farm plans

I have com up with a plan for the garden for next year. My goal is to have a no-till, no chemicals, low water use, and economical garden.

No-till can be difficult with lot of Bermuda Grass and other inedible weedy plants. I am going to lay down carpet and burlap for 6-8 weeks as a weed killer. I chose carpet and burlap after talking with a farmer, Les, of Offerings From the Land Farm. He has found it to be a barrier that kills the weeds and weed seeds but not the beneficial organisms in the soil unlike plastic sheeting which kills everything. After those 6-8 weeks I plan on checking the progress. If the weeds seem to be gone, I'll spread the accumulated kitchen compost and lay down a bunch of mulch ( I figure I'll need about 20 yards) and cover it up again for another few weeks. I plan to get the mulch from SMUD's free mulch program as well as neighbors' yard waste piles. I'll start the cover-up after I harvest the winter squash, if there are any!

No chemicals is kind of a grey area. No miracle-grow or "enhanced" potting soil is pretty easy. But there are undoubtedly chemicals in the carpet I plan to use from cleaning or just the material itself. Burlap, a carpet alternative, seems a better option and I've been saving the burlap scraps from work. (ACE sells burlap bags that get wrapped in....burlap!) But the wrappers and scraps are few. Carpet seems way easier to get and comes in big sizes. Another possible chemical source is the yard waste of neighbors and SMUD's mulch (which comes from the whole city). Since the mulch is free and I don't have the money to spend on 20 yards of untreated mulch, SMUD's mulch will have to do.

Low water use will mostly be solved by ollas. I plan to experiment and have them spaced every 3-6 feet about 100 total. Acquiring the ollas seems to be the biggest issue. I can either make or buy them. The cheapest I've found is $20, not good. The team at Global Buckets has come up with an automatic watering olla which involves terra cotta pots and silicon caulking. The caulking doesn't seem great (not chemical free), but I need to research the caulking or find a safer alternative. Making the ollas would be more time consuming but I might be able to recruit some help from my mom, an artist of all types. The other olla-like option I've contemplated is a clay pipe. This would be nice because it would reduce cost and increase plants. There would be less plumbing to maintain the water level and to pipe water out to the plants. The only problem is finding the right type of pipe (unglazed and porous). To get the ollas/pipe in the ground they say to dig to bury it. In order not to dig, I will probably just lay out the watering system between the first and second cover-ups, burring it in mulch, and let the organic matter break down around it.

As far as economics go, I plan to minimize the spending by starting with seeds and getting as much stuff for free as possible, like the mulch and the carpet, and keeping the water bill low. The main expenses will be the clay pots or pipe, the plumbing for the watering system, the seeds, and improving the fence to make human entry easier and dog entry harder.

What to plant is the next challenge.

The Latest

Howdy folks! I haven't posted a blog in a few days so I thought I would keep you updated on the stance of the living situation.

We still don't have electricity or running water. We could use the propane to have a working fridge, but we have an ice chest that has been serving purposefully just fine. The reason we still don't have electricity is because we're waiting for ONE stinkin' piece to set up the solar panels. Once we get the pole mount we can set it all up and watch our online shows, blog without paying for coffees/teas every time, and be more consistent with checking our email. We currently check email at coffee shops or in the car either using the car battery or while the engine is running (on the move, of course). We never drained the battery fully, thank goodness. That would be horrible - another stranded situation just like when the truck got stuck in the mud, really.

Running water continuously proves to be a challenge off-the-grid. We've gone through so many different ideas as to what our options are and I'm still unclear as to which option sounds best. We haven't acted on any of these plans. At this point, we might not even need to set up running water. We've made it almost a solid month without a hook-up and it doesn't seem like such a big deal anymore to try and get it. (The real life saver here is the fact that we have gym memberships and can shower regularly there). Dishes aren't too challenging without running water, especially when one limits themselves to only one bowl, plate, fork, knife and spoon to use. Dishes don't pile up here at The Lair. (Yay)! As for laundry - we can plug the tub, put the clothes in, add some water from our five gallon jugs we have, pour in a little borax and step all over the clothes to slosh it around and work it. =) Basically the same method for rinsing, minus the borax. Drying the clothes happens by hanging the clothes out on the line between the rent-a-fence panels. No electricity needed! We have yet to try this method.... I trust it should work mostly fine, though! I aim to try the method very soon as our laundry basket is near full.

