A SPOT FOR MY LITTLE HOUSE

One of the first things that comes to mind when I think of building an off grid house (or any house) is where to put it.  Simple process, right?  Find a spot you like and go for it, right?  Well, not so much!  Many factors have to be considered, including things like flooding, water supply, air flow (very important without AC), and distance to workshop, cellar, barn, etc., just to name a few.

Just such a spot is available.  Some years back, I was married to a woman who enjoyed horses and competitive riding.  For this purpose, she needed a horse barn, which obviously had to be in the perfect location.  It had to be close to water, elevated so that no flood water would ever enter and it had to be close to the house so we could hear any sound the horses made.  The ideal location (though not my favorite) would take a big chunk out of the vegetable garden.  The only problem was that in really wet weather, water could run across the location.  No problem really, just haul in several truck loads of drain rock and top it with clay and gravel to make an elevated pad.

There were, of course, delays in getting the pad materials hauled in.  By the time it was all leveled and ready for building, my wife had become my ex wife, leaving me with a smaller garden and a barn pad.

Years have passed, ideas of what to do with the "barn pad" have come and gone, and nature has somewhat taken it's course.  Bushes around the edge have become trees and begun to work their way toward the middle.  The platform in the foreground of the picture is the floor of a storage building which belongs to my former fiancé.  We had thought to re-assemble the building and live in it, at least temporarily, but it never happened.  As you can see, moving it from the pad revealed a mass of rat nests filled with trash.

A bit of clean up and trimming and what I have is a nicely elevated, flat area 30ft x 30ft.  That should be plenty of room for a 20ft x 20ft cabin, set back in the far corner with a nice porch on two sides.  I do realize that 400 sq. ft. is a small cabin, but in my world, where most of what I do is outside, the large porch space can actually be considered living space.

With all the requirements reasonably well met, it is time to get it cleaned up and trimmed,  ready for breaking ground.  The only drawback is the distance to the cellar which was excavated a couple of years ago and is at a standstill (long story for another time).  Not too much distance, only about 50yds.  As an added bonus to this building site, the vegetable garden will only be a few steps from the front porch.  That one makes me smile a little.

Progress will be slow, as time and money allow.  Updates will be posted as this adventure unfolds.  Thank you for your time and as always, I look forward to your questions and comments.

LARGE PESTS IN THE GARDEN

Pests are always a consideration in the garden.  There are all manner of creepy crawlies waiting with baited breath to devour any seed before it can sprout or to nibble and suck on any new shoot.  While these are a nuisance and harmful to the garden, there are also lots of creepy crawlies waiting to nibble and suck at these pests to keep them in balance.  Not using pesticides (which tend to remove the balance by more effectively killing the good ones than the bad ones), a little soapy water and some manual removal of pests to shift the balance in your favor works well.

However, the most notable pests in my garden are not so numerous, but much more destructive.  Yes, I am referring to the local wildlife.  Living in the woods means an abundance of wildlife and they are always hungry.  Over the years, I have tried numerous methods of repelling the local wildlife to no avail.  Blood meal, fishing line and harsh deodorant soap, to name a few.  The deer actually ate the soap before munching the apple trees.  Rabbits seem totally indifferent to any attempt.

These photos should serve as an example of the destruction.  On the left is a picture of my green bean row about a week ago, and the one on the right was taken over the weekend.  As you can see, the more recent picture has a marked lack of leaves.

I had expected rabbits would nibble them a bit, but this was not rabbits.  Tracks show that I have been invaded by deer.  Not only has the large doe I have seen a few times this summer found my garden, but she is also teaching her two fawns where the food is.
The far end of the okra row has also been defoliated and the okra pods which were almost ready to pick are gone.  I had no idea that deer liked okra, but it seems they do.

Over time, deer populations have fluctuated greatly in response to the increase and decrease of local hunters.  The past couple of years with almost no hunting in the area has led to a much larger population.  Since there are not enough large predators in the area to keep the population stable, hunting is the basic means of keeping the deer herd from overpopulating and becoming a nuisance.

Hopefully, next year I can plant enough (and enough variety) to supply the wildlife and have enough left for my own use.  Meanwhile, one has to remember that, unless one is a vegetarian, the garden is not the only source of food on the homestead.

