love. It's been so long since I've seen so many hopeful, beautiful faces. I found homeschooling pretty touch initially as well. You'll find your rhythm and he is so blessed for your dedication. xo
You are a good mom. ❤️Homeschooling is wonderful and really hard. The most important thing you're teaching your son is to stand up for what's right and to sacrifice for the people you love.
I never planned to homeschool and had some pretty cloudy prejudices about home school from my own childhood interactions with home schooled kids. My oldest has been homeschooled since her kindergarten went online in March 2020 and my youngest has kind of always been asking for that ride, but technically didn’t “go” to kindergarten this fall.
It has been an unearthing for all of us. Aside from a rotten spot here or there, we’ve mostly unearthed a deeper connection between us, stronger voices and self-advocacy, and just a lot of fun many days.
You are showing your child love is strength and rules are to be considered before being followed or not. Those lessons are more valuable than the name of a random river 6000 miles away or history sorries told from the skew of the victors.
I feel so bad for your son and the other children but so glad that you are homeschooling. It will be better for him, mentally. I am hearing how devastating this whole ordeal will be on our children in the years to come. It’s criminal. May God bless you and your family.
Hey Tara! It’s your loyal teenage fan boy from NZ again. Perhaps your remember me from your last discussion thread.
NZ has been its usual socialist self. We are about a month into summer and the government announced we are going back into heavy restrictions after the huge billion dollar marketing campaign “two shots for summer” promised everyone they’d be free again. It’s honestly hilarious being unvaccinated and watching all these people who got jabbed be denied everything they were promised. They were all good boys and got their good boy passes yet still can’t go out.
They are happy to see thousands of us loose out jobs and get shut out of all places but when their favourite club gets closed it’s suddenly injustice. Either way though, it’s thankfully ruffled a few feathers this time and for the first time in two years I’m seeing friends start posting about it being bullshit. A slight yet noticeable turn around that may create an avalanche of disobedience.
For myself it’s been alright. Have a couple months worth of savings to live off left and a few of opportunities have presented themselves. Hopefully they will pull through. My fake pass has also been getting me into any restaurant/holiday I need to. It makes me sick having to show it though. Living in the city is so incredibly motivating because I want nothing more than to make my wealth and escape this muzzled up obese land of zombies. Live the homestead life, build or join a community and raise children next door to close friends. The vision has been made so clear these past two years. It is inevitably going to be my future. I must thank the pandemic for helping with that.
Anyway. It’s good to hear your progressing still. I love your writing so much and often share it with close friends. They really liked your recent piece about the beaver. Hope to support join you behind the paywall soon as well. If you start selling mugs or merch though I’ll be mad 😂… Goodnight & let’s go Brandon!
Side note: have you seen the video where the CEO of Pfizer says the two jabs offer “very little protection, if any” that had me laughing my arse off. Too good. Everyone in NZ has Pfizer lol. Watching the world degenerate has me laughing out loud every day. It doesn’t have to be doom n gloom
"Live the homestead life, build or join a community, and raise children next door to close friends." You've got wisdom beyond your years, and I wish you well in this endeavor. If you're not a reader of Wendell Berry you should be!
“Live the homestead life, build or join a community and raise children next door to close friends. The vision has been made so clear these past two years. It is inevitably going to be my future. I must thank the pandemic for helping with that.”
Logan that is so beautiful and just by you putting it down into words has put this out into the universe and your manifestation will become your reality. I repeated something very similar to myself over and over until I made it happen in my life. This pandemic has led me to the most beautiful place in my life. Not because of my scenery but for the lessons it has taught me and the deep satisfaction that comes with staying true to what I believe in, and being unwavering in my values and decisions. Thank you for your post.
Thank you! Suffering in life is inevitable so you must have a goal worth suffering for!
If your going to local markets there probably won’t be many restrictions. Rural places I’ve been to recently (not many) have their small towns that still require all the mandates and passes for most things. The local people themselves don’t ask or seem to care, their view just seems to be a classic kiwi style ‘ahh it’ll all blow over’. They aren’t afraid or really care, they just get their jab without worrying or thinking about it
Anyway maybe that helps, best of luck with your move and progression into homesteading!
I joined a few expat returning home groups and many are moving out of NZ if they haven’t done so already. The news obviously doesn’t mention any of this....no surprises there. But there has been thousands and thousands leaving. I do think we are in for a rough ride here. So many jobs being advertised. Online training to care for stroke victims, jobs as a doctor or in nursing. You name it. It doesn’t bode well.
Yes fingers crossed it gets better but I have a sinking feeling. 😔
I would wait it out to be honest. I think prices have plateaued. Lending is more strict so prices might even fall? Life is very restricted here with no end in sight. I’m sure one day you will achieve your dream. 🤞🏻
I am writing from the southern U.S. where most things are normal except for a few who are still wearing masks but that's mostly near the city where there are more liberals. The suburbs and rural areas don't participate in that. Individual businesses still have the option to require the mask but many have stopped. I will be moving to Florida in the spring and never coming back. Watching the truckers fight for everyone's freedom. I hate what Fauci and the others have don't to my children's psyches. We all need to keep holding on! Stay strong!
Hi Tara, I've talked to you so many times over the last few years. It sounds ingratiating to say that you have been the catalyst to the chain reaction of changes that have happened to me and my family in the last year. I didn't get a chance to check in the last post, but i'll tell you now. I went from living in central Minneapolis, MN for 30 years to now living on a farm 2 and a half hours north of there, down a dirt road, 15 miles from the nearest grocery store.
I started reading your posts and i started looking at my own belief system, and i started realizing that i didn't like what was happening to the city i loved for so long, and i didn't agree with the intolerance and lack of civility and condoning of zero person responsibility...I started grieving the life I had created there, and started untangling myself from it. I lost many friends due to the political duality here in the states....that's another story entirely - but it's enough to say that it has been a painful and sometimes regretful loss.
We went from rioting, burning, drive by shootings, car jackings, catalytic converter thefts, murders, complete intolerance for any thought that wasn't the group think of the neighborhood, of school closings even if there was no covid breakouts, .... to being the caregivers of a beautiful Jersey who provides us with milk every day, to physically working so hard we drop into bed, to being in the sun and the clean, crisp freezing air, learning to make cheese, bartering with neighbors for their eggs and marrow bones, snowshoeing into our woods to collect Chaga, standing out in the pasture and looking at the kabillions of stars that I weep, watching pheasants, eagles, deer, wolves, bears and turkeys make their way through our yard, watching our calf be born with my sister and our kids watching the miracle of it....my husband and i have a singular purpose and a deeper connection with our shared work. Wow.
Where I live now in relation to COVID: Oddlly for being considered "trump county" , people are extremely tolerant of personal choice - if you want to wear a mask in a store -great - if you don't - great-. Take care of yourself. If you are vaccinated great, if you aren't great - take care of yourself.
I work for the government oddly enough, as a social worker administering a program for vulnerable and disabled people of all ages. It's the biggest county in Minnesota - so big in fact that it is bigger than all of the other counties in the state combined. I don't work with the people directly, i administer the program so I was able to keep my job since it is 100% online. I have good benefits, good pension, good retirement plan, lots of vacation every year and lots of flexibility. AND. I am in a public sector union who has voted to go on strike in 5 days. so here i am at another crossroads with my thankfulness for the job i have, the consequences of crossing the picket line, the consequences of striking.....I still don't know what I'm going to do. So that's happening.
But it was -20F here and we are still milking. I was out there this morning with my bovine friends - the most sacred space and my favorite time of the day. I love putting my face into her flank and breathing in her wonderful smell. I love leaning into this life. I'm now sitting in front of our wood stove, my husband is remodeling my kitchen right now, my old hunting dog is sleeping next to me, and i can see our cows out in the pasture munching away on the hay bales we bought from our neighbor this fall. I have salmon from my brother thawing for dinner and a pot of broth going on the stove. I can't think of any place i would rather be!
I am thankful to you Tara! I am heartbroken for you with the unspeakable death of your precious child. You and your hubs have a lot of stuff coming down the pike...and i really appreciate hearing how you are contingency planning, how you are keeping your relationship solid...how you are muddling through it. Is it a lot of pressure? Having all of these people who consider you a beacon, a rope to hold on to to keep from falling off the cliff so to speak, a voice in the isolation we all feel? Maybe it's a gift to lean into right now?