The situation with the toilet is a little bit disheartening. We have to drain the tank which is approximately 25 gallons into a portable sewer tank and then haul it over to a KOA campground to rid of it. It's just not something we consider fun. This is my least favorite part about not having running water AND being off-grid.

The dogs love the property. They don't care about the ticks crawling on them, but we do. The last thing I did this morning before I left to walk to the truck was pull a female tick off of Axel's cheek. I screamed with disgust as I pulled it off and threw it on the ground. It's abdomen was so huge. We had tried to pull it off with tweezers last night but Axel wasn't having it. The tweezers kept slipping off the tick and we would only end up pulling Axel's skin really hard on accident. Poor guy. Thus, I used my bare hands this morning. Yuck!!!!

Just Another Day

As Uncle Rick would say, "Never a dull moment" out at the ranch. Just finished a post yesterday, but I have to write again today. My pick-up got stuck in the mud. I had been on my way out to pick up Matt from work in Davis when it happened. In the first place, on my way in to the ranch earlier in the day I came in on a road that has several dips and it was scary. The dips are such that you have to really slow down the vehicle when you go over them so you don't bottom out. In the rainy condition, however, it's very hard to maneuver them because you also have to give a little gas to get through them once you're in them. I made it through that part. The doom settled over me when I was on my way out to pick up Matt. I was taking a different route since I was afraid of the dips in the other route when my tires started to spin and I was getting nowhere. When I first realized I had been slowing down even though I hadn't released any pressure on the gas pedal, I kept repeating to myself in my head "Just keep going. Steady pedal. Don't stop. Come on! Come on! Come on!" I'm sure my face was wincing with my last threads of hope when the truck continuously slowed to a dreadful stop. Dead end.

My most immediate thought was to get out of the truck and see how stuck I was. I hopped out of the truck into the slop (in my new rain boots) to survey the situation. Not bad. Maybe if I give it a right good shove or two.... or five... I put the truck in neutral and solely tried to heave it forward but to no avail. The truck had rocked three inches forward as I pushed, yet rolled back those three inches when I stopped. I tried to use the rocking to my advantage and gave up after realizing all I was doing was possibly denting the tailgate.

My next stop - call Mom for moral support. She answered and I asked trying to keep a steady voice, "So, what do you do to get your car out of stuck mud?" She had plenty of experience getting stuck in the mud in her time and instructed me to find some wood and try to get some traction on the tires. She said to call Bob and Robyn for help, firstly. Her biggest concern was my safety and she requested that I stay in the truck (after attempting to get it unstuck) with the doors locked while I wait for help. After hanging up with my mom, embarrassed, I called Bob and Robyn. Robyn answered and told me she was having Sarah, Tim and Will over for dinner. I almost didn't tell her my situation because I didn't want to ruin her nice evening. Knowing I needed help, I proceeded by mumbling, "So, would now be an inconvenient time to tell you that I'm stuck in the mud?" Her answer was quick and calm. "No." Within a short minute, we had hung up and she was on her way to meet me and AAA over at the ranch while Bob would pick up Matt from work.