If anyone has suggestions for keeping the wildlife out of the garden, I would gladly try just about anything that I haven't already tried.  So far about the only thing I haven't tried over the years is a wildlife proof fence, and with a large garden such a fence is cost prohibitive.

Thank you for your time and interest, and as always I look forward to your comments.  

LAUNDRY DAY (A Necessary Evil)

Like it or not, clothes get dirty.  On a homestead, with all the outdoor work and sweat, dirty equals very dirty and smelly.  Like it or not (and I don't), laundry has to be done.  No problem, right?  Just throw it in the washer and come back in a while to put it in the dryer.  But wait!  This is not only a homestead, but a homestead that is working toward off grid.

When weaning one's life from the dependency on electricity, sooner or later appliances, including the washer and dryer, have to go.  This makes laundry a whole different activity.  It can no longer be a hurried part of multi-tasking, or something the machine does while we entertain ourselves elsewhere.

One must think what it takes to do laundry.  Simple really, hot water, soap, a way to scrub out the dirt, more water to rinse and a means of drying.

Personally, I start by pumping the water.  Yes, that is an old hand dug well and a hand pump.  The bucket (nasty green plastic thing that I don't like but it serves a purpose) holds 5 gallons which equals about 20 strokes of the handle.  The whole laundry process takes 4 buckets which doesn't take long. This will sound like a lot of work to some people, but it is also a form of multi-tasking, as switching hands on the handle gives both arms a good workout and saves on exercise time at the gym.

But wait!  I said hot water!  Obviously, this well is not producing hot water and is certainly not pumping it through pipes to a water heater.  The electric water heater is another cord that has been cut in the efforts to go off grid.

Heating water is an age old process and my Grandmother's old cook stove still works quite well.  It only takes a few minutes to get the fire started, and other chores can be done while the fire does its work (multi-tasking again).  The large stock pot full of boiling water is enough to make the remaining 8 gallons of water too hot to put your hands in, so it has to cool for a while, leaving time to do more things (on this particular day, it provided time for further testing of building materials for a previous post).

If you need an element of danger to make this all exciting, here it is.  Carrying a pot of boiling water 50 feet across the, not so smooth, back yard should qualify.  A little caution and all is well.

With water in the tubs, it's time for scrubbing.  Nothing quite like an old fashioned wash board.  At this point, I can almost hear people complaining of sore and bleeding knuckles.  I have heard so many stories of knuckle damage from the washboard that I have lost count.  However, I have never experienced that problem.  Maybe I'm just not doing it right, as I never use my knuckles for scrubbing.  I use the flat part of the finger between the first and second knuckle instead, and make a point of not letting skin touch metal.

Hand wringing of heavy items such as jeans, between wash and rinse and after rinse, can make the hands a little sore at times, but nothing too serious.  If one wants to ease this problem, there are hand crank wringers available.  Having had access to one in the past, I will say it makes it easier, especially when there is a lot of heavy items to do.

What soap to use?  I am currently using a good quality, natural coconut oil based soap from the dollar store.  It is a bar soap (which I prefer) and it works quite well.  Home-made lye soap is my favorite, but this will serve until I can find time to make up a batch.

All done and taking advantage of the sun and wind.  The whole process took about an hour from start to finish (excluding heating time).

I won't say this makes sense for everyone, but for me it really does.  For my purposes, it gives me more control for adding more clean to the areas that get dirtiest, like the front of pants legs and shirt collars.  Also, for me at least, it is a peaceful activity that doesn't take a lot of thought, which allows my mind to wander creatively.

As added bonuses, doing laundry this way only takes about half the water, none of the electricity and I don't have to hear the low level noise of the machines.  With the use of all natural soap, the water can also be recycled into the garden for irrigation.

As I said, not necessarily for everyone, but for me it is just another step toward off-grid self-sufficiency.  Thank you, and as always, I look forward to your comments.

BEAUTIFUL DAY !!!! For staying in by the fire

Yes, it was a beautiful day, cold, cloudy, a breeze and SNOW.  The kind of day that you curl up by a nice warm fire with a good book and great cup of coffee (or cocoa, or whatever you prefer), and enjoy looking at it through a big window.  Since it is Sunday, I decided that I would do just that,  OR NOT.

Seriously, the first sentence is true, but I live on a farm.  The rest of that first paragraph is my wildest
Rockwellian fantasy.  I have always heard that it is supposed to be that way, and I have even tried to pull it off a few times, but that is simply not farm life.  There is actually more outside work in bad weather than in good, and generally less time to fit it in, since the days are shorter.

