sustainability

As winter approaches there is a lot of work that has to be done in order to prepare. I usually start with the garden.

There is a myth surrounding acorns that states Acorns are poisonous and can’t be eaten! Acorns can be eaten, but you wouldn’t want to just pick one up and eat it. There’s a leaching process that must be done in order to make the acorns edible.

In some states, it’s illegal. In other states, it’s as common as turning on the faucet. What is it I’m talking about? Harvesting rainwater. Deterring the flow of rain runoff into a giant barrel can have its perks when it comes to saving water. But is it eco-friendly? The outlawing of rainwater collection would leave one to believe it is not. I imagine hoarding water that would naturally provide a source of water for plants would not be beneficial. Yet, what if that same rainwater were instead collected from roof runoff?

One of my favorite parts about living on a farm or off of the grid is getting to work with the animals. Chickens are usually the first animal people get on a farm – or sometimes even in a backyard.

There are literally hundreds of chicken breeds out there. You could look at pictures and decide which ones you want to raise according to looks but I recommend looking into some things. Important factors to consider when choosing a chicken:

Sustainable gardening is a green-gardening practice that is quickly increasing in modern popularity. The whole concept wrapped around the idea of sustainable gardening is eco-harmony. Sustainable gardening means working with nature and the environment, and not against it. By being conscious of how you impact the environment and preserve our earth’s resources when gardening, you are greatly contributing to the harmony and balance of this planet.

The Autumn Equinox is one of my favorite seasonal transitions to experience. Don’t get me wrong – I love all of the seasons and I appreciate the changes, but Autumn is just the bee’s knees.

Living off the grid provided me with several encounters with nature in many forms – whether it was the weather, creature critters or the growing forest. Some of my favorite encounters were with animals and I love them all. I was far enough out in the woods that spotting wildlife was as easy as finding a game on ESPN. I have so many experiences but today I will share with you a few of my favorites.

The Big Bear

No matter the lifestyle you are living, there are bound to be certain worries that come along with it. I lived “on the grid” for most of my life. In 2012 my little family and I decided to plunge ourselves into the woods and off of the grid. As I studied, practiced, and prepared for this transitional tidal wave of a shift, I realized that my worries and concerns would now be different in many ways. It was interesting then, and still is today, to sit back and compare the differences.

Before electricity, the fireplace or wood stove was the heart of every home. For those of us that live off of the grid, we know that fire is life, just as it was back then. Fire is everything: it provides heat for warmth and cooking and provides light at night.

Everything about fire serves a purpose in one way or another:

It is estimated that more than half of the world’s population is sustained wholly or partially on rice. The grain has been cultivated in Asia for centuries. In several Asian languages the words for rice and food are the same. There are thousands of varieties of rice, but the original form of the grain is unknown. From Asia, it traveled to India, the Mediterranean basin and Europe, and finally Africa.