Sustainable Wilderness Homestead Interface
~~* Hello and Welcome *~~
"Welcome to our humble abode."
You've arrived at the Singing Falls Main Index page. This is the www portal of Singing Falls Ranch, home of Stan and Alexandra Petrowski and their herd of angora goats (along with various and sundry other creatures) located in south western Oregon, USA.
Our web site has been under development since 1996 and it contains a tremendous amount of information. We sincerely hope you enjoy its multifaceted contents and discover it to be a useful resource. Here you'll find a compendium of the projects and interests integrated into our lives that we'd like to share for your inspiration and thoughtful perusal.
You'll enjoy your visit here if you take note that many (not all) of the smaller images are merely thumbnail images. Click on them and a larger view will sometimes appear. If you have any trouble with the site please let us know and we'll fix it if we can.
We have hyperlinks scattered all over the place that reach the various nooks and crannies associated with the site. Keep your eye open for them.
Since the early 1970's we have lived and learned in the mountains and forests. It is difficult to express the sincere appreciation we have for having had this wonderful opportunity. It has been a hard won privilege to allow the profound intensity of nature to directly impact every aspect of our lives. The juxtaposition of our spiritual convictions and the results of our intention to live in close proximity to the wilderness has molded and refined our world view dramatically over the years. We have no regrets making the life choices that we have.
Sharing our lifestyle via the internet has been a wonderful experience. We've made new friends, sustained our way of life and engaged the world at large with our perspective. It has always been our deep desire to convey to the people of contemporary societies the possibility of interfacing with nature. Fleeting through the trees, in and along the streams and abounding everywhere are the hallmarks of reality peering through what remains of the wild in our modern civilization. Those hallmarks point the way toward the truth. They are signposts of refuge to man and beast alike. A pathway we have loved to follow.
Our Mainstay
The prime source of activity here at Singing Falls is our natural fiber cottage industry. We shepherd a family flock of angora goats and craft their natural fiber in a variety of ways. Our band of goats consists of anywhere from 40 to 80 registered white and colored angoras at any given time. Their mohair fleeces come in a broad spectrum of qualities ranging from ultra soft and fine kid mohair to long, rich, colored and white adult hair.
We have extended the fruit of the hard labors and craft of our way of life to far reaches. We are especially flattered to custom design and hand craft mohair, mohair garments and rugs for those unable to directly participate in the fantastic benefits of our way of life. From our perspective the fiber or hand crafted garment contains within it the essence of the environment from which it came. Living creatures mysteriously grow a substance whose purpose is beauty, comfort and warmth. At strategic times throughout the year when the stock finds its coat too cumbersome, we harvest it. What can be more natural than that! Yes, the above is a very simplistic expression of our task but it is true. There is a very exhilarating air of freedom and satisfaction within the herd on a warm April day out in the pasture. This contentment becomes part of the next harvest of mohair! When sickness or blight comes upon us it is directly reflected in the quality of the goat fleece. Even after a recovery the fleece of a once ill animal can be rendered unusable because the long staple is weak and breaks in the area of the fiber that was grown during the illness. Happy and healthy goats grow luxurious brilliant strong mohair.
Treat time at Singing Falls
This website is filled with information on the many ways one can use mohair. Professional doll makers, fiber artists and natural fiber enthusiasts are just some of the people that we supply with this luxurious, durable fiber. Each category of use along with the pertinent information surrounding it are found on our pages. But that isn't all that is happening at Singing Falls. By perusing our site you're likely to stumble upon philosophy, science, animal husbandry,tilling the soil or the tilling of the heart and mind. We have an extensive section on wilderness habitat restoration with an emphasis on the Singing Falls Salmon Habitat Restoration Project. The Deep Pilgrimage link will take you to the story of my spiritual path during the 1960' and early 70's. We've even got a section devoted to some of the interesting cosmological/astrophysical discoveries of our times.
My wife, Alexandra, along with being the skilled shepherd/fiber artist here at Singing Falls, is also a chronicler of events, moods and anecdotal happenings as we traverse our sojourn. She has an extensive archive of articles she has produced for her favorite publication, The Black Sheep Newsletter. She also includes on her pages several other articles from different publications that we hope you will find insightful. The ups and downs, quirks and skirmishes of contemporary back woods living in the US are well documented.
Finally, It is apparent to me that certain versions of Internet Explorer are very faulty and not complying to web standards. If this site looks like a mess it is because of that reason. Do yourself a favor. Go download the free, open source and secure Firefox web browser. You won't regret it.
Sun and Moon Singing Falls ox yoke circa 1995