It was the fall of my 50th year when I met Ubuntu.  I had played with the idea of owning a small piece of Vermont for the last couple of decades, a place to come to and be in the magic of Vermont in June and October. I had come close a couple of times and it had never panned out.  The October of 2017 proved to be much different.  I had just come off a week-long silent retreat with AdyaShanti at Omega in New York, followed by a Yoga retreat at Metta Earth in Vermont.  My partner, Carrie, was flying in for a week’s vacation.  I had found 10 acres in the woods with two brooks running through it that I thought would be a done deal. I picked her up at the airport, excited to see each other after almost three weeks apart and whisked her to the land I was sure she was going to fall in love with. My heart was beating fast as I began to think this would be it, the little piece of Vermont I had been longing for. As we drove down the unkept dirt road to see the land I could see her eyes getting bigger and it was not from excitement. As we got out and I showed her this amazing feature and that my heart began to sink, her energy was not matching mine at all. I stopped mid-sentence and asked her what was wrong, she just looked at me, afraid to upset me and said, this will take too long for us to clean up, clear out and get the way we would want to enjoy it. My heart sank. Between this and the issues that had popped up regarding easements that would be needed to bring utilities to the property I could tell this was a no go. 

I will share that my response was not gentle, it was more like a 5-year-old stomping a bit of a fit about not getting their way. We got in the car and were supposed to head to the local surveyor’s office for a conversation about the easements and I told her there was no point in going now, she said we needed to go as it was too late to cancel the appointment. It seemed pointless to me, but we went. When we got to the office in my Dad’s hometown, the visit started with some small talk about Bristol had grown and my Gram, Gramp and Dad.  Eventually we spoke about the piece of property that was now a no go, this conversation just confirmed it. Then, out of the blue, Carrie says, “Now that you know what we are looking for do you know if any other land for sale that has the features we are looking for?” She continues to say even land not for sale that has these features were good to know about too. Her parents had found a house they wanted and just knocked on the door to ask if they would sell it and they became the new owners.  I remember feeling like I was watching a moment in time that I had already lived. I got a bit dizzy and embarrassed. It was broken when a young man came from the back of the office with roles of survey maps under his arms. His excitement was confusing to my current state of frustration. He rolled out the maps to share that two farms had just subdivided and were not even up for sale yet. My head about exploded, I was thrown back into a reoccurring dream of finding land in an unconventional way (meaning not listed with an agent) and my mood shifted to one of amazement and wonder as I became present to what he was sharing, and Carrie was asking. 

As we got in the car with the directions to the properties, he had shared I was struggling with a crushed dream a few hours ago and the experience that I was literally living into in the present moment.  As we went up RT 17, I was in awe of the feelings that felt like a rush I was drowning under.  We drove by the first farm and it was lacking a running body of water which was a requirement for me, so we drove by.  My heart sank a bit. As we drove onto Meadow Brook Drive to look at the 3 lots available my internal system felt suspended between the frustration I had and the excitement that wanted to be present. 

We pulled into the first lot and the vivid reds and oranges on the trees welcomed us in.  I began to settle down inside and we continued onto the next lot, while the area was beautiful, I was pretty resigned to this search ending like all the others prior. Finally, we drove up the hill to the last lot. As we crested the hill, a tree-lined pasture presented itself. My heart skipped a beat as something I can still not explain began to shift in my body. Carrie pulled the car around to point it in the direction that we would need to be in to leave. As soon as the car turned, we both gasp for air as we gazed upon the mountain range that displayed itself so majestically to us. It is so true that moments define our life and this moment that I was able to share with Carrie was anchoring at so many levels. I got out of the car and asked Carrie to hold back while I went down into the pasture where we could hear water moving. As I came upon the beautiful brook flowing so effortlessly, I hit my knees and tears streamed down my face. The joy and love I was feeling from this place were overwhelming. How could I feel so at home in a place I had never been?

We had the honor of purchasing this little piece of heaven the following day. We returned to Texas and I could barely handle not being in this place I now knew as home. We came back to bring in the New Year and snow shoed this amazing place. The following May Carrie retired, and we hit the road in our Airstream. We spent the summer here and getting the infrastructure set up for the Airstream to be fully hooked up. It was a magical summer and constant introductions to trees, rocks, plants, and mother earth at large. October came quickly and it was time to pack up and head back to Texas. It was one of the hardest goodbyes I can remember. Yes, the hardest. The tension was high as we left and as we entered New York we broke the silence, tears and frustration and shared that we both wanted to stay. The trip home was our preparation to sell the property in Texas a make a run to have Vermont be our home base. Excitement and planning set forward quickly. Once this decision was embraced the journey became smooth and relatively free from drama and obstacles. Following are some of the actual construction pictures for the main building of Ubuntu.

We reside on the main level and loft areas. The lower level has a full bathroom, laundry and kitchenette for future gatherings and guest. Since this experience we have purchased another 7 acres that are adjacent to Ubuntu and are so excited to see what continues to develop as we answer the calling to create safe places for souls to show up. The future of Ubuntu is exciting and will continue to unfold for many years to come. We are giddy to expand our garden in 2021 to offer healthy food for us and our community. The journey of becoming a master herbalist is underway, as well as, homesteading to be a steward of this gift we are trusted with. We would love to have you along for the journey and to perhaps visit us in person sometime soon.

Thank you for your time and we are excited to have you along the journey with us. Please leave us your email below and we will drop updates as they unfold.
Gratefully,
Lexy and Carrie and Ubuntu