Last thing - i have been obsessively watching the freedom convoy. i see all the videos of the throngs of truckers. I read the headlines with the misinformation and downright lies. We have so little coverage of it here in the states and it is literally our close neighbor who we all love here and most of us don't even know what's happening up there!!! My mind if reeling at the irony of having so much social media at our fingertips and yet not even knowing what is going on in the pasture next door. Bananas. <3 Kristin
Esther, greetings from Pine City. We too live on a farm and I am blessed to work from home part time and homeschool our 6 year old. My husband commutes to the city for work and I worry for his safety there. For the most part I feel our life is fairly normal with the TV turned off. I am still on social media and what bothers me to my core is the divide and hatred toward others with different beliefs. I wish the world would turn the TV off and technology and unite with their families and reconnect with nature. It would heal them and be a big step to heal the world. Prayers for peace around the world to all you great people.
Stacie - hi! We are in Finlayson! We should have coffee. ☕️♥️🌷
I would love that!
My email is staciebehr@hotmail.com
Check out the Facebook pages freedom convoy 2022 or convoy to Ottawa 2022 for updates!
Thank you! I’m not on FB but following the convoy through Canadian friends on Insta…for now. I had heard FB took the pages down. I’m glad they didn’t.
Farming in upstate NY, selling organic pastured meats on land I don’t own. Land security sure sounds nice but it’s not an easy number to make it work. Especially in our communist regime here in New York. Finding ease in knowing that no matter how bad it gets, it’s still Gods plan, and we need to remain firm in our convictions even when city dwellers who moved up here our asking things like vaccine status from their local farmers. Baby on the way, truth will prevail in the end. And I am not afraid. I feel like the richest man on earth between all this nourishing food, soon to be a father and knowing that we’re in Gods hands.
It is very much like Canada here is Vermont - all the art venues - music, theater, talks - require proof of vax and booster if appropriate! and for kids 5 and older now! Mask mandates in many towns - kids masked all day in school. We are selling our house this spring in order to be debt free even if it means living in a camper trailer while we slowly build and get off grid. Like you said, not out of fear - but out of conviction that we don't want to be part of this new world technocratic system. I love seeing the truck convoy - so exciting! Also, we have made wonderful new friends through all of this by hosting monthly or twice monthly potlucks with 20 plus people coming to our home and hugging and singing and forming new friendships. Thank you for your writing - sending love. - Tonya
In VT too. Very grateful for the few close friends and family we have that we can be fully honest and free with. And am grateful to live rurally where I can breath and find calm. But many of of my family and formally close friendships are strained. Just yesterday I wrote a letter to friends and family, most of whom we just haven't really seen or talked to in a long while, presenting my position and feelings about where the mandates taking us. It was terrifying to hit 'send' on that, but I have gotten to the point where I need to tell those I love that I am taking a stand and that certain things are not ok. Thank you Tara and thank you other readers for helping me feel not so alone in the world.
I'm moving to Vermont in April and would be lying if I said I didn't have some fear around the culture of vaccinations up there. I'm hoping we'll be able to find a small group of people to be "honest and free with", like you said Erin! <3
We currently full time in an RV but desperately want to homestead and we’re looking at Maine. I have no idea if it’s anything like Vermont but if it is we will steer clear from there. Do you know if Maine is better in terms of mandates?
Hey Michelle! I’ve recently moved to Central rural Maine to get away from my hometown madness on the coast of NH. No mandates here, everything is voluntary. I would recommend staying away from all coastal towns which are flooded with brainwashed liberals. There is a very high population of elderly folks so that influences a lot of towns but overall the collective energy of rural Maine is not going to bow. The fertile land abounds and so many folks have their feet in the soil doing the good work of stewarding the land! I hope that helps, feel free to reach out!
Thank you so much Taylor! That really does help. Can I ask what county you are located in? Would you say that all the center counties are pretty much safe?
We moved to Central Maine last year & have been very welcomed by the community overall. They are very welcoming of younger people moving back. I feel much freedom & opportunity here. Some stores have a mask mandate but that is their personal choice as a small business owner - everything else is mostly open. I went to a comic show a few weeks ago & we had to wear masks going in, but once sitting we could remove them for the entire show. I'm very happy with my decision to move here. Hope that helps! Lots of beautiful land ready to homestead on
Hi Michelle, life time Mainer here also in central Maine. We are not Vermont, but we are also not as free as Midwestern and Southern states. There are mandates in certain cities, such as Portland, Bath and others. There are also mandates for all healthcare workers with no exemptions except medical. We also have a law that prohibits children from attending any school if they do not have all vax, narrow medical exemptions only. The legislature may add new vax to the schedule at any time and are expected to add Cov as soon as EUA is taken off for children.
Just some things that aren’t common knowledge but have definitely affected quality of life for many of us.
Thank you so much for this information. It’s much appreciated and good to know. Sounds a little too strict for what we are comfortable with. We would want to homeschool though thankfully.
Hi Tonya and Erin - I'm in Vermont, too, in Richmond. As much as I love it here it sure is crazy! I have many friends who understand my views and even agree but go along with everything for whatever reason so I've felt a bit isolated in that regard. So many folks tell us not injecting our kids is the right thing but no one ever wants to take a public stand - so frustrating. Would love to connect with others in person if either of you are nearby.
Tonya, Erin, and Alison- Vermonter here too. We should all meet up!
You can email me at alison@potentmoonrising.com
That is amazing the community you are creating!
I live in very rural Georgia in the US. I’m constantly forgetting about Covid but I suppose I need to be in prayer for people in areas like you are in. We farm and homeschool so my kids have never put on a mask a single time and I refuse to let them. Everything is normal here. There are a few who choose to wear masks everywhere and I feel sorry for their fear. Everything is open and normal for the customer. Most places even the employees are ignoring the requirement to wear a mask and vaccine mandates here were shot down in court. Come move to the US. It’s warmer too. 😂
Hello Tara and All, my name is Ann and I live in Michigan. I am grateful the SCOTUS struck down Biden’s vx mandate because my husband’s job was at risk. We will see how long it is until another way is implemented to achieve their goals.
I am amazed at how the official narrative is world wide, how the media does not report truth, and fear has gripped the populace. The US military has reported an increase compared to the last 5 year average, in miscarriages amongst its female population by 300%, and in the general cancer rate of 200%. I heard these numbers on a credible alternate news source. This entire evil experiment is indeed to reduce the world population and take global control. It blows my mind how blind people are to it.
We are also working to pay off our mortgage and plan to have it done by April. We are small time homesteaders and have been working toward food security for years, growing and harvesting and preserving what we eat.
Ultimately, we daily look to God, who is our source for all things, and trust Him by doing what He asks of us. I am thankful each day for who He is and what He does.
Hi neighbor. I’m new to Michigan and enjoying the sparkle of sunshine on the fresh powder out the window this morning. ☕️
Hi Alli! Isn’t a sunny day on fresh snow just so wonderful? It feeds the soul 😊
Hi Tara and everyone, I'm in Toronto Ontario. The restrictions we are experiencing are unbelievable. I am busy learning new skills in hopes of working online, after being terminated from my 32 years of employment with the library system here. Most days, I feel at peace with my decision, and being immersed in learning helps me to forget the nightmare we are going through, albeit temporarily. I have moments where I want to gather my family and flee south...but knowing there are others like us fighting and surviving, in their own way, quells that urge, at least for the time being. I go in and out of social media, to keep up with, support, and cheer on the resistance. I do my best to be aware of what is going on, but not stay stuck there. It just brings me down and despair starts to take hold of me. I've been listening and reading spiritual type books, new age thought etc., to remind me of what our purpose here is really all about, to take comfort in seeing everything from a higher and divine perspective. And I realize that what I focus, think about and speak, has power. So I choose to turn my attention, either through dreaming or envisioning, a world where our freedoms are intact. A world without fear. A world where we are able to live our lives in peace and relative harmony with one another. The mainstream media continues to perpetrate the fear based messaging of Mr. Global (as investor Catherine Austin Fitts calls them) and I now realize you and I have the power to choose differently, to think differently. May sound simplistic, but in a complex world this is what is working for me. If this resonates with you, help me dream a world that is free for all, and spread the message far and wide.
I am dreaming that world too!
