Starting Seed

Today marks the second day of seed starts.  I spent a good deal of time developing a planting calendar this year.  I have already begun some peppers.  I am still waiting on some more heat mats to help the germination rate of the peppers planted today.

New beginnings

I don't think my experience here at the Sustainable Homestead Institute could have gone smoother. Not to say it wasn't intense and incredibly worthwhile, rather; in the span of ten weeks I've learned more than I ever thought possible, and for the first time in my life I didn't have to try to do it.

As for activities for today, we mainly relaxed, I organized, packed, and loaded my various possessions into my car, and Scott gave me an intro to DJ-ing, which will be very helpful in my future endeavors in music. I also fed the animals one last time and said goodbye to them, as well as Ashmonster.

Of course, it won't be long until I'm back in town during a more pleasant time of the year when the days are long and the weather is kind. I am extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to come here and learn all that I did. If you're looking for any sort of outside the box survival, construction, mechanical, electrical, business, spiritual, martial, permaculture, sustainability, botanical, ornithological or general knowledge, then spend some time with Scott Vernon, and I guarantee you'll find value in what he has to say.

More importantly, he'll give you the tools, confidence, and know-how to accomplish something, and be right there next to you doing it. Many men talk, few walk, but this man does both rather well, and consistently.

While my stay wasn't perfect, I didn't expect it to be. Now I have more of an incentive to return and learn the few subjects I wasn't able and more. My life is valuable because of experiences had, and I have absolutely zero misgivings about choosing to come stay here for an extended period of time. The environment was completely welcoming and relaxing, with the right amount of intensity to maximize the window of time given.

Well readers, this will be my final blog post for a long time, but I shall see y'all later. My name is Youssef Amghar and I can be found on facebook and my music can be found on youtube and soundcloud under the moniker Intrinsic. I hope my time here has enriched your life in some way, farewell.

Peace and love, peace and love!
Youssef

Out of hibernation

Greetings sustainable blog readers, Youssef again coming out of the shortest hibernation ever recorded by the Sustainable Homestead Institute to give you an update. In the last week we've finished the debris hut, I spent my first night inside, and we survived a winter "storm." Photo op:

...

Bam.

Beforehand we shot a quick video of my bag, and all that is in it at the moment. Do be warned, it is not quick, nor is it as complete as would like at it's current stage of a sustainable bug-out bag, but it works. Luckily I had more than I needed, as the only tool one should need is a knife, and even that could be considered an accessory. Essentially, I had an RV.

Bag, Mattress Pad, Wool Blanket, Sleeping Bag

Furthermore, Scott had chosen to join me in this little outing, sleeping under the stars about two hundred meters up the hill in the woods. He awoke rather early and began gathering tinder and firewood pretty much immediately. I, on the other hand, exited the debris shelter later on to find Scott already had a fire going outside, preparing to cook our breakfast of eggs from the farm. Before any cooking could be done though, we both were tasked to make a spoon using sticks and coals from the fire. Naturally he was finished first, and with the wonderful aid of a steel pot, we feasted on farm fresh scrambled eggs. Afterwards, this happened.

As you can probably determine from the above picture and video, it snowed here recently and left us with about 6-7 inches of powder. This made debris gathering impossible and the sub-freezing temperatures had me grateful to be inside the next two nights. Believe me, neither of us thought it fit for me to sleep in an almost-complete shelter in those conditions. One upside to this? More photo ops.

Such beautiful country out here. Anyway, during our forced hibernation as a result of the snowstorm, Scott had me complete my right of passage: the harnessing of fire. Starting with a pine tree and a fortunately already crafted bow, after much aggravation I had my tools carved, and after much persistence, guidance, and three days; I lit my first fire completely naturally.

The best feeling.

I spent last night in the shelter to maximize my time, and learned the debris lodge is definitely livable, but simply not the preferred shelter for winter survival. The snow hindered our construction abilities and my second night in the shelter was as unpleasant as the first. Clearly I am meant to return during a warm time of the year and fully enjoy the shelter after some separation. Today though, we crammed in a tracking lesson with a new Sustainable dry erase board, and in between Scott helped the neighbors with some car trouble.

Well ladies and gents, I have one more full day at the Sustainable Homestead Institute, and I'll have a brief wrapping up of my entire experience for tomorrow's post, but in the mean time I leave you with this,

Peace and blessings,

Youssef

Light at the end of the debris tunnel

After several days of raking and gathering debris, the shelter looks as if it is almost complete.  The snowstorm that may or may not be moving in less than two days will be a great test for water durability.  More debris may be required on the roof, but there is only one way to find out.

