introductions thread

Hi, my real name is Fred Morgan, but you know that if you go to the website.

Yes I did check out your site, and Mikes.  Welcome Fred!

Hello & Welcome to everyone!

It is so nice to hear some background about the nice folks who move about the forums.  I love the pictures and checking out the websites. . . .

So I'll introduce myself ~

I'm Jami.... raised by a hippie, and grateful my name isn't moonbeam   
I grew up in Santa Barbara Calif, but have spent most of my adult life in Oregon.  I have worked in the field of computer technology for over 25 yrs.  I'm divorced, and semi retired since 1999 when I started working from home so I could homeschool my two children.  My son Loren just turned 17 and is autistic with special needs.   

It is because of my son I started doing research in '97 - looking for a more synergistic lifestyle.  I was looking forward toward his adulthood and my old-age.  The first thing I found was Cob - and everything else just flowed from there   I love the outdoors, it balances my indoor chores.  So my small family and I are on this interesting journey, similar to most of you. . .

We live in the city, but have 15 chickens, 3 ducks, 3 cats, two rabbits and one boarder collie (I've cut back our animals *grin*).  My handicap -I garden on the south side of my house, in between two gigantic cedar trees (east & west) and my house and the neighbors 10' hedge (north & south).  We buy in bulk and cook from scratch.  My friend laughing says I'm trying to go back 100 years, I guess he's right.

I hope to move away from this area, on to some land after my son turns 18.

My focuses are: health, purity and simplicity - for their impact on people, and not 'saving the planet'.  Saving the planet will be a by-product and is not 'the' goal or focus for me.

What do I do in my spare time...... Ha! 

I'm so glad to meet everyone, I hope the introductions continue.

~Jami  {card-carrying Choctaw Indian}
Roseburg, Oregon

If there's a baby within reach I'll have my hands on 'em.  This is me holding my cousin's granddaughter... Yes, I'm old enough to be a grandmother, although I'm not one yet.

I am not good with the introductions stuff, that is what I have a link to my blog and photos. 

I have been called some pretty cool things over the years and when "Dancing With Wolves" came out someone said I then must be  "Listens To Horses". 

I raise and train my own horses with 30+ years exp, 20+ as a professional trainer.  I still tame a few horses each month for a long time client, but no longer train for the permies.  I am somewhat challenged after an accident many years ago.

After meeting the love of my life and running off, I recently returned to the Ozarks, growing zone 5, with our horses and dogs, with big plans.  My Love to follow, after things are paid for.  He is not hip to permaculture but I hope to show him.  We plan this as our retirement home. 

We have a rundown house and big barn on 10 ares of mostly neglected land.  No fruit trees or gardens.  I have fruit trees ordered for Spring and plan to add trees and plants each year.  I have started a bed filling it with layers of brown paper, hay, horse manure, and sawdust mix...

and oh so many other projects.

Nice to know you all better.

Jennifer, it would be interesting to compare notes on horse training. I am not one, but I have workers who are. The Costa Rican way is very gradual and non-traumatic. It seems to produce horses that are bomb proof, or perhaps because they are never stabled.

I know about the "so many projects", we are 50 employees now with a steep hockey stick growth pattern. As president and part owner (my wife is the other owner, and is very active) I have to stay ahead of everyone in planning.

I appreciate how many of you are attempting to do something that is good for the purpose of yourself, knowing it rolls up to something better for all.

My passion I guess is showing that business can be successful without be exploitative. I honestly think it is the future, whether people like it or not.

Hey there Everybody im new here and just figured it introduce myself before i jumped into any conversations.

It worked! 

sueshoddetPok,  I found your post as a response in another thread and managed to move it to this thread.  For a while I was worried that the system would drop it. 

Presto!  It worked. 

Welcome to permies.com!

crtreedude wrote:
Jennifer, it would be interesting to compare notes on horse training. The Costa Rican way is very gradual and non-traumatic. It seems to produce horses that are bomb proof, or perhaps because they are never stabled.

