Been lurking for a year. It's about time I say "Hi".

Hi everyone,

I joined about a year ago and have been quietly reading the posts, absorbing information. I've also been signed up for the dailyish email and have been enjoying the podcasts. I guess I haven't said hello yet because I've been spending the past year learning about permaculture but have been slow to change my ways. So I didn't have much to say for myself. I've been reading a lot about possible economic collapse and climate change, and I'm feeling a strong tug to change my current lifestyle. I have been vacillating between a hoarding-type of prepper lifestyle and being interested in permaculture design. It looks like permaculture wins in my book because it's a positive approach to adapting to nature, as opposed to the scarcity mind-set a lot of preppers have. I live in a small city and live on a small corner lot with a lawn that I am gradually turning into a garden, hoping that I can spread the garden into the front yard without too much flack from the landlord. I also hope to find a way to buy or otherwise use the vacant lot next door. If I was bolder, I'd just start planting things there. Maybe I will be next year, who knows?

I'm really interested in creating community in my local area and exploring the concept of a gift economy. Sorry to say, my family doesn't quite get it and is not quite on board. But I'm the mom of the family and wield a certain amount of power in the way things are done around here. They'll thank me later.

So far, everyone looks friendly and I hope to get to know some of you.

Stacy

Hi Stacy and welcome to non-lurker status on permies!

I live in an urban area as well (although mine is HUGE) and find that building community and doing community projects is really intriguing to me. Although I only have 1/6 acre to play with "at home" - I have a potential audience of 4.5 million people just in my city alone. That's pretty awesome.

Keep on posting!

Jen

Thanks for the welcome, Jen.

My corner lot is also 1/6 of an acre, including the house. I intend to eventually make full use of the house and the yard to make us as sustainable as we can be. Also, the lot next door is 1/3 of an acre. One of my neighbors has already put a garden and his kids play area on one side, so it looks like it could be fair game.

Since we've decided we're going to keep living in the city, we're definitely going to need to know our neighbors better. That's tough for an introverted family like mine, but it would be very beneficial to have friendships with people who live very close by. Already I've gotten some great information on local businesses and services just by having a few conversations. I've just got to stop being so shy!

Stacy

Stacy - I think when you find something you're passionate about, you become more extroverted. I'm an introvert by nature but when it comes to permaculture, there is no holding me back.

Please keep us posted on your progress and post some pictures when you have some! Be sure to take lots and lots of "before" pictures from all angles - soon you won't remember what your site used to look like.

Stacy Wright wrote:
That's tough for an introverted family like mine, but it would be very beneficial to have friendships with people who live very close by. Already I've gotten some great information on local businesses and services just by having a few conversations. I've just got to stop being so shy!

Hi Stacy and welcome!

Don't be shy here at permies. One thing I studied suggested that introversion is all about how one recharges one's psychic batteries, alone or from other people. I am most definitely an introvert, although I can work a crowd if the situation calls for it. Just leave me alone to gather my wits an energy for a bit afterwards.

Preparedness vs resiliency: I think one is just more long-term. What do you eat while you wait for the meat chickens to mature? Or if all the chicks get eaten by a raccoon. Vs why eat freezes dried mashed potatoes when I can have potatoes I grew 4 months ago. Strike whatever balance lets you sleep at night! I think that boundary shifts as we get more confident in our systems and know what just works. In other words, knowing that I have corn and squash growing in the garden gives me a great deal of comfort regardless of what happens out there tomorrow, but maybe a different kind of comfort than 5 gallon buckets that will eventually run out. There is potential for abundance far beyond anything I can imagine, just as there is potential for havoc by things I can't control. Planting seeds is within my control, so I choose to focus on that and let the rest go for today. A good reminder to plant some dill seed so we have it well timed for pickle-making. I never canned a single thing before 4-5 years ago. Things change; I don't have to worry about it as much the more I know I can adapt.

Ann Torrence wrote:Strike whatever balance lets you sleep at night!

Well said, Ann. Last year, I started to stockpile food out of a sense of financial insecurity. This year, I've decided that I'm only going to stock two month's worth at a time, because I don't want my storage space being cluttered with old food. Having a bit of a stockpile did help out when we had a few weeks of dangerously cold weather in January and we didn't want to make any unnecessary trips to the store. But in the long run, it just makes sense to figure out what kind of food we can grow on our own land so we can have fresh (and recently preserved) food every year, instead of living off old cans of food several years from now.