We sewed up the tarp using reverse wrapped artificial sinew then stuffed it with debris.

When stood upright only a few gaps remain.  They are easily stuffed with extra debris laying around to seal everything up.  It is extremely dark inside.  The camera flash and flashlight make a world of difference.

A little more debris on top would look cool.  I want to make sure water runs off instead of collecting in the center.

Video tour as of this evening - turn your brightness up.

Mo Debris Loads

After trading some eggs for barbecue sandwiches from the local BBQ man, Youssef and I continued collecting debris.  We pretty much have picked all the low hanging fruit from around the structure.  We utilized the farm's 1985 Toyota Pickup to help move debris up the hill.  

Youssef would rake the a tarp's load of debris while I would deliver the previous to the sight and deposit the load around the structure.

After best figuring the technique, we would rarely loose debris while minimizing down time between runs. 

Some of the debris stacked around ready to be added to the structure.

I should have more pictures of these ladies.

Mo Debris continued

Adding debris continued today.

Duke power held a press conference updating the public about the Dan River coal ash spill.

Moe Debris

Youssef and I worked on the debris lodge today after finishing many loose ends over the past two days.  From here on out our focus should be exclusively adding debris to the structure apart from the regular farm duties.  There is lots of debris already on top of the frame, but it always needs more.

Several weeks ago, I added some heat lamps to the chicken coop to offset the extreme cold we have been having.  The addition of the heat lamps makes for a steady supply of eggs each day despite the cold.  Call today to set up your order.

Meticulously washed waiting for you.

No Man Is An Island

27,000,000 gallons water contaminated with coal ash byproduct was released into the Dan River from Duke Power's retired Eden, NC power plant.

Waterways are the lifeblood of our existence.  In the wake of the chemical spills originating in West Virginia and North Carolina but effecting the water sheds of all states downstream, hopefully focus will be shifted to protecting these natural resources.

What if the states boarders were the boundaries of their watershed?

SRC: CommunityBuilders.net

Greenhouse

Youssef and I spent a good portion of the morning getting my two wheel drive dodge pickup out of the muddy hillside.  Initially I tried to start the tractor.  It was reluctant, so I plugged in the block heater to prevent a completely cold start.  I met Youssef down the hill with some boards I planned to shove under the tire of the car.  After spinning the truck slowly around in circles, I got more wood from the greenhouse previously used to add some space between the grow bed and the water tank.  I got back in the car and really thought that I was making progress.  I had almost reached the spot where the grass turned into mud.  The truck wouldn't climb those last couple feet.

I went back to grab the tractor.  It now started easily.  I pulled as close as I could to the grass/mud transition and ran a tow strap from the tractor bucket to the frame of the Dodge.  I climbed back into the tractor's seat while Youssef manned the truck.  Backing up, the tractor's wheels started spinning.  I couldn't back straight up.  Instead I backed up on the hill's contour line while lifting up on the tractor bucket and in turn the front end of the Dodge.  Several sessions of moving back and forth on contour and the truck drove free, and after taking off the tow strap both vehicles could move freely.

Youssef and I then went to a local pizza joint for 5.75 pizza and salad lunch special on the way to pick up more feed for the chickens.  It will be most liberating when I no longer have to pay for livestock feed because it will all be produced on the farm.  And I can get a silo.

By the end of the day, the greenhouse is almost ready for planting for spring starts.  The aguaponics system is cycling smoothly.  I added several splashes of ammonia that will start the bacteria growth.  But best of all is everything is clean.

Stuck in a Rut

By mid morning the heavy rain gave break to a beautiful day.  Youssef and I finally finished the aguaponics setup!  It is cycling and nice.  I am pleased.  After standing a latter on the grow bed, I climbed to the top to run an extension cord that supplies the pump with power keeping it off the floor.  I should have gotten a picture of that because it looked kinda dangerous.

Putting it all back together.

I spent several minutes planting two cedar posts in the ground to prevent automotive traffic down a dirt road.  In the process my two-wheel-drive truck got stuck in the mud.  I will pull it out tomorrow morning with the tractor.  This has happened before and more than I care to admit.  Last time I waited until the ground froze and drove the truck out.  The weather forecast calls for warm weather so I don't think I will get that lucky this time.

After a foot of clay, it is rock all the way.

Stuck in the mud

These don't feel permanent.

Mo Debris

The debris hut is progressing well.  We have continued the adding of debris today using the shovel to throw the debris onto the roof.  The center crown is hardest to reach with debris so it makes kinda a donut looking shape on top.  More debris, More debris, More debris.  It really is coming down the home stretch now.