Halfmoon's journal

Where are you and where are you going?
Riggerjack
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Re: Halfmoon's journal

Post by Riggerjack »

Being backwoods and minimalism can work together. Think remote monks/hermits, etc. What DOESN'T work is minimalism remoteness, and changing the environment. You were trying for self sufficiency. That requires changing the environment to support you, that requires tools and supplies.

If you were comfortable with a more passive approach, you would need less.

This is NOT me advocating the minimalistic approach to living backwoods. I also have stuff, tools and supplies. And if I were to change anything it would be to have more, not less.

But this is ERE, and the extreme measures should at least be considered. If only to feel better about the choices we do make.

Your stories make me think I need more experience with come alongs. Having a backhoe has made me lazy...

jacob
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Re: Halfmoon's journal

Post by jacob »

I think the concept you guys are looking for is "voluntary simplicity". By deliberately cutting away some aspects, the stuff associated with that can lead to less ownership. Here the means are the activities and the end is less stuff.

Minimalism seems to me to me to come at the problem from the other side: First reduce "unnecessary" stuff and then notice how simplicity obtains. Here the means are the possessions and the end is a more focused life.

A boat is a good example of having weight and volume constraints. The solution here is to cut away the inessentials. For example, not having an engine on board eliminates a big source of problems and tools. If your only use of electricity is that which can be driven by batteries, you remove the need for wiring. Lin and Larry Pardey are the gurus in that regard. One thing that stuck in my mind was how their first boat (DIY) didn't have any thruholes (IIRC). Therefore there were no places for potential leaks. Contrast that with a modern boat which has holes for the screw, the rudder, the speedometer, the tanks (intake and outtake), and probably a few others I forget. Also a good RV lesson---the more shit that's stuck onto the roof, the greater the likelihood of a leak.

FBeyer
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Re: Halfmoon's journal

Post by FBeyer »

PUBLISH THE BOOK FOR F**** SAKE!

Just paste your posts together and add in the necessary comments from your readers and publish the book like it is currenlty: A conversation with a bit of back and forth about a truly interesting life.

halfmoon
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Re: Halfmoon's journal

Post by halfmoon »

Riggerjack wrote:
Wed Apr 05, 2017 7:43 am
If you were comfortable with a more passive approach, you would need less.
:lol: Allow me to introduce you to my husband, who has no concept of the word "passive". One of his favorite quotes is 'Give me a lever and a place to stand and I will move the earth.' In our defense: we've also invested significant energy in trying to change our environment in positive ways. Over the years, we've planted thousands of trees on our properties, eradicated invasive weeds, created hundreds of brush piles and rock cairns for wildlife and preserved habitat by buying it.
Riggerjack wrote:
Wed Apr 05, 2017 7:43 am
Having a backhoe has made me lazy...
We have a backhoe attachment for our current tractor, but we're usually too lazy to remove the back blade and undergo the elaborate dance required to connect the hydraulic lines and get everything lined up, so we end up using hand tools and sweat most of the time. Go figure.
jacob wrote:
Wed Apr 05, 2017 11:43 am
Minimalism seems to me to me to come at the problem from the other side: First reduce "unnecessary" stuff and then notice how simplicity obtains. Here the means are the possessions and the end is a more focused life.
This is an interesting concept. I get frustrated sometimes by how much stuff we have, but I'm not 100% sure that we want a more focused life. That would of course require deciding what the focus should be (in lieu of moving the earth). We're sort of one-trick ponies.
jacob wrote:
Wed Apr 05, 2017 11:43 am
One thing that stuck in my mind was how their first boat (DIY) didn't have any thruholes (IIRC). Therefore there were no places for potential leaks.
In my limited experience, boat leaks have come from external forces such as rocks. Case in point: my father managed to wrap an aluminum canoe around a large rock in Susquehanna River rapids because he was standing (!) in the stern to take a photo when he was supposed to be steering. He lost the camera to a watery grave, so one could argue that the result was a less focused life. :lol:

halfmoon
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Re: Halfmoon's journal

Post by halfmoon »

FBeyer wrote:
Wed Apr 05, 2017 12:03 pm
PUBLISH THE BOOK FOR F**** SAKE!
This makes me so happy. :D Thank you!