My home raised horses are also brought along slow and handled everyday, though we love our barn they also have plenty of time out to graze, run, and play... they are mostly babies after all. 

Example.. my foals are handled everyday but are not "halter broke" till I have to.  Weaning is short to long seperations, though the herd runs together most the time (as I have no fences to speak of yet) young horses are sat on at 2, and ridden at 3 fairly lightly, to interesting things and places.  Bridle, saddle, and rider, introduced in seperate lessons.

By 4 trained enough to trust to haul my very novice friends around said interesting places watching said interesting things.  I no longer have any older home raised horses, but have an older mare who is not trustworthy to pack many of my friends around, but I like to ride.

welcome everyone i've failed to welcome..also wondering if you have an online site where you sell furniture from the furniture factory in Costa Rica? would love to see what you produce

Brenda Groth wrote:
welcome everyone i've failed to welcome..also wondering if you have an online site where you sell furniture from the furniture factory in Costa Rica? would love to see what you produce

Not yet, it is in process. But you can see some of our work at http://www.fincaleola.com/tropical_hardwood_furniture.htm

We have a person on board now to deal with this, finally!

http://www.fincaleola.com/tropical_hardwood_furniture.htm

Jennifer Hall wrote:
There was an elephant rescue near here when I lived here before.  Not sure if it is still there or not.

Not sure if it's the same thing, but there is an Elephant Park about halfway to Plettenberg Bay. Bit of a tourist trap, really, but they really do good work looking after Elephant orphans... There was an attempt (about 10 years ago iirc) to introduce 3 babies into the Knysna Forest herd... the whole thing was very poorly thought-out, and one of the baby ellies died; the other two were rescued and ended up at the Elephant Park. Turns out that the forest ellies don't take well to interference or strangers.

Hello everyone, my name is Colin Thomas, and I am a Permaculture addict.

It has been 480 days or so (I have lost track due to my addiction) since my PDC and I can’t stop doing something Permaculture related each and every day. Sometimes I read Permaculture books or magazines, sometimes I surf Permaculture websites, sometimes I watch Permaculture videos, sometimes I daydream about Permaculture, and sometimes I plant seeds in people; Permaculture seeds. Today though I hit rock bottom, and joined this site after lurking for a while. I need help my fellow Permies, save me. Tell me this is ok, that it is normal to do such things. Tell me that I don’t have to stop. Push me even further into my addiction.

Now that I got that off my chest I feel a whole lot better. So let’s get down to the details. I am from the lower mainland of BC and have lived their most of my life. I am 33 years old now. I love spending time in nature whether it is on a nature trail in a local park or solo hiking in the remote wilderness.

To be honest prior to my Permaculture lifestyle that I live now I was quite a different person. I did not care for environmental problems (too self involved) and I was a major over consumer of goods. I had to have everything new and perfect. If something got a scratch on it or dented it had to go (bit of OCD). If I bough a product a newer version came out a week later that I had to have it. Sell the old one or put it a side it did not matter. What mattered was new and better.

That all changed when I read Daniel Quinn’s book ‘Ishmael’. I can’t even remember how I stumbled upon the book, but it was a major catalyst in me life. If you have not read it, I highly recommend it. This new path that I was on eventually led me to Permaculture and here I am.

I have no real career but I recently got a certificate in Horticulture from TRU and I am now looking for work in that field. In the long run my dream is to be self employed.

I have a wonderful wife and nine month old boy. We just recently sold my rental property and bought a 65 year old house in Castlegar B.C. I will talk about the house and land in another tread with hopes that you can give me some input. We love our new life here and can’t wait to get involved in the community. My sister’s family just moved here too which is making things easier.

Anyways enough of my babbling on. I look forward to learning from everyone here and I hope I can share some knowledge and info with you too.

Cheers

Colin Thomas

Welcome Colin, I'm so glad you introduced yourself.

I was a major over consumer of goods. I had to have everything new and perfect.

