10 days ago we celebrated our first one full complete year on the land anniversary.  Over the last 8 years, we've been moving back and forth to our property.  Between setting ourselves up to be there through all seasons and having two children in the meantime, it's been a hectic experience.  But it seems hard work really does pay off and we are so grateful for that.  I don't write here much because we are just so busy LIVING!  And it's been so beautiful, my heart is full.  I enjoy writing and I plan to do more, I'm waiting for the right time.  So for now, if you'd like to know more about what we're doing then I invite you check our Instagram page and Facebook where it's slightly easier to post more often.  @landonrockproject

Or better!  Come visit us!  Check the Connect page for more details.  Hopefully see you soon!

It's been four months now since arriving back home for good. The list of 'Dones' is plentiful. The list of 'To dos' is also plentiful. But we're ticking along as best as we can. In all honesty, it is quite magical to be here, giving our hearts and souls daily to something we believe in. And at the very same time, it is also extremely daunting and yes, scary. But as I've heard recently, the line that resonates with us at the moment is 'Choose your hard.' I could go on and list off the accomplishments (ahem, the garden) and the ongoing aspirations but I don't feel like it.

Instead, I'll tell you about the most recent development here that has us feeling incredibly joyful and grateful. We invited our friends, a beautiful family of four to come live here with us for the rest of the summer. The details aligned exquisitely and so far the magic here has expanded greater than we imagined. Some highlights from the move I'd like to share:

- Exciting arrival with their new RV on July 16
- Our (12) new residents include, mom and dad and their two daughters (same ages as our girls), their dog, cat, 2 kittens, and 4 chickens
- Dads tinker away at ongoing projects
- Moms split childcare between mornings and afternoons
- Late afternoon gatherings include refreshing pond swims and foraging
- Weekly communal meals
- Moms inspire each other to build their remote businesses
- Dads support each other by accomplishing remarkable tasks
- And the girls play outside ALL. DAY. LONG.

There are wins across the board here. Us parents look at each other occasionally grinning, in awe, like - 'is this really happening?' Yes, yes it is. We actually found people just as crazy as us and we're having a grand time.

We scurry back up to the land and squeeze in a bit of work and play!

Next - Andres had the wonderful idea of enjoying some spa time together - Maslowski style ;)

A perfect balance of productivity and respite. With some magical moments gifted by nature that truly took my breath away.  Was strange to be away from our girls for a long weekend but needed and definitely enjoyed.  As always, our endless gratitude to our family, friends and Mother Nature of course!

Hello!!
Everyone doing okay out there?!?  We've been silent for a while but that doesn't mean we ran out of things to do ;-)  We've been chipping away at The Rock as usual.  Here's a 'mini' round-up post with a glimpse of how things have progressed at La Roca for the first half of 2020.

First - as you may or may not know.. by end of March we decided to pack the family up (Grapes of wrath style - to the brim!) and head up to our land and use the time to our advantage.  And we did!

Andres built his first ever 'chicken tractor' and we had our first go at owning and rearing eight wonderfully entertaining and generous hens. 

We got at some general maintenance and emergency tree harvesting as this spectacular albeit, dangerously hollow maple needed to come down :(

More tree harvesting.  Moving these skinny poplar weeds out of the way to make space for the beginning of our edible forest garden. 

Chipped the poplars with a rented machine and mulched the day away with cardboard and these glorious poplar wood chips. 

Finally put our apple tree babies in the ground!

We worked in the garden a LOT.  Reclaiming it for the most part.  And slowly transitioning it to a mini perennial paradise.

We finished plastering this baby.

And Andres started and completed our first rocket mass heater!!  Check it out(!!): 

We are pretty excited about this.  For once we felt 'on schedule' and not rushing against the clock to get something done before a season ended where we'd normally be counting on that system to be up and running by a certain time.  No, no - we built and completed a heating system in June!!  Don't know if you know what I'm getting at here but we felt very satisfied with that accomplishment.  Saying that - we've only given it a minor test as it was way to hot out to fire it up to the maximum and test the thermal mass heating involved.  We'll see how it goes later this year :) 

Andres upgraded the girls' playground ;-)

And we knocked up another outhouse...

