You thought the last place we went to was old!  The Puye Cliff Dwellings show the life of some rugged homesteaders!  900 AD-1600AD the ancestors of the Santa Claran people lived up on a mountain top in the summer in small rooms of one large building made of volcanic rock with a courtyard for dances.  They lived in the rock face in the winter.  The homes are extraordinary.  The people were farmers.  The altitude is the same as where I live.  There is no more complaining from me on the altitude or short growing season!  If they could do it, I can too.  They saved water in a pool.  Grew the Three Sisters that I have talked about, corn, squash, and beans.  They were raided by other tribes because they had vegetables!  Look at this amazing kitchen carved out of stone.  A thousand year old kitchen!  I cannot wrap my head around that.  But, I suppose my kitchen at home is not too small after all.  My stove is little easier to use than the one shown!

I feel very blessed to have received this break.  Many of our farming grandmas would have had to take their break in the outhouse, find their inspiration while doing laundry.  To be able to come out to this glorious state and refuel is a gift.  I only needed to be inspired.  Lack of inspiration is a terrible thing for a right-brained person.  I can’t think of anything to cook, so we go out.  I can’t think of how to make the house feasible, so I try to move.  I can’t think of what to create, so I feel trapped and pout.  It ain’t pretty.  Here, I have stored up lots of vitamin D and a few years worth of inspiration.

Everyone we tell that we are from Colorado says, “I love Colorado!”  “I wish I could live there!”  “I love Colorado, it’s just like here, only green.”  And then I realize, we all think the other side is greener!  The terrain is the same here as it is at home.  My love of here is the endless land without all of the building developement that haunts my state.  The adobe structures.  The people, the vegetarian chilis, the history!  But alas, we live in a wonderful place, surrounded by people we love.  That is where I belong.

I am so inspired to get back home.  All doors closed on a homestead, so the one we have in town will have to do!  Doug flinches when I tell him all my plans as he despises change and would be happier if he just stumbled upon the house being completely rearranged.  The dining room is moving.  There is more room in the current dining room/living room and I need a place to paint and sew.  The art room and office are moving to the living/dining room and the dining room will be on the other side of the kitchen.  Space to create!  The shop is being slightly rearranged as well with my art being more prominent in the shop.  This piece of pottery inspired me to take up a little clay as well.

It is time to set up the porches for outdoor living.  To get my seeds in the ground and the drip lines set up.  It is time to take the noisy teenage chickens out of the bathroom they are partying in and place them outdoors.  I was even granted permission from the town to have goats and sheep should I be so inclined.  So, the 2/3 of an acre homestead is on.  The Silly Chicken Farm remains and I can get back to writing about what I first set out to do.  Learn to be a farmgirl!  We’ll be home tomorrow!

What refuels your inspiration?