After several attempts to run the tires over some wood that I had retrieved from The Lair, I realized I wasn't going to get out of this mess alone. The tires were only making an awful sound rubbing the edge of the wood pieces because I couldn't get them under the tires enough. I tried rocking back and forth with wood in front of and behind the affected tire. I could rock, but that was it. I wasn't getting anywhere but deeper into the muck. Defeated, I ceased my fruitless attempts and sat in the safely-locked truck in self pity. The night before had been a rough one. We hadn't slept well because of the gusts of wind rocking the trailer. The weather had been so bad that we would be woken up from being rocked in our sleep. The Lair was being hit by the wind on the broadside and I had difficulty returning to a sound slumber after thinking we may well tip over. The following morning, we found that our truck bed liner which we had removed for camper shell purposes had been blown 44 paces into a rice check. A rent-a-fence had been shoved from a square shape into an inward-collapsed shape. Two of the panels had shifted maybe ten feet from where they were originally. Lastly, our worm bin lid had flown off into the rice checks as well even after we had placed our tire snow chains on top to weigh it down. Needless to say, my last 24 hours had been a bit rough and I was indeed feeling very sorry for myself as I sat in the truck flustered.

Robyn and my Mom were frequently in touch with me as I waited for help. AAA and Robyn soon arrived and my hopes rose. Robyn informed me that we were welcome to stay the night over at her's and Bob's place to decompress from the day and the weather should we want to. As she was on the phone with me, the AAA guy was letting Robyn know that he didn't have the right truck to get me out of the mud. He didn't have mud tires and he was certain his truck would get stuck in the mud as well. I chatted with the gentleman a few minutes and let him know I would be willing to leave the truck in the mud until the weather let up or until they had a better-equipped vehicle to help me.

As of now, the vehicle is still in the mud over at The Lair. We stayed the night at Bob and Robyn's. I slept very well being that I had a cozy, warm bed to stay in and a hard day behind me. Bob has offered to help me attach the vent cover to the trailer today as well as see me through with AAA. Amazing people, these Slakeys! We're even being chauffered around to get things taken care of. I was so glad to have had a phone to talk with people as I was feeling so down. I am so grateful for everyone who helped me out on every level. Off to The Lair!

Crazy For Feeling So Lonely!

So, sorry in advance for the tone of this blog. I can tell you right now this is getting old, yet I'm getting used to it... It's been quite an emotional ride since we've moved out to The Lair. All the little things are starting to wear on us. Ticks, dripping roof, dripping windows, lack of running water, lack of electricity, missing windows, POS parts to replace broken POS trailer parts. The only reason we keep going is because we know what this holds for us in the long term.

Maybe we haven't told you our goals yet. It's not easy to put into words why we're on this path, but when we bought the trailer I had never felt better about our decision to take the path less traveled (Thanks R. Frost). Since buying the trailer, my hopes have withered and I've doubted myself seriously. It's gotten to the point where the only thing I'm sure of in my life is my love for my family and friends and the choice I made as to who I would spend the rest of my life with. Everything else seems so uncertain.

Back on topic - why did we start this? We want freedom. We want a challenge - an adventure. In the long term, we want to be self-sustainable. We'd liked to have a home on our own decent-sized piece of land with a few dairy cows, goats, chickens, bees, and who knows what else. I often yearn for a simple life where I don't have "things" (AKA "stuff", "baggage") and remember that I have amazing love and companionship in my life. I've been so wrapped up in anger in my past that I have forgotten what it feels like to be innocent. It seems sometimes we get so tied up in the little things (i.e. details such as who ate the last cookie and who can we blame next for our pain and discomfort) that we forget to love ourselves and our friends. I am searching for the answer to true happiness. How better to find happiness than to strip yourself of all your possessions and fight for your life?

Crazy. Honestly, who WANTS to suffer? This, to me, is the ultimate test to find yourself and dig deep. We have to really push ourselves to be happy. We need to give ourselves reason to be proud and confident. I want to look back on this decision years down the road and say, "Wow - what a difference that made." Or maybe I'll say, "What a moron! That was intense and ridiculous and unnecessary!" Anyway - all joking aside - why this route? I don't know right now. It sure is something else. Hey, well at least we have something to write about, eh? Until the next CRAZY post, thanks for reading!

Burning Vehicle

Don't worry! It wasn't our vehicle on fire. We went to a movie in Natomas a couple nights ago. We were returning back to The Lair at around 10:30pm when Matt noticed a fire near the property. At first, from far away, we thought it was an old abandoned trailer right next to the property, but as we got closer, we saw it was something in the road burning. Kareena started to worry because she thought a car had exploded and there was possibly a burning body inside. Actually, worry would be an understatement there. She started to panic and mumbled certain words as she neared. (She has seen too many t.v. shows such as CSIs and Bones and expected the worst)...

