M Traynor

Hey just saw the property sold - congrats! Holler if you need any help with anything. I'm actually thinking of starting an in-person permie meetup group for CT because it it pretty travel-able, esp when all this winter rain gives us a break.  

Hi potential new neighbors! Sounds like you've got a lovely property picked out. Any updates? Did you close on it? I live in central CT and have my own little place as it is to handle for the foreseeable future, but not too far from Hamden. I'd be interested in workshops or cookouts for sure. CT needs some more of those.

Thanks for the video! I love that one point where it is explained she keeps these small pieces of fabric as they are memories. Now kind of wishing I had kept even a quarter of the scraps of fabric that have moved through my hands haha.

One other observation: she seems to be using 100% natural fibers - beautiful ones at that. Tiny pieces from polyester clothing today wouldn't hold up the way she is using the good stuff here for her pot holders and rags.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Hmm they might want to forage earlier and I didn't think of that. Thanks for the responses! Their situation is: inside their house from like midnight - 6:30 a.m. (now) and then foraging in the yard with water/pool access all day and food when I purposely feed them. I believe they are generally 99% content.

Hi all. I'm newer to the waterfowl life. I have had 4 female cayugas for a year now, which I got as cute little ducklins last May.

They are all grown up and have their own attitudes and personalities. One is very, very loud though in the morning. It sounds like a bubbling up of quiet quacks, then the 1 goes off and she full on CACKLES until let out. They all used to be cool with me letting them out of their house around 8 am or so, but now it's like 6.... 6:30. I do live in a city with cool neighbors, but I do not want to wear out the ducks' welcome while we are here. (Looking to relocate to a more rural location where we can all be ourselves.) In the meantime, should I just expect this to be our new normal wake-up time? Can I do something to soothe them?

Also, the one loud one sometimes cackles throughout the day I think for attention or food, but not as often as in the morning. Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Annie Collins wrote:I get comforters or thick blankets from thrift stores/ yard sales, etc., fold them a couple of times, and voila, a dog bed. When they get dirty, they get washed and hung out to dry on a sunny day.

Same! Or I drape them over various dog beds or use them to make tipis. Plus it gives me an excuse to relieve thrift stores of their beautiful plaid wool blankets.

Unfortunately, almost never. There is a co-op about an hour away from me - and it's not 100% zero waste or anything; still many pieces of packaging throughout the store - but they are trying to promote bulk and they're in a small kind-of college town. Unfortunately super expensive (or should I say, accurately-priced?) as well and obviously you need to have a membership. I applaud them, still.

I think a lot can be purchased close to zero waste without these stores, though, if you have the good fortune to be able to buy a lot at one time/stockpile when you find an item you need and work from there. I'm also interested in how this works out if say, me and a bunch of my neighbors got together to buy bulk online and split everything versus say, 6 households traveling around, buying 6x the packaging, to find items that we all use & need. Or 20 households? I guess a mini co-op is what I'm after. The ugly truth is that some zero waste stores may still use a lot of packaging anyways, just behind the scenes so you feel good about your purchases there.  

Hey there. I'm interested in the learning and helping part just to gain skills and experience, the day trip kind. Gladly will help out with planting. I have a little experience in building and built my own duck coop/shelter. Also very interested in RMH workshops of any kind.

Hey chiming in from Connecticut. I have plans to relocate to Maine in the next 2 years or so and I frequently see listings for large acreages. Certainly enough to support multiple families. I am a single person looking for the illusive sweet spot hopefully where I can homestead, but also be social and surrounded by at least somewhat like-minded folks. I know I can't do it alone sanely, so there must be some people out there who feel similarly.

Agreed on the vagueness of morality, but I love the ideas of mutual aid and reciprocity among neighbors, or neighbors all living together. An ideal mix of independence/privacy and resource sharing is something toward which I would strive, strong communication and mutual respect being the guiding principles. I want to create and live in the kind of place where everyone works hard and everyone gets to reap the benefits.

Alternatively, I am also starting to look for like-minded people to meet and hopefully connect with as far as skills and information sharing. People anywhere in New England.