I'm sure many people, friends and neighbors, will be sorry to hear your off the consumption train, as they must have benefited from your discards   

I look forward to hearing more from your permaculture adventures!

~Jami

Thanks for welcoming me Jami.

Jami McBride wrote:
I'm sure many people, friends and neighbors, will be sorry to hear your off the consumption train, as they must have benefited from your discards   

Boy did they ever. I basically gave everything I had away, and I had enough to furnish an 1100sq ft house. It was a necessary process for me to complete my journey into minimalism. Life was never easier with only a bit of clothes and no ‘stuff’ holding me down. With the need to buy stuff completely gone the bank account grew quite fast which was a nice.

I also forgot to say a few things in my first post.

First I want to thank Paul for these forums. It is a great place to gain knowledge and build friendships. As Permies we rarely come across people in our daily adventures that we can discuss Permaculture ideas with. I hope, no I know this will change soon and one day it will be a come word used by all. So kudos to Paul for leading the way.

Second thing is I feel I let you people down already. My wife is from Germany and I just spent 3 months there, and I did not make the journey to Sepp’s farm in Austria. I wanted too so badly but with baby, wedding, and so many people to visit, it just never happened. Not to mention that if I went their by my self I would have not understood a thing he was saying. I am learning German, but it is going to take years to become fluent.

But maybe I can make it up to you guys. My wife once said to me she would translate Sepp’s book for a fee. Paul are you still looking for somebody to do this for you?

Cheers

Colin

Colin Thomas wrote:

But maybe I can make it up to you guys. My wife once said to me she would translate Sepp’s book for a fee. Paul are you still looking for somebody to do this for you?

Well, I would certainly like to read Sepp's other books that are currently not in English.  But I certainly cannot afford to have them translated. Plus, it is my understanding that at least one of them in in the process of being translated.

I will check with Josef Holzer to see how that sort of thing is coming along.

Hi there!   just thought Id introduce myself, so a big wave from Finland.....
We are in a small village in eastern Finland,about 60km from the Russian border.
We have a short,very short growing season!although we do have long days in summer....yyiippeee and our winters a long and cold...but beautiful.
we have a small holding of around 13 hectares (about 33 acres),just over half of it is forest so we have our own firewood supply, the rest is feild. We currently have 10 sheep and 20 chickens, our plan next years is for a house cow and or goats.
  We grow all our own veg and fruit and are totally organic.
we have been living here for nearly 3 years and we a re busy trying to save our barn, build a new chicken house and sheep shed.
The original owners stopped farming here around 15 years ago and at the same time  also stopped any kind of maintanance on the  buildings and ditches!!!  so we have our work cut out for us!!  its a challenge in many ways!  but oh so worth it.  We are doing all of it ourselves and theres only so much 2 people can do in a day!!

We are living lightly on the land, we live simply but happily. 
Lucky for us our farming neighbours ae just lovely, we dont have a tractor so another farmer comes to sow, cut and bale for us, in return we help him collect hay in the summer.
We are learning the language and we have been so welcomed into the community.
Right now we are closing down for the winter, now its time to turn our attention to work on the inside of the house!  also I now have more time for reading through the topics on this site!
Oh must go and light the fire ......
suomi.

I just found this forum, and I'm enjoying all the good advice, so I'm going to stick around and share.

My wife and I moved to Corvallis OR from suburban Boston MA in June 2008.  We own 1.25 acres of flat former goat pasture.  She took the Permaculture Design course back in MA; I just read the books and turned out to be more enthusiastic one as far as actually planning perennial guilds.  She's Christine and is more of an annual veggie girl.  Anyway, getting the property into a steady state is our 5-year plan. 

Currently we have a passive-solar-heated (pellet stove backup) house under construction.  It will also have solar panels.  It's in the southeast corner of the property.  We started a small garden in the northeast quarter immediately, and expanded our efforts into the far west edge in 2009.  The nut trees we planted in the spring of 2009 are spread out over that section, but much of it was in annual beds, some shared with neighbors, and I got the beginnings of herbs and fruiting shrubs into mostly the southwest corner, which is the shadiest because of the sequoias across the street.  Currently working on expanding the NE garden and on establishing a fruit-tree area south of the very large (bigger than house) shed/barn that occupies the center of the property.  The shed/barn is in better condition than the old house was. 

