Life and times of a new farmer/homesteader
Wow, I think I found a new (online) home... {
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Wednesday, December 6, 2006
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Ok, I have been on this site for a good four hours and I have already
recieved two comments for my little introduction. On my other
blog I almost never got a comment, and certainly not many from folks I
don't know. Thanks for the warm welcome :)I started blogging because I thought that maybe someone would be interested in hearing from someone who was going back to the land, as it were. I went to that site because it was suggested by a buddy of mine, and my kids were on it. I didn't like it much, in the long run. Oh yes, I have kids. Two in fact. Ryver and Haley are my son and daughter from my marriage of twelve years, which ended about six years ago. Neither live with me. Ryv, 17, lives with my folks in Portland, Oregon, so that he can go to highschool where he wants to. My 14 y.o. daughter, Haley, lives with her mother on the slopes of Mount Hood. They make my life real. I do miss them at times, but I get to see them both fairly often, either here or in town. As I stated before, I live out here in the middle of nowhere, also known as Birkenfeld, Oregon. It is a town of about 20 people on the border of Columbia and Clatsop counties in NW Oregon. I live just outside of town. Since moving here, I have had no real luck finding work, except for the occasional one day job or task, or when things get really tight I go into Portland for a couple days and work for my mother, who owns a hardware store. I don't need much money to live, but an occasional payday does help with gas, phone, and power. A real job, even if it was part time and minimum wage, would help me with my peace of mind, but I get along ok. I'm hoping to become self-sufficient. Most of my money (that doesn't go to the above plus food,) goes toward that goal. Consequently, I buy alot of perinnials, tools, and supplies. Tools to make tools, etc. I have already ordered some trees and bushes for spring, for instance. I'm also saving up for some solar panels and a high quality inverter. I have the background to do much of what I plan, including building wind and hydro generation. Oh yeah, my background. I grew up in Washougal, WA. After highschool, I went to college several different times over several years, including attempts at philosophy, history, metal arts, computer programming, etc. before finally getting a degree in Electronics Technology. In the mean time, I worked as a butcher, in fast food, paper, lumber, metals (mostly as a machinist,) high tech, and retail. I have flipped hamburgers and engineered climate control systems. Most of my jobs have been in the millwright/technician/mechanic/general fix-it guy role, with alot of design thrown in for flavor. I have been a gardener for most of my life, mostly organic. I have done little in the way of animal husbandry. I drove a tractor for the first time this fall. My tractor. I hunt, I fish, I cook, I sew, and I produce some pretty poor quality art. It is fun though. I don't think I would have ever been ready to do what I am now trying to do if I hadn't just jumped in and done it. If you haven't done it yet, do it. It will be hard, but it will be worth it. I used to get bored alot. I don't anymore. Too much work to do to be bored, even now, in the winter. Talk to you all soon, Raymond { Last Page } { Page 178 of 181 } { Next Page } |
