The Rains

Well, It's finally here.  We know it rains a lot in Winter, but we were beginning to wonder if it was going to skip this year.  Rained non-stop for three days and nights, then we got a reprieve yesterday-sunshine all day long! Not in the forecast at all. I looked at accu-weather yesterday and it even said it was raining!  Maybe the sun must have only been shining here-we sure appreciated the break. Back with a fervor today though and all the critters are snuggled in for the long wait (Tues) The other thing is our road...While I had mud tires put on my Forrester,  and  can get out, the road, the three mile trip to the main road is mostly mud while it's raining, and you drive through several creek beds that, while dry in the dry season, are getting deeper by the day!  It's rustic living-that's part of the adventure.

Today we've got temps in the 50's and lot's of sunshine... Accu-weather shows snow.  I think it's time to look for another weather channel. Just a wonderful reminder to practice gratitude every day. We are so fortunate to be where we are in life, have our health, and to be doing exactly what we want to do.

Outdoor Cooking

Outdoor Cookin'

Chocki Chip Cookies

Pizza!

Afternoon Walk

Manzanita is blooming!

Manzanita-deep red and very hard.

Luna

Onyx 

Cala & Luna resting

Kitties absolutely love exploring.

View of Mt. Shasta

Our Rolling Terrain

Four of these babies will provide us with the power we need to power our computers, a light or two, recharge batteries, and our solar operated fridge, which is in route. Also we ordered a luxury item, which is solar operated....bed warmer pad. We put ours in the sale thinking we would not be able (nor, need to) have one, but it does get quite chilly at nite!

John is quite challenged to put this system together but we have support when we need it from BackwoodsSolar in Idaho where we purchase our stuff, and they are great to work with, so no worries there.

Jan~ We've been taking advantage of the beautiful weather by putting in a kitchen garden outside the front door (me) and John has been working on the veggie garden. We both finished up distributing the manure/soil and it's ready to plant. We're excited to get a crop of kale, spinach, lettuces, mustards, and chinese cabbage. I also got some strawberries, garlic, herbs, and a few flowers. John seeded out some basil and I've got cilantro going already. Lovage is next on the seeding list.

We're also making our list of fruit trees/bushes and vines,while we wait for all the solar components to arrive so we can get the power of the sun up and running...With all the sunny days we've had it'll be great to get off the generator.

Jan 7th~ Had a wonderful time with our neighbors Chris & Kelly last night. Jill is also back from Nebraska so we fired up the outdoor cob and made pizzas, which was a real treat. We finally got the temperature regulated, but I need to work on my pizza crust. The Boboli crust they brought worked out perfect, but I'm challenged to make my own, so I hope to make it a weekly event so I can perfect it. Chris & Kelly will be leaving for Thailand in a few weeks to attend a permaculture workshop so we're excited for them and look forward to sharing their adventure when they return. We're so fortunate to have such a vibrant couple to share ideas, books and experiences with. Finding folks that have the same interests is a rare enough feat, but having them right down the road is superb!

Jan 9th~ ran around today together looking for a few more leafy greens to plant, and a few bare root apple trees-our favorite 'Pink Lady'. When those are planted we'll return for some asian pears, grapes, and other berries. The ground is so doggone hard for lack of rain, so we'll need to get the pick ax out!

Also got some pressure treated lumber and rebar pieces to make some stairs, and begin a terracing our hillside for fruit trees and edibles. Living on a hill has it's challenges, but the view and location is worth the efforts.

Yurt Pics

Working on the Footings

Raising the Roof

Working on the Sky Light

New Driveway

Home Sweet Home

Interior

Springtime

Early Morning Ice

Growing in Progress

Pond of Pleasure

Laundry Day

Kitchen

Bed&Bath

~A dream you dream alone is only a dream…a dream you dream together is reality~John Lennon

To practice being in harmony with the universe, the earth and all that lives on it. This was and is the plan. Self-sustaining, self-subsistant homesteading-growing our own food, building our own home, taking care of our own physical needs, without dependance on the outside world. ~ Scott & Helen Nearing

This lifestyle strikes a chord with both of us for various and personal reasons, but for two people to be in unison is....well John Lennon said it best.Scot Life is so much easier with two people thinking intentional thoughts. It sure has made us both become do-oers as well as thinkers. It just shows one what can happen. We just know we are blessed to have stumbled upon each other 10 years ago, and now we continue to live the dream and life as it and we evolve.

So...we sold our our beloved victorian country homestead, closed our retail garden center after our Spring/Summer season, and hired a local trucking company to drop off a full sized semi trailer. We packed up tight with our household possessions, three greenhouses, John's collection of succulents, and moved 2,206 miles. Away from friends, family and everything familiar to us.  Why would we, at age 60 and 54 do this? Are we crazy?? Absolutely not. Well…at least not in our eyes.  Amazingly enough, we had a lot of support from our customers and friends, and...most of our family. 

Bottom line is we wanted out of the economy driven lifestyle that no longer makes sense for us to live in, and to live smaller in a bigger way.