off the grid...

[vmoon]

All along I get the idea of how nice it would be to go off the grid. Really I think it's the IDEA of going off the grid that is appealing to me. The idea of having a wood stove, some solar panels, a working well, (we have one but the pump is bad) I think about becoming this independent woman who can do all kinds of things until.... tonight I go out (after dark) to make sure all of the chickens made it back to the hen house. There I am in the dark, with a flashlight that has a dying battery and I hear this noise. Its a hissing noise. Kind of like a cat but not a cat's noise. I very rapidly walk across yard to the safety of the well lit back porch trying not to be afraid. hahahaha. No, I think I'll keep the electricity to scare away all the scary things in the dark. Just so you know the sound was a possum. I think it's really spelled opossum. Think it was looking for a chicken dinner. :

 

[mattfivefour]

: I just hate it when reality intrudes on a perfectly good dream!

 

[YeuEmMaiMai]

ditch the cell, phone, cable box, PC, etc and you might have an idea. Still have to have a way to pay for stuff and that means interacting with people and that alone makes you known....

 

[Meg]

All along I get the idea of how nice it would be to go off the grid. Really I think it's the IDEA of going off the grid that is appealing to me. The idea of having a wood stove, some solar panels, a working well, (we have one but the pump is bad) I think about becoming this independent woman who can do all kinds of things until.... tonight I go out (after dark) to make sure all of the chickens made it back to the hen house. There I am in the dark, with a flashlight that has a dying battery and I hear this noise. Its a hissing noise. Kind of like a cat but not a cat's noise. I very rapidly walk across yard to the safety of the well lit back porch trying not to be afraid. hahahaha. No, I think I'll keep the electricity to scare away all the scary things in the dark. Just so you know the sound was a possum. I think it's really spelled opossum. Think it was looking for a chicken dinner. :

Yup, that hissing was a 'possum. I didn't know chicken was on their menu... I too used to dream of going off the grid. Its a LOT of work if you do, not for us older folks... *sigh*... But I know that if you can produce a decent garden or anything else to supplement your fresh eggs, please do! What you can find in God's pantry will always beat what you can get from man's pantry!

 

[vmoon]

Yup, that hissing was a 'possum. I didn't know chicken was on their menu... I too used to dream of going off the grid. Its a LOT of work if you do, not for us older folks... *sigh*... But I know that if you can produce a decent garden or anything else to supplement your fresh eggs, please do! What you can find in God's pantry will always beat what you can get from man's pantry!

Meg, you are right about it being hard work. I had a big garden last year and it nearly worked me to death. hahaha My tiller broke and I had to do it all with a garden hoe. Wore me slam out. hahaha This year I want a garden but a small one. Tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumbers and maybe some eggplants. I love most veggies raw. just wash em off and take a bite. haha The deer will be disappointed this year as I am hoping to have most of my produce in containers close to the house. The Hens belong to my mother. She lets them roam the yard during the day and they go to roost in their house late afternoon. Their scratching up mulch and tender plants aggravates me but they do produce the most delicious eggs with deep orange yolks. Also they are perfect "fertilizer factories" haha To those of you reading this post let me advise about using chicken manure for fertilizer. If you use on food gardens please make sure you till in the chicken droppings long before planting your veggies because it can make you sick and also it will "burn" tender plants so fertilize with caution. I have much fun in planning al this. Who knows how much will actually get done though:

 

[REKG]

I think I go off the grid alot or my wife thinks I've got selective hearing.

 

[SimplyJulie]

We lived off grid for 9+ years when I was growing up...did the homesteading and building a cabin(2 room, very small, lots of family) to live in thing. We had chickens, ducks, turkeys, pigs, a milk cow and even a horse once. We worked very hard in all weathers and had to walk a mile out to the hard road through muddy ruts to catch the bus...sometimes in the dark of the early mornings. It was simply lovely and a turning point in my life. The things I learned there have followed me all my life and have allowed me to live a life of much contentment.

I have learned to be content with little and not yearn for things I cannot have, while still being greatly appreciative to the Lord for things like hot water, a hot shower, indoor plumbing, electricity, refrigeration, a telephone, etc....all these years hence. I thank God on my lying down and on my rising up, on stepping into a hot shower, after coming in from the cold to a warm fire and coming home on a cold winter's eve to find a light on in the house, with the warm air enveloping you as you walk through the door.

