Some people may not know what off-the-grid or off-grid means, so here it is --- The term off-the-grid or off-grid refers to living in a self-sufficient manner without reliance on one or more public utilities.
Off-grid living is no longer a one room log cabin in the woods. It's energy independency. You don't have to rely on utility companies, you create your own power. Today, there are more than 180,000 off-grid homes in the US.
It's that time again... replacing the wood decking on the bridge on our driveway.
First all the old decking had to be removed.
Then all the new decking had to be put into place and secured.
We went from two wood decking strips to the whole bridge being decked. Turned out so nice! Thankfully the guys got this done before the weather turned. We're just over a week into fall, but now it's time to prep for winter because snow is right around the corner.
We finally did it! We moved our
driveway over and made a parking area that is big enough to turn a trailer
around. We have been wanting to do this for a while now, and I am so excited
that it's almost done – all we have left is to finish planting out all the dirt areas.
From the main driveway, you
were able to see down into our place, the house, the yard, the cars,
everything. In the dry summer months, when someone drove by or it got windy,
the dust would roll on down into our place. So with moving the driveway over, building
a burm across the old driveway entrance and planting it out, it will give us
that extra bit of privacy and hopefully keep the dust out.
Last fall, Tony roughed in the
new driveway and was able to get some base rock down before winter.
Then in early April Tony
started cutting down trees, this was originally to expand our wildfire
defensible space around the house {click here}, but it evolved into a much larger project... After a few of the trees came down and we picked up the mess, we walked around our driveway (new and old) and started tossing around ideas of how we wanted to get rid of the old driveway entrance, and just how everything would lay out and come together. Then Tony suggested that we could take some dirt from over here and put it over there and voila, we could have a really large parking area. I said let's do it!
A few weeks went by and then I came home to a big surprise! Tony was in the excavator and a friend was in a bulldozer and they were moving a TON of dirt! I was giddy with excitement that the driveway project was actually happening!
From the time Tony started moving dirt, it took 3 and a half days (over a week and a half time period) to complete the driveway and parking area project and since Tony was able to reuse the rock from the old driveway in the new parking area, we were able to save about $2500 because we didn't need to buy rock - I really loved that part! I could not be happier with how this project has turned out, it's even better than I anticipated. Now we just have to finish planting out all of the dirt areas.
New Parking Area
We can park cars/trucks - 6 wide, 2 deep.
Just above the row of boulders on the middle terrace, we planted some Everybearing Strawberries. I know we're taking a bit of a chance having the strawberries out in the open like that, but hopefully the deer will leave the majority of them alone and they will spread and creep around and down the boulder wall.
Everbearing Strawberries
About 6 feet behind the strawberries, is a row of Cascara trees, and right behind those are two rows of Redstem Ceanothus.
Cascara (Rhamnus purshiana)
Redstem Ceanothus (Ceanothus sanguineus)
Going up the back wall of the burm that blocks off the entrance to our old driveway, we have several rows of Redstem Ceanothus, followed by several roes of Western White Pine, one row of Rocky Mountain Maples, and two more rows of Western White Pines. On the very top we have a row of Cascara trees and below that, on the main driveway side, is a row of American Cranberries. We will be adding some more mature Vine Maples and maybe a few Noble Firs on the top to help block the view a bit more until everything else starts to grow up.
Western White Pine (Pinus monticola)
Rocky Mountain Maple (Acer glabrum)
American Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon)
And finally back towards the house I built a stone retaining wall to make a flower bed where we planted some Kinnikinnick.
Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
Current Plant Count:
15 American Cranberries
14 Cascaras
26 Ceanothus'
50 Everbearing Strawberries
7 Kinnikinnick
15 Rocky Mountain Maples
43 Western White Pines
In addition to all of the baby plants we are putting in, we're also going to throw down more grass seed to help stabilize all of the dirt. I am so excited, I can't wait for everything to grow up.
It is Spring Break right now, and we decided to stay home to get some projects done around the property.
Every year after the snow melts away, we are left with a mess! There is a 14'-16' swath of rock that is scattered in the grass alongside the driveway from the snowplow and snowblower. There are broken branches and twigs scattered all over the place. And the grass and all the plants are matted down and just look blah. I cannot wait for everything to perk up and start greening up!
All this rock had to be racked back into the driveway.
Now that the majority of the snow has melted I wanted to take advantage of the time off and get some work done around the house. So this week I have been cleaning up and burning in between rain showers.
Burning yard debris.
Yesterday there was another break in the rain and I decided to get rid of one of the many rock piles we have scattered here and there - we have very rock ground. About a year and a half after we moved up here, Tony and I used up some of our excess rock to build a couple of rock stars {click here}. After we were done, we intended to transplant plants around the stars... but we never quite got around to it. So fast forward to yesterday and I decided to add a third star.
I printed off my original grid star design that I made (each star is 12'x12'), grabbed my gloves, a tape measure, marking spray paint, stakes, and twine. Next I measured out where my stakes needed to go, strung out my twine, and marked my lines on the ground with my marker spray paint.
Then I started to fill in my star outline with rocks. I found the best angled rocks for the star points, then made my rock outline, and lastly filled in the center.
After my star was completed, I raked around all three stars and just cleaned it up a bit because this year I AM going to plant around the stars and get that flowerbed finished!
