The Soft Focus

Welcome to 2024! For us, this year has gotten off to a hot start with lots of exciting changes and updates at the ranch. According to today’s guest, Remington Donovan, that’s all par for the course for an 8 year— when your energy is focused in the right direction. 

Remington is a spiritual teacher, author, numerologist, astrologer, tarot reader, podcaster and so much more. He is insightful, outspoken, and full of wisdom from across the ages. On today’s episode, Remington guides us through some powerful teachings for the year ahead, and to bring more prosperity and purpose into your life. 

If you are interested in the esoteric, are looking for a boost in moral, or some fresh energy to restart your life’s mission— this is going to be a great episode. 

Corinne and Remington dive into: 

• The significance of eating locally in the Magical Tradition 
• The Western Mystery Tradition holds that eating locally helps align more and more with How doing the “inner work” and the “outer work” together creates harmony 
• The significance of the 8 year
• The lesson of consolidating your energy
• Scattered energy as a form of possession 
• Developing a practice of rooting into your own energy 
• Using tarot as a way to understand your soul’s teachings, without getting lost in the clouds 
• Moving out of the old paradigm of surrender, into a paradigm of “doing it all” in the world
• Why when you align with your higher purpose, the rest starts showing up 
• Remington’s practice of “Start Where You’re At” 
• Remington’s path to becoming a spiritual teacher 
• Dealing with cultural entitlement 
• The role of mentorship and teachers in Remington’s evolution 
• The role of Saturn in building discipline to get results
• Why we are seeing more opportunity now, but still needing to do the work 
• Living in devotion to your own life 
• Remington’s book Prosperity Practices, and why consumerism has nothing to do with prosperity 
• The philosophy of “it’s your incarnation, it’s up to you” 
• The power of doing something charitable right in your community 

If you want to dive deeper into Remington’s work, take one of his workshops, or sign up for his patreon— you can find him here: themysticalarts

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend or leave a review—it helps this work grow.

• Subscribe to The Soft Focus Podcast

And if you’re craving food that aligns with your values, don’t forget to order from the ranch. It’s nourishment that supports your body and the soil.

Connect with us:

[email protected]

IG@latebloomerranch

Thanks for being here.
– Corinne

The foundation of every farm and garden begins with a seed. On this week’s episode, we dive into the world of seed production, why it matters, and how you can be more informed about purchasing seed and producing your own. 

Don Tipping is a farmer, permaculturalist, seedsman, and owner of Siskiyou Seeds, in the Siskiyou mountains of southwest Oregon. As stated on their website, “Siskiyou Seeds is dedicated to providing growers of all scales with organic, open-pollinated seeds of exceptional vigor, quality, and integrity.  We are unique in the seed world in that we actually grow most of the seed that we sell here at our home farm.” 

Today, Don walks us through why it matters that Siskiyou Seeds actually *grows* their own seeds at their home farm, or by partnering with nearby farms, and how bio-regionally adapted seeds are the gateway to the heirlooms of tomorrow.  

Corinne and Don discuss— 

• Origin story of Siskiyou Seeds
• The work of adapting seed “with your hands on the dial” 
• How the industry at large moved away from open-pollinated seed selection, to exclusively hybrids 
• How to make open-pollinated seeds even better than hybrids using classical seed selection techniques
• How large scale commercial seed production is geared to a very specific market based on economies of scale 
• Wild Garden Seed
• How John Navazio shaped Don’s education of learning how to breed for disease resistance, nutrition etc
• Gregor Mendel and the birth of genetics
• The overlapping of art and farming in seed production and flower farming 
• Why bioregional adaptation matters for producing the seed crops of tomorrow
• How to separate the wheat from the chaff in open-pollinated seed production
• Turtle Tree Seeds
• Adding a face to a seed packet 
• Creating a “Terroir” seed collection
• Rowen White of Sierra Seeds
• Don Tipping’s Seed Academy 
• Nikolai Vavilov 
• Kristyn Leach of Namu Farm and Second Generation Seeds
• The journey of the cucurbita maxima to the United States
• Using genomics to unpack the “real” story of seeds
• How the home gardener can look at seed saving 
• The importance of curiosity 
• The need to backstop, or guarantee, bioregional seed companies

Find Don and his products at siskiyouseeds.com, as well as on Instagram @siskiyouseeds 

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend or leave a review—it helps this work grow.

