Hello Everyone!
Silence paired with espresso, Reflections on a year in, Farming priorities, A tornado warning & First flush is a must!
Alright, I woke up just before midnight again... and have been enjoying the silence (that tends to only exist around here during the wee hours of the morning) as I sip my overly strong espresso. As I have said before, these 'quiet' times have become quite enjoyable to me lately... and it is really no wonder that my sleeping pattern keeps 'accidentally' shifting to where I wake up just as the 'silence' begins each night.
On occasion, I have also begun staying up for an hour or two (after waking way too early) simply to 'soak in the solace' as much as I can... before letting myself drift back off to sleep. During those times, I often feel inspired to work on things outdoors... but I of course avoid doing that given what a ruckus that doing so would probably cause with various neighbors.
In many ways, I simply miss being in the actual woods... and while this 'once agricultural land now heavily impacted by urban sprawl' rural area is assuredly 'off the beaten path' it is far from being in the woods. Not that that has stopped me from continually plugging along here... but the lack of feeling rejuvenated by the place (even after my hikes) tells me all that I need to know.
Regardless of all the challenges, lack of ideal conditions, the steep uneven terrain, limited resources, the general neighborhood etcetera... the stress has yet to break me. I would not go so far as to say that the previous year here has been 'good for me' or anything... because I could have assuredly done without most of the hassle, loss, stress, trauma, anxiety and all the mess of dealing with problematic two-legged critters.
The truth of the matter, is that for someone that just wants to be left alone to live in peace and build my farm... I should not have had to have dealt with even a tenth of the horseshit that I have had to deal with. At a very fundamental level, I have to acknowledge that the harassment and the lack of privacy has repeatedly disrupted my farming endeavors to one degree or another.
I am sure that folks gloss over that part of things when considering my scenario... but I made up my mind on day one that I would be best suited to either sell the place outright (and try again elsewhere) or focus solely on making the place a farm... not a home. That distinction is not one that I made lightly... and not a stance that I have shifted away from... and if anything it is a stance that I have quite steadfastly remained in this entire time.
My point in all of that (aside from reflecting on where I am at one year in) is that many folks (especially my close friends and neighbors) seem to forget or not know that my sole focus with the place is an agricultural one. So for me, I am not letting myself form attachment's to the place (except for my old dog's grave here) because spending a bunch of time on a long-term setup for myself simply is not the goal.
None of that is to say that I cannot eventually turn the place into somewhere that is cozy enough for living at... because I have already achieved that or I would not be here typing all this out in the wee hours of the morning from the comfort of my bed. Which is to say that, I have 'made do' and honored one of the whole points of the 'tent camping' stage of these 'adventures' of mine... which is to not get too comfortable doing it.
Plus, if I get too comfortable I will alas run out of fodder for things to complain about in these entries. All humor aside though, I could complain way more than I actually do... about any number of things across a broad range of topics... but the longer that I have been making these entries for... the less inclined I am to spend too much time complaining in them.
For those that are curious, I am now three thousand and sixty days into 'sharing my life' and whoa... it has been one heck of an incredible, surreal and often peculiar journey along the way. It is kind of funny but I still keep the 'main timeline' going in my mind... and at Day 3060 of it... I am just like: Whoa you only have one year under your belt in this wee string of new entries!
On a related note, I got the 'days' (for this Adventures In Homesteading series) skewed somewhere during the course of the previous year... so I included the 'extra' days in the title. Mayhaps, if I am making these entries more routinely I will be able to not get off track again... but hey this far into the 'apocalypse' anything is possible.
Anyways, yesterday was not very productive, turned out to be super rainy and it began with a tornado warning on my phone... because apparently a tornado touched down not all that far from this area. Having just been writing about underground dwellings mere hours before that warning came in... my only thought was: That sure confirms that I need to get onto building something below ground stat.
Thankfully, before the heaviest rain event of the day began... I moved my smaller rain water barrel under the edge of the tarp and it is now nearly full. Before another big storm rolls in today, I want to move the 'drinking' water barrel under the edge of the tarp... and get as much water in it as I can over the next several days of bad weather.
I know that I keep mentioning it lately... but I really want to get as much water stored away as I possibly can before the summer and fall arrive when it will be much drier. The previous summer really drove it home to me what the place is like here when it does not rain... and the clouds of limestone road dust from the road descends over half the place... and does so 'like a fog' with enough vehicular traffic!
That same dust represents my only real obstacle with harvesting rainwater off the building roof... and the only way that I can see to effectively deal with it is to have a 'first flush' system that does not allow the initial runoff water to reach the main system. As annoying as it is, that is just going to have to be a part of things if I am ever going to make that system truly viable as a good water source... because there is just that much dust.
One way or another, I will get that all sorted out long before the winter... so I need to figure out if I am going to keep the water from freezing this winter with compost or not. If so, then I need to calculate that into my initial setup (for the water system) and start the compost for it all as soon as possible... so that it is large enough (and active enough) to provide sufficient heat throughout the colder months.
Well, I think that is all the words that I have in me for this entry. I hope that most folks are doing well. See everyone on the flip-side... or not.
Thanks for reading!
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Cheers! & Hive On!
All content found in this post is mine!