I have been in central Florida for the past year, where I moved from NYC because nothing here is locked down. I am not vaccinated, and no one ever asks me. I never wear a mask.
Still, though, I have been feeling listless and depressed, and I know spirit is asking big change of me right now. I am feeling called to buy land and start a homestead in North Carolina, though I don’t know where. This is terrifying to me, since I’ve lived my 20s with no semblance of “home”, bopping from city to city renting apartments. To root down is what I most yearn for, and also something I’m terrified of. What if I don’t like the place? What if my neighbors aren’t nice? Big wounding around “home”. I also really want to buy this land/small cottage *cash*, to avoid debt, as you wisely mentioned, which basically limits my options to run-down houses lol.
I just gave my three weeks’ notice at my high-paying software job, because it just feels dead and soulless. But I do not know how to make money in a more soulful, “real” way. I just know I need to be on land. I know massive existential lessons await me there. I feel terrified and lonely and everything feels foggy and unknown, and yet I *know* I’m somehow on the right path. Experimentation will lead to *something* better than stagnancy where I am. I cannot live another decade like this. 💙
Greetings, Sophia. If spirit is calling you to something then I imagine spirit is with you to help align you with that which you feel you want to do. That also means that everything placed in front of you, neighborhood, community, passerbys, etc. will all be in alignment with your frequency. So you see, it makes no sense to worry about the things you are worried about. Everything and everyone you encounter on this path will be a match to your frequency. Anyone who challenges your frequency is also meant to do so that you stay in balance with yourself. Those challenge are re-affirmations. I say this from experience. I no longer am meeting people or being moved into spaces that don’t align with what I intend. You have to believe this since belief is the most powerful mover of love.
I identify with so much of what you have shared about your life. Since 2002, I’ve lived at 20 different addresses and I too am ready to settle on some land to call home. I know when I find that place it’ll be with others like you because that is what I welcome into my space. It’s what I believe. 🙏🏾
I was so happy to see this in my inbox, because sometimes you just need to get it off your chest. Even if you just did last night haha.
In BC they just announced the vaccine passport will continue to June 30. For a vaccine that is doing absolutely nothing to slow the spread of omicron. I had the rona last week (along with most people I know, vaccinated or not. Actually come to think of it I know more unvaccinated people who dodged it) and my son has it now. So we have natural immunity, proven to be effective unlike the shot, but that counts for shit all apparently. For all five of my family members, the virus felt like a mild to moderate flu. I couldn’t stop thinking, how are we shutting down the world for THIS? You’d have to be at deaths door already to be at much risk from it. Like the flu. I say it all the time. I feel like I’m beating my head against a brick wall.
I’ve been mostly doing well with the whole pandemic situation, in terms of outlook. We, like you Tara, are looking for ways to be more secure and self reliant. Our mortgage isn’t going away any time soon, but it’s manageable. My husband owns his own business and it’s doing well, so he will never be shut down due to not having the jab (he does have two doses in fact, but he’s not getting any more). We’re putting away food, getting a generator tied in to our household power, more than doubling our water storage, and getting a big diesel tank.
A big goal for us right now is making our property make money for us in the form of rentals. I’d love to have our acreage all to myself, but there’s a LOT of personal security to be gained from having rentals here. There’s a severe housing crisis where I live, not nearly enough housing to go around and the prices are insane. So even if my husbands industry tanks, our land can make money for us and keep the mortgage paid.
Lately I’ve been having a harder time keeping positive, and I break down and cry sometimes when I think of what this is doing to our kids. What is the world going to be like for them? How dare these people fuck with our kids like this and make them responsible for other peoples perceived safety? All kids, even kindergarteners, have to wear masks in school. They just made a change that they cants sit face to face at lunch times (or any other time). What is this doing to little ones that haven’t seen their teachers faces for years?
Forthe government to even suggest that we should inject our children with an experimental drug when they have no calculable risk from the disease is criminal. It’s so fucking criminal. They’re making children responsible for protecting adults. My children are homeschooled but it’s still such a part of their lives and it’s so sad. There are so many things they’ve been missing out on.
I’m angry now, and sad. Not sure how hopeful to be any more.
But hey, the truckers convoy is so incredible right?! It brings me to tears to see the footage. I wish I was there with them.
I feel you Carla. At my child’s school they play movies at lunch so the kids won’t talk to each other….I so hope the convoy is successful!
Writing from the San Juan Islands, Washington, a county with the highest vaccination rate in the US, and a complete and utter shit show of craziness… on our island we’re a couple of hundred of underground dissenters that meet in clandestine locations, but we marched in public on Sunday in solidarity with the rest of the world to end the mandates. Oh the furor! Oh the indignant rage! Local social media has erupted in an outpouring of pissed off vaccinated people who think we should all die because we’re not. Oh well. Having a network has been a lifesaver for us and I cannot emphasize enough how creating one has given us the strength we need to persevere. We have had meetings on how to use a nebulizer in case you get sick, meetings on how to approach local government officials to hold them accountable, actions on how to address the school, etc. There IS strength in numbers and we are not alone. We are connecting with other islands too and focusing our efforts on making change locally because the state is a joke but our homes and our lives and our community are worth fighting for. Draw a line in the sand and just say enough is enough. And get a milk cow! Ha. That always helps, no matter where you are.
Your island sounds exactly like my Minneapolis.
Hey fellow Washingtonian! I’m in the butthole of king county though, in a wonderful small town but still... Always loved the islands! Keep fighting the good fight and FUJI 🤠
Ugh. This side of the Cascades is a loony bin. Does Inslee really think he can survive this? Keep building your tribe! It’s all we’ve got here!
I'm a nurse at a hospital in New Mexico. We are required to be vaccinated, which i did, no problem, no issues. NOW, we are in "crisis mode", where if one tests + for the rona, one is required to work ANYWAY... If not THAT sick.
It's that way throughout NM, and also NYC, according to my friend who is an ICU nurse.
But visitors are limited. Does this make ANY kind of sense?
Interesting times for sure
It makes no sense. Thank you for serving anyway. 🙏🏼
Here in the land of the free, my husband continues to wage the fight for our military members to have that freedom. As a Chaplain, and an airman that is truly a calling that he takes seriously. It is very discouraging to help dozens of people craft their requests for exemptions and to have the leadership deny every single request. But that is what is happening every day and I see how it weighs on my husband. We are the “land of those who have lost our way.” God help us.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak on this "Bell Let's Talk" aka how bug can we get our government tax break to get off the backs of our paying customers day, Tara.
My husband, unfortunately, is still not back at work. He may be able to go soon but who knows. I've taken the children out of school and am tying my best at this homeschool thing. It's temporary right now but how knows if it will stay temporary. Doing this the last 2 weeks has shown me HUGE gaps in the modern education system and its left me incredibly frustrated.
Tomorrow, we will be lining our community to stand in guard for the truckers that will be making their way to Ottawa. I want to show my children what can happen when the plebs stand together. Ive seen the videos online and the amount of unity I've seen leaves me in floods of tears. I expect our benevolent leader to invoke Marshall law, as his father before him, when these truckers make it to Parliament Hill. I expect things to get much worse but it's been refreshing to see ordinary Canadians come together for something bigger than them.
I used to be proud to be a Canadian. I now hang my head in shame and disgust at our "leadership."
I'm praying for all my fellow humans who don't think someone else's vaccine status makes them worthy. We are all one and I wish all of you well. ❤
It sounds unbelievable draconian in your part of the world. I have been raging this morning about our buffoon of a prime minister and the wonderful exceptions to the rules his party make for themselves whilst enforcing the rules for the rest of us. Honestly nothing this government does shocks me anymore. Our covid restrictions have been suddenly relaxed as a very clear distraction technique from the ruling party's ongoing inability to act like decent human beings, although in my opinion all the data points to c circulating like a cold or flu and that's how it is. I am grateful that things are feeling normal, masks are off ( or on, your choice) and again, all our stats are looking positive at the mo. I am double jabbed but haven't had a booster shot and have no intention of getting one at this point for reasons many and varied. There has been a lot of noise about mandatory vaccines for our nhs workers but I am really hoping that this doesn't get enforced and suspect it won't be. On a lighter note, I have so enjoyed your posts on all things home and health. I am LOVING sleeping in snuggly, organic linen. It's a game changer. I am also making my own cultured butter and am feeling pretty bloody good about it! Love to you, hope things lighten up considerably where you are.