The thing is: I am publishing the book right now, for an audience who can understand and appreciate it. I don't want to work at making something commercially acceptable; my motivation is the feedback and conversation my stories generate. That's what makes it fun.

Also: you ain't seen nothin' yet. I'm just dying to tell the tower-building story.

Riggerjack
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Re: Halfmoon's journal

Post by Riggerjack »

I would argue that a lost camera is likely to lead to a more focused life.

I like having tools and capabilities. That is my driving force, to do what others can't, or won't. Minimalism holds no charm for me.

I have a case 580sk, so the attachment options are limited. I only have it because it was the most beat up machine a construction company had, in the depths of the great recession. I bought it disabled, and fixed it up, learning as I went. But it is nice to never worry about how I'm going to move something. ( though, twice I popped a wheelie moving something heavy in the backhoe bucket... Balance in all things, backhoes more than most!)

I expect there to be some balance stories involved in the tower tales...

halfmoon
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Re: Halfmoon's journal

Post by halfmoon »

Riggerjack wrote:
Wed Apr 05, 2017 8:28 pm
I expect there to be some balance stories involved in the tower tales...
You must be psychic! :shock:

RealPerson
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Re: Halfmoon's journal

Post by RealPerson »

Halfmoon, your stories are priceless. I enjoy your journal tremendously. Interesting, enlightning and humorous. It has all the ingedients for a great book. What are you waiting for? Thanks for the writing.

halfmoon
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Re: Halfmoon's journal

Post by halfmoon »

@RealPerson, this kind of comment makes me want to run off and write the next installment. :D I really have no desire to publish a book, though. This forum feels like such a perfect little world in which to tell my story without making it into a job requiring marketing, editing and dealing with the likes of Amazon. Also, it's really about the feedback and hearing bits of other people's experiences or thoughts that keeps me motivated. A book wouldn't be interactive enough for me.

halfmoon
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Re: Halfmoon's journal

Post by halfmoon »

@Alexa, thank you! I certainly intend to keep it coming, because I'm approaching my favorite part of our life story. Speaking of life stories: DH and I are celebrating today the 37th anniversary of our first and only date (also known as the day before we moved in together). 8-)

Eureka
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Re: Halfmoon's journal

Post by Eureka »

Happy anniversary, well done!

halfmoon
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Re: Halfmoon's journal

Post by halfmoon »

Thanks, Eureka! We celebrated by going for a long walk, taking our dog to the off-leash park (so much fun to watch him play with other dogs), then having a great dinner at home with a glass of wine. This is what old ERE people do for fun. :roll:

halfmoon
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Re: Halfmoon's journal

Post by halfmoon »

THE RETIREMENT YEARS

FREEDOM!!

Our last day of employment (not to be confused with work, which was perpetually self-imposed hard time ;)) was July 4, 1992. This seemed fitting, and it also allowed us to watch spectacular fireworks from the restaurant’s roof in between waiting on customers. It was one of the better evenings we spent in that place. The restaurant management wanted to have some sort of token celebration, which we vetoed. Fellow employees urged us to come back and visit. DH said, “You will never see us again.” He spoke the truth.

We drove to our new home the following week, old Chevy truck loaded down with yet more stuff. I remember thinking that we looked like the Beverly Hillbillies. *

*Millenials: Google this. It’s an important cultural relic. :)

The rest of the summer/fall was a race to insulate the house and complete the inside sheathing so we weren’t freezing or breathing evil chemicals all winter; meanwhile, we lived in our small travel trailer. Every exterior wall and roof rafter was lined with Fiberglas. We also insulated the upstairs floor joists and all interior walls to reduce noise transmission and isolate heating zones. The insulation was covered on the interior side with plastic Visqueen and OSB, which we painted to reduce emissions (except those from the paint, of course). Same for the floor and ceiling, which brings up a memorable moment:

The hardest interior sheathing tasks were the ceilings, for obvious reasons. Holding a 4’x8’ sheet of OSB overhead while DH screwed each corner to the ceiling joists wasn’t my idea of a good time, and the results prompted more than one Marital Discussion.

