the idea was to homestead in another state, one from a long list of ever changing possibilities, but with time and the evolution of circumstance, we settled in NJ...i know, insert joke here..and my born and raised lived here all my life ass can relate to all of them, but i can say that there are exceptions to the rules, and there are pockets of this state that have not succumbed to the nothing, well, at least not entirely. Anyway, we lucked upon a little piece of land with decent soil, lots of critters, and good vibes. The sunsets are magnificient and the summer honeysuckle intoxicating. There are still honest to god trees, the birds sing like mad, and the water from the well is sweet and so cold it hurts your teeth. We have an old.......i mean old..trailer on the property with electric,, which is where i am tapping this out...but mostly we live in a tipi, our beautiful canvas home, it stands strong in the best winds and keeps all but the most tenacious raindrops out. With a fire going inside, it'll wrap you up like a womb and keep you warm when the temp drops as far as it may in this part of the country. There is nothing like sleeping with the Earth right up against you, so strong and loving, embracing. She is a magnificent mother, i love her dearly. Home means different things to different people, but when i look to the back of this land we've settled on, at dusk, and our tipi is glowing orange, or when i peel back the door and a low ancient fire smolders, a pot of something from the earth bubbles fragrant and inviting, that's home. We planted our first real crops this year, with love and respect, and they are doing well, more on this, and other goings on here, later. I don't know if this is the place to post this, or if anyone cares to hear it, but i like talking about it, and though this part of the country is not all bad, there is a certain lack of people that are sympathetic to my way of life, that view me as anything but a throwback, oddball, cave dweller...etc...all monikers that i proudly smile at and accept.
anxiety of the lack of rain broken today as the skies opened up and everything drank deep, almost an audible sigh in the air to accompany my own. There is a majestic power in a good thunder banger and I took off my hat, raised my face to the rain, soft and cool and beautiful. Even the chickens, who are normally skittish about the rain, seemed pleased with the sudden dousing. Corn's about 3ft high, dark green and growing fast, hungry and eager. Three types of squash fill in the gaps, and pole beans are winding up their supports. Sweet potatoes look great, though i have to be vigilant that my deer brethren only take their share, and the turnips seeminlgly can grow anywhere, in anything. Our blackberry canes are bursting with juicy black fruit, and now that the blueberries are winding down, breakfast is eaten outside, barefoot, standing by the blackberry rows with stained fingers. The peach trees are setting fruit, so sweet, so seemingly gentle but strong in actuality, and the grapes are pulling their supports down with the weight of clusters of fruit. Watermelon, the thing i am at the moment most impatient for, is on the vine but not ready yet, same with the canteloupe, but cucumbers we got, in no short suppy, as well as tomatoes and, of course, zuchini. We pulled and dried 150 head of garlic and they hang in the barn right now, next to 56 onions, dried and braided and hung, like a picture postcard of times gone, so freakin cool.
ol' lady and i are lookin to build a home, i like the idea of somethin partially underground, with a living roof, lookin' into it now...hopefully permits and codes n' shit wont hold me up too much...yeah right. beautiful cool night last night, smell of rain and a goood breeze blowin. Couple days ago i spotted a fox playing in the back field by the tipi, hopping up out of the hedgerow, playin, got some cool pictures before he took off. Started tearin down the logs i used for raised beds in the salad garden, lettuce and onions are done for now, stacked em' up to be burnt (offered) in the harvest bonfire this fall. Picked up buckwheat for cover crop, gonna sow that soon. Simultaneously working on an earth oven and outhouse, oh.,..and a chicken coop, i have a habit of starting more than one project at a time. We made some awesome blackberry and honey jam, put up a few dozen pints...there's somethin deeply satisfying about the sight of pantry shelves full of food you've grown and put up yourself. Turkeys are almost a constantsight and sound now, one has three babies in tow. The goats, Magic and Wonder, are friendly and funny and amazingly social. They welcome me home and talk like old friends and play like children.
i have some questions for you druid if ya dont mind answering them 1. how many acres of land do u have 2. how much did it all cost you 3. did you ever go to college, or have a professional career before you went out to the country and started living im asking, because, well, im anxious to how i am going to make it, i want to have a farm, and basically live with a extended family of freaks like myself, so im just curious thanks
I don't mind at all brother, ask anything you like. 1. 5, enough for us but very much unfortunately not enough for a community, i hope to change that someday. 2. it was in my lady's family, we just took over the tax payments, which in jersey are ridiculous but nothing compared to the cost of buying land itself. 3. yes, i was lost for a few years, worked for a big company, even started to climb that proverbial ladder, before realizing how empty i was and how far i had gotten from who i knew myself to be. now, it is still neccessary for me to work, another thing i hope to remedy in the future, but i choose jobs that are more in line with my belief system and lifestyle, like for instance, right now i am working at an animal shelter, which is where the goats that share our land came from, as well as our chickens. anything else you wanna know that i dont offer in my little rants, please feel free to ask, peace and love druid
many thanks im just really anxious, since, i dont want to waste no time feeding the machine my time. i have thought about going into massage therapy or accupressure for along time, also some other careers that arent so ethical, *cough, going into law and being a paralegal* even though it has potential for good, or going into the fire department, but i think massage therapy would be most flexible for me so how much food do you grow, enough to live off of, your previous posts related to food gives me the feeling you have alot also, do you use the method of permaculture?
i dont blame you not wanting to waste time, just be careful. we are up to about 80% of our food being grown right here, i still have to buy flour, tea, coffee, and some odds and ends, but the bulk of our food comes from right here. We eat ALOT of it fresh, then freeze, can, and root cellar loads for the winter months. Permaculture, well, i guess the perenial fruits could be consider permaculture, blackberries, strawberries, grapes, and blueberries. there are black walnut trees on the property that we harvest, I planted peaches and plan to plant apples in the fall, and i am always planting a new bed of something somewhere. i have a friend that does massage therapy, she does pretty well with it. you'll find your path peace and love
the county has decided, after pressure from a trucking company that uses our road a lot, to widen the span...the first wave came this week, cut down many beautiful trees that blocked us from view. It was heartbreaking, nauseating. But, we move on. Now is the time to make use of whatever we can, and in the fall we'll replant as much as possible. Watering has to be done daily now, the summer has been very dry and i have to keep a careful eye on anything wilting or otherwise bowing to thirst. The pumpkin patch was mulched with straw and the vines are strong and robust. Watermelon, almost...almost...almost....can't wait. Blackberries provided yet another amazing crop, too many to use or put up, so we sell some to help with those expenses that cannot be bartered for (the electric company doesn't take eggs, bread, or jam as payment....) thinking of putting in a pond next year, but i'm not sure how, i don't want to use a liner, but don't know how else to do it....have to look into that..i'd like one big enough to swim in, summer in the fields makes me long for a cool spot to refresh.
damn trucking company, but i wonder, perhaps to make money, you can open a little shop on the road and sell your products an idea, if you havent already thought of it
yep, we sell the produce that we don't either eat or store for the year, mostly strrawberries and blackberries, cause every third place or so around here has tomatoes and squash for sale, it does ok, enough for some of the essentials.