You don’t want to hear about Florida - we are fairly close to normal life here. So if you look south for hope there may just be a little. You are spot on in the quest to become fully free from financial obligations to uncertain lords in our future. We are on that path too.
I live in New York. We are basically experiencing the same as you in Canada. I agree that financial security is important now and we are working toward this. I don’t recognize my country anymore and I’m hoping people start fighting back. I pray daily for all of us.
thanks for opening this space for updates and checking in, it's always so lovely to feel a part of a community -- even if we are all very far dispersed geographically, sharing similar values and ideas and dreams makes it feel like a genuine connection nonetheless. it strikes me as I read through the varied comments that the movement back to the land is where the real hope for the future lies, where what we're working towards now has the greatest chance of creating a good life for the the generations following us. it's not an easy path, for all the reasons, but when we gather and talk about it, we help each other out. I am in west coast mexico, where the living is very good, and I'm grateful every day that we made it out of Canada just over one year ago, though my heart hurts for all my friends and family in BC who have experienced one trauma event after another (heat domes, wild fires, floods, freezes, bare grocery shelves, fear, fear, fear). Here in Mexico, our small town has seen a few waves of Covid and vax rates are probably lower than a lot of places, although still pretty high. I feel like now I can say from my personal observations that yes, the shots seem to be keeping many vulnerable people from getting Covid when they are exposed (for example, my parents and my inlaws), and perhaps it will become something like the flu shot -- available to those who want it, not forced on anyone. Seeing the news that the UK is stepping back, things like a more vocal and visible resistance in the trucker's convoy, talk of the sickness becoming endemic, and many ppl having experienced it and losing their fear, all these things are giving me a bit more optimism that we're getting closer to better times. I've recently decided to start focusing more of my attention on taking small steps towards the better future I'm allowing myself to imagine with wild abandon: raising chickens and goats in the back yard, building space to welcome friends, grow community, and earn a living (we have a small casita that will be ready to rent out in a few weeks, and plans for two more over the next year if anyone is considering relocation to west coast mexico). I'm researching school bus conversions, with the thought that eventually we will be able resume our migratory pattern between Canada and Mexico, over land, slowly, from farm to farm, perhaps. I could see a world in which this exists: open borders, networks of communities, opportunities for anyone to root and settle and grow or travel and migrate and explore--land and farm co-operatives, DIY networks of tools and supplies and knowledge sharing, art and music festivals, the reawakened rhizomes of all the things that we've been missing and longing for in this two dark years, with spaces like this one working as some kind of digital mycorrhizal network to keep sparking growth, imagination, courage and optimism as we individually in all our small corners of the world help each other to set roots and grow, a new movement like some kind of miraculous and astounding phenomena that in actuality is just life doing what it does, unfolding, growing towards the light.
I love your vision, Nicola
Hi Tara & everyone 🙏🏼
I’ve been dividing my time between Granada, Spain (Andalucía) and Stockholm, Sweden this whole time and it’s been fascinating to see such different approaches to the situation.
In the beginning, Spain had total lockdown, choppers and drones patrolling to make sure no one left their houses. Slowly the restrictions eased up, but very confusing to keep track of what was allowed where. Different in different regions (Andalucía), and also different rules within the provinces in the region (Granada), and even different rules within the region! Where one village was in a lockdown, where you could move freely within the village but now leave.
Sweden has been fairly open the whole time, in comparison. Higher education has been online, and restaurants have closed earlier, cultural events cancelled etc but no lockdown whatsoever. No mandatory masks. Government not allowed according to our constitution (hallelujah for that!).
Sweden in general is big tho on the social pressure aka shaming ppl into conforming. Big ad campaigns with celebrities showing off their band aid on their jabbed arm. So much polarization between people and many restrictions in the healthcare system. No visits in hospitals, women have had to give birth without partners etc.
Some health care regions in Sweden require their workers to be fully jabbed, not sure how legal it is actually.
I’m studying to be a nurse so I’ve spent quite some time in the system, and I’m choosing who I share my unjabbed status with, bc of the harsh rhetoric in lunch rooms.
Since late last year, Sweden implemented the C passport, meaning you need to be fully jabbed to attend events with more than a certain amount of participants. I think the current number is a few hundred.
On Saturday there was a big demonstration in Stockholm against the C passport and we were thousands marching for freedom. I’ve seen reports of between 8000-18000. Old media ofc highlighted the fact that there was a fringe nazi organization in the March.
Failing to mention the doctors, nurses and other people from all the walks of life - everything from dreadlocks to dress shoes.
I’m strengthened to read your sharings and it gives me strength to stand strong in my convictions.
Much love to you all ♥️♥️♥️
I am in Northern California. If we stay local almost no one wears a mask, go into the city there are more. A lady asked me if i had a mask the other day and i said no if you give me my coffee ill stop infecting your restaurant. Ha!
Ive got my 2 pigs in the pasture, my chickens are starting to lay again yay! Meat rabbits, im finally learning! I bought 2000lbs of feed from a local farmer its not the best but its a step! We will be looking for a steer soon, but i cant raise one here. I've got steep hilly mountain land. I found a local milk hookup. So i have been buying most of our food without the grocery stores. Thank you Tara for all of your time and knowledge and love and thank you for bringing us together ❤️ I appreciate you! Sending you a big hug !
I live in New South Wales in Australia - the scare mongering and absolute drivel coming from our state and national governments are now just laughable. There are some that are willing to question what we are told, think critically about everything, but this is causing huge divides. We are so sick of hearing about covid but it drives every single conversation between friends and family now - but not a single person (in my experience) has used the last two years to question their overall health and immunity. The message from the government is that we need to be vaccinated to protect each other, but those who choose to try and have an honest discussion and share their concerns and thoughts are very quickly shutdown. Groupthink, anyone? Never mind the latest callout to vaccinate all children (?!!!?) against this virus. It's mind boggling.
Thank you always for sharing your stories, we need to keep questioning what news is being forced down our throats, and be brave enough to question our friends and family when they regurgitate messages from the media.
Whereabouts are you Lissy? I'm in The Southern Highlands, NSW.
here, in Lithuania last week we managed to stop our parliament to vote for requirement to be fully vac(now its 3 shots) to be able to work in healthcare and social welfare system and to cancel the plans to implement green pass for 12 + kids ( +18 from last Sept).
victory, hopefully not temporary !
Still, for certain professions you need to test periodically and the tests are rather expensive.
This month the positive tests skyrocketed and I guess there will be no people left without immunity (this term means you have all shots or you was c sick approved), more evidences on shot ineffectiveness and more people convinced to go against that absurd.
At the same time some restrictions cancelled due to the specialist shortage in healthcare and education systems.
As for green pass - yes its needed to participate in cultural events, to go to cafe or restaurant, to shop in non food shops and big mals.
Still the community is not so bad, not scared very much and many small shops or even gyms just let you (15 min allowed) in and not check the pass.
Our family managed to catch the virus and get positive test (just running nose and bit sore throat for a week) during holidays and now the kids are able to go to gym and movie theaters and mom doesn't need tests for cultural events and dad no more pushed in his job.
Here in central Wisconsin my hubby and I are getting the barn ready for spring pigs and considering our first few cows. We are preparing to separate from the world even more, that path has already been determined for us. I continue to see a few patients remotely and hope that is not taken away. We also stay open to that voice of God that consoles us and gives us courage.
again, i feel like don't belong here, and probably shouldn't post, but i think it's important for all voices to be heard in this thread. i trust tara, when she says all are welcomed.
i live in phoenix, arizona, and my family is fully vaccinated and boosted. my grandparents (they're in their 80s) just tested positive for covid and we are beyond grateful for the vaccines because they are immunocompromised. things would be far worse if they weren't vaccinated.
i still wear a mask in busy public places because i do not have time to be sick for x amount of days. my family's small business is thriving, but if one of us were to get sick (with anything!) it would make things extremely stressful. there's four of us here, and if one is gone, then things get overwhelming.
i still see fear on both sides. i'm still confused how a global pandemic became so political.
the pandemic has given me a deeper sense of community. in the beginning, it gave me a valid reason to say no to a lot of things, and it helped me realize what truly matters. my friendships are deeper and there's more respect and love than ever. we've grown closer to our neighbors - enjoying meals and beers and watching each other's pets. my family is the tightest and strongest it's ever been.
terribly, my family has experienced first hand the side effects of having the schools shut down and the mental costs it's having on young children. the kids should be in school. period. so why does it matter if they wear a mask or not? if the goal is school, then let's have mitigation efforts that keep them in schools. i worry about what this pandemic and the divisiveness is doing to the children.
i also find it interesting that among my liberal, city dwelling, vaccinated friends we don't really talk about the unvaccinated/mandates/fear. we don't even talk much about covid any more. we're out running the trails and laughing. we're going backpacking and feeling the sun on our skin. we're talking about books and movies and music. it feels normal and whole and good.
if anything, i hope we can all agree what we need more of in this world, no matter our beliefs, is empathy and compassion and community. i really value seeing the everyone's perspective here, even if it's so different from mine.
