Winter Storms – Getting Ready by Cutting the Grass Short
In my neck of the woods, winter storms come early. We usually get our first snows in September, and we’re in the deep freeze by Thanksgiving. Our cold and dry winters don’t usually produce a lot of snow, but we do get wind, so the combination of moderate snows and high winds can make for [...]
Little Indicators that Life is On the Right Track
However firmly I may believe that my life is progressing on the right track, I still appreciate the occasional reminder that this is so. Lately, I’ve been noticing subtle moments that, if paid attention to, encourage me to continue living as my family and I do. For instance: We recently agreed on a “field trip” [...]
Doing What’s Necessary – Outhouses
We’re often asked an indelicate question: “How do you . . . um . . .?” Which obviously translates to “Where do you go?” Here on the homestead we deal with human waste with pit and composting outhouses. Both our outhouses, for the main house and the guest/boat house, were pit-style when we moved here. [...]
Living On the Edge – Security Through Insecurity
When the news came last autumn that the government had taken over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, our decision to chuck the standard suburban lifestyle to head for the woods and off-grid—to live on the edge, in other words—made more sense than ever. When we moved from Juneau, one of Alaska’s larger towns (a truly [...]
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