Three Year Landiversary

July 1, 2025 marked our three year landiversary. On July 1, 2022 we signed the papers that meant we sealed the deal on the purchase of the 24-acre parcel of woods that would serve as our new home. And promptly after signing those papers we rolled onto the fertile ground of what we call Empty Mountain, our small-sprouting mindfulness practice center, in our 1989 Chevy G20 van.

We’ve come a long way in the past three years.

On the homefront:

2022: We built the 12X12 cabin we now happily reside in
2023: We added a covered porch onto the cabin and upgraded our pit style latrine to a composting toilet system and built what we now call the inspirational outhouse; and we organized a fundraiser so we could upgrade from a chainsaw mill to a portable sawmill
2024: We built a shower house and a firewood storage area, sided the cabin, upgraded our rainwater catchment set up, and installed the flooring and much of the wall cladding inside the cabin
2025 (thus far): We finished the interior of the cabin (walls and loft flooring), and built a 12X10 guest hut with a 12X12 deck

On the Empty Mountain Practice Center front:

2022: We hosted an open house and invited friends & family to come check out our new place in the woods and we led our first day of mindfulness at EM
2023: We led two days of mindfulness and our first camping retreat weekend and also organized our first (and so far only) community work party day
2024: We hosted a community potluck & campfire, and led one day of mindfulness and a camping retreat weekend
2025: Thus far we’ve led two days of mindfulness (one in Missoula and one at EM), and we have another DOM planned for this month and a camping retreat weekend set for August

Considering that Mike has mostly been a one-man band on the building front AND given the astounding fact that he also milled most of the wood we’ve used for building using trees on site (not to mention he had to first teach himself how to mill!) AND based on us needing to learn a whole entire new way of living (off-grid and without running water), I’d say we’ve done more than okay, by which I really mean: we’ve done some freakin amazing awesome work.

I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished in so little time. I’m humbled and honored to have been on the receiving end of so much love, support, kindness and generosity from our family & friends. Many helping hands and caring hearts have accompanied us, and continue to accompany us, along the way. I’m proud of the courage we were able to muster up in order to take the giant leap into the unknown when we sold our house in Missoula of 18-years, having literally no idea of where or when or IF we’d find land we could afford to buy.

It’s been a journey, friends. And for the first couple of years I was in a maxed out state of overwhelm a good portion of the time. The learning curve was just so so incredibly steep. It feels nice now to feel more settled in. Less new at what we’re doing. More grounded. More in a place that now feels like home.

Last summer, when I spent three months solo here while Mike was at Deer Park Monastery helping on a building project for the Brothers, I started feeling a growing felt sense of placement and belonging here in the woods of EM. It felt like a cool breeze washing over me, fragrant and filled with birdsong. And this feeling continues to root and grow and blossom.

I am nourished and fed in watering the seeds of Empty Mountain - one drop; one step; one breath at a time - and in living as simply & closely to nature as we are.

Summer in the Woods