No, it means I am a newbie, with only bookish experience. My girlfriend and I are architects and are currently designing our off grid home. I have worked on several projects, but have yet to live under the roof.
Good point on stewardship. Matter of fact, there is a quote from Voltaire about not losing a connection with nature and how it provides for us.
“We must cultivate our own garden. When man was put in the garden of Eden he was put there so that he should work, which proves that man was not born to rest.” There is more to it, but it fits somewhat.
I always reflect on my grandfather and how he made the most of what he had, and would not pollute or mistreat his environs, for it provided for him.
The picture on your website is picturesque, but not sustainable or livable.
Imagine going to feed or care for critters in the pre-dawn hours in that locale. First (as you get older, this matters) you have to get down the hill in snow and ice without busting your ass.
Live in a tent in a spot for 16 days, 4 days each in the middle of winter, spring, summer, and fall, and then tell me that you can't find a better spot nearby.
I'm all about practical. But I chose a spot at the base of a 200 ft hill that moves about 2 inches a year. I'll be dead before it over-runs the house, or my descendants turn it into a hill-side root cellar.
It's little things like that that you have to live to understand.
/johnny