We have ducks, cats and ferrets (acquired when now-adult child was still at home).

We believe in building community, so we have made an effort to reach out to neighbors with smaller acreage or apartments and developed a "partner garden" or private community garden as part of our long-term plan.  That will encompass a chunk of the land north of the shed.

I'm a tax accountant and a vet tech; my wife is retired from a social service position.  We make music a major focus of our free time.

Patricia

HI All,

nice to get a little life detail from the regulars im seeing all over the threads. paul convinced me to get in here and chat it up on account of my having herniated a disk in my back and being laid up for awhile. he was right- it beats being bummed out that I cant work in the yard....and im learning loads, so thats good too!

I live in SW washington near a 'place' which has no incorporated town...http://maps.google.com/maps?q=pigeon%20springs

its pretty remote. Im homesteading just like my folks did... I grew up from 12 on with no electricity or running water. my folks werent a survivalist nor politically or religiously motivated, they simply didnt want the hassle and noise of city living anymore. We had farm animals on a place much closer to town when I was a kid in the 70's, but in 82 they moved to nowhere, and I loved it. 

I grew up in zone 5 and was raised by elk and coyotes.

now my parents are on in age, and in ill health. I bought some of thier land and some adjacent property when thier cabin burned down in '97. they got a trailer and moved about a half mile away, just close enough to the county road for electricity and emergency vehicles- dad is in pretty rough shape and has been since '01.

I have a BA/BS in ecological design from Evergreen State College, and a MS in Ag from WSU.

I took my PDC with Penny Livingston and Brock Doleman at Skywater in No. Cal. 2003

I took teachers training with Jude Hobbs and Tom Ward at Wolf Gulch in Oregon, 2005.

I met Jenny Pell there, and Marisha at evergreen and Toby through the village building convergence in Portland...

at some point i realized that I wasnt a hermit and better yet, there were people out there who think like I do... that was a relief, I thought I was CRAZY for seeing all these simple and elegant solutions to design while the muggles simply destroyed my planet.

"what use is a home if you havent got a tolerable planet to put it on?"- hd thoreau....


I teach Permaculture, Natural Building and a martial art called Aikido.

Im planning a PDC/skillshare next year at my property.

the website is under re-construction, so wear a hard hat- www.abundancepermaculture.com

and for (3 year+ old) pictures of the place and the natural building, find the galleries and follow the links to my flickr account.

as for projects im working on, etc... im all over the threads, and move pretty fast for a guy whose on bedrest through march '10 by doctors orders...

catch me if you can!

best

Deston

Hi all!  I’m an environmental studies and art history student in Missoula, MT and I come here mainly to learn from you all, but I hope to also share some of my crazy ideas that might actually work.

Permaculture-y goals for the near future:

Relocate!  My lease is up in July, and I'm already looking for the perfect place to rent!  Ideal: a tiny house or apartment with a garden that I can make improvements to (raised beds, playing with watering techniques, etc).

I’m saving for a small plot of land where I can build a tree or cob house, whichever the land allows.  It’ll be built out of completely found and re-used materials (it doesn’t have to be fancy! Just has to keep the cold out).

Eventually want to produce most (or all) of my own food, along with raise sheep and/or other natural-fiber producing animals.  My plan is to support myself monetarily (what little money I will need) with knitting and art.

and, as always... live simply!

Random stuff about myself:  i love wildflowers, knitting, found objects, touching furry leaves and climbing trees, sharing, live music, inventing a flying bike (seriously) and hovercrafts, shoe-making or I guess mostly re-making, simplifying, mud, culture and of course permaculture!

So, I look forward to exchanging ideas with you!  Cheers!

