Idyllwild Woods

01/12/2025

Would you do me a solid?

Please enter this contest on behalf of Idyllwild Woods.

Just use your own email. You don’t need to do anything else. I’ve got a friend who does sales for this company. These little cabins might work here, though we’d need to build bathroom additions.

If your entry wins us a Bunkie, how about you get 25% of the revenue until you hit $22k? Hmm 🤔

01/01/2025

We certainly won’t aim for anything quite so big as this, but a mixed pasture sounds like a great way to go. Continuing our education before bringing livestock to the property.

Why even have these animals? (After all, I’ve got no desire to eat them!)

A few reasons.

1. Just one more way to lure guests into time in nature. Watching animals do their thing and helping care for them (if you want to!) may become one of the highlights of your stay.

2. Our indoors lifestyle has disconnected us from a big part of real life. Even though ours won’t be food, it’s still a good thing to be able to draw the connection between farm and table.

3. It may someday be important for us to have some of these skills that nowadays very few people have.

4. Having livestock can really boost the productivity of an organic farm. We DO plan to eat and serve what we grow!

This will be an adventure!

Will you want to learn here, too?

12/31/2024

One more reason we’re going to have livestock. Cuteness, a lure to entice us all outside, and an immunity boost all in one? Yes, please!

10/17/2024

Are you struggling to find time for your business while juggling family life? You're not alone. Many entrepreneurs feel trapped by the "time scarcity" myth.

I interviewed Jackson Calame inside Entrepreneurs Gone Wild recently, and he shared this game-changing tip...

Stop saying, "I don't have time," and start owning your choices.

As entrepreneurs, we often fall into the trap of believing we're too busy. But here's the truth: We all have the same 24 hours. It's how we use them that matters.

Try this exercise from Peter Drucker's "The Effective Executive":

Log every minute of your day for a week. If possible, have someone else track it to ensure honesty. Then, review where your time actually goes.

You might be surprised at how much time you're wasting without realizing it.

The key is to build your effectiveness gradually:

- Identify time-wasters.
- Make small, consistent improvements.
- Prioritize what truly matters in your business and life.

Remember, you can't become as efficient as a world-class athlete overnight. But with practice, you can dramatically increase your productivity.

By owning your time choices, you'll stop making excuses and start making progress. This shift in mindset is crucial for long-term success in both business and family life.

What's one small change you can make today to use your time more effectively? Share your thoughts below!

10/16/2024

This would make a great space for the outdoor kitchen and lounge, version 1!

Awesome Inspiration for a covered top outdoor recreational area! Could be made to size that fits your plan! Great for a picnic table area or kids' play space...even a night under the stars!

10/13/2024

Idyllwild Woods Update Week 28

Lots of progress on the dome deck, lots and lots of calls last week with entrepreneurs who also do their best thinking outdoors, and progress on the new business plan and investor pitch... plus, picked a few pumpkins. (The kids will get them - there were several casualties :( but I'll know better for next season.)

1. Caught the comet!

2. Hubby built a fort! The bugout barn was getting chilly. Zac and Spook will build a chimney for the new-to-us woodstove and get it installed before the nights dip into the 30s. (Please keep praying for the area and all the displaced people in the mountains - I can't imagine how terrible these nights must be for them. Days are still going to be 60-70s for a while, but nights will get cold.)

3. Zac is making great progress on the dome deck. Decking should be done next week. We planned the railings, two sets of steps, and a nice little porch area that'll be perfect for coffee.

4. My fashion sense continues to be top-notch. Of course, by noon, it's time for shorts and a tee. We used some birthday money to buy warmer clothes.

5. The farmer's markets are starting to have fewer vendors, but we found one who has pork sausage and backyard eggs. SO GOOD!!! (Can't wait to get our own layers again - guess it'll be spring - we need to build a chicken tractor first.)

6. Made the most delicious tomato soup today from our tomatoes, basil, and thyme. Forgot to get pics, but it was YUMMY! Especially with some sourdough from Bob the Baker at the farmer's market.

A little skimpy on pics this week, but maybe next week, the leaves will start turning enough to make them worth a drone flight.

Welcome to all the new folks following along. I'm really glad you're here!

If anyone else is an entrepreneur who does your best thinking outdoors, come make new friends over at Entrepreneurs Gone Wild!

09/12/2024

Chatting with Stacey and Vickie about the Find Your Voice Challenge here:

Join us!

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom Rooms is the original software-based conference room solution used around the world in board, confer...

05/05/2024

Week 5 Update from Idyllwild Woods

Argh! I've tried posting this twice now. Might need to add some of the media separately. My original posts were much funnier and better... you'll just have to trust me on that!

It's hard to believe we've been here over a month. In many ways, it feels like we've been here forever. Every single day, we're in grateful awe that we get to live here in this gorgeous place.

What's new:

1. Learned an important drone lesson. Bring a flat surface! Catching an active drone in your hand is not as safe or fun as it sounds. Managed to find the footage I took last week, too. Will try to post it. It's pretty good.