Thank you for sharing your perspective. I certainly appreciate you being honest about reading here and seeing how different our views are from yours. The way you spoke about running trails , laughing and never discussing covid with your friends was a bit eye opening. Here in Canada , it’s all anyone talks about and in my community people expect you to share your medical status with them. The ones who don’t are immediately ostracized. I’ve also received multiple emails from places I’m a member at , for example, the local public recreation centre where we once worked out and took swimming lessons at. They have stated the unvaccinated are not welcome. Imagine being told you’re not welcome? With that said, we still have community and still laugh enjoying the company of folks who understand the hardships the non jabbed face. But I certainly sympathize with immunocompromised individuals and can understand the personal choices in regard to their medical health that must be made. Just praying that my children and grandchildren’s futures aren’t forever compromised by the politicization of what one chooses to do/not do with what goes into their bodies. It brings me great joy to read and hear about people living lives in our world where covid seems to not exist❤️ It offers hope and an optimistic outlook!
Perhaps though if you couldn't go to restaurants, bars, theater, take lessons you might talk about the mandates more. I really appreciate your sharing and respect your point of view.
i think you're right. if i couldn't do any of that, i would be talking more about mandates, but my whole life i've been taught there are consequences for our actions. sometimes they're justified and sometimes they're not. for the record, i strongly believe in medical freedom. i believe in your choice to choose to get vaccinated or not, but our choices don't come free from consequences.
Thanks for your thoughtfulness and kind sharing - it is rare these days and we need more of it.
i'm not tara, but i think you are more than welcome here. i know this because you are a complete stranger to me, yet you are not attacking & belittling me for my beliefs when i have seen friends & family label those who are unvaccinated as "little bitches," etc.
all of my family is twice-vaccinated but not boosted, except for me. i take care of my 90-year-old grandma and my uncle who is paralyzed waist down from polio; i'm over at their house twice a day. they both are also twice-vaccinated but not boosted, and luckily neither have gotten sick so far. the only time they actually felt sick was when they got their shots and felt those first symptoms. maybe the vaccine helped them; maybe it's their own immunity; maybe it's diet; maybe it's an accumulation of these things -- who really knows. regardless, i don't feel like i am a threat to them.
i think you and those who share your political beliefs, lifestyle, vaccine records, and good spirits are just lovely, but you're all also very rare these days. wish there were more people like you and your friends, but i've seen family members go at it and cut each other off ever since the covid happenings. i feel like the recent presidencies and election blah blah blah has also made everything so very political, specifically when we see which states, even down to the cities (red or blue), have the most restrictions vs. medical freedom.
what the pandemic is doing to the children is 110% alarming. they definitely need to be in a place where they can interact and be kids, but many of them haven't even seen their friends and teachers faces for a long time; i think that is alarming as well. it also seems like they have fared well during a two-year long pandemic, so that might be why a lot of people don't agree with mandating the covid vaccine for their children. there are an overwhelming amount of parents who cannot afford to have their children not be in school, let alone homeschool.. so the decision to not vaccinate is not easy either. i mean, who wants that? who wants to lose their livelihood over a shot, whether you are a child or an adult?
i think i saw your comment about our choices not coming free from consequences, and that's absolutely right. i chose to get an exemption and not vaccinate in order to keep my job and education, so i have to do weekly testing; it is what it is, and i'm fine with what it is.. going back to that though, what about the risks of the vaccine being an everlasting consequence on my body? i mentioned that my whole family was twice-vaccinated and they're all doing okay, but what if i don't feel okay? who really is going to live with what will come from that other than me?
those who have been vaccinated and have been physically fine, i'm genuinely happy for you. if you haven't gotten sick, that's even better news. but what does that have to do with those who chose not to get the vaccine? i say that because i think we've seen enough cases of people who are fully vaccinated and boosted and have still gotten covid; some didn't have it bad at all, but some said they felt like they were dying. on top of that, those who refused to get the vaccines even though they were covid negative (consequentially got fired from their jobs) are now witnessing those who are fully vaccinated and boosted get tested positive for covid, yet they get to keep their jobs. all because they got vaccinated?
so someone can get vaccinated, but still get sick, and spread it to others.. but be in the clear. however, someone who is unvaccinated, can also get sick, and spread it to others just like the vaccinated -- are a threat to society and society's health? that's where it doesn't make any sense to me.
anyway, i hate to take up space here and must get going with my day; i also hope i don't feel like i'm verbally mistreating you or anything. if i did, that really was not my intention. thank you for the conversation!
Despite our lives being different, I value your perspective. Thank you for being brave and sharing.
i think it's really important that we get out of our own echo chambers. i follow tara for a ton of reasons that i agree with or things i want to learn about, but i also follow her because our lives are so drastically different (and her writing! it's so beautiful). i don't always agree with her, but i'm forcing myself to remember that is okay! we need more dialogue between the others - red/blue, vaccinated/unvaccinated, liberal/conservative, religious/nonreligious, urban/rural. there's so much more nuance to the world than any of us allow for. thank you for making me feel welcomed. :)
I have seen data from Ontario referenced multiple times now by doctors in the states showing that hospitalization and case rates are higher among the vaccinated than the unvaccinated and yet the government in Ontario seems unable to read this or more likely just doesn't care. I chose to come back to Ontario from BC to retire closer to family, particularly my 89 year old father. Last time I was with family they were all talking about having got or when they were getting their booster. I bought a new home here and am in the process of renovating but now I seem to always be thinking about where I could move to. I don't know if I will be able to last his lifetime.
My family lives in North Dakota, my hubby is in the medical system here. Preparing ourselves of losing his job eventually, but right now his exemption was granted and they have not made weekly testing mandatory yet. Hardly anyone wears masks here, most local business do not require it.
I am slowly learning to disconnect from social media outlets (one of the many reasons I'm thankful for your emails). Trying to establish friendships with our neighbors, homeschooling our girls, focusing on growing our food, chickens, turkeys, and as much goodness on our little acre of land. Holding on to our God and family....
Love and prayers to you all. I find so much encouragement reading through these comments. Now if we could only be together in person!!
I am also in North Dakota which has much more freedom than some states in US. No masks here I see a few people in bigger cities (Minot, Bismarck) wearing them but not mandated. I am a RN and did receive an exemption but must be tested weekly in order to keep my job. I am currently looking for an online RN position to get away from the N95 and all the bullshit that goes on at the hospital around Covid! We have people locked up in their rooms for 10 days right now because they tested positive. Most have 0 symptoms at all. Inaccurate tests I am sure. It should be a crime to lock someone in a room for that long! I can't stand what has happened to our healthcare system. Just last week we had an email from higher ups that we needed to wear our regular mask with a cloth mask over top to protect ourselves and others. I couldn't take it, I emailed them back telling them how ridiculous that was and none of my education was I ever taught that a mask topped with a cloth mask was going to keep an airborne disease from spreading. Not to mention that the staff are working with low O2 saturations, it is just horrible! When I am home on our homestead I forget about Covid and tend to my animals and live life on my terms which is how it should be.
So sorry you are having to test so often! Crazy we are in the sanford system, and I think its just to big for them to be able to do the testing yet. So glad you spoke out regarding double masking. Keep fighting!! Thankful for all you do and so glad you can sneak away to your homestead!!!