Come have a seat and give it a test.

Oh yes, and we made bone sauce.

 Well, that's it.  A few of our highlights from the past few months.  Andres and I have been discussing many things lately in terms of how we are proceeding with this whole project.  Things certainly have not happened in the way we imagined or hoped but things have still happened and we continue.  We are entering a new phase and look forward to sharing the journey with you all.  It seems a lesson that the universe might be trying to teach us is 'patience' as that is what nature is truly about and how she works... difficult when there's this constant feeling of urgency all around us and of course our own desperate desire to break out of the status quo and get at living off the land once for all!  Oh well, we get it, take it easy, go with the flow.... we are maSLOWski's afterall...  but we're not maSTOPski's! LOL

There is an insane and intense workload ahead of us and we already feel physically drained and exhausted. But our hearts and minds are moving a mile a minute with all the plans and possibilities ahead of us.

Without further delay, here’s an announcement:

We have three work exchange blitz's lined up for the rest of the season. We have many tasks planned for these weeks, including plastering the roundhouse, some carpentry to complete a shed, some gardening and forest garden prep, completing an outhouse and many more. The dates are as follows:

• Aug 17 -24
• Sept 7-14
• Oct 12-19

We are looking for five people max(ish) to come join us during each of these weeks. First come, first serve basis. Some previous experience handy but definitely not necessary. We love to teach and share and learn as well. Families and pets are most definitely welcome. Please check our Connect page to see how our work-exchange works!

Please contact me directly at sophiamaslowski@gmail.com for more info and to sign up!

Hello friends.  I know you may be wondering.. why last post?!  What's happening?? Are they calling it quits??  Yes we are.  It's over for the Landon Ridge Project.  Goodbye, farewell,  adios.  We've had enough of Landon Ridge.  We never really liked it anyway.  We've actually been trying to think of something new for a very long time.  And guess what.  We've finally figured it out!  We are so excited and relieved actually.  What's this new thing you wonder??  Never fear folks - it's just a new name ;-) 

It's true. We were never that pleased with the name Landon Ridge.  It never really felt unique.  It seems at least here in this part of Canada you can't turn a corner without encountering some kind of 'Ridge'... 'Maple Ridge' or 'Bear Ridge' etc. and we find it's commonly associated with more upscale kind of establishments.  (ie. There's a Bancroft Ridge Golf and Country Club near us)  However, we are not upscale.  We are civilized and somewhat 'refined.'  But we ain't no fancy Ridge! 

It's also true - we've been trying to think of a more suitable name for a very long time.  This has been harder then naming our daughters!  We made a list of criteria.  We've tuned into the land.  We've made lists upon lists, countless mindmaps and consulted friends.  I was ready to open a contest up to the general public but alas a name struck us on our last trip up the land.  And wonder of wonders - we both finally thought, huh, that sounds pretty good.  We were both waiting for that moment.  The 'aha' moment.  No need to convince the other partner.  This is it.  First things I did - check the domain, check Facebook groups, check Instagram.  It's available, available, available!  Yes, yes, yes.  Swiped them all up.  So here we are friends.  We welcome you to the:

         LANDON ROCK PROJECT

Isn't it brilliant?!  Can't say it isn't solid hey?!  Jokes aside.  Sure, it's not a massive change but there are many reasons why Andres and I resonate so much more with this name.  A few of those reasons for any curious minds out there:

• It sounds like Land-on Rock, which is what it literally is (see last point)
  
• The word 'land' is in it and we're moving 'back to the land'
  
• We love how it is so similar to London - which is where we both met, in London, England. 
  