There was a moving vehicle ahead of us when we got closer to the inflamed truck. The people ahead didn't want to pass. We didn't want to either because we were afraid the vehicle would explode spontaneously as we passed. Matt got out of the truck and surveyed from afar. He talked a few moments with the people stopped in the car ahead and came to the decision that one of us should contact police to alert them of the fire. The people in the car ahead agreed to call but within a few minutes they slowly inched past the burning truck. Not sure if they called the police, Matt dialed 911 with his phone to report the roadside fire. We soon drove past the scene and pulled into the ranch. Mind you, it was a day of lots of rain, so we had to park the truck at the ranch entrance and walk a good distance in the slop to The Lair.

As we walked to The Lair - within a short couple of minutes - we witnessed the firetrucks and police cars approach the scene. It was interesting because we got to see them spray down the vehicle. Funny thing is, they were gone in no time and left the truck there overnight. The next morning we took some pictures of the burned up truck. We'll post them on here later once we load them on the computer, but we're slow. =0)

Thanks for reading "The Adventures of Matt and Kareena!" We'll also post pics of The Lair and the ranch soon. Kareena keeps trying to get pics of the beavers... We'll see what happens there!

location, location, location

On some job applications, it asks, "Where have you lived in the past ten years?" Since they only provided 1 page for info, I fudged the answer. But it got me thinking about where we have been in the last ten years.

Since 2001, I started out in Carmichael, CA. Then to Flagstaff, AZ for college so back and forth for 2 summers, two dorms in between, until my third year. Then I was at 516 West Cherry in Flagstaff and Lumberjack Hill where Kareena was living. Kareena also moved to Alpine Ridge Apartments. Then River Oaks in Tucson, AZ then 16 Calle Contenta in Flagstaff then 1613 North West Street in Flagstaff then I graduated from college. Then I moved into John and Geneens house for a short time then Hazen Townhomes. Then La Quinta in Greenville, SC which felt like an eternity. Then our house in Easly, SC for two years. Then homeless/camping for a week in Flagstaff. Then ACE housing in Flagstaff. Then back to John and Geneen's in Tucson with a trip to San Diego and Estes Park, CO in between. Then with my parents in Carmichael then at 2414 V Street in midtown Sacramento. Then to the ranch in a trailer. Which doesn't have an address.

Life Lessons

Okay People. Here's a deep one. This post is written by Kareena (AKA me, myself and I) today because it was a Kareena experience. Unfortunately, Matt was at work. He did hear about this as soon as possible on the phone, however. So, what a day yesterday was. I started out by moving the rental fence to a new location which took a good bit of time on my own. It was pleasant work, though. Axel was being a cutie and following me back and forth from where I picked up the fence panels, to where I dropped them off. He seemed confused - funny. After that task was completed, I went over to the beaver dam to try and break apart the newest work the beavers had done. Of course, the dogs tagged along contently.

In the midst of taking out branches and bits of shrub, I would break to look at my surroundings since my surroundings are so beautiful. One time when I glanced up, I noticed a beaver head in the water headed our way. It was so quiet and peaceful swimming toward us. Then, with no warning, it ker-plopped under the water. The dogs were surprised and ran into the water splashing loudly to get to where the beaver went under. I watched intensely waiting for it to surface yet never saw it come up. Disappointed I didn't get to see the beaver more, I went back to work disassembling the dam. in no time, the beaver came out from under the ledge we heard it in the day before. It came closer this time to me and the dogs. Again, it rapidly went under. This time I saw it slap its tail on the water subsequently diving, vanishing in the murky water. It was quite a sight and the dogs once again sped their way into the water but to no reward. This continued to happen several times. I eventually went and sat over by the ledge and peered into the space beneath, waiting patiently for the beaver to come out as it did so regularly. Shortly, it appeared but refused to come out all the way. It simply floated in the water, frozen in place, looking at me. After getting enough of a look at it, we retired back to The Lair.

