We are so far behind that we haven't even mentioned the 2 new additions to our family. I'll let Brianna and Megan each share more whenever they have time / feel the need, Ketziah joined us last October or November (she just turned 4 in December; B&B are legal guardians), and Corban and Megan welcomed Caraline to the family on October 7th.
I was able to see my sister and her family last September. They live in northern CA, off grid in the forest. They are restoring an old farm house ... I "wish" I would have gotten pictures of the basement. It did not have a finished floor, but was nice and dry. There's about 160 acres, most of which is forest, however there is a clearing in front of their house that they call "the orchard" ... several really nice, super productive apple trees, a few pear trees, and a few other fruit trees. It was interesting to walk through and see all the damage done by black bears helping themselves. They will literally reach for a branch, pull it down to get apples, and break the branch in the process. I show a few large buckets of apples that we harvested ... that was probably about 2% of what was ready.
Another thing I did not get pictures of were her GARDENS! What was wrong with me?! I guess I was just too busy enjoying myself to remember to take pictures or videos. Actually, a big part of the issue was my phone had zero service, so I usually just left it in the bedroom. It was really nice to not have to think about the phone. They have a land line (so that's the only wire going to their home), and one very specific spot where you MIGHT be able to get cell phone reception at a certain time of the day and only if the conditions are perfect. Matt built a nice bench for that spot. I did not attempt to see if my phone worked there because I was just so glad to be able to ignore it. Anyway ... I'm so proud of their gardening efforts! Steph has a kitchen garden that's totally in the shade / forest but close to the house. And then the main garden is down in the orchard. It's all fenced with 8' deer fencing (it's plastic ... they are hoping to eventually install something permanent), that also keeps the bears out. We visited her neighbor and good friend's house, too ... I fell in love with her gardens.
Their gardens are all so neat ... I'm calling them organized chaos. Her friend's garden was what I'd call permaculture, too. I've moved around so much that I've never had the opportunity to settle in and get a permaculture vibe going, so for now I just keep going with my 30" rows. Maybe some day. It was really neat to see Steph growing some of the seeds I sent her, and she gave me a few of hers, too.
Their property is the last one on the dead end dirt road; there are 4 or 5 other properties before theirs, and everyone is just so nice. I'm a bit sad they are all so far away from me!!!!! I could see is all getting along fabulously. Just a bunch of laid back hippies / hillbillies with pretty conservative views as far as morality and family values go. Very good folks. The closest "convenience" store / gas station is the kind of podunk thing you'd only imagine seeing in a movie. You can't even call it a whistle stop. And I have no clue how far away the closest town is, but I know they have to go an hour for any kind of shopping ... unless they want to pay about 4 times the regular going price at the podunk place.
Here's a video I put together that showcases a few highlights. Love to all, j
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