Laura

I'm Kerrick, and I'm currently in the SF Bay area. I'm not new to thinking about permaculture, but I am new to practicing it. I am looking for an internship or apprenticeship for the coming year. I'm excited about CSA farms and market gardens and permaculture sites and communities. I have a background in museum education that I'd like to apply to sustainability education for adults and families. I'm a level-headed, responsible, hard working, earth-centered queer person. I can behave myself on the internet most of the time and accept feedback gracefully when I do slip up.

Hi folks. 

I'm Ken.  I'm 42, live in north Florida, zone 8b/9a, where I work for a refractory contractor.  Mostly I put on a hardhat and boots and yell at men twice my size.  I spend my days crawling around phosphoric acid plants, pulp and paper mills, furnaces, boilers and tanks.  I sort of fell into the job accidentally.  I've got 20 years in restaurants.  I'm an awesome cook.

I took an interest in gardening about 7 years ago when I was working for an idiot painter, walked out, then went hungry for a couple of months.  A 10 cent package of radish seed got me started.  Composting was the first thing I got into, then drip irrigation, different vegetables and herbs.  From there it was a greenhouse, solar heating for it which grew to solar hot water for the house.  The fresh vegetables led to home canning and drying.  One thing kept leading to another.

This year I took a position as a farm manager in upstate NY.  I built an 80x13 greenhouse, established 2 acres of Certified Naturally Grown heirloom vegetables, built a coop for a fine flock of chickens, set up a maple sugar operation, built a vermicomposting bin, started a fruit tree orchard with 60 trees, 12 different kinds, started a compost windrow project, taught the owner of the place all sorts of stuff, learned a lot myself.  In the end, the owner and I had different dreams and I returned home.

At this point I'm looking for a farm of my own.  A self-sufficient lifestyle sits well with me.  I intend to develop an organic farm, grow and raise vegetables and chickens, and so many more projects that I'll never be able to do it all.  I will set up a Pick Your Own operation and get moving on a farm stand.  Give me time, I'll get it done.

lets see if this picture works 
WARNING: eye injury may result

LOL - great picture Ken    Are you two having a difference of opinion?

Great to read your introduction, seems like your a get-er-done kind of guy - that's great!

~Jami

My nephew took the pic this summer in NY. 
I was talking to the chicken about her eggs.  Seems she had decided to sell them to me instead of giving them up for free.  I asked her how much for the eggs? She replied..

buck buck (couple of bucks) 

At that point I proposed turning her neck into gravy, she gets all nervous and flustered, that's when my nephew took the shot.

-I just found this intro thread so am moving this from the "social lounge."  I've been here a couple of weeks now.
Hello all,
Thought I would say howdy.  I am enjoying getting to know you all.
I am married to a non-permie (that sounds a bit harsh, doesn't it?) - he says he thinks it's a good idea but also thinks I am obsessive about it. 
I am currently "between engagements" as they say.  I have my PDC and last March spent 10 wonderful days with Dave Jacke and crew immersed in Teaching Permaculture Creatively.  And I really do want to teach.  I co-taught one day with Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute - FLPCI - in New York (upstate) last summer and am trying to figure out how I can do more in my own area up here on Lake Ontario. I have 18 acres there (not where we are living now) - no dwelling, a well and a few trees.  Eight acres of it had been in soybeans for years and currently is naked.  I am thinking I will hand sow buckwheat/clover/mustard - haven't decided.  I still have a couple of months.  I have planted 2 nut trees and a few fruit trees there.  I want to move there.  I am financially going under because of the two mortgages and trying to think of creative strategies where I can keep the property.  And to add to the struggle DH (who is also unemployed) wants to keep the house we're in (small city 8 miles away from property).  He can't see the potential.
I am on the computer a lot as I search for a paying gig.  Thanks for keeping me company.   

Hi Lavenderdawn,

am trying to figure out how I can do more in my own area up here on Lake Ontario.

   

Is your property in a "lake effect snow area?"    Sounds like you have quite a dilemma there.   There must be a Mollisonism that covers it, perhaps "The map is not the territory."   

Hi everyone!

