week 13: on a high

this week on the little dream farm

It feels good to be home after being on a (Rocky Mountain) high all week!

I asked Chris if he wanted to write today’s Farm Note since I wasn’t even here on the farm this week but he said, “Oh gosh, what would I even write about? Here’s my week: I worked. I went to the gym. I did chores. I prepped for my fantasy baseball drafts. I slept. That’s so boring. There’s not much else to say!”

What he forgot to include was that he also cleaned the house, thought about what we might like to eat this weekend and had the necessary stuff ready, and knocked out my chores so I could get home and just focus on resting and getting back into our routine.

But he’s got a point…it’d make for the shortest Farm Note to date, so I’ll take it back over from here since y’all love to hear about more than just the wave tops!

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I got back to the farm Friday evening after five days in Denver, CO for work. This was my second work trip of the year and more than likely my last before my orders end on May 31.

For this trip, I was serving as an Action Officer for a Developmental Team board. Every year, each career field in both the Active Duty Air Force and in the Reserve (I’m in the Reserve) holds a developmental board where a panel of senior officers or senior enlisted members from the career field review everyone’s records for promotions, job opportunities, and career vectoring.

My role this week was a lot of administrative work—prepping a handful of colonels to review a few hundred records, score and vector them, make their comments and recommendations, and then prepare all that feedback to be delivered to each member via an online portal.

There’s a collective ~200 years of service among this group right here! Love getting to serve alongside such wonderful humans.

I was also on the hook for planning evening social events and wrangling the team together in the evenings—something I happen to love to do! The rental car company upgraded me to a large vehicle so most the team could ride to dinners together (I was calling my rental car the Colonel Mobile) and I like to think I picked a series of lovely things for us to do at night to wind down from the day’s work and enjoy each other’s company—we ate good, we laughed a lot, and I do think everyone really enjoyed themselves!

All in all, it was a fabulous trip. The team was wonderful. The work was really insightful and I learned a ton. I was able to work hard and rest well. My back didn’t give me too much trouble but I’m definitely in need of a PT session this week!

I feel like my batteries were fully recharged from a really great trip!

It helps that I had two special bonuses on both the front and back of the trip! Would love to tell you about them both!

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Bonus #1

On Sunday after I arrived first thing in the morning, I was able to host a little meetup after doing a callout on our farm’s Instagram account for people who were local to Denver.

Last we checked, our IG has followers from 43 states and 30 countries (this Farm Note has subscribers from 47 states and 34 countries!), which absolutely blows my mind! One perk of knowing this is that I can travel to just about any big city and sound off to host a little get together and I might get a chance to hug a few of you in real life…or IRL as the kids say.

Had the very best time meeting up with Jess and Julie for brunch in Denver!

Let me tell you, the hugs from Julie and Jess did not disappoint last weekend! We met at a place called Rosie’s Diner, which you may be familiar with if you’ve ever lived in or traveled to Colorado, and had a wonderful brunch and an even better time getting to sit and chat and for me to get to know them a little better! They both happen to go way back and have followed us since the days of Mr. B and our cat Instagram account. It made us all smile and pause for a moment for good old BeeJay—the Big Big Kitty who did so much good and brought so many of us together. What a thing.

I’ve got to tell you, one thing I dislike about social media is the way it’s a ton of people talking to one person, but not really the other way around or that everyone is talking to each other. I have the incredible honor of getting to talk to so many of you via comments and DMs and emails and comments here on the Farm Note, and so often I’d love if more of you could see more of those conversations. That, and I also crave more of a two-way conversation from social so that it’s not just me talking out into the void but us talking to each other more often (note to self…gotta ask more questions to prompt conversation). Finally, I always wish more of you could meet one another.

When I did the meetup in Atlanta and then again for those who live local to us here on the farm, it was so nice for me to sit back for a moment in each of those instances and watch the other women interacting with one another. Same thing this past weekend. That has just been absolutely pure joy for me!! Any time I have the time, I’ll happily host a meetup when I’m traveling—it’s the best!

I just know that if we got a whole group of us together in one room we’d have the most fabulous time together…and actually, I’ve been talking to a few ladies through DMs about doing a retreat together at a farm stay in Vermont or in Rhode Island later this year.

Think—a big old pretty farmhouse. Cute little quiet place. A group of us gathered together. Maybe one night we make dinner together. One night we hit the town for dinner and some strolling around. Maybe we get to do an easy hike or go visit a farm (or our farm!) or do some kind of cool outdoor activity. Doesn’t that sound so fun?! If this is something you think you might be interested in, comment below and let me know so that I can get a sense for who might like to go and keep you up to date as we plan it!

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Bonus #2

On Wednesday afternoon it was looking like we weren’t going to be finished with our work in time, so I had to shift my early morning Thursday flight to Friday morning in order to buy me more time. Turns out, we didn’t need the extra day, so Thursday became a totally free and open day for me to spend in Colorado.

I set an early alarm, got up and got ready, and hit the road before sunrise to make my way up to Boulder to sit and slowly enjoy a coffee and some breakfast at an adorable little cafe.

Next up was a drive up into the mountains and into Estes Park where I drove by the famous Stanley Hotel, drove around the countryside and a bunch of incredible ranches (and maybe had a daydream or two about moving the LDF out west!) and then popped into the little mountain town.

I parked myself at this adorable mountain cafe where I could slowly sip a matcha, walk around the pond, feed the ducks and geese, and enjoy being outside in the sunshine. I also got a good gouge from the baristas about where to go in Rocky Mountain National Park…which was next on my agenda.

So off into the park I went—my first time visiting and it did not disappoint! The mountains are still so beautifully covered in snow and I was able to see about half the park (many of the roads to the back half of the park are still closed until May), I did a quick little snowy trail walk around a frozen lake, and I spent the time driving around with the windows cracked, breathing in that fresh mountain air with the sun on my face and some really good tunes coming through on the radio.

After a few hours in the park I drove back through Estes Park and happened upon a quintessential Estes Park moment—a herd of Elk crossing the road. I also happened to find another herd sunning themselves on a playground. A woman I spoke to said just before I pulled up they’d all been wading in the lake. Seeing them totally made my day!

On the drive back south I took the long way through Big Thompson Canyon and ogled at the views the entire way. The canyon gave way to vast stretches of farms and ranches and mountain vistas and I just kept thinking…gosh, this was the best day ever and exactly what my body, mind, heart and soul really needed.

Very much a “The mountains are calling and I must go” moment.

I stopped back into Boulder for a bite to eat and a stroll up and down Pearl Street where there was lots of commotion as they were announcing that Sundance Film Festival will take place there in 2027.

My travel home was fairly uneventful, save for the wicked migraine I ended up with during my layover and once I landed. That altitude is no joke! Thankfully, I am rested up, back in the swing of things at home on the farm, and grateful to have had a wonderful week in the mountain west. There’s just something about Colorado…

I’d love if you’d share with me—do you like adventuring solo? I love to set a direction, make a loose plan, hop in the car, and just go! I think it’s partly my personality, partly the fact that I love spending time alone, and I think the military has made me so brave and confident and resilient and unafraid through the years. I’m so grateful for that! How about you?

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Everyone’s always asking me about my shacket. I have it in the color Oatmeal.

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