Weekly Roundup - Living On Nothing Edition [Survival Today

Did you hear about the guy that lives on nothing? No seriously, he lives on zero dollars a day. Meet Daniel Suelo, who lives in a cave outside Moab, Utah. Suelo has no mortgage, no car payment, no debt of any kind. He also has no home, no car, no television, and absolutely no “creature comforts.” But he does have a lot of creatures, as in the mice and bugs that scurry about the cave floor he’s called home for the last three years.

To us, Suelo probably sounds a little extreme. Actually, he probably sounds very extreme. After all, I suspect most of you reading this are doing so under the protection of some sort of man-made shelter, and with some amount of money on your person, and probably a few needs for money, too. And who doesn’t need money unless they have completely unplugged from the grid? Still, it’s an amusing story about a guy who rejects all forms of consumerism as we know it.

How to Brew Your Own Beer and Maybe Save Some Money. A fantastic introduction to home brewing, something I’ve never done myself, but always been interested in trying. (@Generation X Finance)

Contentment: A Great Financial Principle. If I had to name one required emotion for living a frugal lifestyle it would be contentment. Once you are content with your belongings and your lot in life you can ignore forces attempting to separate you from your money. (@Personal Finance by the Book)

Use Energy Star Appliances to Save On Utility Costs. I enjoyed this post because it included actual numbers, and actual total savings, from someone who upgraded to new, energy star appliances. (@The Digerati Life)

Over-Saving for Retirement? Is it possible to “over-save” for retirement? Yes, I think so. At some point I like the idea of putting some money aside in taxable investments outside of retirement funds, to be accessed prior to traditional retirement age. (@The Simple Dollar)

40 Things to Teach My Kids Before They Leave Home. A great list of both practical and philosophical lessons to teach your kids before they reach the age where they know everything. I think that now happens around 13 years-old. (@My Supercharged Life)

Index Fund Investing Overview. If you are looking for a place to invest with high diversification and relatively low fees (for broader index funds with low turnover), index funds are a great place to start. (@Money Smart Life)

5 Reasons To Line Dry Your Laundry. My wife and I may soon be installing a clothesline in our backyard. In many neighborhoods they are frowned upon - one of the reasons I don’t like living in a neighborhood. I digress. One of our neighbors recently put up a clothesline, and we might just follow his lead. (@Simple Mom)

* 4 Quick Tips for Getting Out of a Rut * Young and Cash Rich * Embracing Simple Style * First Trading Experience With OptionsHouse * The Exponential Power of Delayed Consumption * How Much Emergency Fund is Enough? * 50 Questions that Will Free Your Mind * Save Money On Car Insurance

http://www.google.com/search?q=Earthworm+Economics&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&start=50&sa=N

Results 51 - 60 of about 604,000 for Earthworm Economics. (0.07 seconds)
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1. [PDF]
Bioaccumulation of Heavy Metals by Iranian Earthworm (Eisenia ...
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Organization for Economic Cooperation and. Development (OECD), 1984. Earthworm Acute. Toxicity Tests. OECD-Guideline for Testing. Chemicals 207, Paris. ...
www.idosi.org/aejaes/jaes5(4)/5.pdf - Similar
by SI IDO - Related articles - All 2 versions
2.
Prof. Yoo studies earthworms’ role in forest sustainability
... Global financial crunch spurs high schoolers’ interest in economics ... Recent studies have shown that forest composition, with earthworm invasion, ...
www.udel.edu/udaily/2009/nov/earthworms112408.html - Cached - Similar
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Dissection Kit Frog Earthworm Crayfish Science Equipment & Kits
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Earthworm | Profile | LibraryThing
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The cutting edge: conserving wildlife in logged tropical forest - Google Books Result
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7.
Observing Live Earthworm Lab - Alison Crotty - $2.00
It allows students to observe earthworms and their habits. I ha. ... —Criminal Justice - Law, —Economics (k-12), —Elections - Voting, —European History ...
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by S James - Cited by 2 - Related articles - All 4 versions

http://slowfoodportland.com/blog/

[snipped]

Increasing the number of acres in food production in any region of the country will likely reap other benefits too as land in sustainable agriculture is fixing carbon and keeping watersheds healthy, employing people and keeping money in local communities. Paving over our countryside and letting California and Arizona (and other countries) raise our produce is not the sustainable or healthy road I imagine going down.

