By Amanda Coward
Photo by Martin Kallur on Unsplash
The new age hippie movement lifestyle is gaining traction throughout Skagit County and the entire United States of America. People are fleeing the city life for more of a country lifestyle. Many are leaving the nine to five to follow a more natural approach to life. As seen from the current growth in popularity of alternative living styles such as van-life, tiny living, urban farming, and small homestead living. Many people who have spent time working from home over 2020 – 2021 due to the COVID 19 pandemic are now seeing a different way of life is possible. They are getting their work accomplished in less time and are able to spend more time with their families and in nature while still having a paycheck to bring home. Colleen Thomas was a customer service agent for an airline in Portland, OR and when it came time for her to retire she chose to follow this movement and go back to a more natural lifestyle. She says, “it’s a very primal need to have a garden and provide for yourself and your family’s needs.” She moved from Portland to rural Idaho where she bought a home on an acre of land. Colleen Thomas has been able to grow her own food and preserve it through canning processes.
Tyler Hadley and Valeria Hadley are a married couple who moved from Phoenix, AZ to rural Idaho and have been able to start two businesses. One business is a lawn care company that involves gardening and keeping others yards nice and tidy. The other business that they have is a plant nursery. They go to farmers markets and are able to sell plants and goods that they have grown themselves. This has been something that they are calling “life changing” as they were previously having a very hard time making ends meet and living in a two-bedroom apartment. They have three small children and were living in the middle of a city with a very hot climate. They could hardly go outside in the summer days leading them to question if this lifestyle was really for them.
Tyler Hadley and Valeria Hadley both have always had a passion for growing and gardening. Tyler Hadley was able to take agriculture classes at college in Arizona but it wasn’t until moving to Idaho where his passion was really able to blossom. Due to having his own outdoor space to garden and explore things. He was able to let his plants go to seed and replant themselves without him having to plant them again. To him this is all part of getting back to nature.
Valeria Hadley has really come into her passion since gaining space to keep a garden. She has been able to start her own nursery selling fruit trees and many other plants. She says that once she was able to start her own greenhouse and take cuttings of plants and multiply them into many she really grew to love gardening. She has a great many succulents that she enjoys growing, replanting, and selling for others to enjoy as well. She says she feels responsible for her little plants and won’t sell them to just anyone. She has to trust they will take care of them.
Valeria Hadley says that for her health and mental health, she makes sure to take the time out of her schedule to read while she walks on the treadmill each morning. She meditates daily, and has a diet she follows with intuitive eating from her garden and other local sources for meat and dairy. She has friends she can rely on for ethically and sustainably sourced copper river salmon and wild game. Valeria Hadley finds joy in creating things herself through crochet. She has children and also helps them understand and live this natural lifestyle as well.
For Colleen Thomas, having health concerns has been a catalyst in helping her live a more natural lifestyle. She credits her Crohns Disease for changing her life for the better. She is now living with less stress in her daily life. She also has a healthier organic home-grown garden diet with her own honey bees, and chickens. She is constantly doing breathing and meditative exercises. She also does a lot of reading and journaling to help her maintain her mental health. She says, “this is the most natural way of life.” Do you want to know where to start on your own journey to a more natural lifestyle? According to Colleen Thomas she says learning about where your food comes from is a very eye-opening experience. Also, keeping an herb garden in your window and stopping to take a deep breath to clear your mind every now and then is a good place to start.
