Back to Basic Living

We extended our weekend to include today (Monday) because Bob, from the Department of Agriculture, agreed to come out and do one more hive inspection with us. We knew we had lost one hive, but we were hopeful the remaining five would be disease free and doing well.

Bob confirmed we had healthy hives, and he also had suggestions on making our weak hive a little stronger. Sugar water. And lots of it. So we placed a gallon jug of sugar water on top of the weak hive and said a little prayer that it would help. The way the girls took to that stuff, I have a feeling they’ll be rocking before too long at all!

I wrote about Bob’s visit on The Bee Buzz. I also posted some pictures there. Check them out!

The girls are hanging in there and life is good on the homestead. Not much more we could hope for.

Bee Free,
Penny

As Charlotte pointed out to me, it’s been a while since I posted. I really do apologize for that. We’ve been working around the homestead, worrying about the bees, and trying to sell our home in town. Have you ever felt overwhelmed with life to the point of being unable to do anything at all? I have been pretty much at that particular point – and it left me with what I suppose is “writer’s block”. I’m back on track now though, and ready to write yet another rambling blog full of my stream of consiousness.

The bees have given us quite a bit of stress lately – we were seriously questioning the health of two of the six hives. I contacted Bob W. from the Department of Agriculture and he agreed to come on out and help us examine each of our hives. Bob W. is saint – full of compassion, understanding, and a great deal of knowledge about bees. We had a wonderful visit with him, and while I wouldn’t say he gave us the best news in the world about our hives, he did explain an awful lot of things to us and promised to come out again in a month to take another look and see how the girls are doing. I wrote about his visit on The Bee Buzz Blog and posted some pictures on the website.

My parents came up from Georgia for a week and we all stayed out on the homestead. It was a great time and I can’t believe how quickly the time flew by. We accomplished a great deal during their visit. Bernie and Daddy knocked down the old Wild Cherry Tree that was threatening to fall on the house. They also greased Bernie’s backhoe and got it in good working order. Daddy and I spent a great deal of time removing all those strips in the walls of the mobile home and then mudding them. We got just about half of it finished before he left and I’m ready to prime it and then paint the walls. I’ll put up some pics when I do that so y’all can see the difference.

We still haven’t sold our home in town and it’s getting down right depressing. We’re trying not to let it get us down, but after spending a week on the homestead it’s getting harder and harder to leave. We spent our 20 year wedding anniversary out there and Bernie’s birthday. It was really nice. I almost cried when we had to leave.

On the upside, we saw turkeys in the yard this week! Man, are they big! We haven’t seen signs of them in a while, so laying eyes on them was a pleasant surprise. I’m hoping to see one of them on the table for the Thanksgiving meal this year.

That’s it for now. I’ll try to be better about keeping in touch.

Bee Free,
Penny

Another great weekend out at the homestead has come and gone. We arrived on Friday night just in time for the sky to open up and let loose a tremendous amount of rain. It didn’t rain too long, and when it was finished we walked outside and took a deep breath of the fresh air it left behind. It rained a little during the week too and we were pleasantly surprised to see new shoots of grass coming up throughout the yard.

We also noticed the telephone company had been out and run the line underground for our new telephone service. I believe they took a lot of time and went out of their way to map the route of the line through every brand new blade of grass that had just sprouted. I could not believe how many just sprouted seedlings were sacrificed for the phone line. Oh well, we wanted a phone line and now we have one. I should just be thankful and sew some more seeds.

We spent a great deal of Saturday installing the phone wire from the house so the phone company can hook their line up to it. That involved digging through a fair amount of rocks – but I’m proud to report we sacrificed very little new grass for it. Hopefully the phone company will be there this week and hook the house up to their line and we’ll have a dial tone next weekend. I’m going to pick up the DSL modem this week so Bernie can install it next weekend. We’ve decided it’s worth the monthly bill to have internet connection. While we are striving to get back to basic living, we do appreciate the value of the internet for communication and for information. It’s one of the few “luxeries” we hope not to have to give up.

I made some bird feeders this weekend from some 1 litre soda bottles. This seems like a great project to tackle with kids. I put some pictures and a narrative of it on the website. Check it out.

We’re heading back out to the homestead next weekend and, as always, have a list of things to accomplish. I’ll post when we return and will hopefully have some pictures.