We must also ask ourselves if we want our food to be flavorful, nutritious AND traceable and safe. Outbreak after outbreak of food borne illnesses have originated in large-scale operations (some of them organic) costing millions of dollars in public and private resources and putting at risk the health of many families. This is one of “efficiency’s” major downsides. Food safety issues do not typically arise in small-scale, localized production/distribution.

I do agree with Mr. Whelan that having small farmers bring produce to market individually is not very sustainable. More could and should be done to coordinate transport locally and encourage public transportation to urban markets for shoppers.

[snipped]

Granny notes, that we will have to join the Green Left Growers and users, if we are to beat the bill in Congress that kills our farming.

One could read this page as two opinions, or as I did “the o supporters are now slowly setting out to prove that there is no value in our small farms and that the food is not better for us.............

I find this one of the attempts to brainwash us, and the liberals may run into trouble, when they take on Organic, for many of the young today, had parents and grandparents who were the real Hippies and made the word Organic so well known, around the world.

We may see the left splitting, the o liberals and the Urban Homesteader, who has made an effort to live better than some do, with safe and good food.

Are we to be a 3 party country, the o liberals, the homesteaders and the ‘others’?

granny

and a P.S. , a reminder to my self, that when I do a google search, I should also click “Other” at the top of the page and then Blogs, which will then search the Blogs for the same search..........I forget, and if I click groups, it will search for the same search in the Google Groups....and then there is news to check also...

http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=Earthworm+Economics&sa=N&start=20

granny

http://www.ethicurean.com/2009/08/04/zoning-and-urban-farms/

City zoning rules squelch urban farm
By Ethicurean @ 9:46 pm on 4 August 2009.

Zoned out: A few months ago, a restaurateur in Culver City (a small city adjacent to Los Angeles) managed to get permission to plant hundreds of tomato plants and a few dozen fruit trees on an abandoned lot next to his cafe. Whatever he didn’t use in his restaurant or give away to those living next to the lot could be sold, he thought, to help bring in a little income and provide local food to the area. Before the first tomato was even ripe city zoning regulations changed the plan: growing crops for sale is strictly forbidden in Culver City. Eventually, however, that might change, as city officials think that it might be time to take a new look at that part of the zoning code. As enthusiasm grows for urban farming across the nation, other cities should take a look at their regulations, and try to find a way for urban and suburban areas to help feed their residents. (Los Angeles Times, via green LA girl)[hidden url on site link...granny]
Home / Digest, Urban Farming / City zoning rules squelch urban farm

By mIEKAL aND on August 5th, 2009 at 1:05 pm

I guess it just depends where you live. I’m still finding this a little hard to believe.

‘Urban Farm’ on North Side gets $106,000 city grant/loan

http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/460842

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[Once this would have been labeled ‘communism’, then the hippies tried their version of the community vision, and now today, maybe a different form of it will work, something has to do so...
granny]

http://www.greenecon.org/gane/resources/community/comm_res_frame_view.html

[snipped]

In thinking about community, we have to keep in mind the wide variety of communities and the resources they have available. The challenge of creating a sustainable community in a wealthy community will be very different than building one in a poor rural community or in a depressed inner city. Local financing through a community bank like the South Shore Bank in Chicago has been vitally important to its renewal. Having federal funds available to all communities on a per capita basis helps to build equity between communities.
Transition Communities

This new local community initiative began in Totnes England and is now spreading around the globe. In the U.S., 33 communities, from Portland ME to NE Seattle WA, were already listed as official transition communities by June 2009.

Transition US says: “The Transition Movement is a vibrant, grassroots movement that seeks to build community resilience in the face of such challenges as peak oil, climate change and the economic crisis. It represents one of the most promising ways of engaging people in strengthening their communities against the effects of these challenges, resulting in a life that is more abundant, fulfilling, equitable and socially connected.”

“It all starts off when a small collection of motivated individuals within a community come together with a shared concern: how can our community respond to the challenges and opportunities of peak oil, climate change and the economic crisis?”

Each transition town has its own website where you can get an idea of the activities they are beginning to undertake. Since Totnes has been in existence for several years already, their website http://totnes.transitionnetwork.org/ provides a sense of the spectrum of concerns and activities that can flourish in a transition community. Their website has sections on Building & Housing, Economics & Livelihoods, Energy, Food, Health & Wellbeing, Heart & Soul, Local Government, The Arts, and Transport.

continued....

