Getting Off The Grid - Am I Sure This Life Is For Me?

I am the odd ball of my family that is for sure, they look at me like I am crazy one minute and then I get that look of aha! the next minute. I always knew I was different because I liked stuff that never interested anyone else in the family.

No, I am not into the "country" look or any of that, I actually like the modern look. I do not want a log cabin or dead animals hanging on the walls either. I want closed windows and air conditioning when its extremely hot.

There are a few things that I want and they are : 

1- free power

2- free water

3- food growing in my own yard

People are always saying "sure have yourself a garden then get real, no one gets free power or water." But what they do not understand is I want food growing all year round, 365 days and I want to capture it at its peak and preserve it in my kitchen, in jars for the most part.

Life is crazy as it is and I am wanting to take it a step further, free or a cheap as I can get it, as in $1 packs of seeds.

But there is so much to learn, I am living and learning this lifestyle. I want to know more and more so I buy the books, one at a time and I read it, sometimes I reread it for it to soak up in this thick head.

Get the knowledge and then..... DO it!

So.... I try.

When I was growing up my mom had a greenhouse and she raised and sold houseplants, she passed away and every place we lived after that my dad had a garden in the back yard, till the day he died he had a garden for vegetables and fruits, flowers in the front of the house. I come from a long line of green thumbs. But for the life of me I did not understand the work involved in the greenhouse. Open and vent daily, close before dark. What kind of heat? Well solar for me in the form of drums filled with water, someone told me to use an electric heater, no! If I want to pay for power I would just buy the food and not grow it. 

The greenhouse, maybe I am not cut out for growing in a greenhouse, not yet anyways. But I have not gave up just yet.

 A root cellar? This is what I do need to keep my home canned food cool in the summertime. A plus is storage space too, but who do I get to dig one, someone with a backhoe? How much does those cost to rent or hire? how many blocks do I need? 

Or Should I forget about all the other wants and go for the well first? I am sure they will hit water near the surface, this are is know to flood with the Springtime rains.Not every year but I have seen a couple here since I have been living in this area. I have names of several in the area but have yet to get the courage up to ask " how much?" I am afraid it will cost so much I will just give up right then and there when I hear the cost.

Although I am still on the grid I am learning and doing somethings that I want to try to make money, if one day I need to barter, I make all types of jams and jellies already but I am reading up on tapping trees for syrup and I am about to attempt to make soap.

I am learning about mushrooms and Tony picked a mess of turkey tails yesterday and they are in the dehydrator as I write this, for turkey tail mushroom tea, did you know they are supposed to help cure cancer? Yes I know these are edible mushrooms, so does Tony.

I am also learning about which weeds I can eat and which I cannot, some say do not eat poke weed but I was raised cooking and eating poke weed, we call it poke salad, its all in how you cook it, now eating it raw would make you sick but no one does that! As for the berries of poke weed its used for ink.

If I can manage I would love Chickens for the eggs, fertilizer and meat. When? 

I need equipment, I mean equipment that costs. A tractor and a backhoe would be awesome.

There is more but I reckon I need to sit down with pen and paper and write down what needs to be done here and if I will do it, money is always the problem, everything costs so much.

For many this life would not fit well with them because they depend on others to grow them food or kill the animals for the meat, for me it does fit but I am still not sure if I can make this work, especially at my age and for the most part all alone.

2017 was not a good year for me and the homestead, a few times I was broken and gave up, something in me always got back up again. I have missed a whole month, December, around here because I caught the flu, The homestead does not care, it wants to be tended to and that is something else I need to think about, what if I get sick, who will feed the animals and tend the plants? 

So in 2018 I will see and ask  myself "Can I do this?" or "Do I really want to?"

I often have sleeping dreams of no land and just traveling with a silver bullet, dogs on back of the truck...... Who know where life will lead me.

By Andria Perry

Photos By Andria Perry

Getting Off The Grid - Gifts For Those Going Off Grid

When I say off grid I do not mean I live so far back into the woods I have to pump in sunlight, I mean I live 10 minutes from town and I will still get off the grid one day, sooner than later. 

