[Homestead] Old homestead friends

Bevanron erthnsky at bellsouth.net
Wed Jun 7 23:41:11 EDT 2006


Jeez....that's amazing!  YOU are the Wonder Woman!  I don't even know
where to start commenting!  I have been sitting here for 5 minutes now
just thinking WOW!
I really admire people that go off the grid and use alternative energy.
  It's an idea that we never seriously entertained due to the expense.
The best we were hoping for was a passive solar earth-sheltered home in
the back pasture.
I am totally in awe of the school.  Simply amazing.  When you do
something, you do it in a big way, don't you?  That's really a proactive
thing to do and I admire your gumption. Very cool.
I really am speechless, mumbling about, trying to process all that you
have accomplished.  You're awesome....

Bev


Kathyann wrote:

> Oh. I thought you meant you left in mid 90s and I got disoriented. 
> Perhaps that's the answer to how I am, not well locked to current
> time and space. I launched my unschooled son (currently residing and
> enjoying bringing JinShinJyutsu healing and mediation skills to
> council at Arcosanti, AZ, while portfolioing his life into a form
> credentializable by a college.) Baby is turning 10 and doing much she
> was never supposed to develop. The school of our dreams is in it's
> second year (took 6 years of political strife to open.)
> http://www.ridgeandvalley.org  It's a "regular" school but it's base
> of studying directly from the environment is perfect for her picture
> mind. Her teacher inspired her to want to communicate the things she
> is developing awareness of, to communicate in drawing, then writing.
> They do primitive life skills so I get to help with bowdrills and
> flint napping, burning bowls and utensils and foraging edible plants,
> geometry w sticks and ropes and, of course, camping. Takes a very
> skilled eye to recognize her Autism. she's amazing. Home remains a
> struggle between values. We have a "traditional" garden like he grew
> up with in suburbia, complete w spring rototilling and weed overrun
> by summer. I've interplanted edibles in the woods edge with my 
> mushroom logs and added fruit trees. Making jelly has been the only
> hit with him and he cans cherries, apples, peaches, mulberries, wild
> grapes and occasional blackberries. We still get a share in a local
> CSA for real vegetables and I drive a school bus to pay for it. I
> just fell in love with bees and started my first hive. Traditional
> for now, top bar to follow. Predators cleared out the entire chicken
> flock (didn't try ducks again after losing them back when.) New
> hatchlings still indoors to repopulate because we just can't order
> our life without chickens anymore. We lost our tenant who helped me
> by gardening and occasional extra hands and I need to find someone
> who has some skills they'd like to share to take his place (hopefully
> w ability to hook up solar panels we scavenged to heat, the rental
> first then us.) Tenant needed more social life and moved to a city. I
> still prefer nights of frog calls and 1-2 people conversing on
> universal truths under the stars (or not). My social life- 
> permaculture study, beekeepers or cob building on nearby farm. Still
>  haven't fixed the cabins to year round but have summer hope again
> since I won't have to drive to school everyday. House powered by
> solar to 90%+. I traded green credits to a company for installation
> costs and the state rebated 75% system purchase. Still only small
> tank of fish doing aquaculture. Pool unfinished. I can grow most
> anything for starting stages but leave a base of a couple plants to
> keep system stable when I'm not doing anything special. Can't tell
> where the baseball field was. It is finally pasture (reference to
> other list folks reading, we bought an abandoned camp for this
> homestead.) I'm ready to stop raising  sheep just to stop debate over
> him as a shepherd. Need to develop something else farm assessable. 
> Well, that's the catch-up. Glad to see you back.
> 
> Peace, Kathyann _______________________________________________ 
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-- 
erthnsky at bellsouth.net	BevanRon of EarthNSky Farm	NW Georgia USDA Zone 7
34.498N	85.076W




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