Live Free,
Penny

Another great weekend out at the homestead has come and gone. We arrived on Friday night just in time for the sky to open up and let loose a tremendous amount of rain. It didn’t rain too long, and when it was finished we walked outside and took a deep breath of the fresh air it left behind. It rained a little during the week too and we were pleasantly surprised to see new shoots of grass coming up throughout the yard.

We also noticed the telephone company had been out and run the line underground for our new telephone service. I believe they took a lot of time and went out of their way to map the route of the line through every brand new blade of grass that had just sprouted. I could not believe how many just sprouted seedlings were sacrificed for the phone line. Oh well, we wanted a phone line and now we have one. I should just be thankful and sew some more seeds.

We spent a great deal of Saturday installing the phone wire from the house so the phone company can hook their line up to it. That involved digging through a fair amount of rocks – but I’m proud to report we sacrificed very little new grass for it. Hopefully the phone company will be there this week and hook the house up to their line and we’ll have a dial tone next weekend. I’m going to pick up the DSL modem this week so Bernie can install it next weekend. We’ve decided it’s worth the monthly bill to have internet connection. While we are striving to get back to basic living, we do appreciate the value of the internet for communication and for information. It’s one of the few “luxeries” we hope not to have to give up.

I made some bird feeders this weekend from some 1 litre soda bottles. This seems like a great project to tackle with kids. I put some pictures and a narrative of it on the website. Check it out.

We’re heading back out to the homestead next weekend and, as always, have a list of things to accomplish. I’ll post when we return and will hopefully have some pictures.

Live Free,
Penny

Another great weekend out at the homestead has come and gone. We arrived on Friday night just in time for the sky to open up and let loose a tremendous amount of rain. It didn’t rain too long, and when it was finished we walked outside and took a deep breath of the fresh air it left behind. It rained a little during the week too and we were pleasantly surprised to see new shoots of grass coming up throughout the yard.

We also noticed the telephone company had been out and run the line underground for our new telephone service. I believe they took a lot of time and went out of their way to map the route of the line through every brand new blade of grass that had just sprouted. I could not believe how many just sprouted seedlings were sacrificed for the phone line. Oh well, we wanted a phone line and now we have one. I should just be thankful and sew some more seeds.

We spent a great deal of Saturday installing the phone wire from the house so the phone company can hook their line up to it. That involved digging through a fair amount of rocks – but I’m proud to report we sacrificed very little new grass for it. Hopefully the phone company will be there this week and hook the house up to their line and we’ll have a dial tone next weekend. I’m going to pick up the DSL modem this week so Bernie can install it next weekend. We’ve decided it’s worth the monthly bill to have internet connection. While we are striving to get back to basic living, we do appreciate the value of the internet for communication and for information. It’s one of the few “luxeries” we hope not to have to give up.

I made some bird feeders this weekend from some 1 litre soda bottles. This seems like a great project to tackle with kids. I put some pictures and a narrative of it on the website. Check it out.

We’re heading back out to the homestead next weekend and, as always, have a list of things to accomplish. I’ll post when we return and will hopefully have some pictures.

Live Free,
Penny

Wow – where does the time go? Seems like only yesterday I last posted, but looking at the date of the last entry, I see that’s not at all true. I apologize. What a month it’s been for us.

As I mentioned earlier, we planned a big camp out at the homestead for about 30 bikers from across the country during the weekend of August 17- 20. We took the full week off before hand to get things ready and Spotman showed up from Iowa to spend the week helping out. We had bikers from Texas to Wisconsin, and South Carolina to Massachusetts and places all in between show up. What a great time. It was nice to see people we consider family and share our homestead with them. It is a bonus that many in this group are people who live a back to basics lifestyle, and a handful are what I consider survivalists. We got many tips and suggestions, and Uncle Rock even supplied a book on building a green wood house. Nice!

The following weekends were spent getting the homestead back in order after having a yard full of visitors and relaxing for a bit. We are still trying to sell our house in town so we can move permanently to our homestead, and this week we had a set back. Well, I guess the set back actually occurred long before this week, but we’ve been so busy we didn’t heed the warning signs. The realtor that was supposed to be working on selling our home was fired. In hindsight, it really should be no surprise. He certainly has not been the “go getter” we expected when we signed on with his agency. His excuse of the “soft” real estate market was easier to believe when we were so incredibly busy with getting the homestead in order and it was more convenient to believe he was doing his best. Oh well, live and learn. We’re coming up with Plan B to sell the place now. We’re leaning towards selling it ourselves. I’ll let y’all know how it goes.