Hi Tara, I am so glad I found you. Everything you said echoes in my heart with a resounding “hell yeah”! I live in Vancouver, and I teach grade 5’s. I try to let them get away with as little of the mandatory regulations as possible behind my closed doors. They are all fine. I am fine. What bothers me is that no one is talking about getting healthy to increase your odds against this virus. In El Salvador there is a commercial on tv that encourages people to get exercise and eat well. Unfortunately they say to limit unsaturated fat, but at least they are acknowledging that a healthy, fit person is going to fair much better. I am in complete agreement with you about getting out of debt as soon as possible. It’s scary out there but if we are smart, we will navigate through these rough waters. All the best to you.
I just have to thank you for letting your students “get away” with things as much as they can! I know how difficult it’s been for teachers in BC who have been trying to make accommodations for our kids.
Feeling more and more constricted by the day, currently in New Jersey. Looking for land to cultivate and steward. Feeling drained, and trapped at the moment. Calling in freedom, guidance, and opportunity.
We are now in sunny SW Florida. Truly grateful to be here! We moved from CT ahead of our original plans last July. It's life as before rona here, for the most part. Rarely does a place require masks, though many ppl wear them by choice. Sadly, my son's private Montessori school has a mask mandate. Glad I got him a medical exemption at the start of it all. The fact that a Montessori school is doing this here, where public school mandates have been banned is very infuriating. We home schooled for a year and a half before moving and it was great, he loved it but also missed interaction with other kids. Fingers crossed the school cancels masks soon.
I dreamed of having land here and growing and raising some of our own food, but for now that remains just a dream and is far from reality, as is being debt-free in the near term .... real estate prices doubled just as we were moving here! Being debt free would require going far inland with fewer school options and far from the beach. And that's a tough trade off to make and we are not ready for that. Thankfully we have access to local foods, including grass-fed meat and raw dairy. Hoping FL remains strong and stays free.
Tara, - thank you for your writing.
Sending love and wishing everyone here all the best.
Julia
Hi from New Zealand. What you have written sounds like you could have been living here! It’s tricky home educating our boys now that we can’t have access to libraries, galleries, sports, swimming pool, museums etc. Are little home ed classes can’t operate either.
But we’re so glad we are home educating as we have heard stories of children getting jabbed without parental consent. Bullying is rife with jabbed children alienating those who aren’t. The division is real. Friends have lost jobs due to mandates. Because who needs fire fighters and doula’s? 😤🙄👎🏻😡
We live on a small holding of 6 acres. Sadly we will never pay off this mortgage in our lifetime. So we will have to leave soon. We have two of our pigs at the butchers right now though, collect eggs daily and have 2 sheep getting done soon and we’ll take some honey off the hives next month, so we’re grateful for those things for as long as they last. We would rather be under the governance of crazy Boris in the UK who has started scrapping all the mandates. We may return but we will lose the chances of living off the land 😢
Sometimes I really wish this world was a lot smaller. I'd offer to help with your mortgage in exchange to build a small home in a corner of your 6 acres. Then I could get onto the land and you could stay.
Wouldn’t that be amazing?! I can’t wait to share the skills I’ve learned in the time I have been here. We spin the wool and weave with it as well as felt it. Make cheese from our goats milk etc etc We really miss workaway people staying to share skills. It was great to have company too.
Where in NZ are you Victoria? I'm in Motueka.
How lovely Renee! We’re in Kaukapakapa. So still classed as Auckland. 👎🏻
PS you inspired us to keep the Pigs heads and trotters this time! We’re looking forward to trying crispy pigs ears. My kids requested them 😊
Currently full timing in a RV with the hubby searching for that dream location in the US. Spent last summer in Montana and loved it. It was like old USA there. I have deactivated all social media accounts and I basically stay in the loop by subscribing to my favorite peeps’ newsletters. So tbh, I kind of forget that there’s a suppose-ed “pandemic” happening. However when I went to New York recently I discovered that they have a state wide mask mandate. I walked right into the gas station, the only soul in the whole building without a mask. Then later went right into camping world maskless. Luckily no one said a thing. But everyone else was following suit and wearing their mask. I can’t live in a world like that. That’s why I also have a fear of settling down. Because governors change and politics can always change in a state too. Ideally I want to find a red state that we can homestead on. We are looking at the rural parts of Maine which is a purple state now. It reminds me of the scenery of my home in Washington state in the PNW. However that place is too far gone and there’s no going back. I’m hoping Maine has a chance and doesn’t go off the deep end like the West coast has. Would love if anyone reading this could share some insight on Maine and the situation there.
Politically we have a governor who kept the emergency powers up until last July, and a legislature and senate that leans far left. We had a lot of restrictions up until the summer: churches shut down or restricted, kids in remote learning until April etc. The state prosecuted pastors who had too many gathered even at outdoor events. Private gatherings were also limited and you could report your neighbors. Many of our friends have moved south and Midwest to escape what seems like a direction towards Washington state type politics.
There are a handful of us trying to maintain more freedom here. Many of us were united when a new law was passed that removes all philosophical and religious exemptions from vax requirments for daycares, schools, colleges, and all healthcare workers. We’re outcasts in our home state. Many people moved out due to the new law before Covid even hit. Many are moving now bc of Gov Mills and had lost their small businesses. If you’re new to Maine you might not have noticed this - but we were experiencing economical growth - finally!!- but had many businesses shuttered permanently due to pandemic.
I don’t think we are Vermont or NY or California - but when we traveled south last year we couldn’t believe the freedom! You could go into a store unmasked! If that happened in Maine pre June and the store didn’t enforce it they could lose their license. Dear friends lost theirs for a time because they weren’t enforcing and were reported. So even in rural Maine, lots of people were reporting to the state if they saw people not following orders. We wore masks to protect small business owners from losing their livelihoods due to those type of people.
Oh wow. I had no idea. That does not sound good. I was hoping this whole thing would die down and that the truth was coming to light. But I guess it seems like the pandemic is still a very real thing to some people. Thanks for the info.
California here. If you’re not in the Bay Area or LA, life is pretty much normal. I guess you could say we live a fairly “abnormal” lifestyle to begin with it, but like you, Tara, that is our own sovereign choice. My parents live in the Sierras, and when we visited for the holidays, there is nearly zero indication of restrictions, it’s like going to another state. Larger church gatherings with little to no mask use, no one wearing masks at the grocery stores, etc. In our smallish town, people will wear masks outside but hey that’s their prerogative.
We flip-flop often: should we stay or should we go? Most of our family is here, so we can’t just uproot. But if things get worse and weird even in our small community, do we leave then? Nonetheless, we are not promised the tomorrows and what if’s, so today I will continue to enjoy California and all her beauty.
Much love to all 💕
It been a hard winter on the prairies. Cold and isolating and yourself as well as a few others have made it much less lonely. Thankfully SK is slightly less insane than the other provinces but our premier came out condemning the un-shot in the fall and discourse deteriorated after that. I am a highly logical person and the lack of sense and logic will often drive me mad unless I avoid it. Thank you for introducing me to the Dark Horse podcast last year. While I don’t agree with everything they say I really appreciate their logical and scientific assessment of all that is going on. We are on a farm now so I feel more secure but we didn’t have time to acquire livestock before winter so that and seed starting will be our big preoccupation come spring. I would love to hear a bit about your grazing system for the various animals and maybe a bit more about your electric fencing. We do have permanent fencing here but in disrepair and I’m not sure if we bother fixing… I am on leave from work for various reasons ( I worked for the govt) and I feel complete disgust for it and for a while with being Canadian. The support for the convoy and the drivers are restoring my pride in the people who live here!!! Thank you as always for creating this space where we can realize we are not alone!!!!
i live in california, and they are currently working on a bill that would require the shot for all students k-12 starting next year. yeah...
i'm both a student and employee at a (community college) school district. it was either get vaccinated, get an exemption, or get fired. i was able to get my exemption approved, but i have to get weekly covid tests on campus... even though i work and attend classes completely online. it's not very logical, but what can i do about it. i guess it's all done for the purpose of "logistics," so i have to drive 1.5 hours back and forth to get tested only on campus because i'm not allowed to get tested anywhere else. if you work or attend hybrid classes on campus, you also have to wear mask while at school and check-in at this covid kiosk to get a little wristband like you're at the club or some event. in this case, it is an on-going shit show.
i'm fine with it all because at least i got to have a choice and now i guess i just have to abide by whatever follows my decision, but the nose swabs started to really irritate my nose and throat -- it would just burn. every time i took a test, i would feel like i was getting sick. by the third week, i was so over it that i decided to swab the top of my hand; it came back inconclusive. :-) you know, i was going to swab my shoe or my steering wheel, but i was afraid i'd be quarantined for carrying AIDS or ebola.. and if i chose to spat on the swab, somebody at the lab would be thinking "who's gonna tell this one she's got fucking oatmeal up her nose?"
so i started to DIY it. i use sinu orega's nasal spray before swabbing, and i now bring my own q-tips to the drive-thru testing that they offer (i don't think i can get away with what i'm doing in-person.) i swab with my own q-tips, and then i transfer it onto their swab. but before opening the vial with the pink solution, i actually wear a disposable mask because i think the fumes that they have on the swab and in the solution are what burns me. then i drive off and air out my little car with the windows down. my last 4 tests have come back negative, so it surprisingly works. and i don't feel bad about it because i'm not sick, nor am i ever physically on campus other than for this weekly testing.
hopefully this is useful information to someone who has the same sensitivities. and if not, i apologize for the uselessness. i also really love and admire your writing, the farm photos, the food photos, and the sincere connection through everyone's comments.