One of those discussions escalated when we were installing ceiling sheets in the living room. The long-term plan was to cover them with pine boards (the wall sheathing would be covered with cedar), but I knew from experience that the painted OSB might be our ceiling surface for many years while we focused on new projects. After we screwed on one of the 4’x8’ ceiling sheets and stood back to assess, I saw that it was installed off square by about ¼”. For me, a ¼” gap was as bad as a foot. I voiced my concerns.

DH thought I was being ridiculous, I thought he was being inflexible, and words ensued. DH stomped out of the house into the woods in one direction; I went the other. Sometimes it’s good to have 40 acres of separation.

When I cooled down, I went back to the house and found that DH had unscrewed the OSB sheet and screwed it back square (not an easy task working alone overhead). I thanked him effusively, and he said: “I just don’t want you sitting here when I’m dead, looking up at the ceiling and thinking: ‘That son of a bitch.’:lol:

When the first snowfall hit in October, we moved into the house. We finally had to surrender and cut a hole in the roof for our chimney, which is traumatic when you’ve lived in a (different) house with a leaky roof. We installed both stoves, but we hadn’t had any spare time that summer and fall to stockpile firewood. We ended up hauling wood in with a sled all winter. Hey; as they say, heating with wood warms you twice.

Thus began the next stage of our life.

bryan
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Re: Halfmoon's journal

Post by bryan »

Exciting! Such a funny relationship you two have. At least from your perspective it is :D

> *Millenials: Google this. It’s an important cultural relic. :)

There was a 90s film adaptation that was on TV occasionally. Does that count? :)

Riggerjack
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Re: Halfmoon's journal

Post by Riggerjack »

Why sheath interior with OSB, rather than sheetrock? I mean, other than weight. I know you got a great deal on OSB, but wouldn't sheetrock still have been cheaper?

Ceiling work sucks. Kudos for getting in and getting it done.

halfmoon
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Re: Halfmoon's journal

Post by halfmoon »

@bryan, we do laugh a lot together. Sometimes it takes a little time, but we eventually laugh. :D We spend pretty much all of our time together, and we both have strong opinions, so there's lots of opportunity for discussion. I'm a perfectionist leaning toward OCD, and DH likes to git 'er done. We usually meet in the middle.
bryan wrote:
Fri Apr 07, 2017 11:05 am

There was a 90s film adaptation that was on TV occasionally. Does that count? :)
No, that does not count (she says sternly). You must expose yourself to the classics.
Riggerjack wrote:
Fri Apr 07, 2017 5:47 pm
Why sheath interior with OSB, rather than sheetrock? I mean, other than weight. I know you got a great deal on OSB, but wouldn't sheetrock still have been cheaper?
I don't know if sheetrock would have been cheaper back then, but we detested the stuff. Anything you could punch a hole through with a random elbow didn't pass the fortress test. Also: we planned to put cedar boards on the walls, and sheetrock would require us to hit the studs every time. Granted that sheetrock provides some fire resistance, but that would be pretty irrelevant in the end. When a forest fire came very close to our property one year, a DNR crew came by to see what they could do to create a defensible space. The crew leader looked around at our full woodshed, propane and diesel tanks, building materials stacked under the house, trees right up to the windows..."You have a lot of combustibles" he said. "Oh, yes" I replied. "We're all about the combustibles."