On the lighter side, it does seem that the wildlife is finally starting to get used to us being around. A couple of weekends ago, Bernie and I were in the back yard working on my trike. We were clanking around and talking and not even attempting to be quiet. Suddenly we heard a commotion in the woods behind us. We looked up just in time to see 3 deer romping through the woods. They took a quick look at us, and then casually continued on their path.

We’ve seen several bunnies (or maybe only one that is brave enough to show up time and again) and a couple of snakes (a Ring Neck and a Black Snake). Last weekend I had a bunch of dinner rolls that molded and decided to put them out for who ever was hungry for a little bread. I arranged them in a circle, so I could see when one or more was taken. Bernie took one look and said “Looks like a trap to me. No self respecting animal will fall for that.” But sure enough, there were 3 or 4 missing the next morning. And last weekend, there was not a crumb left. I didn’t get to see who benefited from that little snack, and even though Bernie is convinced it was birds and mice, I’d like to think a bear may have enjoyed some home cooking added to his diet of our blue berries. Probably it was mice, but I’m not telling Bernie that.

By the way, before you yell at me for feeding the wildlife and drawing them in as nuisances, I should tell you this is not something I intend to make a habit. I had hoped to witness some of the little fellas coming out of the woods. I missed it and don’t intend to make this a regular event. But you can’t blame me for trying at least once, can you?

Next weekend we’re heading back to the homestead with a list of things to do. I’ll be sure to take pictures this time, so y’all can see the progress we’re making. It’s getting harder and harder to leave there each week. Cross your fingers that we sell our house in town soon. The Homestead is calling us and we really need to answer that soon.

Live free,
Penny

Wow – where does the time go? Seems like only yesterday I last posted, but looking at the date of the last entry, I see that’s not at all true. I apologize. What a month it’s been for us.

As I mentioned earlier, we planned a big camp out at the homestead for about 30 bikers from across the country during the weekend of August 17- 20. We took the full week off before hand to get things ready and Spotman showed up from Iowa to spend the week helping out. We had bikers from Texas to Wisconsin, and South Carolina to Massachusetts and places all in between show up. What a great time. It was nice to see people we consider family and share our homestead with them. It is a bonus that many in this group are people who live a back to basics lifestyle, and a handful are what I consider survivalists. We got many tips and suggestions, and Uncle Rock even supplied a book on building a green wood house. Nice!

The following weekends were spent getting the homestead back in order after having a yard full of visitors and relaxing for a bit. We are still trying to sell our house in town so we can move permanently to our homestead, and this week we had a set back. Well, I guess the set back actually occurred long before this week, but we’ve been so busy we didn’t heed the warning signs. The realtor that was supposed to be working on selling our home was fired. In hindsight, it really should be no surprise. He certainly has not been the “go getter” we expected when we signed on with his agency. His excuse of the “soft” real estate market was easier to believe when we were so incredibly busy with getting the homestead in order and it was more convenient to believe he was doing his best. Oh well, live and learn. We’re coming up with Plan B to sell the place now. We’re leaning towards selling it ourselves. I’ll let y’all know how it goes.

On the lighter side, it does seem that the wildlife is finally starting to get used to us being around. A couple of weekends ago, Bernie and I were in the back yard working on my trike. We were clanking around and talking and not even attempting to be quiet. Suddenly we heard a commotion in the woods behind us. We looked up just in time to see 3 deer romping through the woods. They took a quick look at us, and then casually continued on their path.

We’ve seen several bunnies (or maybe only one that is brave enough to show up time and again) and a couple of snakes (a Ring Neck and a Black Snake). Last weekend I had a bunch of dinner rolls that molded and decided to put them out for who ever was hungry for a little bread. I arranged them in a circle, so I could see when one or more was taken. Bernie took one look and said “Looks like a trap to me. No self respecting animal will fall for that.” But sure enough, there were 3 or 4 missing the next morning. And last weekend, there was not a crumb left. I didn’t get to see who benefited from that little snack, and even though Bernie is convinced it was birds and mice, I’d like to think a bear may have enjoyed some home cooking added to his diet of our blue berries. Probably it was mice, but I’m not telling Bernie that.