About the Slow Money Meeting:

http://www.socialedge.org/features/opportunities/archive/2009/07/11/from-the-ground-up-gathering

Slideshow: Build a Geodesic Dome Solar Greenhouse to Grow Your Own Food

http://ourrealleader.blogspot.com/2009/07/th-writers-dads-geodesic-greenhouse.html

Slow Money Related,

a snippet..

Slowing down, an idea that might have sounded downright un-American not that long ago, is - you should pardon the expression - gathering speed. Slow food and slow travel are part of a broader slow movement that has expanded to slow cities, slow parenting, slow homes, slow marketing, slow reading, slow transportation, slow craft, slow art, slow energy, slow math, slow science, even slow money.

“There’s no question that it’s got a foothold in the US,’’ said Carl Honoré, a Canadian journalist whose two books, “In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed,’’ and “Under Pressure: Rescuing Our Children From the Culture of Hyper-Parenting,’’ have made him a quasi-spokesman for the whole idea. “It’s on the cultural radar.’’

The popularity of slowing down could stem from its implicit challenge to the assumptions that undergird the rat race. After all, when more than seven million Americans have lost their jobs since December 2007, bringing the total number of unemployed to 14 million, the idea of the rat race loses some status.

continued.

http://www.greenecon.org/gane/media_watch/media_watch_new4.html

http://www.thetrumpet.com/index.php?q=6392.4873.0.0

The Unemployment Dam Is Breaking
August 6, 2009 | From theTrumpet.com
A torrent of broke and unemployed workers may be about to start flooding the streets.

A primary bulwark against foreclosures and destitution is about to give way. Almost 500,000 Americans will exhaust their unemployment insurance benefits by September. That includes 354,000 for that month alone. The economic consequences will be severe. Social unrest is inevitable.

Unemployment insurance is the only thing keeping many Americans in their homes and off the street. But time is running out. The National Employment Law Project, a national advocacy group, released a study last weekend that should ring warning bells. Over 140,000 people in America have collected the maximum unemployment benefit available under the law—despite the fact that Congress extended payouts for an additional 33 weeks. Currently, people can draw payments for up to 79 weeks in 24 states. Other states offer help for between 46 and 72 weeks.

These first 140,000 will not be alone for long. According to the study, a gushing stream of workers will lose their aid as the year progresses, but the stream will become a torrent leaving 1.5 million jobless Americans who have exhausted their insurance by December.

Congress is under growing pressure to extend benefits again. The number of payout weeks is already triple the norm, and is the most since the program began. Rumors are circulating that Congress will try to borrow another $70 billion from foreigners to extend the program another 13 weeks for states suffering unemployment above 9 percent. Nationally, the official jobless rate is 9.6 percent.

“If more help is not on the way, by September a huge wave of workers will start running out of their critical extended benefits, and many will have nothing left to get by on even as work keeps getting harder to find,” says Maurice Emsellen, a policy director of the Employment Law Project.

Rep. Jim McDermott, a Democrat from Washington, says lining up support for more benefits won’t be a problem once politicians start getting calls from desperate constituents.

Stories of people facing the loss of their homes are emerging. Raymond Crouse of Columbus, who operated heavy machinery, has had no work since 2007. Since the construction industry went into free fall, Mr. Crouse has collected $190 per week in benefits, which has allowed him and his wife to hang on to the house they bought 15 years ago. But with the benefits ending next month, he fears they will not be able to keep up.

In Ohio, Cathy Nixon has barely worked since June 2007. Her benefits of $313 per week also run out in September. Already fighting foreclosure, she says that will probably be the end. The New York Times reports several other similar stories.

And employment conditions probably won’t improve any time soon.

Byron King, writing for the Whiskey and Gunpowder economic newsletter last week, noted that “the Fed made a shocking prediction. It forecasted that the U.S. economy would add no net new jobs over the next five years!”

“No net new jobs?” asked King. “That ought to scare you. The Census Bureau predicts that the U.S. population will grow over five years. But the numbers of new jobs will remain static. That is, for every job gain there will be a loss.”

If this forecast is true, then for the next five years, thousands of students will graduate into jobless lines; meanwhile, older workers will postpone retirement. In July, an additional 371,000 jobs were lost, according to the most recently released adp Employer Services report.

