The newest editions to the homestead. My friend hatched out some eggs and gave me half of them. I’m feeling very lucky today.
Tag Archive: compost
I’m back in Tennessee. It was an eventful trip. While I was in Alaska, my father passed away. While it was expected, it was still hard. I was grateful to be there and be able to say goodbye though. I did get to see many friends who stopped by to pay condolences. One friend, a chef-and quite a good one at that, stopped by for dinner. I had marinated steaks all day from a recipe on the internet that promised the “very best steaks on the planet” and then found out when I was about to cook them, we didn’t have any propane for the grill. I ended up cooking them on a George Forman Grill. They turned out all right, but it is very intimidating cooking for a chef. The weather there was said to be one of the coldest springs for Alaska and I believed it. It actually snowed the second week in May-not just a light sprinkling, but a full-blown snow storm. It was very disheartening as I was looking forward to spring.
The trip home was a disaster, which was also expected. Of course, I packed too many clothes in the first place. I didn’t need quite so many since I spent the majority of my time in my pajamas–as one should. When it came time to pack to go home, of course I came home with more than I’d left with. I did the sitting on the suitcase as I was zipping technique, but still had to resort to a second suitcase. Then, because the zipper broke, I ended up duck-taping around it several times. I believe that will be the luggage’s last trip. In the end, of course I looked like a “hillbilly”–just one more humiliating experience to add to my repertoire.
The trip home was eventful. Halfway through the long flight from Anchorage to Minneapolis, the guy in the seat behind me kept shoving my seat forward so that it felt like we were experiencing constant turbulence. I would’ve been annoyed, but since it’s a given that we’re all going to be shoved into the plane like over-sized sardines in a small tin, I let it go. Now I’m glad I did. It turned out he was having medical problems-some kind of seizure. The flight attendants came over the intercom and called for a doctor (preferably one with a license to come to the back of the plane). When we landed, everyone had to remain seated until the paramedics boarded and helped him off the plane. The next flight was delayed for 2 hours because one of the flight attendants had a family emergency. The new flight attendant suggested, over the intercom, that since we were so happy she came, we could leave her $5, or preferably diamonds if we chose as we exited the plane. But she was so curt and bossy during the flight, I doubt anyone would’ve wanted to-despite being saved after a 2-hour wait. I’ve come to the determination that flying is never fun. So, in a way, I’m glad to be back–but on the other hand, I left quite a few loved ones behind and I was sad to go.
Take care, All
The recent events of the bombing of the Boston Marathon has left me heart-sick. Every time something of this magnitude happens, I feel a piece of my soul being chipped away and being replaced by an angry, unfeeling heart, intent on revenge. I was contemplating the events of yesterday and how it brought about an effect that chased away any happiness. I realized my soul needed healing from the thoughts of helplessness encompassing me. The Balm of Gilead came to mind, an ancient herb used in healing a variety of ailments as well as is symbolic for the power to soothe and heal. I needed some kind of strong medicine to combat the pure evil it takes to blow up a child.
Since the opposite of evil is decent,good,honest,moral, sinless,upright and virtuous, to combat the evils of society we can do something that would represent these terms. So, today, if you feel overwhelmed by evils of society, do something decent and good for humanity. Do one thing that will help relieve human suffering in some way. This may take the form of donating to a good cause, gathering supplies for a women’s shelter or going to the rest home to visit someone who doesn’t get any visitors, reading them a book perhaps. Just do something that will help wipe away the evil of the day. Don’t let them win. We will never be able to eliminate the evils of society, but we can do something to wipe away the tidal wave of negative feelings and fear they leave in their wake.
Take care, All
P.S. I found out that many comments were being sent to the spam box–so I apologize for not posting your comments. If your comments have not been returned on my blog, I’m very sorry I didn’t think to look in the spam box before now.
Hi everyone,
My new book, “UNPLUG from the Grid” is finally finished. This book should help you set up your PV (solar) system. We’ve included quite a lot of pictures and diagrams to help with the process. We’ve also included sections on how to build a compost toilet and a rainwater collection system. You know that saying, “there’s more than one way to skin a cat,” well if you ask 10 different people how to do something, you’ll get 10 different answers. This is just the way we did it–our answer. Even researching for this book, I came across new ideas and learned new techniques in the off-grid lifestyle. It’s my hope that our experiences might be helpful to someone trying to get off the grid. If you come across something that isn’t in the book, let us know. I’m sure that we will try and update this book over time, adding new technological information as it becomes available.