By the way, before you yell at me for feeding the wildlife and drawing them in as nuisances, I should tell you this is not something I intend to make a habit. I had hoped to witness some of the little fellas coming out of the woods. I missed it and don’t intend to make this a regular event. But you can’t blame me for trying at least once, can you?

Next weekend we’re heading back to the homestead with a list of things to do. I’ll be sure to take pictures this time, so y’all can see the progress we’re making. It’s getting harder and harder to leave there each week. Cross your fingers that we sell our house in town soon. The Homestead is calling us and we really need to answer that soon.

Live free,
Penny

Wow – where does the time go? Seems like only yesterday I last posted, but looking at the date of the last entry, I see that’s not at all true. I apologize. What a month it’s been for us.

As I mentioned earlier, we planned a big camp out at the homestead for about 30 bikers from across the country during the weekend of August 17- 20. We took the full week off before hand to get things ready and Spotman showed up from Iowa to spend the week helping out. We had bikers from Texas to Wisconsin, and South Carolina to Massachusetts and places all in between show up. What a great time. It was nice to see people we consider family and share our homestead with them. It is a bonus that many in this group are people who live a back to basics lifestyle, and a handful are what I consider survivalists. We got many tips and suggestions, and Uncle Rock even supplied a book on building a green wood house. Nice!

The following weekends were spent getting the homestead back in order after having a yard full of visitors and relaxing for a bit. We are still trying to sell our house in town so we can move permanently to our homestead, and this week we had a set back. Well, I guess the set back actually occurred long before this week, but we’ve been so busy we didn’t heed the warning signs. The realtor that was supposed to be working on selling our home was fired. In hindsight, it really should be no surprise. He certainly has not been the “go getter” we expected when we signed on with his agency. His excuse of the “soft” real estate market was easier to believe when we were so incredibly busy with getting the homestead in order and it was more convenient to believe he was doing his best. Oh well, live and learn. We’re coming up with Plan B to sell the place now. We’re leaning towards selling it ourselves. I’ll let y’all know how it goes.

On the lighter side, it does seem that the wildlife is finally starting to get used to us being around. A couple of weekends ago, Bernie and I were in the back yard working on my trike. We were clanking around and talking and not even attempting to be quiet. Suddenly we heard a commotion in the woods behind us. We looked up just in time to see 3 deer romping through the woods. They took a quick look at us, and then casually continued on their path.

We’ve seen several bunnies (or maybe only one that is brave enough to show up time and again) and a couple of snakes (a Ring Neck and a Black Snake). Last weekend I had a bunch of dinner rolls that molded and decided to put them out for who ever was hungry for a little bread. I arranged them in a circle, so I could see when one or more was taken. Bernie took one look and said “Looks like a trap to me. No self respecting animal will fall for that.” But sure enough, there were 3 or 4 missing the next morning. And last weekend, there was not a crumb left. I didn’t get to see who benefited from that little snack, and even though Bernie is convinced it was birds and mice, I’d like to think a bear may have enjoyed some home cooking added to his diet of our blue berries. Probably it was mice, but I’m not telling Bernie that.

By the way, before you yell at me for feeding the wildlife and drawing them in as nuisances, I should tell you this is not something I intend to make a habit. I had hoped to witness some of the little fellas coming out of the woods. I missed it and don’t intend to make this a regular event. But you can’t blame me for trying at least once, can you?

Next weekend we’re heading back to the homestead with a list of things to do. I’ll be sure to take pictures this time, so y’all can see the progress we’re making. It’s getting harder and harder to leave there each week. Cross your fingers that we sell our house in town soon. The Homestead is calling us and we really need to answer that soon.

Live free,
Penny

We spent last weekend out on the homestead again. I really can’t explain what it feels like to leave the city on a Friday afternoon and drive 120 miles to arrive in the middle of 65 acres and know we are there for the weekend. Yes, it’s only for the weekend right now, but I try not to think about that while we’re there.

When we arrived this weekend, Bernie immediately went out to the picnic table and began sharpening the chain on his chainsaw. I unpacked the food for the weekend, and joined him to watch the sun set. We ate supper and went to bed to get some rest for our busy Saturday.