• Subscribe to The Soft Focus Podcast

And if you’re craving food that aligns with your values, don’t forget to order from the ranch. It’s nourishment that supports your body and the soil.

Connect with us:

[email protected]

IG@latebloomerranch

Thanks for being here.
– Corinne

Mark Kimball farms at Essex Farm in Essex, New York with his wife, Kristin, and their children and farm employees. Essex Farm is a “free choice, whole-diet, year-round CSA” in upstate New York, and, as you’ll learn on this episode, so much more. 

Mark is a thinker, and someone who is unafraid to take an unpopular opinion. He muses on difficult topics related to the “regenerative” movement, and asks questions that we are still pondering— even weeks after recording this podcast. Mark’s perspective correlates with so much of what we aspire to at Late Bloomer Ranch, and taps into the essence of what it means to farm and attempt to steward a brighter future. 

Dip into the root of it all, and reconnect with the essential elements of tending land with Mark Kimball. 

Corinne and Mark discuss: 

• How he got started farming 
• Why farming is everything mining isn’t 
• Farming as an art form 
• Why Mark is triggered by the word "regenerative"
• Mark's experience of removing industrial farming techniques to improve food quality 
• The importance of trying to persevere in the face of failure 
• Shah of Shahs by Ryszard Kapuscinski
• Pig Earth by John Berger
• How independent communities are anathema to a global politic 
• Mark's experience trying to live up to his own land ethic 
• The idea that to farm better, we need to be healthier 
• How reaching out to others in a real and meaningful way may be the most important health habit of all 
• Mark’s practice of saying "good morning”, and,  greeting all the complexities that we are facing 
• The power of the question: “Am I open to a childlike state of mind in my life?” 
• Exploring a life of depth versus breadth 
• His wife, Kristin Kimball’s amazing books 
• And so much more. 

To find out more about Mark and his farm, visit essexfarmcsa.com
You can also connect with him on instagram @farmerkimball 

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend or leave a review—it helps this work grow.

• Subscribe to The Soft Focus Podcast

And if you’re craving food that aligns with your values, don’t forget to order from the ranch. It’s nourishment that supports your body and the soil.

Connect with us:

[email protected]

IG@latebloomerranch

Thanks for being here.
– Corinne

Horses are powerful, dignified creatures. Strong in their softness, and remarkably willing companions for all the adventures (and misadventures) of their human riders. For people who love horses, there is no replacement for their presence and healing, and the richness of the dynamic relationship of horse and rider.  

On today’s episode of The Soft Focus, Corinne discusses the power of horses for healing with Emily Anderson of Embodying Wild. Emily describes herself and her work as an “ever-evolving wild-woman with a gift for reconnecting people with the source of their power. She is an intuitive healer, a spiritual guide and the founder of Embodying Wild, a healing space that supports individuals through online coaching, group retreats, and heart-centered partnership with horses.” 

In this discussion, Emily walks Corinne through the principles behind her work, and how she practices somatic techniques with clients, as well as in her own life. Emily graciously shares her own connection to the working ranch in Montana she calls home, how horses bring her back to her true nature in the present moment, and how her practices open her heart to a fuller experience of living. 

