Hello Everyone!
A brief introduction: Hi I am Jacob.
TL;DR: There is no tl;dr because you should have more patience and attention span than a gnat on a high wind.
Apocalyptic Homesteading Day 44!
2020 Dies With A Whimper Not A Bang, Music In The Rain, Observations On Water Runoff & A Mellow New Year's Celebration
I woke up a few times already this morning but let myself drift back off to sleep each time because I do not have anything all that pressing to do today aside from staying out of the rain. I fell asleep rather early in the evening and did not make it even close to midnight to ring in the new year. Early in the evening I hung out with the dogs in the storage tent at the new shelter site listening to music until my boy dog started to get a little chilly and I began thinking about how warm and cozy it would be in the living quarters tent. So I called it an early night, powered down the music rig and hiked through the drizzling rain back to base camp where I ate a bunch of mozzarella cheese and fell the fuck asleep to the sounds of fireworks and gunshots. Thankfully the dogs did not freak out too bad over the racket because most of the gunshots and fireworks were pretty far away but they did paw me awake several times later in the evening when all the racket intensified around midnight.
All in all it was a very mellow new year's eve and I am glad that I at least had a nice dry place to vibe out in listening to music with the dogs. Had it not been raining it sure would have been a really nice day (and night) but I guess that a rainy new year's eve is sort of fitting with the rest of the year's overarching theme. As much as I am not all that big on partying anymore I damn sure felt like doing so but in reality a little loud music, one and a half beers and the company of the dogs was plenty for me. Just having the space to play loud music without having to censor what I play (for the benefit/comfort of others) was fucking epic and I found the entire experience rather soothing to say the least.
Late in the afternoon I hiked over to the new shelter site in the rain and got to get a good look at how the water was shedding over the terrain there and I was quite surprised to see that the site had absolutely no noticeable surface water flowing through it. On the hike over there I did notice several places along the roads that need some major attention to help control the water but overall (at least in those places) a few small water breaks and trenches should do the trick to divert the water away from the roads and off into the adjacent scrub land. One portion of the road had a small 'river' flowing down it and was completely flooding the main communal fire area so I think that when the time comes (basically when I have more free time) I will address that runoff first. It is not just that it is flooding the fire area but it is also creating some rather deep ruts in the road and will eventually make the road where it will need major attention (and heavy equipment) to fix it or lacking that it will make it wholly un-drivable with a vehicle. Since it is going to rain a bunch over the next few days I might do a few small water diversions (with some quick shovel work) as a temporary solution just to redirect a little of the water and see if I can get it flowing in the directions where it will cause less erosion.
All that jazz aside. It is hard to sum up 'where I am at' currently both mentally and emotionally because I am still in this transitional phase of my ninety day 'adjustment period' at this new location. Although I am nearly halfway through said adjustment period I honestly just wish that it was done with. The days have actually been flying by here and yeah I have got a heck of a lot done along the way and more or less settled into my daily routines but after all I am still camping and still in a temporary situation as far as my actual living scenario goes. It is difficult to word it all out in a way that folks will understand but having gone through all too many of these 'adjustment periods' I know that I cannot hurry the process (nor would I really want to) and basically once I have personally adjusted then I can begin exploring what the actual land needs (via diligent observation) and my own role at it. Of course I have been noticing all sorts of stuff already and dutifully adding it to my site assessment list but I long for the day when I am involved in the larger project of the land itself and do not have to spend so much of my time and attention on my own setup. If I had to word it down in a single sentence I guess that it would be something like: Some folks want to know what the land can do for them but I just want to know what I can do for the land. The difference between those two approaches is rather vast and when I really think about it that difference is perhaps at the root of much of the problems with 'civilization' at large. Perhaps some day I will be able to word it out better than that but for now I hope that folks understand what I am getting at there.
Well, considering that I really did not do much I do not have much to write about so I am just going to keep this one short and sweet and get on with the editing and posting. I hope that everyone is doing well and has a nice day/night.
More about me: I have been doing property caretaking (land stewardship) for many years (decades) and live a rather simple life with my dogs doing what most folks would consider to be an 'alternative minimalist lifestyle' but what I often just think of as a low-impact lifestyle where I get to homestead and spend the majority of my time alone with my dogs in the woods doing projects in the warmer months and taking some downtime during the colder months.
Nearly four years ago I began sharing the adventures (misadventures) of my life via writing, videos, pictures and the occasional podcasts and although my intention was to simply share my life with some friends it undoubtedly grew into much more than that over the years and now I find myself doing what equates to a full-time job just 'sharing my life' which is not even all that glamorous or anything but hey folks seem to enjoy it so I just keep doing it!
The way that I look at it is that I give it all my best each day and while some stuff I write is better than others I think that for the most part I do a pretty good job at doing what I am doing which is simply 'sharing my life' as candidly as I possibly can and whatever folks get (or do not get) from it there is always the satisfaction of me doing what I set out to do... which is to simply share my life.
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Ahh New Years Eve - just wouldn't be the same without dogs going a bit crazy!
Glad you stayed dry, happy new year!
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Happy New Year to you as well @revisesociology!
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Thanks for the include @pennsif!
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STOPDo not miss the last post from @hivebuzz:
Thanks @thoughtfulposts and you are welcome! 🤠
Seems that, more often than not, it's always about, "what's in it for me" with some people right? It is good to see that you care for all things, my friend. Not just a 'one-sided' story. Thank you for sharing your journey with us... and of course, for supporting my #thoughtfuldailypost.