New to Permies

I have been lurking for some time.  This is my first post.

I guess I'll introduce myself first...  I am a physician who is currently living overseas with the military, but I plan to be out of the military in a few years.  I have lived in many states (visited almost all of them) and a few countries (visited over 20 on 5 continents), and the one place in the world that I would like to live in a few years in northwest Washington.  I hope you don't mind another family.  We'll be really good neighbors!

I have wanted to own a piece of land and raise my own food for over 15 years.  Distraction, school, and military service has held that dream up for far too long.  I am now within my 5 year planning window.

I have read about Permaculture for over a decade, and I have had the opportunity to implement some small aspects of it in small ways everywhere I have lived, although I rarely have lived anywhere long enough to reap the benefits of my work.  But that is okay.  I had the chance to practice, and maybe the others who have come after me were inspired to continue when they benefited from the results.  I have also been able to see a lot of examples of how people in other parts of the world do things... some not so good, and some worth emulating. 

So, I hope to learn a lot here.  I hope to contribute a little if possible.  But I really hope to meet some people that I can call friends.

Talk to you soon.

Doc K

Have you ever lived somewhere with a lot of rain and cloudy weather?  The cloudiness really gets to some people who have not experienced it before.

adunca wrote:
Have you ever lived somewhere with a lot of rain and cloudy weather?   The cloudiness really gets to some people who have not experienced it before.

That is a great question.  It is one we asked ourselves many times before making this decision.  We have spent some time in the NW when it was not dry at all, and we still love the area.  We have spent quite a bit of time in Germany during their rainy season (which has a very similar climate during the rainy season to the PNW), and we lived in Minnesota for a number of years.  It is more sunny for sure, but 8 months of snow and below freezing weather has similar psychological effects. 

The bottom line is that there is not a sure way of knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt if this will be an issue unless we try it.  Obviously, nothing is set in stone.  But we have no roots anywhere.  Western WA, to me, offers the best of so many things.  The rain has a potential to be a detriment, but it also is a great advantage... clouds are the price you pay for rain.

Doc K

Welcome...
I did landscape work for around a decade.  Being outside a LOT makes a big difference in the winter... it rains a lot less then it seems when you are outside more.  You need a good goofy looking broad rimmed oilskin hat.  But then again I don't know any better, and wouldn't plan on living anywhere else.