Emily and Corinne discuss: 

• Horses as conduits for healing, and mirrors for the present moment  
• The parallels between equine energy and feminine energy 
• The trauma in the collective of the horse around autonomy, freedom, wildness, and connection to the body
• The magic of simply *being* with horses, as opposed to operating from an agenda 
• Implementing the intention of reciprocity 
• The power of investigating “why?”
• Cultural yin/yang imbalances 
• Building yin energy in women as a remedy for the epidemic of burnout 
• Nurturing the somatic landscape with horses 
• Children’s connection to wonderment and how that can be transformational 
• Sabine Birmann’s philosophy of Being with Horses 
• Emily’s approach of partnering with energy instead of attempting to tame it or contain it
• The practice of dropping the agenda and attachment to outcomes so that a real conversation and experience can emerge 
• Emily’s relationship with grief as a teacher, and how she honors it 
• Emily’s visceral connection to death in her life on a working ranch 
• Accepting the full spectrum of feeling as the gateway to somatic work 
• The importance of ritual to connect us to the meaning of the passage of time. 
• The beauty in solemnity 
• Emily’s experience connecting back to her lineage as a healer 
• How to connect with Emily’s offerings 

You can find Emily online on her website embodyingwild.com and @embodying_wild. 

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend or leave a review—it helps this work grow.

• Subscribe to The Soft Focus Podcast

And if you’re craving food that aligns with your values, don’t forget to order from the ranch. It’s nourishment that supports your body and the soil.

Connect with us:

[email protected]

IG@latebloomerranch

Thanks for being here.
– Corinne

Are you someone who finds confidence and purpose in learning new things? Do you enjoy feeling personally empowered in your home and garden? Are you always looking to have more control over the supply chains impacting your daily life? If so, this episode is for you. 

Arielle Crawford spent the beginning of her professional life as a sustainable fashion designer in New York City. Committed to wearing exclusively natural fibers, she wanted to expand that discipline into other areas of her life. After COVID, she knew it was time to take her skillset and burgeoning confidence to a homestead in rural Texas, and learn how to live off the land. 

Today, Arielle walks Corinne through her journey learning about natural building methods and materials. They discuss diving into new projects before being “ready”, gaining confidence from learning new skills, the authenticity of living your life one day at a time, and how pregnancy is a superpower. Arielle is warm and generous with her information and experiences— we know this episode will inspire you to get out there and build something new! 

Corinne and Arielle discuss: 

• How Arielle chose to leave fashion and New York City, to move to a  career in natural building in rural Texas 
• Arielle’s principle of “scaling out your values” 
• The importance of learning new skills
• Her transition from Brooklyn to central Texas
• How skills from the fashion industry prepared her for the transition to off-grid living
• The special qualities of cob building 
• The Hand Sculpted House
• Magical lime plastering 
• The personal empowerment from natural building methods 
• MOLD and what exacerbates it 
• How traditional paint is similar to wearing polyester 
• Arielle’s journey to living plastic-free
• Getting to know a bag of flour 
• Arielle’s mantra of “Convenience is not my King”
• Basic life skills as a balm for anxiety, depression, imposter syndrome
• The stoic idea that your day is your life
• Arielle’s experience of being pregnant as a superpower 
• Living life in a pregnancy biorhythm 
• Infusing leadership with femininity 

Find Arielle’s non-profit on instagram @therealnesspreserve, as well as her natural building company @texas_cob. Stay tuned for all their offerings in spring of 2024, teaching others about natural building and homesteading skills. 

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend or leave a review—it helps this work grow.

• Subscribe to The Soft Focus Podcast

And if you’re craving food that aligns with your values, don’t forget to order from the ranch. It’s nourishment that supports your body and the soil.

Connect with us:

[email protected]

IG@latebloomerranch

Thanks for being here.
– Corinne

Leif Routman joins us today to discuss all things food. Leif is a musician, forager, and local food advocate. By day he dips his toes into part-time farming and a little cooking, and by night he makes his living on stage as a bandleader, performer, and composer. 

