Posts Tagged ‘Suburbia’
Labor Day Indeed!
I know it’s long past the Labor Day weekend and I am woefully late in posting anything on the blog, but it’s been one of THOSE months and it has barely just begun. Between working on the greenhouse (a pleasurable labor to be sure), starting a new job and family issues my days have not been my own lately. But—this post isn’t about sleepless nights or long days. It’s about a greenhouse and the future of growing things and the self sufficiency it brings.
Since Brianne left for college my sis and I, two single women farming in suburbia, have been trading weekend labors at each others house, and Labor Day Sunday was my day.
We started early, trying to get as much done as we could before the heat and uncharacteristic humidity drove us inside. The roof of the greenhouse went up earlier in the week. A clear poly corrugated style with a ridge cap and an old copper rooster weathervane I’ve been hauling around for decades. I think all farm building should have a weathervane. We concentrated on finishing the plank siding inside and out, measuring and cutting and nailing the rough hewn whitewashed boards, moving around each wall like two dancers floating over a shiny polished floor. I am always in awe at how in sync sis and I are when we undertake one of these projects. It’s like we can read each others mind, handing off tools before they are asked for, fetching more wood before the last piece has been used, refilling water glasses without request. I guess when you live around someone, work with someone for as long as we have you get a 6th sense about each other and you instinctively know what comes next.
The rhythm of the work was steady and somewhat mesmerizing because with no regard for the weather we worked straight through the day, not breaking for lunch and right into the evening. We finally stopped when the sun cast a long shadow over our work, making it hard to see in the dusk. There is some left to do, and of course stocking it with my garden supplies, tools, seeds and soil will be more fun than labor, but that is still a weekend away. We have a few trim pieces to put up and build the planting shelves, but for the most part the long awaited greenhouse is done.
By the time our heat wave breaks I may be ready to start a few early spring flowers, a cool weather garden or some fall veggies. I might even try my hand at wintering over a few tomatoes; fresh tomatoes at Christmas sounds wonderful.
Work is so much more fun when it is shared.
Frugal Living: Living Well Without a Job and With (Almost) No Money
Looking to bypass the money economy? By adopting “possum living,” it is possible to get the good things in life without having to go to a boring, meaningless, frustrating job to get the money to buy them.
It brings new meaning to Frugal Living.
In this excerpt from Possum Living: Living Well Without a Job and With (Almost) No Money, Dolly Freed shares why she decided to shun the rat race and live off the land on a half-acre lot outside Philadelphia.
Originally published in the late 1970s when Freed was 18 years old, Possum Living is part philosophical treatise, part down-to-earth how-to, and provides a no-nonsense approach on how to beat the system and be self-sufficient — right in suburbia.
Living Well Without a Job and With (Almost) No Money
Looking to bypass the money economy?
By adopting “possum living,” it is possible to get the good things in life without having to go to a boring, meaningless, frustrating job to get the money to buy them.
In this excerpt from Possum Living: Living Well Without a Job and With (Almost) No Money, Dolly Freed shares why she decided to shun the rat race and live off the land on a half-acre lot outside Philadelphia.
Originally published in the late 1970s when Freed was 18 years old, Possum Living is part philosophical treatise, part down-to-earth how-to, and provides a no-nonsense approach on how to beat the system and be self-sufficient — right in suburbia.
Doing The Research
Three Easy Steps To Get You Started – Homesteading In Suburbia
Part Two of a Three Part Series
STEP TWO – Doing The Research
Now that you’ve discussed your homesteading ideas with the family and have a list of homesteading activities you’d like to pursue it’s time to see how much of it is possible.
Using the answers to the questions in STEP ONE find out what is allowed by your city or Homeowners Association (HOA), if you have an association. This becomes especially important if raising livestock or installing solar or wind energy is on your list of homesteading activities. Even asking about installing a clothes line can be important because some cities prohibit the use of clothes lines for aesthetic reasons. But there are ways around that, which will be discussed later.
Remember though, not all questions will need an answer by the city or HOA, but they will need to be answered.
To make the process easier, list all the questions that need an answer. Then decide if the question needs an answer by the city or HOA or some other resource. Then call each one. Don’t just rely on one entity for your final answer because HOA regulations may differ from what the city allows. And, in some cases the HOA rules may override the city.
Questions like “Are chickens allowed in my area? Or, “How far does a compost pile need to be from my property line?” are common.
Sometimes it’s easier to visit City Hall in person. That way you can talk with the proper department or multiple departments without having calls transferred and possibly disconnected. Also, if there is a fee for printed materials or a “no mail” policy for printed materials you will already be there to handle it. The goal is to get the information you need as quickly as possible so you can start your homesteading projects.
The categories below follow the question categories in STEP ONE and list some simple questions you may need answers to. Read the rest of the story »
Suburban Homesteading – One, Two, Three
Three Easy Steps To Get You Started – Homesteading In Suburbia
Part One of a Three Part Series
Starting a suburban homestead can be a daunting task, not to mention gleaning through the mounds of information and trying to scale it down to meet the needs of your suburban homestead. With this in mind, Suburban Homesteading – One, Two, Three will lay out the basic steps for turning your suburban home into a productive homestead.
During the homesteading era of the 1800’s, a family’s primary concerns were to provide shelter, warmth, food and water. But for the modern day suburban homesteader, these are either already provided through the home (i.e. heat and water) or easily accessible as in the case of food from a grocery or big-box store. So, homesteading becomes a choice rather than a necessity. Even though you have time to think about what you want to do as a suburban homesteader, there are still practical steps each family should take. And the first step to take is to PLAN.
STEP ONE – Having the Family Discussion
If you’ve been thinking about turning your humble suburban lot into a thriving, productive “mini-farm,” discuss it with your family first…kids included. It’s difficult to homestead alone, and without the family’s “buy-in,” it can be an uphill struggle.
Talk about the kind of homestead you want to have and how self-sufficient you want to become.
The most important step in a successful homestead that doesn’t overwhelm you is “THE PLAN”. Since this is the beginning stage of the plan, dream big and list everything you want to do, be and have. Don’t worry about having enough space or buying the right supplies, there are plenty of people who grow food on apartment balconies or on condo patios.
Reality will set in soon enough – forcing you to scale down your plans and be a bit more realistic. But, for now, the sky’s the limit.
To help get you talking about the possibilities a sampling of questions you and your family will want talk about is below. As you go through this process, more questions may come to mind. Include any of your own questions along with the answers to the list that is provided. This is by no means all the questions that should be asked. They’re provided just to get you thinking.
The answers to some of these questions will depend on the amount of time and effort you want to dedicate, and can dedicate to your homesteading venture.
Be sure to write down your answers so you’ll have them for future steps in the process. Read the rest of the story »
Recent comments
Aenean nonummy hendrerit mauris. Phasellus porta.