Growth is a double edged sword. Unchecked, growth can be cancerous and destructive. It is this type of ceaseless expansion that has put our society into the precarious environmental and financial positions in which we currently find ourselves. On the other hand, growth can be regenerative and life-giving. Following a forest fire or a bitter winter, the first green shoots to emerge from the earth bear witness to the earth's ability to restore life in the wake of disaster.

My goal for this blog is pretty simple and open-ended: I want to document and share with family and friends my efforts to incorporate an ever increasing degree of self sufficiency, voluntary simplicity, and environmentally-conscious design into my life as a would be urban homesteader.


Wednesday, October 27, 2010

The other side of crazy...


57 days ago I noted that I was officially entering my crazy time of year. I haven't posted anything since then. To be honest, there hasn't been a whole lot going on around the 'burbstead during that time. Football season has a way of sucking up every last moment of spare time. In 2 short days, I'll be done. THANK GOD!

Fall planting wasn't quite as robust as I would have liked. I got in a bed of lettuce, chard, and spinach, but no peas, beans, or carrots. Next year I will do better. I picked up some blackberry plants for 50% off a couple of weeks ago. I got 6 of them for $15. They're going to be trellised along the fence down one side of the back yard.

I also found a food dehydrator on Craigslist for $15. I've run apples, bananas, and yellow pear tomatoes through it so far. It works like a champ, and it's so much easier than canning. I still want to build a solar dehydrator, but one thing at a time I suppose.

Tomorrow I will turn 31. Honest to god middle aged. Holy shit. Oh well. Tonight the Boy and I are going to see Hank III. It oughta be a damn good time!