We still heat with wood and part of the house is still a log cabin, still have gardens each year and still have chickens. Still make my own bread, can up our food, get our firewood, harvest deer from the woods. Still live back a holler where it's quiet and peaceful, not too far from the original site of our homestead~I can see it from here and that old two room log cabin still stands and keeps out the weather. We still don't have TV, still don't have cell phones, still have an outhouse for when the electricity goes out~which it does often here, still live a very simple life. All my clothes fit into two duffle bags, all my worldly possessions can be loaded in the back of my SUV..well, except for the chickens. :

I've got the animals set up so that they are free to come and go when I am gone from this Earth, free to seek food and water when I am no longer here to provide it.

I live on this world like a pilgrim and my spiritual bags are packed, my shoes of salvation are on my feet, my staff of righteousness in my hand and I am waiting on the last trump...even so, Lord, come! :

I wouldn't have traded that off grid experience for all the mansions and "fine" living in the world.

 

[sara ann]

We lived off grid for 9+ years when I was growing up...did the homesteading and building a cabin(2 room, very small, lots of family) to live in thing. We had chickens, ducks, turkeys, pigs, a milk cow and even a horse once. We worked very hard in all weathers and had to walk a mile out to the hard road through muddy ruts to catch the bus...sometimes in the dark of the early mornings. It was simply lovely and a turning point in my life. The things I learned there have followed me all my life and have allowed me to live a life of much contentment.

I have learned to be content with little and not yearn for things I cannot have, while still being greatly appreciative to the Lord for things like hot water, a hot shower, indoor plumbing, electricity, refrigeration, a telephone, etc....all these years hence. I thank God on my lying down and on my rising up, on stepping into a hot shower, after coming in from the cold to a warm fire and coming home on a cold winter's eve to find a light on in the house, with the warm air enveloping you as you walk through the door.

We still heat with wood and part of the house is still a log cabin, still have gardens each year and still have chickens. Still make my own bread, can up our food, get our firewood, harvest deer from the woods. Still live back a holler where it's quiet and peaceful, not too far from the original site of our homestead~I can see it from here and that old two room log cabin still stands and keeps out the weather. We still don't have TV, still don't have cell phones, still have an outhouse for when the electricity goes out~which it does often here, still live a very simple life. All my clothes fit into two duffle bags, all my worldly possessions can be loaded in the back of my SUV..well, except for the chickens. :

I've got the animals set up so that they are free to come and go when I am gone from this Earth, free to seek food and water when I am no longer here to provide it.

I live on this world like a pilgrim and my spiritual bags are packed, my shoes of salvation are on my feet, my staff of righteousness in my hand and I am waiting on the last trump...even so, Lord, come! :

I wouldn't have traded that off grid experience for all the mansions and "fine" living in the world.

I like you!!!!! You are the salt of the earth!!!! GOD has truly blessed you!!!!....I'm going to watch for your posts....."God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea......Be still and know that I AM GOD: I will be exalted amoung the heathern, I will be exalted in the earth" Psm. 46:1,2, l0....Stillness....what a blessing from GOD.

 

[SimplyJulie]

I like you too, Sara Ann...dare I say I love you? I can't get over the instant kinship I feel for all the people on this forum...never had that before except in small instances with single people every now and again. Recently found someone on a chicken forum just like that...godly woman full of love and we formed an instant love for one another. But a whole group of people?? Heaven!!! :

I love that verse you quoted..it is one of my favorites! That stillness was very hard for me to do..such a simple thing, wouldn't you think? Such a wonderful rest to be still...but the old habits of needing to have a plan, needing to try and manage my life as I see fit, well those habits die hard. I'm a doer, not a sitter. I'm a thinker, not a plodder. God has really had to school me in being still and waiting upon Him!

Thank you for your lovely post! I have been reading yours as well...I can't get enough of reading others testimonies and life stories because I see a similar strand through them all and the same thread runs through mine~Jesus Christ and the love He gave is running down through our years and weaves a pattern so lovely to see once you sit back and look upon it.

 

[sara ann]