This employment catastrophe is a formula for trouble at both local and national levels. Once the safety nets expire, a deluge of social discontent could be on the way. •

http://www.naturalnews.com/026624_coconut_oil_fatty_acids_viruses.html

Coconut Oil is the Antiviral of Nature

Wednesday, July 15, 2009 by: Kim Evans, citizen journalist

Key concepts: Coconut oil, Fatty acids and Viruses
View on NaturalPedia: Coconut oil, Fatty acids and Viruses

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(NaturalNews) In a time when strange viruses are making headlines around the world, perhaps it’s time you knew about the most powerful natural antiviral around: coconut oil. The antiviral activity in coconut oil is unparalleled, even among the most resistant viruses, and the best part is, if it’s virgin and organic, there isn’t a man-made chemical in the mix.

Think it’s too good to be true?

Bruce Fife, C.N., N.D. and author of The Coconut Oil Miracle shares, “Laboratory tests have shown that the MCFAs (medium chain fatty acids) found in coconut oil are effective in destroying viruses that cause influenza, measles, herpes, mononucleosis hepatitis C, and AIDS; bacteria that can cause stomach ulcers, throat infections, pneumonia, sinusitis, urinary tract infections, meningitis, gonorrhea, and toxic shock syndrome; fungi and yeast that lead to ringworm, candida, and thrush; and parasites that can cause intestinal infections such as giardiasis.” Sounds like a powerhouse to me.

The antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal properties of coconut oil are directly attributed to the medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) in the oil, including capric acid and caprylic acid, and the powerful lauric acid. These fatty acids are concentrated in coconut oil; they make up over 60 percent of all that’s in the oil.

Medium chain fatty acids are unique and found in only a few places in nature. Interestingly, another place medium-chain fatty acids are found is in mother’s milk. In mother’s milk, these medium-chain fatty acids are what protects the infant as his/her immune system is developing. And the more the mom has in her body, the more protection the infant will receive.

As antiviral and antibacterial agents, medium chain fatty acids work like this:

Like humans, viruses and bacteria have a skin, or outer coating to keep foreign invaders out. Most viruses and bacteria have a malleable, fluid-like skin that is composed of a fatty substance. Inside this fatty skin resides the rest of the organism, including the organism’s DNA.

Because the fatty acids in coconut oil are similar to the pathogen’s own skin, the fatty acids are attracted to the organism and are easily absorbed right into it. For the pathogen, it’s like opening the door to an ax murderer, because they look like its best friend.

Once inside, the pathogen finds that the medium chain fatty acids are actually much smaller than the fatty acids that make up its own outer casing and this begins to break apart the pathogen’s casing.

According to Fife, the smaller medium chain fatty acids “weaken the already nearly fluid membrane to such a degree that it disintegrates. The membrane literally splits open, spilling its insides and killing the organism.”

It does this all without causing any harm to human cells or tissues.

More:
Coconut Oil Miracle, Bruce Fife, C.N., N.D.
Coconut Cures, Bruce Fife, N.D.

http://www.naturodoc.com/library/nutrition/coconut_oil_healthy.htm
http://www.coconut-connections.com/hivandaids.htm

Date: Thu 6 Aug 2009
Source: US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food Safety and
Inspection Service (FSIS) [edited]
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_041_2009_Release/index.asp

Beef Packers, Inc., a Fresno, California, establishment, is recalling
approximately 825 769 pounds [375 tonnes] of ground beef products
that may be linked to an outbreak of salmonellosis, the US Department
of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced
today [6 Aug 2009].

The products subject to recall include:
- 60 pound cases of “GRD Beef Sirl Fine 90/10.” Each case bears the
identifying case code W69012 with Use/Freeze by dates of 06/23/09,
06/26/09, 06/28/09, 06/29/09, 06/30/09, 07/03/09, 07/05/09, 07/06/09,
07/07/09, 07/10/09, and 07/11/09.
- 60 pound cases of “Grnd Bf Fine Sir 90/10 10/60 H.” Each case bears
the identifying case code W69064 with Use/Freeze by dates of
06/26/09, 07/03/09, 07/06/09, 07/07/09, and 07/14/09.
- 60 pound cases of “Grnd Beef 90/10 Fine 60.” Each case bears the
identifying case code W69063 with Use/Freeze by dates of 06/23/09,
06/26/09, 06/30/09, 07/03/09, 07/07/09, 07/10/09, and 07/11/09.
- 80 pound cases of “Grnd Beef Fine 91/09 10#/80.” Each case bears
the identifying case code W69108 with Use/Freeze by dates of
06/30/09, 07/06/09, 07/08/09, and 07/13/09 .
- 60 pound cases of “Grnd Beef Fine 93/07 10/60.” Each case bears the
identifying case code W69363 with Use/Freeze by dates of 06/23/09,
06/26/09, 06/28/09, 06/29/09, 06/30/09, 07/03/09, 07/07/09, 07/10/09,
and 07/11/09.
- 60 pound cases of “Grnd Beef Fine 93/07 10#/60 H.” Each case bears
the identifying case code W69360 with Use/Freeze by date of 06/26/09,
07/03/09, 07/06/09, 07/10/09, and 07/14/09.
- 40 pound cases of “GRD BEEF FINE 96/04-10#/40.” Each case bears the
identifying case code W69602 with Use/Freeze by dates of 06/23/09,
06/30/09, 07/03/09, 07/07/09, 07/10/09, and 07/11/09.