Seeing as I have most things already and I really do not want a bunch of gifts that would call for power but there are some gifts that a homesteader can use or would love to have. Especially if they are like me and learning as I go before I jump all the way off the grid, plus I want to be more self sufficient and make or gather what I can for free.

Learning is the key, its hard to learn a lesson of no heat in the winter or no food after the garden dies.

So, there are some things that would be appreciated by people like me that do not live like others.

1 - Learn to be a sugar maker

I call it making Maple syrup but others call it sugar making. First you need to read about this amazing way of getting free maple syrup! Go from there and buy the needed items to tap the trees.

2 - Vegetable seeds

Its hard at first because you do not have seed to grow your food, after the first or second year things are easier because we learn how to harvest and save seed for the next growing season. All seed are appreciated!

3 - Soap Making

I like to use every single part of an animal, while I am more a vegetarian some in the family eat meat.  And while there is tallow ( grease) that comes from ALL animals, I need to do something with it and making soap is the best way to utilize the tallow. 

Learning is not hard but sometimes the little things I do not know help, plus a mold would be great so that I maybe can sell the soap if I am in need of cash or for a trade/ barter.

4 - Trees!

Yes I said trees. There is nothing like planting a tree and getting fruits and nuts right out of your own yard or field. While I prefer nuts for the protein some would rather have fruit.

5 - Anything Warm

While most people have a wood burning heater or fireplace some of us are not quiet there yet ( I just learned a valuable lesson last weekend, click here to read :  Off the grid ) So I suggest stocking up on warm clothes and long johns.

Well there you go!  A small list of things a homesteader would love as gifts that most can afford.

The list is long of things one would love to have on the homestead but I think it would be rude to ask for a backhoe or tractor :)

By Andria Perry

Photo By Andria Perry

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Getting Off The Grid - Off The Grid For 2 Days

I was off the power grid for a couple days, Absolutely no power and only a few batteries that did die.

We got an unexpected snow storm, where some predicted an inch and a melt off by evening, we got a foot out here in the woods and most of it is still on the ground. I woke to snow last Friday and it snowed all day.

We lost power early Friday morning and the temps stayed cold enough all day for the snow to continuously fall, the night was down into the 20`s and we had no power and no heat and still snowing.

I am thankful God gave me some sense, I did have plenty of blankets and comforters so sleeping was not a problem but I was lacking because I was not prepared to face a night without any type of heat, Me! Miss get off the grid and live free! Preparing for the worst. 

I have 4 solar powered lights so we were not in the dark and I used all the candles to warm one area, But.......

I do have a fireplace "but" it had not been checked out by a professional, "But" when it got cold enough, on Saturday morning and still no answer about when I would have power back, Tony looked it over, gave it the okay and we built a fire in the fireplace. It warmed Us and the house.

Around 2:45 Saturday evening, with the temps barely at 40 degrees the power came back on. I think God heard me up in heaven screaming "thank you!"

So what now?

Actually I am glad this happened because no matter how prepared I am for other things I was not prepared for a power outage in the winter because of a freak snow storm, if we get anything its usually in February.

The plan :

Tony will coat the inside of this fireplace to make sure there are no cracks or I will replace the unit. Finish cutting down the tree that was struck by lightening and stack the wood in the shed where it stays dry. I have three acres of woods and I can clean up what had fallen and use this for heat. This will be the number one back up while I am still on the grid.

I will buy a small propane tank and a two burner heater, This will be number two back up while I am still on the grid. 

The Plan For 2018 :

I have had enough of being on the power grid, Calling and begging them when it shuts down to restore it just for us to have heat. I will buy some type of solar power system in the year of 2018 for the house and something more for the greenhouse, plants cannot live like this either. 

I have to live and learn sometimes, Kind of felt Gods finger poking me in the shoulder, telling me get busy girl cause you are not there yet.

By Andria Perry

Photos By Andria Perry

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