Another Property Post

You may be tired of hearing about it but some people have either asked us to explain just how big 10 acres of land is. Living in the city or even the suburbs people just can't understand how much room that is or even how small it is compared to a true ranch. The image below is an example of our current neighborhood, our current lot, and how big the 10 acres is in comparison.

Click on the image to see it full size.

The Ladies Are Laying

Well the ladies have finally started laying for us. Deb found the first egg out in the coop on Thursday and we've gotten four more since. We're still not sure if all four are laying yet but either two of them are or we have a bird that lays two a day. 

It was kind of weird at first because it was like, "we have fresh eggs now what?" but of course the answer is you eat them. I decided it was lunch time so I'd make myself an egg sandwich. They're definitely smaller so I had two but that's because we're used to buying jumbo eggs from the market. In reality one egg would probably be enough but we've go to get ourselves used to normal portions of food rather than standard American portions that are really too big and unhealthy anyway. 

Here's a few more photos of those first eggs as they cooked. The yolks were a deep yellow and they cooked and tasted like... well eggs. 

I'd like mine over medium please.

A little salt and pepper (yes I broke the yolks)

Some Bread and Mayo and we're all set. 

A little corny I know, but hey it's just one more step on our way to independence.

Surviving Off Off-Grid

I recently purchased the e-book Surviving Off Off-Grid written by Michael Bunker. I finished the book last night and I have to tell you he has opened my eyes about a lot of things from survival to religion to life in general.

This book is less of a how-to book and more of a why-to book. If you're looking for a book to tell you what to buy and how to get yourself off-grid then this is not the book for you. If you're looking for a book to explain what being off-grid truly means then you need to order this book. It does give some practical examples of how to do things but more importantly he explains why you should do it.

The Author is very clear about one thing and it's the honesty of it that made me think. He says he does not have all the answers nor has he even reached his final goals of self sufficiency but he is well on his way and debunks a lot of the major excuses as to why you can't go off-grid. How many here think they could live in Texas (or anywhere else for that matter) without air conditioning? 90% of those reading this will say no they can't but if that's the case explain how the human race survived thousands of years without it?

It's a short 270 page book and I don't want to give a lot of it away but I'll tell you this, If you call yourself a Christian then you must read this book.

BTW, if you use one of the two links on this post to go buy the book, I also get a commission on the sale and it helps us get to our goal of being off-grid.

-mike

My Review

Originally submitted at CSN Stores

Great quality for the price

By Mike from Kalifornia on 3/1/2011

 

4out of 5

I was a bit apprehensive ordering a brand of cast iron that I had never heard of before but then I figured it's cast iron, what could go wrong.

I opened the box and found it packed very well and everything intact. Nothing broken or damaged and everything there.

The only negative I have to say (which cost them the 5th star) was the dinner bell. Granted that wasn't my main focus for buying the set but nevertheless it was a part of the product. The dinner bell is a simple bended rod like they all are but this one was painted black. I held it up by the provided rope and rang it only to cover my kitchen with flakes of black paint. My suggestion would be just forget the paint and dip it in a light oil before packaging.

Other than that it all works fine, is nice and heavy and I expect to have it around for a long time.

(legalese)

My Review

Originally submitted at CSN Stores

Can't go wrong with Lodge

By Mike from Kalifornia on 3/1/2011

 

5out of 5

Pretty simple, it's Lodge Cast Iron. Take care of it and your great grandkids will give it to their great grandkids.

Don't take care of it and your great grandkids will clean off the rust and give it to their great grandkids.

(legalese)

We have a home.

Not much to say other than we were successful in our bid and now have the privilege of making monthly mortgage payments on a 10 acre lot in Oklahoma. However as long as we make those payments on time (and we plan on paying as much more as we can afford with each payment) it's ours to do with as we see fit.

My Prize

I recently won a contest over at Back Yard Farming that was a $60.00 gift certificate for CSN stores. I looked at a lot of things and finally decided that you can never go wrong with cast iron cookware. Here is what was delivered to the house today.

5qt dutch oven.
3qt saucepan with lid.
10" square frying pan.
12" frying pan.
dinner bell.

This all had free shipping and I could have gotten everything but the dutch oven and not paid a cent. However I decided to add on twelve dollars myself and get it all. Not a bad little gift for reading a blog. Hopefully I'll get to 500 followers myself one day and can return the favor.

-mike

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO-klahoma where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain

Yes folks, while I hope talking about it early doesn't jinx it, it looks like Oklahoma just might be where we end up homesteading. We found 10 acres of land between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. It is mainly wooded with some flat, some sloping terrain and part of that flat is at the top of a hill. (Can you say wind generator?) No water or power at the site and the last 1/4 mile is county maintained dirt road. Some would see these as negatives, but I see them as selling points.

My wife and daughter are willing to go pretty much wherever I want to take them and my wife in particular is more that ready to get away from the "American Dream ©" That is a home and mortgage that you spend your lifetime slaving away making others rich just so you can rent your home from the bank while they let you believe you actually own it. (deep breath) That is really a subject for The Tinfoil Fedora so I'll leave that one alone.

What we really want is somewhere that is away from most people, yet close enough to be able to find part time work to help get things setup and ready. This land would cost us only $100.00 per month for 20 years, but can be paid off anytime so the goal is to have the majority of it done by the end of the year. I have somewhat of a plan to have a job there before we move that involves Walmart stock work and a transfer to one of the seven stores in the general area. That way we're not limited to just what we can save when we head out, and frankly I think it'll be June or July of 2012 before we head there because I don't really relish the idea of setting up things and getting ourselves established in the middle of winter.

The real question would be is there enough timber on the land of sufficient size to build a log cabin from? Or maybe mill it into traditional lumber to build anything from. From the pictures it looks like there might be a small stream but we don't know if it's a seasonal thing from the snow. If not there is always trying for a well and or rain water capture. For heating and cooking we want to use wood and solar, supplemented by propane when needed. Power of course would be a combination of solar and wind supplemented by a generator. I'm a fan of the humanure method of sanitation, but the wife isn't convinced yet. There are always septic tanks as long as it doesn't contaminate the ground water. 

The only real caveat would be internet access. This of course is a must have and would need to be either satellite ($$$) cellular ($$$ and data caps) or figuring out a wireless system. I'm sure that at least for the initial setup we'll be using cellular and just have to watch how much time we spend on it. The best bet would be find a homeowner with high speed (preferably on a hill) and setup a couple of directional relay antennas and run it that way.

We should know by the end of the week if this is going to happen so keep your finger crossed.