• Rock - easy to say, pronounce, and read in most languages
  
• Metaphorical reasons behind it are countless and tune in quite well with the theory behind our project (ie. foundational, solid, Peter 'the Rock for Jesus')
• There is literal rock all over our property, plenty of gorgeous rock outcrops and unique minerals as well.  One of our first discoveries, during a walk around (before we even bought the place) was a cloudy quartz - was a sign right there what the name of the place should be!
• The land is located on one of the world's largest rock formations - the Canadian Shield.  Some interesting info from Study.com on what the Canadian Shield is:

"The Canadian shield is the exposed part of the North American craton, one section of the earth's floating crust. Shaped somewhat like a horseshoe, or like the shields that ancient warriors used to carry into battle, the Canadian shield occupies roughly half of Canada. It is made up of what geologists consider to be some of the oldest rocks to be found on Earth, some dating almost as far back as the original formation of our planet.
The Canadian shield occupies the part of the North American craton that's on the eastern side of Canada. Unlike the rest of the craton, the Shield is nearly bare, with only a thin blanket of earth covering its surface. This makes the area much less useful for some activities, such as farming."

Indeed - it is truly just a thin blanket of earth (again.. Land-on Rock ;) covering our precious property but we will carry on our mission in making it a thriving place for us and many others to enjoy.  And yes, it's not right for industrial farming but we're looking forward to achieving our kind of farming :-)

The only thing that perhaps does not jive with us and the word 'rock' is that a rock can be defined as 'un-moving,' 'inert,' and 'passive.'  Hmmm.. kinda true about rocks.. however, as far as I understand, everything is always changing and moving.  The forms and shapes of the rocks of today are very different to what they were millions, thousands and hundreds of years ago.  So let us move and change together.  In solidarity.  Let's be the Shield, the protectors for the Earth.  Our place is a horseshoe of hope, a good luck charm for us and the planet.  Let's Rock and Roll people! 

Oh and before anyone brings up Alcatraz (the infamous Rock), I tell you..

Landon Rock is a place where you are always free to go - but you'll never want to leave :-b

Peace and love to all.

This is something I've been wanting to write about for a while especially with my new intention of having a more consistent social media presence.  I feel like I just have to get this off my chest and then I'll be able to breathe a bit better and then possibly end up polluting your news feeds like a mad woman!  Because ultimately, I am very eager to share but at the same time I have intense hesitations and reservations about posting continuous personal content.  And I know that Andres feels the same way (even more so really).  To sum up, there are four reasons for our discomfort with social media.

1)  We are private people.  It simply feels strange to share any old experience so publicly, whether it's a photo of our progress, achievement, general enjoyment or struggle.  This is an opportunity for everyone and anyone to have a look at our intimate and private moments.  Because that's what they are - OUR moments and it's crazy to think that anyone from across the world could have a glimpse of it at any time and furthermore - have a judgement about it. 

2) My past self is such a weirdo and I'd rather just deal with my weirdo self on my own rather then skimming through previous posts I've written and start to cringe at the thought that others whom I'm not even aware of, may have read my writings and see what kind of a weirdo I am.

3) This one is based more on paranoia. I feel a bit anxious about sharing a bunch of photos and information about my kids.  With the idea of identity theft and even artificial intelligence becoming more and more of a concern, I don't want to add my daughters' info to the pool of content out there that could potentially be stolen and used in some God knows what way.  I am not an expert on this.  But here's an article on the fact that no one actually has any idea on how it will all pan out.  I don't have time to research AI or to think about the consequences of corporations stealing my information.  Because of that I feel like I won't flood social media with pics of me and my kids but nevertheless, I can't help but include some family photos here and there cause we are ALL a part of this project.

4) Finally, and this feels like the most important one to me/us.  The idea that mental health issues are on the rise and it's connection to social media.  I hear it on the radio constantly.  I just did a quick Google search and a bunch of articles show up with studies on how unhealthy social media can be.  For example, here's one from Forbes from a few months ago.  And here's the statement from the article that sums up the main concern:
"Some of the existing literature on social media suggests there's an enormous amount of social comparison that happens. When you look at other people's lives, particularly on Instagram, it's easy to conclude that everyone else's life is cooler or better than yours."

