For the last two weeks I have been living off the grid by myself … and the girls of course because Phil has been at training. I am now getting the hang of doing everything by myself and it feels pretty awesome to know that I can be self-reliant out here.
The only hard thing to deal with is the dark. I’ve seen some very intense horror movies. I have been chopping my own firewood and buying my kindling. I still don’t trust myself to cut kindling.
To start a fire, I have no shame in telling everyone that I use a fire log, kindling, paper and a blow torch. I just don’t have the “time” to properly build a fire.
Great news! Our baby chickens have successfully lived in the chicken coop for two weeks and none of them died. We are still needing ducks and a goat or two. I’ll find some eventually — hopefully they are local. The seeds we planted have started to sprout.
I may be a little more excited than everyone about it. I’m going to build a hot box on the porch to see if I can keep lettuce and herbs year-round. After conning Phil into my greenhouse ideas, they were quickly changed back. I’m going to keep my tomatoes, peppers and patty pan squash in there.
My brother’s girlfriend Terra had suggested that we get together this weekend with our regular group of friends and work in the orchard, on the big greenhouse and do some yard work.
Her parents are going to come help out as well. Her father is handy like Phil and her mother is a gardening guru. So anyone who wants to get dirty is welcome to join. The help is much needed. I was able to get the sticker bushes cut back from the road last week while the girls napped.
They grow so fast! Now I just need to purchase some gravel and fill in the potholes. My brother Tanner told me he is two trips away from graveling the walk way to my house from the driveway. I told him he could fall an alder and put in some thin rounds down for a trail. It would look like the Cape Flattery trail.
Since living off the grid, my family has been able to save some extra cash because we don’t have the extra added bills like water, electricity, cable or my favorite … the Internet. We were able to take Riyan and two of her friends’ ziplining on Camano Island. Our whole family went, actually. It was rewarding in a way because the money we are saving is building family memories. While we were across the water, we visited a nursery in Arlington called Garden Treasures Nursery and Organic Farm.
I keep wanting to call it the Treasure Box, it’s perverted I know. We purchased kiwi trees that will produce by next year, asparagus starts that we will let go to seed this year so we can much more next year, roses, climbing roses for my trellis, rhubarb and so many other things — lots of perennials. They had some really neat Hawaiian strawberries starts. The berry is white with red seeds.
We lefts with a $250 bill but we spend that much on produce a month, so it was no big deal. The staff there was so unbelievably knowledgeable and helpful and the farm/nursery was enormous. It would be something else if we could have a massive greenhouse that was sustainable year-round. Could you imagine a pick your own organic veggies garden in Forks?