FBeyer
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Re: Halfmoon's journal

Post by FBeyer »

halfmoon wrote:
Thu Apr 06, 2017 9:37 pm
Thanks, Eureka! We celebrated by going for a long walk, taking our dog to the off-leash park (so much fun to watch him play with other dogs), then having a great dinner at home with a glass of wine. This is what old ERE people do for fun. :roll:
Fun is the mindset you bring, not the activities you do.

I have never read anything in my life that made me want to get on a plane and meet the author as much as this journal.

halfmoon
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Re: Halfmoon's journal

Post by halfmoon »

What a wonderful compliment, FBeyer! :D

If I ever met anyone in this community, I would want to hear all of their stories. I'm hoping that people will be inspired by my experiences to relate some of their own right here. Since this is my journal, I get to make the rules. :mrgreen: I demand that you tell me about a time you and your SO disagreed about something and how it turned out. (*stomps foot impatiently*)

halfmoon
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Re: Halfmoon's journal

Post by halfmoon »

THE RETIREMENT YEARS

*Just hang in there; we're working our way up to better photos, but that would not be now. :roll:

CLEANING THE LAND:

As previously mentioned, our new property was logged a couple of years before we bought it. A local woman who was active in disputing poor logging practices took this photo of the place before we knew her, and it was pretty representative of what was left on most of the land. The former owners hadn’t wanted to pay for cleanup after the logging, which undoubtedly contributed to the low selling price.

Image

The happy exceptions were some large fir and larch that the former owners had planned to harvest for a future log home, a strip along the state-owned access road that had been left largely untouched, and the big old Ponderosa pine that were considered unmarketable at the time.
One of our self-appointed missions was to clean the land so native vegetation and young trees could flourish (and also to make it pretty, of course). This was something like buying a mansion that has been used as a crackhouse and trying to restore it to its former glory. :cry:

We started around the house and worked outward. Armed with chainsaw, combustibles, gloves and hay forks for the smaller stuff, we literally climbed into the worst part of each slash-covered plot and cut a hole big enough plant ourselves and our tools. We began there to cut and pile everything for burning, working outward until we’d established a safe zone around the burn pile. Then began the fun. We would light the fire, drag a couple of lawn chairs at a safe distance, and collapse in self-satisfied exhaustion by the flames.

After a long day of this, we’d get thirsty and go back to the house to fetch a little wine mixed with a lot of diet pop (Refined Palates-R-Us) and sit back down to congratulate ourselves on an epic achievement. That would last until the fire burned down a bit, at which point one of us would jump up and start throwing a “few” sticks on the pile. Pretty soon, we’d both be hauling logs and branches into the flames until we collapsed in exhaustion again. Lather, rinse, repeat.

The rottweiler looks pretty satisfied with the day's efforts, but the weimaraner is thinking there's some slacking going on.

Image

We didn’t always burn the piles; some of them we saved for wildlife habitat. We had the utter joy one early spring of watching a family of baby weasels tearing around like...um...crazed weasels :) in a brush pile right outside our kitchen window.

An unanticipated benefit of being on the north slope of our mountainside was abundant groundwater that promoted regeneration. The areas we’d cleared became lush with pine grass, shrubs and seedlings. The gold-needled trees in the photo below are larch in the fall. The photo was taken in the mid-90’s; the land has regenerated incredibly since then and is quite beautiful.

Image

saving-10-years
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Re: Halfmoon's journal

Post by saving-10-years »

Ahhh. The space to do crazy things. I have been sorting through my mountain of fleeces* from past years and consigning the ones which are really not going to be good enough to the incinerator. DH has had a small fire going outside for 6 days so far - he sorting out some of the really waste stuff from the barns at last. But although we have huddled around and admired our little little bonfire we don't have that view of yours and the weather here currently discourages lying on the ground.

*The fleece in question was free - I am now more discerning about what I spin and so several past 'gifts' have gone up in smoke here - others being graded to gift or sell and many into veggie beds to provide compost and improve moisture retention.

More stories. Re, picture quality, that all makes this tale seem more of its time so I quite like your Instamatic moments.

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