So, narrowly escaped losing new plant starts to two nights of heavy frost.  I actually got up out of bed last night and put all of my seedlings in the garage.  I NEED a greenhouse so badly!  On a major positive, we've got people coming to see our house this weekend; maybe they'll make an offer and these seedlings will be planted in a different place.  Well, off I go.  I've got a food dryer to build, a compost cage to construct, and a garage door to paint. I think tonight I'll settle in for a bit of work whilst listening to as many podcasts I can squeeze in to further my permaculture indoctrination, I mean EDucation...whatever

Urban Permaculture Trailer

I am super excited about this video coming out.  If you haven't seen his other two videos about permaculture you ought to check the out.  You kind of have to look past the titles of the other two (surviving the coming crisis) and realize that he's not a crazy American underground prepper who thinks that he's got to bury guns every twenty yards in order to defend what he has from the have-nots.  He's really about stewardship and getting people back to taking care of creation rather than fighting against it.  I'm excited to see the full film about this urban setting since that is what I find myself in at the mo...

Rainy Day Planning

It's raining and 47 degrees outside.  My cold weather greens are safe for a few more days, but we've had several days of warmth that I fear will cause my spinach to bolt.  I plan on putting in some variety of New Zealand or Okinawa spinach that will give me a yield through the hot Kentucky summers, but I haven't ordered seed yet.

Today's plans include...deciding on my plant guilds and ordering seeds/bulbs to plant them; discussing with my wife more places to plant so we don't lose too much play space for the wee ones; and drawing up plans for a downdraft food dryer/dehydrator.  I probably won't get all of it done, but I always try to overplan rather than underplan.  I don't know how much food we'll have to dry this summer, but it'll either be tons of tomatos and nothing else, or it will be tons of tomatos and a smattering of other things.  Or...we'll find our land in the country, and sacrifice a season of gardening for changing locations; only time will tell.

Starting out...not starting over

Friends... followers... curious blog cruisers who happened to land here by accident...

Those of you who know me well, know the deep desire I have to escape from the suburban status quo and the concrete maze in which I live.  I was born here in the Kentucky bluegrass, grew up in rural Michigan in a family that lived simply and raised sheep until my teens.  I moved back to the commonwealth and began living out my dream (with the girl of my dreams by my side): teaching, owning a home, raising a family, etc.  I was (and am) happy, but I always missed the country and the simple life of being in constant, intimate contact with the land, with family, and with a few good friends.  Now, my wife, my three kiddos, my dog, my cat and I are all attempting to achieve the dream of a simple life once again.  Our long term goal: get out of the city limits and live in the wooded hills of southeastern central kentucky, plant a food forest, raise chickens, and spend a lot of time in nature with family and a few good friends.  Our present situation: we live on .08 acres on a busy street in the suburbs of Lexington and we're not going to wait for the simple life to come to us once we move; we're bringing it to ourselves right here, right now.  Sure, our options will be more diverse once we move outside the city limits (our city zoning commission doesn't allow sheep and goats), but I'm choosing to be content with my present context and practice permaculture principles no matter where I live.  

I don't know if anyone else will read these posts, or if anyone else will even care.  I do think it will be meaningful to me to log our progress towards simplicity.  The steps we take to reduce clutter in our physical space as well as to declutter our schedules may inspire some of you to try out your own simple life.  The permaculture principles I'm implementing in my yard and garden (and someday on a country homestead) may give you reason to pause and reevaluate your own methods and expectations.  That's all for now.  I've still got a wonderful job to tend to and right now, I'm going to simplify my desk by grading some papers and decluttering my workspace.  Happy permaculture people...seriously if you haven't heard of permaculture, look it up - it's awesome.