Fellow Californian here (waves), and I wanted to say I wholeheartedly understand the absurdity of this state. I wanted to offer another potential way for you to swab. Someone I know blows their nose into a tissue and then swabs the nasal secretions on the tissue so it eliminates putting anything up your nose. Hope it could help.
(waves back) thank you so much for the idea. i will definitely do that soon because i'm sure i'll forget to refill the q-tip baggie any day now. & i'm glad there's still many of us in pockets of this state who aren't psychotically 'cancelling' each other & all that other lame shit over something that is completely personal & also a constitutional right. wishing you & your loved ones a healthy 2022!
Hey, I'm glad to hear you got your exemption and can attend college. I'm from the LA county area.
We just need to keep counting our blessings. We will find ways to keep power over our own lives.
If you can reply... was keeping your job or job hunting also difficult? I'm just anxious about job searching and having to explain that I don't want to get the jab. I just hope there is more employers that don't care about jabs.
hi! i'm south of you, so i know everything here is much different from la. keeping my job was easy because i was able to get an exemption and i also work remotely. if i were on campus for half of the day, i'm not sure i'd feel the same way.. but in the end, i think i'd still be happy i got to make my own decision under a state-wide mandate.
i think you should inquire about exemptions from your potential employers. even though they are required to accept them, i've heard of some employers rejecting (religious) exemptions. they say they'll accept them to cover themselves legally, but the HR department might not even look at them -- that was my friend's office.
i'm sure there are places that won't make it a requirement & will leave it up to you. maybe a job that will allow you to work remotely could be your best bet. they might just be harder to find though. in any case, i wish you luck on finding a good job!
Tara I am always so thrilled to see your writings in my inbox.
I’m here in the southern okanagan in BC
Our province is just as terrible as Ontario. No progression, just Groundhog Day over and over again. “Health Officials” spewing useless lies and garbage from theirs mouths, somehow convincing people to keep doing what they say and the gates of heaven will open for them and all will end. Yet never relinquishing one mandate and just adding more and more to the pile. I shake my head, I scream at the mountains, I pray oh my do I pray, and most importantly I enjoy my family and friends who also think the insanity has reached peak levels. The utter ridiculousness of this whole this situation just leaves me mindfucked everyday. I’m in awe over people’s inability to think freely or do an iota of research that goes beyond mainstream media, I’m gobsmacked that I can give people actual data contradicting the whole narrative and they look at me like you have horns growing out of my head. I am an eternal optimist and even though I have lost all faith in any governing official to stand up and say stop, I am seeing people begin to say it and I hope for the sake of my two beautiful children this country can regain its feet and come out a better place with less stinky people running our lives. I’m quite frankly sick and tired of not seeing peoples beautiful faces.
Hi Tara et. al.
I reside in southwest Florida. My heart breaks for those having to deal with these COVID mandates and restrictions. I feel deeply for all the families (especially children) affected.
As for me and my family, we have been living completely normal since 4-5 weeks after COVID became a thing back in early 2020. The only time we’re required to wear a mask is on flights or (some) doctor appointments. Some doctors/dentists don’t require it at all. Some places have their “masks required” signs up, but most everyone here doesn’t abide. And most everyone else doesn’t harass us for it. My sons school instituted a mask mandate, which was an easy work around. I easily (no questions asked) got a mask mandate waiver from a sympathetic doctor’s office in one day, which I did pull my son out of school just for that one day until the waiver was in hand. He also has a religious exemption for vaccines which allows us to vaccinate/not vaccinate at our pleasure without being barred from public schools. Folks truly are able to live a completely normal life where we are at, and most do.
We have seen more masks lately, mostly snow birds. There are many others flocking here to seek refuge from the lockdown states. Which does make the real estate market down here very tricky and frustrating. Seeing how much the cost of land has gone up from just a year or two ago is daunting for a family looking to carve out their own slice. At this point I just hope the migrants don’t bring their politics with them — we like our freedom down here! Some restaurants and grocery stores even allow their staff the option of whether to wear a mask or not. One local restaurant even has a “no masks allowed” sign outside their establishment.
I’m not sure what the mainstream media says about Florida or our governor (I don’t pay attention). But I know many in the medical industry and their biggest complaint are their employer’s vaccine mandates, not overcrowded hospitals and unvaccinated patients. I’ve lived here all my life and can tell you from experience that our emergency rooms are always crowded this time of year due to an influx of snow birds without local primary physicians.
Oh we haven’t travelled as much as we usually do which I do miss. But it is by choice. It’s comfortable here not dealing with any mandates — there’s really no place else we’d rather be at this point in time.
I would say we are in the majority where we live.
Hey again, I commented on the last how’s things post. I’m the anxiety riddled 26 year old from Washington🙋🏻♀️. I have since dove into getting my diet and horomones in check. It is helping without a doubt in the overall sense. I still have an uncomfortableness about where I am. I’m not allowed to eat out at most restaurants, go to events, etc. I get many glares and comments as I don’t wear a mask and refuse to support anywhere that enforces any of the mandates. I am nervous that things are going to get so much worse before they improve. The prepper in me feels like I need to do more. I’ve signed up for weston price, I’ve tried reaching out to my chapter leader but haven’t gotten a response yet…
On my last post you had asked why I haven’t jumped ship and moved to useable land where I want to be, and well it’s because I for the first time have financial stability in my life. I got a job this last year that typically requires a degree, that provides full health benefits, and a stable salary (don’t get me wrong, it is so boring and I loathe being at a desk all week). My boyfriend who I live with has been with his company for fifteen years so they make it hard to walk away from. I also have just received the opportunity to travel and hunt through a company endorsement. The types of bucket list hunting and fishing I don’t think I’d get to do otherwise. So for now I feel stuck in place, but am at least trying to get things moving in that direction with traditional eating, and prepping. Patience…never been my strong suit, but this season of life (and all seasons truly) requires that, and I’m learning. I have a lot of trauma that I’m actively working through which has been a great experience. It’s nice to be able to be so honest with myself because it’s necessary to growth, and I want so badly to actively be the best version of myself. You’re a lighthouse in my book right now, a beam shining saying this is all possible and I will get there. Your writings and posts mean more than you could know.
Hi Kailey, I admire you so much in the progress and growing you've done! I'm from the east side of the state, and stopped wearing a mask about a year and a half ago..... couldn't breathe well enough. Most stores apparently are requiring (because of L&I?) their employees to wear a mask, then the actual wearing varies; but most customers don't at all! I work in agriculture, so it's fairly easy to avoid masking, though we did for a month or two at the beginning (never again). I'm going to invite my neighbors for a bonfire and hot cocoa soon, see if we can start to build a sense of community. I'm sick of this, and I'm starting to fight back beyond being able to breathe! Thank you for being here and your story! I'm glad there's another Washingtonian here! 🤗♥️
Hi Rachel! Oh do I love east of the mountains! Every time I go to visit my brother over there it’s just a breath of fresh air. I do most of my hunting with him on that side, except deer but that will change next year. A bonfire and cocoa sound dreamy. I’ve really learned to be so thankful for good neighbors! I recently moved into my boyfriends and boy we have some rotten neighbors. My old neighbors were the sweetest, they loved that my chickens would garden for them, I’d bring fresh eggs and she would bake me fresh bread. Always great conversation, and we all always kept an eye out on the town. It really was a great sense of community. Over here on the other side of town let’s just say the feeling isn’t the same…hoping to change that with an egg and flower stand in the spring though. I’m so glad you commented! I’ll be at your fire in spirit 😊❤️
Writing from QLD Australia. My last day at work is Monday due to mandates. 13 years in the Disability and Mental Health field in a job I truly love. Crazy thing is my job was home based long before the Rona.(Telehealth) I offered to rapid test if I had to go to the office but that wasn’t good enough. There was only one option they want and that is to be jabbed. My main worry is for my young adult kids. Virtually every retail and hospitality job requires the jab even for a $10 an hr McDonalds job.