I stumbled upon the site after reading about the $50 Underground House and watching a tour on youtube. I'm 21yr old guy and interested in self-sufficiency, have worked on a small allotment which had a bumper parsnip haul this year! Read a little about permaculture in some old books seems interesting. I probably won't be able to post all that much but happy to read and learn. Other related interests are bushcraft, hiking and being prepared. Thanks for having me.

gary wrote:
Is your property in a "lake effect snow area?"    Sounds like you have quite a dilemma there.   There must be a Mollisonism that covers it, perhaps "The map is not the territory."   

I am well acquainted with lake effect weather.  For you westerners, this is a peculiarity    of areas downwind of the great lakes.  Wind picks up moisture from the lakes and we get the result depending on the season.  The Tug Hill Plateau a few miles north of us is famous for it's record snow accumulations as well as its fine skiing.  The weather that just gifted the Maryland area with all that snow came more from the midwest than over the lakes.  And my sister moved there because she didn't like the winters here.    
I like your 'Mollisonian,' our weather can be highly variable due to all the peaks and valleys around here.  And my property is one half mile from Lake Ontario.  Can you say free wind energy? (Once you buy the turbine.  )
_Alias - I love parsnips!  What a great looking crop!  Keep it up and stick around.  You may be amazed.

Hey there!

I'm Chris and I've been lurking for a coupla months now.  I really appreciate this website and posting this hello is a way for me to get motivated enough to get pix and tell the little story of who i am.  But not right now, i gotta go to work.

For the moment, I'm a transplanted Coloradoan, from the Boston suburbs, late 40's and I'm a union Sheet Metal apprentice. 4th year.  I work in a metal shop that specializes in ductwork.  I like what I do although I wish I'd found it 20 years ago.

I have alot to share and kibbutz about later.  I keep coming back to this site over and over again so it must be important to me.

Found the site looking for more info about rocket mass heaters.

Paul, the site is outstanding.  Be proud.

Later folks, and peace.

Chris

Welcome aboard, Chris!

Ohai!

So here's a little more of me...

I was raised in a town just west of Cambridge, on the bus line to Harvard Square.  I mention that 'cause it's proximity, Harvard University and the resulting crunchy granola that it helped foster in the 60's and beyond informed my life. 

Mom was a housewife, Dad was a janitor at the local high school and he was a runner/fence/dealer/chop shop guy for the Italian mob in Boston.  We're an Irish family.

I didn't know much of the criminal stuff until well into my adulthood but what it meant as a kid was: alot of unsupervised time, few rules, no real guidance.  The good part of that is that I'm open to ideas that others might not accept without a hard struggle.

I sought structure in my life for a long time, settling for routine.  It was pretty obvious there was a breakdown in the machine but we were taught back in the day that it was probably us, not the world, that was wrong.

Married at 19, lived around the corner from a bookshop/record store, I ate books like they were snacks.  A longer walk away was the Boston Food Coop.  Joined when they opened their membership.  That's where I really started my education.

From there to help run a Food Bank...  then hung out with Dance New England for years...  divorced and found the American Friends Service Committee and Movement for a New Society, just as they were breaking up.

Helped scout the property of EarthDance in Western Mass...  was one of the four core peeps starting the now defunct Common Unity in Somerville, MA...

and then there's a nice 15 year gap in my life called surviving a divorce and child support/custody case.  although it's nobody's business i'll say that my son is 22 and he's smart and handsome and I love him and we communicate regularly and  in a few months i get to stop paying support.

Back in the day i thought i was bad with my hands.  When I fell through the rabbit hole I also fell into the family business which fronted as construction.  I enjoyed building way better that stealing, dealing and fencing.  Made a decisive move from Boston to Colorado, stayed in construction (for the most part) for the last 10 years.

Decided to gain a core set of unified skills right after Katrina; now i'm a tin knocker.  I love it.

I'm currently at the top of my class but only because a friend made an easy mistake 'cause he was stressed out.

