18 Inches of Snow      29 degrees     Bright but overcast sky

 

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It has been interesting reading about all the events around the Puget Sound region. People have posted pictures of the weather and told tales of their lives as things slowed or for some, stopped.

There were trees down all over my area. We had well over a foot of snow with two-foot drifts in areas. Our power was out for the better part of six days and we were snowed in.

What did that mean for us? It meant that the first day that we thought the storm was headed our way, we got the headlamps, batteries, lanterns and emergency candles all ready. We filled 5-gallon buckets of water, filled the bathtub, cooking pots and jugs too. We moved patio furniture away from the eaves where snow might later fall and crush them and we made extra provisions for our livestock. We made sure our pantry was full and there were extra snack foods for the kids as comfort and last resorts if all heck broke loose as well as a large stack of library books. We cooked in the woodstove, buried the contents of the freezer in bins in the snow, brought in fire wood and pulled out all of the poly-pro and polar fleece. After that was done, we played in the snow, enjoyed the sleds, had snowball fights, made maple syrup candy and I taught my youngest how to use a knitting nancy. We played games, told stories and when we got tired looked out the windows which framed beautiful pictures of the weather.

On SongCroft, things were a bit more of a challenge but they were not a struggle. After having the power off for as much as 16 days, we have a system and can live life pretty easily but as a friend, pointed out, even without electricity life can be sufficiently sufficient or wonderful. I love our days of being snowed in and will cherish them forever as slow days with my family.

 

Here are some pictures of the weather for you to enjoy.

Please post some pictures of the weather in your area too!

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http://rawtelevision.co.uk/

I’ve been meaning to get this on the blog for the past couple of weeks but things just got busy so finally I am getting time to sit and write about an interesting phone call I recently received from the U.K.

Cheyanne Dillenberger called to inform me that  Raw Television, out of the U.K., is casting for a new television series on off-grid sustainable living. She said that those who are interested could contact her through the information below. I asked her to send it to me in an email so I could post it here in case anyone would like a change in 2012. So here it is:

CASTING NOTICE:

Raw TV, the makers of the hit shows Gold Rush and Locked Up Abroad,

are searching for individuals to feature as part of a new series for a major cable television network. Do you have the spirit of an American pioneer? Are you fed up with the world you live in today and imagine another – better – way to live? Do you and your

family and friends ever talk about leaving society we know it, leaving it all behind and building a new world off the grid, with the frontier grit of your forefathers? If you are passionate about your beliefs and would be willing to share them with a national

TV audience we would love to talk to you.

If this sounds like you, whether you have a plan in action, have a more long term dream or are already living out on the frontier, please email your

contact details and a brief description of your situation to: Raw Television

casting@rawtelevision.co.uk

 You should have seen my kids faces when I read it to them! They were ready to stuff their packs and head out the door! Our kids grew up in this lifestyle of growing food, raising animals, diy sort of living and using our creativity to figure things out. Even our teen daughter didn’t bat an eyelash when I reminded her that we would likely have to go back to composting toilets and solar showers. Our son used to watch a vhs tape from the UK that showed a family named the Strawbridges. He knew learned about water wheels for energy production, trapping heat in greenhouses and all sorts of things from this video. Both kids were game.

When I mentioned this to a few folks who know us and they immediately wanted to know if we are going to apply. It is an interesting and tempting idea but I am not sure how we would pull it off. We would need to still be able to cover all of our costs while we are away (both for the farm and for travel) as well as have farm sitters. There is also the matter of Bri taking time away from his electrician’s job. Unfortunately, for most folks who are already trying to move in the direction that the they are casting for, we are too busy living the life to participate.

We are planning to keep up on the developments on this program as we would love to watch it if nothing else. Anyone out there planning on responding to the Raw Television casting call? Let us know.

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Happy Holidays Down on the Farm!

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  Things are really getting cold. It is down to the mid-twenties and the fog is so thick that it is hard to see across the land in the mornings. It reminds me of living on the coast but the taste of salt in the air is missing. It is the perfect weather for staying [...]

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Baby It’s Cold Outside

High 34  Low 26   Clear, cold and crisp!   It’s the end of November 2011 and baby it’s cold outside! I spent the morning breaking ice on the animal’s water feeders and making sure everyone has adequate bedding to keep them warm. I hung white tarps up on the outside of the chicken run to [...]

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    I’d like to share this resource for all of you out there that are freelance writers or niche bloggers. http://30queries30days.com   Okay, Let me get totally non-sexy here. I want to diverge from the normal topics. I know this is a homesteading site but I want to spend a bit of time writing [...]

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Creating a Cooperative Community

Support our family farm by purchasing items that you would normally use anyway. Completely synthetic ingredient-free, handmade skin, body and hair care products. SongCroft Naturals www.songcroftnaturals.com We have lots of special holiday offers and ship all over the country. Community cooperatives can take many forms. There are food co-ops, educational co-ops, tool shares, lending libraries and [...]

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It’s 11/11/11! Thank you Keven Elliff!

“Learning to delegate is part of being self-sufficient and sustainable.” 34 Degrees F  Mostly clear with some clouds. Light showers. It’s a good day here on SongCroft. First of all, it’s 11/11/11. This hasn’t happened since 1911. Interesting! Also, you may have noticed that our website is back up and even better than before.  Well, [...]

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Our Little Homestead in the Fall

If you would like to support our farm by purchasing some amazing personal care products that you probably need anyway, www.songcroftnaturals.com is our retail website. We will have all 35 products there shortly! Check our Facebook page for sales and special offers. Thanks. Now back to the regularly scheduled program… It’s been a busy harvest [...]

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Mullein

Please take a moment to check out www.songcroftnaturals.com and to support our family farm by purchasing all naturals body, skin and hair care products that you use every day! Here is a link to a youtube video on the topic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYOc_jyEpnI This week I was asked to share more details about one of the plants that [...]

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