You WILL Survive!

And perhaps you'll THRIVE!!!

No really, I mean it...in our 6 months back in the US, we have lived--actually done quite well--without a TV.  Now that being said, we did again watch five out of six years of the series "Northern Exposure" during that period.  We'll watch it again if you'd like when you visit.

It's amazing what you can learn to live without.  And probably your lifestyle will improve vastly.  Say, you just don't 'have time' to fish.  Well, take the time that you spent watching the tube and I bet you'll now be able to do A LOT of fishing  (I still have to get hooked.).

Of course, the area that we most put time into was our garden. And thanks to 9 Wonderfful Wwoofers, we came a long way in that creation.  And with more vegetables--and I dare say, more vegetarians around--well...you will definitely be eating more healthfully.  

As we also ended up living out of our cooler as the 'new' refrigerator, we also have ended up spending less money on propane.  Our old propane/electrical fridge biting the dust didn't necessarily turn out too bad.  It also made us even more mindful in planning our menu.

One block of ice every second or third day worked great!  

Making changes has proved beneficial for us, and they may do the same for you, and if you really don't like your new lives, just change back!  Promise, you won't melt!

in hono(u)r of Christmas

Lime, Favas, and Season's Bounty

Final Butternut squash take for the season

It's already November, and even though the growing is almost done for the season, there's still much to do including the final harvest of the season--just in time for our Thanksgiving butternut squash pie Brent is planning on making for our big family meal together at the end of the month...

There's bags of lime to put down (Most has been completed.); even though everything grew very nicely this season, a pH of only 5 seems a bit low for optimum production...

There's a sizable bag of fava beans that have been carefully planted in all the areas we "degrassed" at the end of the season that will serve as this year's cover crop to add nitrogen to our soil.  I've planted them in various ways to see what technique will prove most .

And there's a lot of landscaping in our efforts to beautify the entire planting area and to add some interest to our homestead (See the round river stones in the picture that follows.); many plants that the deer found tasty in the arboretum have been moved near to the cabin to help make them less desirable...

the 'limed' garden down from the partially landscaped swath
of ornamental plants and river rock


Watch for future developments!!!