So does this mean that I may be responsible for someone having a worse day then they would have had, had they not seen or read my post?!  I don't want to be so dramatic.  Besides, I'll most likely be posting info and pics on a compost toilet we might be building - not exactly a reason for someone to get down about themselves.  But who knows?!  In reality, the whole aim of my/our posts is to simply share information about what we are doing and what we are trying to achieve.  I might be so bold to say that one of our intentions is to motivate others to start following their dreams.  However, intention is one thing and the actual consequence of our actions is another.  Even this post could somehow potentially offend someone!  And I admit - I might take multiple photos to choose the one that looks the most flattering for us, for example.  (I once heard an insane average of photos people will take before actually posting. It's crazy!)  Obviously I choose pictures where we look happy and content.  Although sometimes I wish I had an invisible floating camera around Andres and I when we get into our seriously, intense, blood boiling, 'let's call it quits' kinda discussions, just to share with you evidence that our lives are most definitely not so rosy all the time.  I know in reality, every one is more or less aware that people, couples etc go through their rough times but this is the unfairness inherent in social media.  We don't and I don't think there really is a truly authentic way of showing this side of our lives.  Not that there is truly a need for that specifically but it all seems like such a grey issue and I'm simply acknowledging that here.
Anyway, my bottom line on this point is that I humbly and very seriously don't believe anyone would ever think my life is 'cooler' or better or more productive then there's.  However, if I'm completely honest - I have found myself comparing my life to the lives of others who I've discovered through Youtube for example, and they are achieving so much!  So much more then we have so far and I feel jealous.  I start to analyze my life, our decisions, our actions and start to judge myself.  At the same time I do find these people inspiring and I might end up using some of the experiences they share and post to my benefit.   It's a very unsettling thought process going through my mind.  Either way, I just really hope that no one gets an incorrect or skewed view of our lives that may cause them to feel down about themselves.  As that article also stated:
"Social media, especially spending long periods of time on it, is just not that good for us. We may not need to quit it completely, but limiting our time on social media considerably, and reconnecting with friends and family in real life, is definitely the way to go."

At this point, I want to say that I'm not quite sure as to what I'm exactly trying to achieve with this post except to show some awareness.  Awareness that yes - some incredibly remarkable and positive actions have resulted due to the thoughtful use of social media but negative impacts can also occur even with the most kindest and harmless of intentions. 

Further, I don't want to sound ignorant to the fact that if I have these reservations and concerns then why do I even bother to post anything?  The answer to that is, we have seen the positive ways that these incredible new technologies can be used and how they've helped others achieve amazing things.  We could probably say that the Internet has had a lead role in guiding us on our own journey to where we are now and has helped us acquire so much new knowledge.  The possibility to search for anything and connect with virtually anyone on the planet at anytime is extraordinary and we also want to be part of this evolution.  As I said in the beginning - I am eager to share, share more than I have been and not just the serious hard work but fun stuff too.  But we want to be mindful as well.  We'll see how things go from now on.  Besides this inner analysis that goes through my head, the time factor (and motivation) stops me often too.

I hope I'm making some sense here.   Either way, even if all this explanation seems totally unnecessary, I just wanted to share these thoughts before venturing further into this whole social media dimension experiment.  It's all being figured out as we go along and I think it makes me feel a bit more comfortable just acknowledging my discomfort rather then avoiding it and just aimlessly posting content.  I mean, we have a very particular goal and vision in mind, besides our striving to achieve an alternative lifestyle, we are also in the process of designing our own business.  Hence there is very deliberate information that we'll be sharing but as we're talking about an alternative lifestyle in general - it could appear a bit aimless sometimes. 

Lastly, I'm also curious to what other project makers are thinking in regards to this topic while raising a family and sharing photos and info of their progress on social media.  You can kinda tell some people are more private then others but for me, I'd rather lay out our feelings on it directly so I can proceed with sharing in our way and you can understand our boundaries however they may turn out to be after this whole rant!

To close, finally(!), I'm going to go against my usual behaviour and post a picture of our family with all of us facing the camera.  Here we are, the four of us, the first time altogether at our land last July :)

We can't wait to get back up there again soon.  We also look forward to the whole journey ahead and sharing it as humbly as we can with anyone that may be glancing our way.