The ground beef products were produced on various dates ranging from
5 Jun 2009 through 23 Jun 2009 and bear the establishment number
“EST. 31913” printed on the case code labels. The ground beef
products were distributed to retail distribution centers in Arizona,
California, Colorado, and Utah. Because these products were
repackaged into consumer-size packages and sold under different
retail brand names, consumers should check with their local retailer
to determine whether they may have purchased any of the products
subject to recall.

As a result of an ongoing investigation into an outbreak of
_Salmonella [enterica_ serotype] Newport associated with ground beef
products, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
(CDPHE) notified FSIS of the situation. Epidemiological and traceback
investigations conducted by FSIS and CDPHE determined that there is
an association between the fresh ground beef products and illnesses
reported in Colorado. The illnesses were also linked through the
epidemiological investigation by their uncommon pulsed-field gel
electrophoresis (PFGE) pattern found in PulseNet, a national network
of public health and food regulatory agency laboratories coordinated
by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

FSIS would like to remind consumers of the importance of following
food safety guidelines when handling and preparing raw meat. Ground
beef should be cooked to a safe minimum internal temperature of 160
deg F [71 deg C].

********
This particular strain of _S._ Newport is resistant to many commonly
prescribed drugs, which can increase the risk of hospitalization or
possible treatment failure in infected individuals.

—
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
promed@promedmail.org

[The following recommendations for preventing salmonellosis were
contained in a side bar to the alert above:

Wash hands with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds before and
after handling raw meat and poultry. Also wash cutting boards, dishes
and utensils with hot soapy water. Clean up spills right away.

Keep raw meat, fish, and poultry away from other food that will not
be cooked. Use separate cutting boards for raw meat, poultry, and egg
products and cooked foods.

Cook raw meat and poultry to safe internal temperatures before
eating. The safe internal temperature for meat such as beef and pork
is 160 deg F [71 deg C], and 165 deg F [74 deg C] for poultry, as
determined with a food thermometer.

Refrigerate raw meat and poultry within 2 hours after purchase (1
hour if temperatures exceed 90 deg F [32 deg C]). Refrigerate cooked
meat and poultry within 2 hours after cooking. - Mod.LL]

This employment catastrophe is a formula for trouble at both local and national levels. Once the safety nets expire, a deluge of social discontent could be on the way.<<<

I think few of us have a clue as to what is coming.

It is so twisted and scary, with all the new rules and laws, that they have taken away all the little jobs that our parents did to help put food on the table.

That is why the above ‘slow money’ links, and articles caught my eye this morning, anything for survival.

In the 2 hours that I have had the scanner [Las Vegas] on, there have been about 4 reports of people stealing furniture, etc from houses, break the glass doors for entry and start loading up, there were a bunch more last night.

And of course the normal dispatches, crime if busy tonight.

That slow money, also reeks of sharia banking, for they have convoluted ways of getting interest on the money, with part ownership, in lieu of interest.

A commune working to produce food, would beat living under the bridge and starving, or a few minutes ago, back to back calls of men sick and down on the streets of Las Vegas.

I suggest the lawmakers, stop making laws and close the laws they have, if mommie wants to sell the jam she makes in her kitchen and I want to buy it, I will and to hell with the laws.

If it makes me sick, so what, aren’t the big companies making us sick too.

LOL, I am against the big companies, I am beginning to think, maybe not in the same way that the o is, but it is time for the small companies to have a chance again.

Passing my soapbox back to you.