Saturday we woke up around 6AM or so and headed outside to watch the world wake up over a cup of coffee. Fairly quickly we were dressed and busy clearing out some more of the fallen timber from the backyard. We got a lot accomplished, but had hoped to do a little more. By 5:00 we were out of gas – both literally and figuratively. The chipper/shredder worked its little butt off all day, but by then it had nothing more to give – and neither did we. Take a look at the bottom of the Album to see what we ended up with this weekend – there are some before and after pics in the last 5 or so entries.

After we got cleaned up we grilled some burgers and bratwurst and right about then our good friend from West Virginia, Duck, pulled up on his blindingly yellow Goldwing. He came in and ate with us and we sat up till around midnight visiting. He took off around 8AM the next morning, and Bernie and I busied ourselves installing 5 ceiling fans in the little house. We’re hoping this will help reduce the electric bill and wean us from the air conditioning we’ve become so accustomed to.

We got a lot accomplished this weekend and we’ve still got a lot to do. One of our driving factors right now is the big camp-out we’re hosting next week. Everything we’re doing is something that needs to be done, but it would be nice to offer our brothers and sisters a nice place to pitch a tent. And as we’ve been clearing areas Bernie has pointed out “That would be a nice place to put a shed/building/etc.”. He’s right. We’ve uncovered some great building places. Can’t wait to get that sawmill in action and see the shed that we build using the lumber we’ve milled ourselves.

Bernie describes the city as “hard”. I think he means that in reference to not only the concrete that is everywhere, but also the people. When I think of our homestead, I think of “soft”. While we work harder there than we’ve ever worked before, the view is soft on the eyes, the ground is soft on the feet, and the sounds are soft on the ear. The hard callouses I have on my hands are reminders of the softness of our homestead, if that makes any sense at all to you.

We’ll be out there again this weekend – and we’ll be staying for a week as we prepare for our big camp-out. I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to that – not only seeing a group of bikers that have become family to me, but sharing the land that is the dream of our future. I can’t wait! I’ll let y’all know all about it.

Penny

We spent last weekend out on the homestead again. I really can’t explain what it feels like to leave the city on a Friday afternoon and drive 120 miles to arrive in the middle of 65 acres and know we are there for the weekend. Yes, it’s only for the weekend right now, but I try not to think about that while we’re there.

When we arrived this weekend, Bernie immediately went out to the picnic table and began sharpening the chain on his chainsaw. I unpacked the food for the weekend, and joined him to watch the sun set. We ate supper and went to bed to get some rest for our busy Saturday.

Saturday we woke up around 6AM or so and headed outside to watch the world wake up over a cup of coffee. Fairly quickly we were dressed and busy clearing out some more of the fallen timber from the backyard. We got a lot accomplished, but had hoped to do a little more. By 5:00 we were out of gas – both literally and figuratively. The chipper/shredder worked its little butt off all day, but by then it had nothing more to give – and neither did we. Take a look at the bottom of the Album to see what we ended up with this weekend – there are some before and after pics in the last 5 or so entries.

After we got cleaned up we grilled some burgers and bratwurst and right about then our good friend from West Virginia, Duck, pulled up on his blindingly yellow Goldwing. He came in and ate with us and we sat up till around midnight visiting. He took off around 8AM the next morning, and Bernie and I busied ourselves installing 5 ceiling fans in the little house. We’re hoping this will help reduce the electric bill and wean us from the air conditioning we’ve become so accustomed to.

We got a lot accomplished this weekend and we’ve still got a lot to do. One of our driving factors right now is the big camp-out we’re hosting next week. Everything we’re doing is something that needs to be done, but it would be nice to offer our brothers and sisters a nice place to pitch a tent. And as we’ve been clearing areas Bernie has pointed out “That would be a nice place to put a shed/building/etc.”. He’s right. We’ve uncovered some great building places. Can’t wait to get that sawmill in action and see the shed that we build using the lumber we’ve milled ourselves.

Bernie describes the city as “hard”. I think he means that in reference to not only the concrete that is everywhere, but also the people. When I think of our homestead, I think of “soft”. While we work harder there than we’ve ever worked before, the view is soft on the eyes, the ground is soft on the feet, and the sounds are soft on the ear. The hard callouses I have on my hands are reminders of the softness of our homestead, if that makes any sense at all to you.

We’ll be out there again this weekend – and we’ll be staying for a week as we prepare for our big camp-out. I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to that – not only seeing a group of bikers that have become family to me, but sharing the land that is the dream of our future. I can’t wait! I’ll let y’all know all about it.

Penny