Corinne and Leif discuss the richness of a deep food culture, both in the production and the consumption. Also, Leif’s childhood in the upper-midwest, to his journey to the intermountain west, and the changing landscape in-between. He shares stories around his own journey to local food, foraging, and food advocacy— searching for flavor and quality, and ultimately finding so much more. 

This conversation was warm, engaging, and of-the-moment. We know you'll enjoy it. 

Covered today:

• Leif’s food background and upbringing 
• The sacredness of family dinner 
• Analogs between music and food
• Ritualizing food traditions to connect with family and loved ones
• The gradual process of connecting to a local food system through friends and community 
• Leif’s college experiences cooking and pursuing quality & flavor 
• The freedom and broadening in a “narrowing” 
• How Leif developed his land ethic 
• The interplay between resilient health and interaction with wild landscapes 
• Building up cultural traditions and rituals in the modern age to be better stewards of the landscape 
• Celebrating seasons, change, impermanence 
• The powerful, yet fragile, nature of the Teton Wilderness 
• Leif’s shift-of-consciousness from his experiences foraging and engaging with the wild 
• For the love of huckleberries, currants, and mushrooms 
• “The Unprejudiced Palate” by Pellegrini

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend or leave a review—it helps this work grow.

• Subscribe to The Soft Focus Podcast

And if you’re craving food that aligns with your values, don’t forget to order from the ranch. It’s nourishment that supports your body and the soil.

Connect with us:

[email protected]

IG@latebloomerranch

Thanks for being here.
– Corinne

Danielle Beinstein is back on the podcast today, with her signature wisdom and insight. Corinne and Danielle converse about living life in the present, and from the heart, in an increasingly digital society. 

Danielle shares her lived experience of coming home to herself, and peeling back layers of conditioning and coping mechanisms to reveal her deepest core. It’s a real and enriching conversation for anyone looking to have deeper authenticity in their lives. 

Corinne and Danielle discuss: 

• staying in questions rather than answers 
• how Danielle anchors in the questions 
• changes in perspective with rapid technological progress
• the idea of the 4th way
• the toddler way of being 
• living in "constructs upon constructs"
• Danielle mourning for cities 
• the digital experience versus the lived experience 
• the pressure to evolve out of our humanness 
• the concept of seeking salvation 
• the energetics of fall & winter
• Danielle's practice of ritualizing the third place
• changing relationship to travel vs rooting 
• thick travel vs thin travel a la Chris Arnade 
• Danielle's journey leaving los angeles 
• where Danielle finds her core self 
• Fatal Conveniences by Darin Olien 
• learning to listen to the inner soul calling 
• Danielle's containers and how to work with her 

Thank you so much for listening to The Soft Focus podcast. As a small business, everyone at TSF and Late Bloomer Ranch sincerely appreciates your support. Don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know what you think of the episode, who else you would like to hear from, and how this podcast finds you. 

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend or leave a review—it helps this work grow.

• Subscribe to The Soft Focus Podcast

And if you’re craving food that aligns with your values, don’t forget to order from the ranch. It’s nourishment that supports your body and the soil.

Connect with us:

[email protected]

IG@latebloomerranch

Thanks for being here.
– Corinne

Charlie Southward, the founder of IGH Gardens, is a gardening genius. He grows lush and abundant produce on his half-acre farm in Long Beach, California, year-round, to donate to shelters in the region. In addition to his generosity with the food he grows, Charlie also teaches volunteers how to garden and grow food in their own backyards. 

On today’s episode, Charlie shares his inspiring life story, his spiritual experiences as a farmer and gardener, and how he started IGH Gardens. 