1/2 way through our 4th year we have to make a Paul Revere style copper hurricane lantern.  I got a 97, top of the class.  I'll attach a pic at the end of the post.

I have 5 more months until school is over and lotsa work to catch up on around my tiny plot of dirt.  There's gonna be alot of topics I wanna join in on but school is my focus until it's done.

and that's all i have to say about that.  thanks for lookin!

Chris

Hi,

First thanks for a great forum ! ! !

I've been working on bringing together bio-fuels and food production for some time now and it's quite clear that permaculture is our real future. Less is more...

Oh well, I'm not good at intros so my web page is at www.puffergas.com


Jeff

Hello, my name is Don Miller, aka MountainDon on the forum where I spend too much time, Country Plans Forum. That forum of ours is oriented towards the owner-builder of small cabins and homes. Paul has dropped by there and treated us to some of his information related to alternative buildings. I'd like to invite anyone with questions pertaining to construction to drop by. Some of us have PV and/or wind power generation systems in use. I've been lurking here for a month or so and recently came out of hiding to talk spam with Paul.

As for myself I have a checkered past, a background in engineering though no papers to prove it, many years spent in retail photographic equipment sales, and time in bank card fraud. That's fraud investigation.  For the past half dozen years I'm partially employed in my wife's preschool.

We live in the high desert mesa area near Albuquerque, NM. Twenty five years now. We have some mountain property 35 miles north where we have built a small cabin. We're pretty much surrounded by Santa Fe National Forest along with a couple of other small landowners. One other has a cabin, three others have built nothing as yet. It's quite quiet with the road in requiring a high clearance vehicle all of the time and 4WD some of the time.

Does everybody like photos?  Here's a recent winter shot with the cabin. From mid to late December through April/May we have to snowshoe in about a mile and a half.



We spent the first year and a half cleaning up the neglected forest floor, thinning trees and mentally moving the cabin from one spot to another. Here's an area with the ground partially cleaned up but still way too many small trees.



Late summer / early fall 2009. The cabin is 15.75 x 30 ft. Click the link in the signature box to go to the entire saga of our property/cabin. I used cement fiber siding and metal roofing with wildfires in mind. Last May we escaped a small wildfire started by a careless neighbor with only minor damage to a few trees. The time spent cleaning up and thinning was time well spent.





The view to the north; what we see out the cabin's main window. That's a dormant volcano.



Interior looking west to the door.



Looking the other direction. It's a one room cabin, not counting the small toilet/shower combo room. The furniture to the left acts as a room divider. The toilet is a composter.



624 watts worth of PV panels down near the meadow. There's a 300 foot run of cable up to the cabin where the batteries and inverter are.

MountainDon,

Nice pictures! How do you like snowshoes? Any idea if they are a better choice than cross country skies?


Jeff

Hi Jeff. We have both. Our snowshoes are MSR Denali. I like the ability to add tails when needed for extra flotation. They are not so wide so walking does not require a conscious effort to keep your feet apart. We have a lot of rise on the way in and part of the trail is too winding and twisty through trees for me to try skis. Both would be nice. There are portions that would be great for cross country skis. However in our case the snow shoes are best overall. There are also several downed trees across a section of abandoned logging road we use as a short cut. Skis might be more bother; on, off (5x). I'm tempted to cut passage through, but think that'll be too inviting to the ATV bunch.