I think it turned out pretty good. The whole project took me about 4 hours, and I already had all the supplies so it cost me nothing!
Last weekend Caitlyn and I went on a road trip through the beautiful Columbia River Gorge to pick up a few new additions to our mini-farm we seem to be starting. Where were the guys? They stayed home and worked on the chicken coop. I'll post about that soon!
Off for a fun 9-hour road trip!
I love the drive along the Columbia River and through the Gorge because of the ever changing landscape, so many breath taking sights and views! We also lucked out and had gorgeous weather the whole trip.
These wind turbines are HUGE!
Had to stop at Stonehenge.
Meet our newest additions - a breeding pair of American Chinchilla Rabbits! Aren't they just gorgeous... and huge!
Trixie
Reuben
Reuben is 3.5 months old and weighs in at just over 5 pounds. Trixie is 11 months old and weighs in at just under 10 pounds.
When they are full grown, Bucks will weigh between 9-11 pounds and Does will weigh between 10-12 pounds.
Reuben
Trixie
Trixie and Reuben, who are very soft, sweet, and cuddly, did great on the car ride home and are settling right in.
Click {here} for more information on American Chinchillas.
A while back I decided that I
wanted to finish out all the closets in our home with a wood planking look –
aka shiplap. So far I have finished out both of the kids closets {click here}
and I think they turned out great!
When I make a decision I usually
jump with both feet, while Tony thinks things through a bit more. So Sunday
night I decided that I wanted to finish out our linen closet in the master
bathroom and tore everything out of the closet so I would have a clean space
and be ready to get started the next morning... after I ran to Lowe’s to get
supplies that is.
Real shiplap is more than I
wanted to spend, but that’s the overall look I’m wanting in all the closets – it’s
a nice neutral texture that can be added to any space and can be styled in a
lot of different ways.
A popular technique to get the
shiplap look at a lower cost is to cut a piece of plywood into strips that you
nail to the wall just slightly spaced apart.This will save you a few bucks, but on the down side you have to rip
plywood into perfectly straight strips and balance coins or spacers between
boards to get the perfect spacing which would make the project a lot more labor
intensive than I wanted to attempt.
So the best solution, at a
reasonable price, that I found was to use tongue and grove planks. This is what
I used in the kids closets, and it is so incredibly easy to install, yet it
still gives me the look I’m wanting.
Altogether - planks, wood
filler, sandpaper, paint, and boards for shelving totaled $126 and the project
took about 4 hours spread out over three days to finish. Three days was to give
enough time for the paint and stain to dry properly – otherwise it would have
been all done in one day.
The linen closet is 44” wide by
2’7” deep with a back wall + slanted ceiling measuring 6’10” –-- soooo... there
was a lot of measuring and cutting involved.
I started the first board in
the bottom left corner, used the level and a scrap piece of sheetrock to keep
the board half an inch off the subfloor (the spacing will allow for the future
installation of flooring) and nailed in the board using the brad nailer. It took me somewhere between
one and a half to two hours to get all the planking up.
After the boards were up, I went back and
filled all the nail holes and smoothed out any seams or knot holes with wood
filler.After the wood filler had time
to dry, I went back and sanded all those spots smooth.Then paint!I used less than half a can of Valspar “Snowcap White” (one heavy coat +
touch ups).
Next, I figured out where I
wanted my shelves to be at, measured and screwed in sidewall supports for the
shelving to sit on. I cut each board, made sure that they fit properly, then
stained them with Varathane Wood Stain “Kona”. After the boards were dry, I put
them into the closet, and voila, all done!
I absolutely love how it turned
it. Now 3 out of 4 of the upstairs closets are done! I love progress!
Back in mid-November we adopted
this cute little guy.
Ranger - 8 weeks old
Ranger - 10 weeks old
Everyone automatically thinks Ranger
is a little black lab puppy and I have gotten tired of saying “Nope, he’s a McNab,
Border Collie, Catahoula, and Kelpie hybrid. No, he’s not a mutt he was purposely
bred that way.” So I have started saying “Nope, he’s a McBorder Catahoupie.”
Most people haven’t heard of most of those breeds anyway, so... oh well, it’s
easier to say.
Ranger - 15 weeks old
Ranger - 5 months old
Fast forward to mid-February
and we picked up 6 cute little chicks. We specifically picked out chicks that
will grow up to look different from each other; it will make it easier to tell
who is who.
From top to bottom:
Milo – Mottled Java
Opal – Olive Egger
Bella – Black Sex Link
Bessie – Blue Wyandotte
Rosie – Rhode Island Red
Scarlet – Sicilian Buttercup
Ranger isn’t sure what to think
of these tiny, noisy creatures.
The chicks are currently in the
house. We have to wait until the snow melts so we can finish the chicken coop.
But in the meantime, our cats are enjoying the coop. I wonder what they will
think when it’s done and full of noisy chickens.
Coming soon... we have to wait
until the passes are clear so we can take a road trip (about 3 and a half hours
each way) so we can go pick up Reuben & Trixie, our breeding pair of American
Chinchilla Rabbits! So excited!!!
Oh, and we still have to build
a rabbit hutch for them too. Just waiting for the snow to melt! So now we have 3 cats, 1 dog, and 6 chicks plus 2 rabbits on their way. Our little mountain homestead is slowly growing.
