Officially Off-the-Grid

We are officially off the electric grid now!

About one month ago we disconnected. Unfortunately, we don't have a pv system yet so we are still heavy on the fossil fuel grid. Sigh.

It's been a learning curve.

Keeping the batteries maintained. Making sure we have gas for the generator (which we affectionately call "geny"). Remembering to take our power cord with us to charge the laptop at the library, etc. Weaning ourselves off watching movies in the evening to conserve on fuel used to power the geny which charges the laptop. So much to think about!

It sure will be nice to generate our own solar power soon!

They Fly By

 Looking back on the last year we have so much to be grateful for. Ranching together for one thing! Spring started with baby animals galore: 25 Speckled Sussex chicks, 5 English Shepherd puppies (one never left!), 3 American Milking Devon calves, and a few bunnies. It was quite a springing! ~ We were excited to be invited by the Washington State University extension office to present a rabbit workshop at their local livestock production seminar. ~ We had the pleasure of heartwarming visits from family far away! ~ Reconstructing the fallen bridge has been slow due to unusually wet weather and other setbacks. Priorities can change in the blink of an eye out here. ~ We started building our cabin! ~ The late fall arrival of a small spinner’s flock of Shetland sheep- you should see their stunningly beautiful fleece. ~ And we’ve made so many good friends in our new hometown!

Summer stayed late, and winter arrived late but it’s here for the duration. Last Sunday night over a foot of powdery snow fell. So far this winter we’ve received close to 3 feet, but 2 of that melted during the above-average warm Nov/Dec. With overnight temperatures predicted to drop far below 0 for the next couple days, now it’s a matter of making sure we all keep warm enough. It's been strange weather!

2013 promises to be unlike any other year in many ways. What changes are you personally excited about? We look forward to concentrating on growing more food as we install the vegetable and herb gardens as well as a small berry patch; the cabin will be completed… we can hardly wait to move in; preserving some of the harvest; learning to work with our first crop of wool; and being creative in doing more with less.

One thing is certain… the year will fly by as usual!

Now It Begins

The weeds are cleared, corners staked, holes dug, roofing/insulation ordered. What do these things add up to? We have begun work on our tiny cabin!

Yes, it is a bit late in the season to begin. But my health and our sanity won’t allow another winter in the fifth wheel. So we’re racing the weather to get the concrete into the post holes. Once that is done the floor and roof need to go up quickly, too. From then on it won’t be as much of a race. With it being so small (18x18) it also won’t take long to go up. We have lots of friends willing to help, so we’ll host a cabin raising - complete with hot coffee/chocolate, muffins, soup, etc. for our hard-working helpers!

Photo 1- clearing the weeds off cabin site

Photo 2- weeds all gone

Photo 3- Greer "helps" with hubs for marking corners

Guest Blogger - Offgridbob

"Three Little Words"

    There are three little words that every homesteader needs to know and practice, unless of course you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, and those three words are, ADAPT, ADAPT, and ADAPT. Most the true homestead-minded people I know of have a very tight budget to get by on and when you’re just starting out it gets tighter. For me the fun part about homesteading is being able to adapt to any situation that presents itself while trying to start a homestead. Adapting is not always pretty but is almost always functional. If fact adapting is what puts the fun in functional.

     Let’s take for example gates. The traditional gate will have a swing post, a green round gate fastened to the swing post and some sort of stopping post with a latch of some sort. The traditional cost for this gate at today's gas prices and your 50 mile round trip to the nearest hardware store , you may be looking at gas $15, gate $70 (for a 8 to 10 ft. gate) , treated gate posts $20, gate swing bolts $15, chain and connector $10. So we have $130.00 and a wasted day going into town. Now we adapt saving time and money. Most homesteaders will already have a chain saw or bow saw. Cut two cedar or tamarack posts, locus if you have it is best; pine will work in a pinch also. Put your posts in and put in a traditional barbed wire gate. Actually any strong wire will do. Most homesteads will have some old barbed wire lying around they can use. So far no cost. You could also build a slider pole gate. Instead of one post on either side, you would put two spaced just far enough apart to slide a jack pine pole through that is about two feet longer then the width of the gate. Nail a short length of 2x4 across the gate post for the poles to slide on and you have yourself two gates that cost almost nothing except a little sweat and a nail or two. Does it look as nice as the pretty store bought tubular green gate? Probably not to a flatland city dweller but it will keep the cows in just as well and you just saved $130.00.

     Need a coat rack or a cast iron skillet holder? Here’s what I did by accident. Last year I was burning, and I like to use a four blade pitch fork to cast limbs on the fire. My fires get pretty hot with a big pile of red hot coals. Well I tossed some limbs on and the head of the pitch fork flew off the handle and landed right in the middle of the coals and sank out of sight. After the coals died the next day I fished it out and put it back in the handle and there it sat. Yesterday I wanted to get some sod moved so I got my trusty pitch fork and stuck it in the ground and pressed down and nothing happened. I took the pitch fork out of the ground and it looked like Phyllis Diller with a bad hair day. You guessed it, the temper on the tines were totally gone. I could actually take my bare hands and bend the tines with very little force. I have always wanted a cast iron rack to hang my skillets on so I took the pitch fork and stood it on end with the forks pointing up. I spread the forks out and bent them forward into a nice little arc, and then I did a reverse bend at the tips to form a hook. Now I have a nice little unique hanger that could hold skillets, hats, fire place tools or just about anything. I can pick up another pitch fork second hand for 2 or 3 dollars but to buy a one of kind custom skillet holder would cost at least fifty dollars. 

    The three little words again are ADAPT, ADAPT, AND ADAPT.

Offgridbob