Living Differently
Since it’s important to both Mike & I that we share with folks all of what it means to live how we’re living and do what we’re doing (the good stuff & the hard stuff), I don’t mind telling you that it takes a fair amount of energy to go against the grain. To live counter to the mainstream and head in a different direction.
For example, it’s not the easiest thing in the world to live in the undeveloped woods and not have a physical address. Yesterday, we went to the laundromat in our nearby small town and used the time to hop online to fill out an application for Mike to get Medicaid (getting Mike health insurance has long been on our to-do list). In the process of filling out all the questions, I came to the realization that we do not look good on paper.
I work part time (12-hours a week) and I’m on disability. Mike’s work is to invest in building infrastructure at Empty Mountain, for us and for others - so no regular job-job. We have no monthly mortgage or rent costs to report (odd). Our annual property taxes are $90-something. We have no utility bills to report (strange). And yes, while we do have money in savings left over from the sale of our house, we are applying for state assisted health insurance for Mike because that money is earmarked for our aspiring mindfulness practice center and we aren’t touching it for daily living purposes (unconventional). We are living close to the bone, financially speaking, and all of it in service of choicefully deciding to live a different way of life: off-grid, in the woods, and in hopeful benefit & support ourselves & others on the path of mindfulness & community (unusual).
Switching.
This past week, Mike got our two 200-watt PV panels and solar-powered machine system up and running. So now we have a way to charge our devices & our growing arsenal of battery-powered tools. Our newest addition: a Nicole-sized electric chainsaw. We’ve also been researching & slowly purchasing rechargeable-style lanterns to use around the cabin for easy/non-flame light sources.
The weather, as is typical of springtime in the mountains here, has been a mixture of all the seasons, sometimes all in the span of one day. We’ve gotten snow, rain, and 70-degree sunny days here on the land in the past week. Given the extent of our insulation, we’re still averaging 20-degrees warmer inside the cabin than the outside air temp when I wake up each morning around 6am, even though the fire in the woodstove has long been dead. It’s been typically 30 or 40-degrees outside and 50 or 60 inside.
Some other things we’ve been up to over the past few days:
Taking walkabouts on the land and trying to familiarize ourselves with the many sizes & kinds of animal scat we’ve been finding, and which pile belongs to which four-legged. We know we have an abundance of deer and elk scat. What we’re unsure about is whether we might also have moose and mountain lion.
Figuring out our systems for water hauling, trash hauling, wood chopping & fire-starter material collecting.
Planning for our new humanure compost toilet set up, which will replace our pit-style latrine.
Researching ways to live side-by-side with our tiniest, peskiest and most currently active creature of concern: ticks!
Working on getting a fundraising campaign going, in order to raise money for our biggest purchase this year: a portable sawmill.
Organizing our EM program events for this summer.
We returned home only 2-weeks ago, after nearly 6-months of being at Deer Park Monastery, and since we moved onto the land only just last summer, we’re in highly active learning mode. We’re experiencing a whole new unfamiliar season on the land. We’ve spotted our first yellow flowers; had a 3-turkey parade gallivant through our front yard; double-tarped our tool storage wall tent due to water leakage; and gotten our motorcycles out of winter hibernation mode. The list goes on & on - just as it does, ya know, cuz being human.
Even though in large part we have very little idea about what we’re doing, we’re somehow managing to do it just the same. One slow step at a time. With delight and discomfort keeping us company, we’re learning & growing; stretching & rewiring. We’re doing the necessary work - logistically & energetically - of living a different way of life.