An update

Suffice to say, I am not very good at blogging when it comes to committing myself to it.  Here I have all these viewers and I haven’t updated in four months.  Here’s what’s been happening around here...

From when we looked at this place for the first time we knew there was a sense of magic about the air.  The gentle breeze drags the scent of trees and earthy clay, leaving the taste of

sunshine on the back of your tongue; the trees for all of their magical, towering glory make only distant squeak of protest while they dance in that wind.   It’s not all perfect...

Just before the day breaks into a sunshiny glow, the birds scream and sing in revelry over what is to come, fighting and squawking and rapidly chasing one another through the air.   When they are silent, you can hear the squirrels bouncing off of seemingly too small branches to send a cascade of redwood feathers and dew to the ground.  This takes place at about 5am.  Do you know what the world looks like at 5am?  Dark and cold and angry; but the birdsongs are ethereal.  

Every morning, Ross and I throw on our PJ’s and amble down to the lower section of our property to make discoveries.  We have found wild roses, strawberries, irises, thimbleberries, various orchids - there’s always some beautiful bloom or otherwise edible treat to be found on this acreage.  At this time we also find mosquitos who are delighted to have fresh breakfast delivered to them on the daily (that’s us.).  Sometimes we want to go further but Ross is allergic to poison oak so the travels are not always so easy.

I haven’t been to the creek in ages.  I went down there and there were so many mosquitos I couldn’t move without eating a swarm - I am not going to lie: I cried like a baby and whined at Ross about taking me to rainforest-like areas without the good part (ie the animals and plants *in* a rainforest, versus *just* the nasty bugs).  We learned that there is a bird here who makes a wonderful sonar like sound and he eats poison oak berries.  So there is a use for that plant.  Phew.  

We started a rather large garden, where I have now learned to and have grown the following from non GMO Heirloom seeds:

Tomatoes, Strawberries, Cucumbers (I MADE PICKLES), Dill, Basil, Rosemary, Cabbage, Peas (sugar snap), Beans (bush), Borage, marigold, carrots, oregano, mint, potatoes, onions, spinach, lots of lettuce blends - I’m probably even missing things.  

The following are not finished growing yet, but are working on it: Cauliflower, brussels sprouts, corn, various squashes and watermelon, okra, peppers (bell and serrano), eggplant.  To ward off moles and potential gophers or what-nots, we have everything above ground in grow bags, wooden containers (Ross made me garden beds out of redwood!!!) and pots.  Insects, we have, but we bought tons of ladybugs and attract hummingbirds where we can.  The next step will be bats!  

On May 16th we got hot water - Woohoo!  It was glorious.  Yes, I spent an entire month without hot water.  I boiled water for sponge baths and used a heated hose in the middle of the day to wash my hair.  Needless to say, I wasn’t the cleanest hippy on the hill.  It’s the little things.

So far we have been blessed with good neighbors.  There are new ones up above us that we don’t know much, but the people at the end of the road are good and the lovely woman further up has been super sweet (considering a whole bunch of kids just moved onto her street after 27 years of peace).  

On June 17th I was climbing up the ladder and fell.  I didn’t “slip”.  I was almost all the way up when the ladder slipped out from underneath me (forward) and I landed flat on my back at the bottom of the floor (over 7’).  It hurt!  I bruised large portions of my body and could hardly move my neck for days.  I consider myself lucky - the ladder shattered into pieces as it exploded on top of me, making certain to bruise that side too.  I was mere inches from bouncing off of my oak door.  Luckily my brother gave me “falling practice” by pushing me off a balcony when we were little.  I bounced then too and I still bounce at the age of 31!

I also learned on June 17th that baby skunks are adorable and don’t care about humans being in their way.  Looking forward to more Baby Pepe’s next year.  We may lose out because we got a puppy.

BARLEY!

Living in the Tiny House did NOT make us tired of each other.  Actually, Ross and I are closer than ever (we haven’t had a winter yet, so check back when we’re stuck inside :P) and wake up with big smiles every morning.  Living without mirrors or scales doesn’t hurt either - neither one of us really has time to think in vain.  

I have a tan now - I know, sun is bad, but I have a tan and I forgot what it was like to live under florescent lighting.  

One day I woke up and told my friends and family I wanted to quit working, build my house, move to the middle of nowhere and live off the land.  Then I quit working, built my house, moved to the middle of nowhere and am currently growing food to live off the land- all in one year.

HOW COOL IS THE POWER OF HUMAN WILL? Good friends help!

Now, I WILL plan a wedding and I will also get married this year, just to make it harder to beat 2014 in "perfect".

So you can tell yourself "I would like to..." forever, but I can tell you DOING is a hell of a lot easier than doubting OR hoping.

Time to start a new post... I’ll explain what’s been going on with the outdoor kitchen, which seems to be popular curiousity.