On a personal note, I’m back in Alaska again. I actually left 80-degree weather for freezing temperatures. Who does that willingly?????
Take care, ALL.
I’ve uploaded a video from our latest venture–trying to make a cheap water filter. Somehow, we didn’t do something right. Please excuse the pajamas, they’re super comfortable. In fact, I think we should be able to wear pajamas “all” the time. Why save the clothing with the most comfort for bedtime?
Hi Friends,
It’s been a few weeks since I’ve been on to update this blog. In that time, I have put in any spare minute possible working on my Off-Grid Book. While “Unplugged” is a memoir about my experiences, I’ve been getting a lot of feedback about how there wasn’t any “how-to” information in it. I took the hint. Bob and I have been working on “Solar Blessed–Building the Off-Grid Home,” for the past few months. Since that time, we have put in anywhere from eight hours to sixteen hours a day, with the majority of our time near the sixteen-hour range. Of course, this isn’t without some pain. My upper back and arms, after spending hours bent over a computer, are strained to the point that for the past two weeks I have been in pain and had a constant headache. It’s so bad, I actually had to visit my massage therapist friend. Might I say, massage therapy is “AWESOME.” I’m not over all my pain, but for one day, I felt like a normal person again.
Despite all the work on the new book, I was still able to take a few minutes of time and put in some lettuce seed and collect the maple sap from the trees we tapped last month. We strained out the bugs, leaves and twigs and set it on the wood stove to boil down. After burning the first batch, we resolved to make sure the second batch came out. When it got down to a certain point, we set the kitchen timer in fifteen-minute intervals. After three days, we had the sap boiled down enough to call it syrup. Wow!!! It was great!!! Nothing at the store compares. Next year, we will start earlier collecting the sap. Since it boils down from a 50-to-1 ratio, I would like a little more than just a baby food jar.
Just a side note, the deer actually pulled one of my buckets off the tree and chewed on it.
Take care,
Hillary
Tomorrow should be a magical day. We’ve had 30-degree nights and 50-degree days. I’m planning to go out and tap the maple trees. A couple years ago I ordered some spouts from Lehman’s. I put them away in a drawer where they stayed. Then last week, my friend called to tell me she’d been tapping her maple trees and had boiled down her maple sap into a syrup and had been enjoying eating it. I realized, gee, I’ve got spouts sitting in my drawer, doing absolutely nothing. So, tomorrow will be the day. She said to use a 7/16 drill. She also said she was planning to tap some other kinds of trees. This friend is also the same one who built her own house and builds rock walls without abandon. If I only had her energy, I might have been sitting on a gold mine of maple syrup by now. Instead, I may end up with a whole cup, but I’m willing to take chances. Wish me luck.
Take care, All.
It’s a new year and with it come resolutions. One of my major resolutions this year is to turn my chaotic life into streamlined version of “simple living.” It’s hard to feel creative when I’m surrounded by clutter and of course it’s hard to clean around all those piles of junk. Step 1-start with the closet. I donned my Haz-Mat suit and went to work. I pawed through the piles and piles of shoes. In fact, if how many shoes a person owned equaled their wealth, I would probably be one of the richest women in North America. I have old shoes I just can’t bring myself to throw away, shoes I wear on special occasions, new shoes with the tags still on them and favorite shoes-that when I found out I liked them enough, I bought 2 pairs just to make sure I would have them if the old pair wore out. Now I found that this resolution is harder to keep than I originally thought, because now I’ve discovered I’m a shoe hoarder. Some people collect baseball cards–I collect shoes. New resolution–streamline my shoe collection. This simple living concept may be harder than I thought. Maybe I should hire a heartless consultant to come in and help me out or go to a hypnotist to tell me I only need 7 pairs of shoes and to make my choice wisely. Either way something has to be done.