Hello from Slovenia, there are laws being written without media coverage where the gov can lawfully mandate vaccines, nothing on the news about whats going on in Australia or Canada. In Austria there's Naci like propaganda convincing people to get vaccinated... I am a nursing student working with testing for covid( in december the numbers on the news were so high while we had at most 2 positive a week) and the stories I hear are horrifying of what the vaccine does and so many people blindly believe everything thats going on, thank god most of my family won't get the jab... It does hurt to lose good friends just because you want to help them see all the lies.
Like you, we’ve been prioritizing freedom from debt, something we can control at the moment. Also, discovered an “awake” massage therapist at a local TCM clinic in the Okanagan BC.
Love the entire office of warm and inviting practitioners. Thankfully through my hubby’s work, we have this glorious allowance to use up annually! What’s happening in the alternative practitioner realm is breaking my heart. Around here we speak in code to figure out which alt practitioners are safe to go to. I feel for your daughters situations. Thank you for sharing a glimpse of what they’re experiencing. Makes me cautious and slightly worried about my daughter who is graduating high school this year.
Hi. I'm from Norwalk, CA. I just subscribed, and I enjoy reading the people's journeys here. It's encouraging to hear from real people.
I'm a 24 year old Filipina immigrant, but I go to school here since preschool. I don't want to go back to the Philippines. The president is crazy. My family there is crazy. I'm the black sheep of my family here, also. I've been saying no and cursing at them until they got tired. I'm grateful that my family and I are living peacefully. Their minds will never changed until there's a tragedy like one of them would have a heart attack... and their doctor would ignore their worries.
Right now, I'm just looking for a good job, but I also feel anxious. Also, I'm open to meet up. I'm not interested in joining protest rally. I don't want to get injured or doxxed.
I moved to be closer to family and where I am now there are no vax requirements or mask requirements. Most people don’t wear them. But it has been a heavy week as my sister-in-law has developed the inflamed heart condition associated with getting the you-know-what. She is quite possibly facing death right now and has had little improvement and if she makes it will most likely need a heart transplant. She is in her 30s! It has just been a heavy week of lots of prayer.
Hello Tara. I'm Cindi and I live in cottage country here in Ontario. It is with tears non stopping that I just read Mila's Story. I wanted to scream at those who are so accepting of all this but that would do little good so I turned my facebook banner black with a single beautiful daisy in the bottom corner and wrote in white lettering....In Memory of Mila. . I posted your story on my Facebook page and asked people to please read it-- “May you honour her young life by finally letting her voice be heard. No one would listen when she was begging to be heard. Please do not turn a cold shoulder and uncaring heart to this beautiful child -- she needs to be heard as it was silence and apathy that was the author of it.” I will never forget your precious daughter. Reading her writings is like stepping into the most beautiful heart. The loss of it is tragic. You are in my prayers and heart forever. I posted this under Mila's powerful story about A Deer in the Headlights but wanted to put it here, too. So you could know that those crumbs you left made a difference. Cindi Goodall. https://www.facebook.com/cindi.goodall
Really feel for you!! We are living in a very rule enforcing area her in BC. The truckers are offering Canadians so much hope even amidst all the bad and fake news it’s receiving on our mainstream news channels. People who don’t want to pay attention are the ones spreading misinformation about the freedom convoy. I cannot wait for when they arrive at their destination! So much hope fills my heart! We’re doing similar things to you and supporting our local farmers and have subscribed to a farm delivery service. I barely if ever have to go into a grocery store here. The ones that don’t harass about my bare face are our natural foods grocery store and superstore. It’s amazing how many people are choosing local farms and butchers. Way to go!!!
Your poem was beautiful, Erin. Thank you for sharing that with all of us. I am filled with such joy that you were able to find a way to get on the land and be free of ties to debt and the system. Watching the people we love decline, especially when we know of ways they could help themselves but don't, can be so painful and frustrating. I think our sick care system teaches and enforces a sacrifice of self responsibility in return for the illusion of big daddy taking care of you. I see this in my extended family, too. It's hard to witness, but we cannot do anyone's work for them. We are all on our own journey here, how lucky and blessed your mother is to have your love. I'm sending mine to you.
Thank you so much Tara. Feeling hopeful today because of the strong men and women fighting for our freedom! Go truckers!
Erin- thank you for sharing…”the one who stands alone” conjured a vision from years ago when my husband and I took a drive up the “road to the sun” and saw a lone tree growing from a crack in the side of the mountain, I recall looking at that old tree and imagined all the weather and winds it endured and still stood firmly grounded and learned to bend and creek..i feel these are the days we invoke this energy…knowing…
Thank you Trish! I’m happy this poem was able to speak to you and that you could relate.
That was beautiful, thanks for sharing your talent
Beautiful poem Erin. And thank you for sharing! We are in Saskatoon and have a strong community of like minded family and friends in the city here and in areas outside of the city. We have been connected with a lot of our farm friends which has been such a blessing during this time. I wonder if we can connect in some way for us Sask folks?
Hey Liz, that is awesome to hear you have lots of like minded folks around you. We would definitely be interested in connecting with more SK people. We are pretty far from Saskatoon (4+ hours) but open to ways of connecting somehow!
liz.roth@protonmail.com is my email, feel free to message if you ever wanted!!
Erin - beautifully written! I know how much time a farm consumes (as we're also farming) so I'm even more impressed that you made some time to create something so beautiful and lasting.
Thank you Janice! Wishing you and your farm all the best :)
That was a lovely poem. Thanks for sharing it
beautiful. thank you.
Beautiful Erin. We are in SK too and on the same journey although still a bit too close to Regina for comfort. My husband is still working in the system.
Thank you Jenelle :) We are still very much apart of the system, but working hard to remove our dependency on it. A big factor has been raising, hunting and trading for our own food as well as being debt free, heating our home with wood etc. However, we do worry about these QR codes being tied to our ability to bank and participate in commerce. Haven't quite found a way around that yet, other than investing some money in crypto. I've found that by focusing our energy on the aspects of our lives we can control, it works wonders in coping with the aspects we can't. Glad to hear from another person in Saskatchewan who follows Tara also! She is so full of wisdom.
Loved the poem!
What a lovely, heartfelt poem.
Thanks Alli!
Erin, your poem is beautiful and resonates deeply. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you Christina!
I live in Mexico and so far there is no mandate, no one checks vax status. I see many people on the forums who are trying to get out of Australia and into Mexico, although it's not as easy as it once was to get a 180-day tourist permit. Hoping things stay relatively free here, so far so good.
Sully, I'm in NSW. I am vaccinated so I have not experienced all the ins and outs of the mandates, but I do know that NSW lifted its vaccination mandate for entry into all venues deemed non-essential (shops, retail, cafes etc) in December. There are still mandates for some government sectors, in education and healthcare, for instance, and also border/airports etc.,. but otherwise, there aren't. I know many people who stopped work (mostly in retail and hospo) for a few months and then started again once the restrictions lifted in Dec. Obviously you will also know that our hospitals are under enormous strain from Covid, so if you feel like you may need to access care, then NSW probably is not a place I would travel right now, but if you are healthy and confident, there is plenty of work. Sorry if you already know all this!
Hey Sully. I too am in WA, not far from Perth and am doing the same presently. Seems the best thing we can invest in is our skills and knowledge huh. I have also been doing work trade and that feels really fruitful. Feel free to email me at jake@countryhomesteading.com.au if you'd like to connect!