Well, we have finally completed our move to Idaho. It has been a massive undertaking. We are still spending a lot of our time rummaging through boxes to find things we need, and still taking care of the last few details to get our business properly established in Idaho.

Speaking of the business, we’re pretty much caught up on shipping, and our annual Fall Fruit & Nut Order is finally underway. We are taking food storage orders again, have replenished our stock, and have made arrangements to get the products in a bit more quickly. For those of you in Utah County, don’t worry, we will still have a pickup location for you there. Classes will begin soon; watch our calendar for more details.

We anticipate celebrating the grand opening of our Idaho store soon, but I’m learning not to set specific dates too far in advance. Especially out in the country, the old maxim certainly applies: everything takes longer and costs more than you expect. I guess it’s appropriate, though, that we have these new firsthand experiences in provident living.

The change from a city to a country lifestyle has been alternately interesting, exhilarating, challenging, and frustrating. The air is fresher, the noise level is much lower, and the stars at night are magnificent. We can look out our back window and see deer and other wildlife grazing in the meadow. Fish jump in the stream behind our house. There are eagles in the skies above. The pace of life is a bit slower and more relaxed. We have land for growing our own food and wells for producing our own water. Those are some of the wonderful things about country living.

On the other hand, we’re having to deal with a lot of issues we hadn’t fully anticipated. Keeping bugs away is a constant challenge. I had no idea that ladybugs could swarm until last week when we found thousands clinging to our patio door! The mosquitoes still come out in the evening. Don’t they know it’s October? Weeds and dust are big problems as well, with so much untamed land around. And it’s not easy adjusting to the lack of services we took for granted in the city. We have to take care of burning, recycling, and hauling our own garbage, and deal with the quirks of a septic tank, propane tank, and well pump. The distance to stores and offices is measured in miles, not blocks. Our Internet connection is slower and not always reliable. Getting the services of a plumber, an electrician, or a repair person can take days or weeks, and we’re having to learn to deal with a lot of things on our own. A pioneering life it’s not, but it’s certainly a learning experience for us.

People here in the country are wonderful, but they take some getting used to as well. For instance, the speed limit in town is a poky 20 miles per hour, and nearly everyone observes it, so getting to the store or the post office can take a frustratingly long time. Asking directions is interesting - everything seems to be geared to landmarks rather than street names or compass points (”Follow the road along the river to the big pine tree and turn left just past the railroad tracks”). The people are friendly and helpful - they’ll do almost anything to be of assistance - but almost never on the day they promised. Which is why I’m learning not to set too many specific dates.

We’re working with Jim Kennard of the Food for Everyone Foundation on a simplified program for high-yield gardening with minimal expense. We’ll be doing much more with it beginning in January, and we hope to set up a good demonstration garden next year. For now, check out this new free step-by-step guide and online manual.

We look forward to meeting many new friends here in the Treasure Valley, and continuing to work with all of our loyal customers in Utah as well as our many Internet friends. We’ll keep you posted on what happens as we get more firsthand experience in provident living in the country.

Best wishes,
Jared and Jeannie