http://hanksgarden.wordpress.com/
That's were my blog is, I hope it works; I'm not always on good terms with my computer.
Anyway, my name is Hank and I've been in the landscape maintenance business most of my life.  I've worked at Rose Villa senior living community the last 30 years as the boss of the grounds dept and now, after stepping away from the grounds dept, am involved in various ecological/horticultural projects here.
While I like to think I know a thing or two about horticulture, embarrassingly I have to admit I have gaps in my knowledge and experience as big as the Grand Canyon, and am constantly falling into those gaps.
Example; just last year the boss asked me to start a veggie garden to see how much produce I could grow for the main kitchen.  In my entire life this was the 2nd veggie garden I had attempted. (Hank falls into gap)  Now I've got 1,000sqft of garden, 9 espaliered fruit trees, several hundred strawberries, 16 wine grape vines, 6 eatable grape vines, raspberries, just planted 8 hop plants (the kitchen boss claims he can make beer and wine if I get him the grapes and hops....hehehe little does he know what's coming his way) and am working with the Health Center activities people to get a horticultural therapy program up and running.
Oh, and in my spare time I just finished taking a Master Gardeners course put on by Oregon State University extension service.
When not involved in horticulture somehow my wife and I paddle on a dragon boat team called “The Castaways” and also play the bagpipes in the “Fort Vancouver Pipes and Drums”.
After writing all this out I’m freaking tired!! When oh when did my life get so complicated?

Hi Don,
Nice pics!  Looks wonderful!
Hi Hank,
I'm partial to bagpipes and Dylan Thomas.  Have a Scottish step-son whose middle name is Dylan - and not named after Bob.  You do sound busy.
Welcome, both.

Hello! I've just found this introduction site so thought I might participate.
Im determined  move from the city & be living a higher quality life in hamony with my surroundings. Became so overwhelmed with all the internet offerings that I don't even know how I got here but I'm ever so Thankfull that I did. Im greatfull to be learning all that I am. My challenge is Im a pathetic Tourist/Newby to permaculture (city kid/Navy Brat) that has never had a garden or even knows what a good one might look like. The bulk of info on sites like these all have great info but sometimes hard to follow for Uber beginers. Where do I start? Is there a basic "Permaculture Guide For Dummies"? I would like to express my extreem appreciation to the gift of knowlege that everyone shares in this venue. My goal of shedding the old life for a new one feels so much less daunting to me now that I have quality reference to the Big questions of sustainability. BTW- I live in Oregon & didnt know there was a "Zone" How do I find that? Any advise or resoures for info from other oregonians would be appreciated. Thank you for you time.

Welcome, MsMinuette.  May I suggest to begin by using the principle of small and slow solutions.  Start a little garden.  Here is one source to help you find your hardiness zone -- http://www.garden.org/zipzone/
You will find a wealth of information right here at this forum.

Wow, nice photos and so many of you have lots of land too. It makes our 3 acres look measly.
Anyway, for what it's worth, here's my bit.
I am a 51 yr old housewife (proud to be one) with three adult daughters who live and work 45 miles south of us in Aberdeen. We are in rural Banffshire in NE Scotland. I am married to a blacksmith who has been a permaculture advocate since watching Bill Mollisons documentary back in the early 1990s. I just love Sepp Holtzers place myself.
When we moved here from Coventry in the midlands in 1994, it was knowing that we would develop our place with permaculture principles wherever the authorities would allow. It has been slower than we would have liked - limited funds - but we're getting there.
We have a small domestic flock of sheep for meat and wool, which are all fairly tame, a dozen hens and three Jack Russells. We get a couple of weaners for the freezer each year too, but we are going to keep one of this years for a breeding sow. I used to have Angora rabbits for their wool but as they have now all died of old age, we are going to get meat rabbits instead.
My personal habits? I have a passion for all things textile related and love nothing more than a big ambitious project starting from scratch, ie; shear the sheep, spin it, weave it, dye it and make it into something. Unfortunately, life gets in the way of my hobbies, so I often burn the midnight oil just to get some 'me' time.
We have a network of likeminded friends in this corner of the UK all either into self sufficiency, permaculture or transition and sustainability. We started our own forum this time last year which is very small but friendly and we all use it to keep in touch and help one another. We started a timebank system last summer - in case you haven't heard of that, it's like LETS but using hours instead of currency and the banker keeps a tally.
A couple of photos; Our first pigs (long since eaten) me with some of my sheep a few weeks ago

What great pictures Julie  

How many people are in your forum group?  I am interested in ICF (intentional community forums).  Maybe one day you could start a thread all about how yours works.  I'm sure others would be interested too.

Thanks for sharing...