There is a new face at Everson Ranch this summer. Meet our new ranch hand, Jacob Marsh. Jacob's passion for working on the land started in his own backyard. After purchasing a home in Aurora in 2009, Jacob quickly began the process of urban homesteading. He made two garden plots for veggies and herbs, another bed in the front yard to grow strawberries and raspberries, another for mint around the mailbox, lattice up the back deck for grapes, and an active compost pile. Soon after came the chickens, then the bees, then the rabbits. In the summers, about 40% of his food source was grown in the small backyard plot. The more work he put in, the bigger the passion grew. In early 2018, Jacob built out a Sprinter van into a mobile home, sold his house, and hit the road to work with and learn from builders, farmers and ranchers across the country. The trip started with a two week stay volunteering at Everson Ranch, and later included stints at farms in Vermont and Maine and North Carolina, as well as a month of workshops at the Maine Primitive Skills School. On April 1, Jacob became a proud staff member at Everson Ranch where he is helping build fencing for the livestock, care for the animals, give tours, build the new commercial food processing kitchen, maintain and restore the natural habitat of native plants and animals, and any other odd job that needs tending to. When not working on the ranch Jacob runs his two small businesses, Bite Back Bed Bug Removal and Fully Human SEO as well as enjoying time in the valley by hiking, mountain biking, volunteering with the Crestone End of Life Project, and maximizing time in rocking chairs staring off into the distance.