Corinne and Charlie cover: 

• How Charlie learned his craft
• Charlie’s childhood with cooking and gardening
• How Charlie continued to grow food throughout his life
• Charlie’s sense of serenity in gardening, and how it anchors his life
• Timing, patience, and trusting oneself
• How Charlie came to giving away his produce
• What IGH gardens is up to today
• Charlie’s work as a back-stage caterer, and how that shaped his character through adversity 
• How to get involved with IGH Gardens today 

As mentioned, Charlie loves to connect with volunteers and share his skills. He also needs your help, and your skills! If you’d like to get involved with IGH Gardens, here is where you can find him: 

• https://ighgardens.org
• instagram: @ighgardens
• and via email, [email protected]

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend or leave a review—it helps this work grow.

• Subscribe to The Soft Focus Podcast

And if you’re craving food that aligns with your values, don’t forget to order from the ranch. It’s nourishment that supports your body and the soil.

Connect with us:

[email protected]

IG@latebloomerranch

Thanks for being here.
– Corinne

We’re back with another conversation between Corinne and Elliana Araujo to break down the nuts and bolts of the meat we produce at Late Bloomer Ranch. This episode is a compilation of questions we get frequently— wether it’s at the farmer’s market, our email inbox, or over social media. If you’ve ever wondered exactly how our meat is raised, this episode is for you. 

Today’s conversation is centered around rotational grazing, heritage breeds, supplemental grains and other feedstuffs, and the delicious and nourishing products that come from animals raised this way. 

Corinne and Elliana discuss:

• What it means to have “pasture-raised” pork at Late Bloomer Ranch
• A brief description of the Late Bloomer Ranch grazing system 
• The additional feed that LBR livestock consume, besides the organic pastures
• Which core heritage breeds make up the livestock at the ranch
• The reasons for raising animals this way 
• Health benefits of well-managed livestock
• The best Late Bloomer Ranch cuts, and how Corinne and Elliana love to cook them
• The significance of eating meat, and reverence for all life 
• And more! 

You can find all of the Late Bloomer Ranch products, newsletter, podcast and blog at latebloomerranch.com Stay tuned for shipping launching August of 2023!

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend or leave a review—it helps this work grow.

• Subscribe to The Soft Focus Podcast

And if you’re craving food that aligns with your values, don’t forget to order from the ranch. It’s nourishment that supports your body and the soil.

Connect with us:

[email protected]

IG@latebloomerranch

Thanks for being here.
– Corinne

Wolves, a controversial topic for many, and one we discuss from a practical angle in today’s episode of The Soft Focus. 

Kurt Holtzen, a Large Carnivore Conflict Mitigation Specialist, joins Corinne on the podcast today to talk about wolves in the west. Kurt’s approach is refreshingly commonsense, informed by years tracking wolves and raising sheep, and devoid of the political spin put on many conversations around large predators in the west, today. 

He explains how to minimize livestock conflicts with wolves, the benefits of having large predators on the landscape, and how wolves may even be tools for land management, instead of problems to be solved. 

Corinne and Kurt discuss— 

• Why wolves? 
• The state of wolves in the west today
• Elk populations in the west, and on working ranches
• The nature and behavior of Grey Wolves 
• Conflicts between commercial sheep producers and wolf bands
• Kurt’s conflict mitigation strategies
  1. American White Dogs
  2. LED Dog Collars
  3. Fox Lights
  4. Squawk Boxes
• Who can benefit from these tools, and why more people should use them
• Kurt’s approach to viewing wolves as another piece of the wildlife management puzzle

You can get in touch with Kurt on instagram @wilderness_trails_projects 
He shares great information about his low-tech conflict mitigation tools, tips, and examples out in the field. Definitely worth a follow if you are curious about interfacing with large carnivores. 

Kurt also mentions the Western Landowners Alliance, who you can find here https://westernlandowners.org WLA has good resources for landowner in the west looking to have a better relationship with wolves. 

If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend or leave a review—it helps this work grow.

• Subscribe to The Soft Focus Podcast

And if you’re craving food that aligns with your values, don’t forget to order from the ranch. It’s nourishment that supports your body and the soil.

Connect with us:

[email protected]

IG@latebloomerranch

Thanks for being here.
– Corinne