January 24, 2014

It has been a while since I last posted. So indeed we planted our fruit and nut trees and are continuing to add to them. We are trying to finish fencing in our growing area, as the deer are eating everything. We used 20' sections of rebar to cut into three pieces, spray painted them black, and added bird netting to protect our trees from the birds. We are almost finished with our greenhouse using a hoop bender and chain link fencing. We are also on an electricity diet to reduce our consumption to go off-grid. We managed to buy 75 used solar panels for $10 each, but are amazed at the cost of the rest of the components. We are building a solar water heater in the basement. Bought a used water heater for the tank, bought an evacuated tube collector (as it was cheaper to buy it than build our own out of copper piping), and purchased some dc circulating pumps since thermosiphoning won't work for us with the tank in the basement. My husband's favorite phrase is "we are getting there." We have met another family who are doing similar things, so we are trying to inspire each other, and the CRAFT farm tours serve as awesome inspiration. I like the solar books from the 70's, as they don't assume you need an expert to do it.

September 6, 2013

Well, a lot has happened since my last post.  We moved to the farm full time in the fall of 2012.  My husband has switched jobs to being a teacher to have summers off.  I have cut my work hours to half time and work from a home office.  We built a chicken coop and have 15 chickens, had gardens this year that we could preserve, bought a used golf cart to aide in spraying deer repellant on our fruit trees, berries and vines, and have started trying to decrease our spending (even more).  The best deal I have found is exchanging our cell phone plan to a 2,000 minute per year plan from Page Plus Cellular for $80 per year.  We weren't ready to let it go, due to our old (paid for) cars.  I have learned about building, and am trying to fill in while my husband is out working.  What a great place to be!  I am working on a self-study of permaculture at this time.