Here, the animals need extra bedding, extra feed, warm water (at least warm enough to be liquid), and don't forget that the predators that would take the small livestock are hungry and restless too.  Added in the mix, is the fact that the garden has not yet been tilled under after harvest and the cover crop is already a month late in being planted.  There are at least a dozen other projects on the list that are at least that far behind as well.

It wasn't snowing too heavy, so I decided to till up the garden so it would be ready for me to sow rye as soon as this cold spell passes.  That went pretty well, at least to start.  The tiller started and ran nicely and the soil was only a little on the wet side of just right.  As you can see from the photo, that went pretty well, at least to that point.  Notice the considerable amount of un-tilled ground and the location of the tiller at the far end?  At exactly that point, the tines struck a rock and the drive belt broke.

Refusing to let such a trivial matter spoil such a beautiful day, I checked the price of a new belt (not as pricey as I thought), vowed to pick one up next trip to town, and went for a leisurely walk in nature to reflect on the beauty of the day.  Alright, it WAS a walk in nature.  It was not leisurely because I didn't have a lot of time before the animals had to be cared for.  My reflection on the beauty of the day was more like checking for pecans (which the wildlife have already devoured), checking to see that hunters hadn't cut fences on the back side, and the off chance of bringing back some of said wildlife for supper.  No nuts, no meat and fortunately, no hunter damage.  Still a beautiful day.

I got back in time to start the cook fire, and take care of the critters while potatoes and cornbread cooked (no meat this time).  All done by dark.   Now I am sitting here, having eaten far too much, and drinking some really good campfire coffee.  Yes, though not my fantasy day, a really beautiful day for which I am truly grateful.

PREPARATION FOR COLD WEATHER!!!

We have been enjoying some really gorgeous days here this fall, with a little frost some nights and t-shirt weather most afternoons, but that is set to change.  They say we have a serious cold front coming through early next week.  We will certainly see if they know what they are talking about this time.

With these things in mind, I should have spent the whole day yesterday preparing for the coming cold.  What I actually did was run some errands early, then went to cut and haul some wood.  NO, NOT FIREWOOD, that would have been immediately practical.  The wood I cut and hauled was for turning in my lathe.  It then had to be sealed and today will be stored, to dry for a year or two.  That is preparation, right?  Of course it is, just not preparation for next week.

While I was getting the turning wood, I made arrangements to trade firewood for goat hay.  That too is preparation, but for a couple of weeks later.  At least it is for this winter instead of two years down the road.

Of course, while I was running errands, I did get a sack of rye seed to plant in the garden as a cover crop.  It is later than I like to sow rye, but hopefully it will be alright.  It really needs to be planted this year, since the potato crop had nematode damage and rye helps with the nematodes.  Wish me luck.  Once again, preparation but for springtime, not next week.

In fact, the only thing I prepared for the short term was a walking cane.  Yes, a walking cane.  It is made from a beautiful piece of black locust root and may very well be needed if the weather coming in makes my knees much more stiff and painful.  Besides, I had to do something while the potatoes cooked over my little cook fire last night.  And with that bright moon and the firelight, there was plenty of light to work.

Bottom line (yes, there is always a bottom line), is that I seem to always be preparing for a distant future, at the expense of the more immediate.  I will have to work on that.  After all, springtime and years away are good to prepare for, but it does no good if you don't make it through next week. 

Wish me luck and any suggestions are more than welcome.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Happy Halloween from Hare Brain Farms! 

Yes, it is Halloween, and the first freeze warning here.  Time to pick all the chillies and tomatoes (ripe or not), pick the last of the okra, put extra bedding for the goats and rabbits and get ready for a fire in the workshop.  If the weather forecast is correct, 25°F, while not really that cold, will certainly take down all the tender plants and make it a bit uncomfortable.

As always, I have been putting off preparing for the inevitable freeze as long as possible.  I always hate to see the growing season end, but the feel in the air says it is time (can't trust the weather forecast at all, but the bones don't lie). 

Tomorrow will start the winter routine of cutting wood instead of grass, of feeding hay instead of fresh green vegetation, and of preparing the garden for next year instead of harvesting this year's bounty.

And so the seasons of the year and the cycles of farm life continue.

Have a great Halloween, and don't get SPOOKED.