Index:

http://www.permies.com/permaculture-forums/23.0

I was helping a relative clean out their garage a few days ago and came across some old frosted glass shades that were headed for the dump trailer. Of course before anything goes on the trailer I take the time to think hard about whether it is something I could use (much to DH’s dismay). I realized they would be perfect for protecting seedlings from light frost in the spring! they are like tiny little cloches with a vent on the top!

http://www.permies.com/permaculture-forums/1336_0/general-homesteading/family-homesteads-are-the-fundamental-unit-of-permaculture-sustainable-culture

Snipped, makes sense:

1) Every Man living on the Earth should have his own domain, his own Space to guarantee for himself a supply of high quality food.
2) In his own Space Man should grow, preferably by his own hand, fruit-bearing plants - plants that he considers tasty and healthful. Altogether at least three hundred varieties of perennials should be put in. Naturally this is not something that can be accomplished in the space of a year - or even two or three. But it is entirely possible to ensure that one’s children will have, in fact, an ideal source of food supply.
3) Every morning upon awakening, a Man should take a walk through his family domain and, if he desires, eat some fruit or berries or herbs which have just that moment ripened to maturity. This should be done entirely according to one’s desire, and not at the recommendation of some sort of dietician, even one with a post-graduate degree. Once your body has become familiar with all the taste qualities of the food growing in your domain, it will compile the ideal règime for you in terms of quality, quantity and the appropriate time for the food to be eaten. You don’t need to go out to your garden just in the morning or according to a strict timetable somebody has thought up, but only when you have a real desire to eat.
4) Your domain should be located in an ecologically clean zone. It should be surrounded by the domains of those who share your vision of creating family oases of Paradise. One breeze will carry life-giving pollen from your domain to your neighbours’, while another breeze from their direction will bring you life-giving air.

[Continues, written by a young ‘thinker’, others on thread make sense for him....granny]

http://www.permies.com/permaculture-forums/1449_0/general-homesteading/homesteading-report-from-central-nm

homesteading report from central NM
(Read 147 times)
scakya
Posts: 3

View Profile
April 07, 2009, 08:55:13 AM
I love my homesteading activities here in central NM.

When I come home in the summer, my work is evident, there are fruit and nut trees where once there was only bare and overgrazed ground. Grass is thicker and greener every year as I spread the donations from the goats and poultry. New pastures are being created so the “children’ can roam and graze in a much more sustainable and beneficial manner.

Hedgerows to break up our ever present wind and providing much for the homestead in food, herbs, medicines and shelter for us, the critters and wildlife. I try very hard to include all life forms present and new to this environment as this also creates a healthier environment for all.

This year will be the first for bees in a long time. The orchards are getting old enough to provide fruit and nuts. For now I’ll have to rent a hive, but look forward to keeping my own bees after completing a local permaculture bee course. That and the many herbs and flowers planted around the homestead will provide bees much of what they need before and long after the orchards bloom.

My neighbors stop and ask what I do with the tumbleweed one finds on the fences here. All things are used here. Even though I still have to buy hay, I find the tumbleweed will fatten the wethers and provide the necessary fiber the milking does need for well being. The “straw” left from the goats eating the tumbleweed I use for abating problem erosion areas. I can thank Brad Lancaster for the sponge idea on that one!

I dry the clothes on the line, reuse water as many times as I can, find new uses for scavenged wood and other items locally. Even the willows from this dry environment provide materials for basket weaving and poles for pole beans.

All this and much more in the planning stages or already in progress (30 + raised beds and counting, large lasagna beds and new areas for growing more of what is needed here on this homestead-everything from young new trees and shrubs, perennial crops to annual crops).

None of this do I have to do. I would not go to the lengths of growing our own meat or produce if I hadn’t decided how important it is to eat from our own environment and at the same time benefiting our planet.

One day soon I will have the one step completed which will free me from the “dreaded” electric bill. I have sun and wind in sufficient quantity that buying power is increasingly not making sense.

And that’s one thing about homesteading overall is that it MAKES SENSE!!!!!!!
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Leah Sattler
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oklahoma

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April 08, 2009, 05:36:51 AM
It is so satisfying to see the soil change and the plants grow. I am looking forward to seeing those improvements over the years at our new place. but my sense of urgency is being offended! I also have some reservation about changing the landscape too much here. it is not farm land and i’m sure it hosts its own variety of plants and animals adapted to the conditions here. the shallow soil is obviously a haven for some plants and animals so I aim to use and change only as much of the land as neccessary to support our activities. but I’m also sure that our operations will be ever expanding in my search for sustainable self sufficiency.

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