On another note–I started writing my next book on the “off-grid lifestyle.” It’s taken up most of my week. I’m hoping that those who are interested in the off-grid lifestyle will find my book helpful and I’m hoping to be able to hit upon some insights that others haven’t suggested. If anyone has any questions that they’d like to have answered, feel free to leave me a note and I’ll try to include it in my book. I’m planning to include a man, as well as a woman’s perspective to off-grid living. My hopes are to have this book done by March or sooner–so wish me luck.
Well, take care All, and good luck with your New Year’s resolutions.
P.S. “Unplugged” is doing well on amazon. Many thanks to those who’ve left me reviews and encouragement. You’re the best!!!
UNBELIEVABLE!!!
Okay, I’ve had it! After getting rid of two copperheads in the garden this spring and feeling reasonably safe that nothing else that could hurt me lurked there, I walked by the garden gate today and saw a 3-foot long Copperhead skin. Dab-burn-it!!! I can’t tell you how frustrated I am. There’s no way I’ll be able to get past my extreme paranoia long enough to fetch the rest of my produce. I ended up picking squash at the edge of the rock wall where I could see directly in front of me. Boomer snarled at the skin–he’s a bit slow when it comes to guarding the homestead. My cat has better hunting skills than he does. This morning, I saw Tom-Tom, my ancient kitty snacking on a mouse. His motivation couldn’t possibly be hunger. I give him 3 snacks a day and yesterday I poured salmon juice over his regular food. I’m chocking his prowess up to being a great hunter.
It’s that time of year again when the ginseng hunters are out. These guys don’t really care if they’re on private property–they park their truck where it can’t be seen and hike all over this mountain hunting ginseng. They’ve pretty much hunted it to extinction. According to law, they’re only supposed to gather at a specific time and then replant any seeds they find. They don’t. That’s why the plant is almost extinct here. Whenever I find a ginseng plant on the property, I break off the above ground leaves so they won’t find it. Once I found a hole where someone had dug right below my house. To add insult to injury, the guy tossed his candy bar wrapper on the ground next to it.
Well friends, guess I’d better start packing. I’m heading to Alaska in a few days to visit family. I’ll write more about my adventures there.
Take care, All.
Toby, my low-life cheatin’ kittie
Someone in a discussion with my sister, wondered who those people were that were upset when their pets ran away from home, because if they had run away it must’ve been because they were bad owners. . . . she thought for a moment, and then answered, “my sister.”
It’s true. I’m THAT person. Here’s the story. I had my cat for over 12 years. She was the first cat we had while here in Tennessee–the alpha and omega of kitties. We found her in the woods and raised her from a kitten. The thing about Toby is she is the ultimate loner and admirably ferocious. I once saw her bring a rabbit out of the woods that was as big as she was, which was quite extraordinary. I, as a cat owner, am very “needy.” I need lots of attention from my animals. So when my cat disappears for months at a time, I assume she just wants her space, and I’m okay with that, as long as she shows up and lets me know she’s okay and happy. But when she moves in with my neighbor, (let’s call him Jeff), that’s when I get upset. What does he have that I don’t???? Better food? I give out kitty treats several times a day and sometimes even break out the canned salmon. Better home? I have a courtyard dedicated to kitties only. Love? Come on, do I really need to go on about my attributes here????
With this loss, I found myself going through the seven stages of grief. First Shock and Denial–how could Toby move in with Jeff? Then Pain and Guilt–did I do something wrong? Does Toby hate me now? Then Anger and Bargaining–I find myself driving by Jeff’s house thinking, “what a @@@itch, when I see Toby lazing in his yard and then quickly finding myself wanting to stop to say hello.” Next, I experienced depression–weeks of just trying to get on with my life, perking up at any stray meow I heard. Followed by some normalcy returning to my life–my other dogs and cats still need attention, walks, hugs, treats as I’m working through my loss. Then finally acceptance–“Okay, so Toby isn’t coming back. I still have two other cats that love my attention and two dogs that watch my every movement, basking in each dog biscuit…..
I guess I’m writing this post to admit that when it comes to my pets, I “MIGHT” be needier than the most obnoxious dog. I have high expectations–as long as they stick around they pretty much own me. I wonder if there’s a 12-step program for pet owners to work through the co-dependency issues.
Take care, All
I finally have Unplugged up on Barnes and Noble for Nook:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/unplugged-hillary-bergeron/1112136489?ean=2940014942355
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