2. We have a blue heron in the creek.

3. Pickle and Mishka like going into the creek for a dip with us. We bring our camp seats and go sit in a shallow area. Instant AHH.

4. Going to need some actual work boots. My sneakers had tread when we first got here, I swear! Must be the mountain-goating up the slope to seed it with grass and clover. I've heard good things about 511s. Any other recs?

5. Straw bale garden part of the terraces are ready to plant! Holding off on veggies until 5/12 as advised by locals. But going to put some flower seeds in later today.

6. Should have electricity soon. That means WiFi! That'll be great. Though I've been very grateful to have the library and laundromat in the meantime.

7. Talking build plans with hubby for the first guest cottage. Excited that we might be able to get started on that pretty soon.

8. Put YouTube channel on hold until we've got WiFi. Files are too big for tethering.

9. Had flashbacks of the Scottish Highlands when I rounded a corner up the hollow and saw loose young cows in the road. They moved along... eventually :D

10. Doing nearly daily FB Lives here. It's been so great hearing from several folks who tune in. I get this huge smile when I hear how soothing, healing, and happy this beautiful, magical place is. Even better when you're here!

OK, posting before it disappears again! Will ad media later!

04/28/2024

So, had an interesting thought…

Considering running a sort of workshop here at Idyllwild Woods.

A small group of folks with a dream of homesteading or building a retreat of their own could come for a few days to learn practical skills like how to:

Become a chicken tender
Build a chicken tractor
Learn to run a bobcat or backhoe
Intro to permaculture
Straw bale gardening
Mill wood to make boards

These are all best learned by getting your hands dirty doing the thing.

I’d love to know… would you be interested if we held something like this? What else would you like to learn?

04/16/2024

Sweet dreams from Idyllwild Woods

04/15/2024

A glorious morning at Idyllwild Woods

04/10/2024

OK, we've got a YouTube channel now!

Will see what we can do about going live there, then posting the link here.

https://www.youtube.com/-os1xh

04/09/2024

Good morning from Idyllwild Woods

03/29/2024

It’s moving day!

What a wild and woolly month from contract to closing.

It’s all still surreal. We have so many ideas and plans for creating something truly special for our guests on this beautiful land.

We’re going to be off-grid for about a month, but will make trips into civilization for showers, laundry, and WiFi.

We’ll save you a spot at the campfire 🔥

03/06/2024

Had a BLAST talking with Vickie Poole about Idyllwild Woods on her podcast, Today's Dream, Tomorrow's Reality.

(Also realized my tattoo and my screen match nicely!)

Join us in this captivating episode of the podcast as Susan Anderson, a seasoned commercial writer, shares her inspiring journey from building a successful w...

11/30/2023

Wanna see something gorgeous?

That right there is some sexy CONCRETE!

One step closer to having a barn in the pasture at Idyllwild Woods.

11/14/2023

🌲👀 Secret Sculptures in the Woods? Yes, Please!
Get ready to play the coolest game of hide-and-seek ever at Idyllwild Woods!

Hey Adventurers!

We want to turn Idyllwild Woods into a real-life 'Where's Waldo?' but with a twist – it's all about hidden sculptures! 🌟

Picture this…

You're hiking, minding your own business, admiring the trees, and BAM! You spot a sneaky metal squirrel grinning at you from a branch. Or maybe it's a wooden dragonfly, chilling on a rock.

These aren't your grandma's garden gnomes.

Inspired by Thomas Dambo's hidden trolls (seriously, they're awesome), Spook and I are already dreaming up some wood and metal sculptures we can stash in the wooded hills at Idyllwild.

One of us can weld really well. The other? The other is me. But I’m up for learning. Maybe you’d like to learn to weld, too?

Why stash random sculptures in the woods?

Because one thing I hope you’ll do when you come for a retreat is to just wander around in the woods. (It’s impossible to get lost - unless you count “lost in thought”.)

The brain does this little happy dance thing when you experience a pleasant surprise - and the effect lasts a while, adding to feelings of contentment.

It’ll be fun!

But you don’t have to wait until Idyllwild Woods is open to experience this effect.
When you take your next walk, be on the lookout for happy surprises. Maybe you’ll find a $20 on the path! Maybe you’ll see a lone flower growing in a strange place. Maybe a squirrel will chatter at you and make you giggle.

Or who knows… maybe you’ll find someone’s hidden sculpture garden!

So, what do you think? Are you ready to hunt for hidden art? What kind of quirky, cool sculptures would make your day? Drop us a line – your ideas might just come to life!

Remember, at Idyllwild Woods, every trail has a tale, and every shrub could be hiding a surprise. Let's make every walk a story worth telling.

Happy Hunting,
Sue

10/31/2023

Oy, that was a little stressful!

We're building an entrepreneur retreat center on 35 acres in the Smokies. We're learning a lot as we go. Here's one lesson.