Back at The Lair, I sat on the cinder blocks which serve as a step up into The Lair. I snacked on some turkey jerky I had received from a birthday package from my mom the day before and watched the dogs wander off sniffing everything in their path. Eventually they both returned to where I was and laid down on the ground.

I was sitting. Enjoying nature, loving life. A hawk caught my eye. It flew low over the rice check just to the right of me searching for prey. Just past a road, the hawk stopped mid-flight and plunged to the ground with its talons aimed at something. A catch! I moved quickly from my cinder blocks and headed toward where I saw it land. I remembered to tell the dogs to stay put because I didn't want them to lead and scare off the hawk. When I was close enough to see the hawk's head , I stopped moving so fast. All of a sudden I was hardly breathing, walking in slow motion to try and be as sly as possible. The hawk eyed me but didn't seem to find me a threat. Misha had not listened to stay put and was following behind me slowly. (Cute, but not what I asked of her). Anyway, I continued to inch forward to get a closer look. Then, I realized Misha was passing me and making a lot of rustling noise in the dry grass. I snapped my fingers and tried to make eye contact with her to get her to stop, but it was too late. The red-tail hawk lifted off the ground with a bird about a quarter of its size in its talons. The hawk didn't have a good enough grip on the bird and it escaped, both birds flying in opposite directions. I was somewhat embarrassed for being responsible for the hawk not having that lunch yet I felt honored to have witnessed the event. I watched the hawk fly low to the ground searching again for another opportunity. Soon, it was flying higher and I stopped watching it, knowing it wasn't looking for food anymore. Aww, man! I can't believe it lost its food because of me. I hoped it would find food again soon. In a few minutes, I heard the red-tail hawk call and I anxiously looked around to see it. I couldn't see it but just as I was looking for it, three more hawks soared over head in the direction of the call. They were weaving in and out of each other's paths and swooping down here and there as if they were playing.

Here's the thing: within another five minutes I saw four hawks flying really high up in the sky just circling and drifting in the wind. I was pensive. I wanted to be more like the hawk. I want to seize opportunities when they are presented to me, the way the hawk plunged for its food mid-flight. I also want to be able to move on care-free after an unfortunate occurrence such as someone robbing you of your lunch, the way the hawk did. Not only did the hawk search for more food instantly after losing that bird, but it soared high in the sky seemingly having the time of its life. The hawk knew that it would soon have another yummy opportunity. I know the hawk will make the best of that opportunity when it gets it.

Second post since trailer

We now call the trailer "The Lair." We're trying to put a cozy term to encourage a positive view of our circumstances. The lair is a place we retreat to for relaxing, decompressing and feeling at home. This is supposed to be our second blog to help you envision the sequence of what's happened since we moved out to the ranch. The next order of events occurred two days ago... We were walking by the creek near the beaver dam with the dogs, having a conversation, when suddenly a loud splash ("ker-plop", if you will) in the creek startled us to stop and stare. There were bubbles and ripples in the water next to a beaver-made ledge. Curious to see what would surface, we waited. Nothing. Within a few minutes, we heard light splashing from what appeared under the ledge. So you can picture what the ledge looked like, it was overhanging the water slightly and the water didn't quite meet up with the underside of the ledge- maybe an eight-inch gap. With the second splashing, Misha whined with her ears perked, ran down to the creek and plopped into the water. She started to swim toward the ledge but then turned the opposite direction. After several passes, she soon decided to enter the space underneath the ledge nonchalantly. Just as she passed under the ledge, something made a loud splash and Misha turned right around without hesitation, swimming rapidly. She went straight for the side of the creek and out. Oddly enough, whatever creature was under the ledge made a long melancholy sound. The only interpretation we had of the sound was that it was either a warning sound or a scared, "I'm uncomfortable with you entering my space" sound. Either way, it was sad sounding. We were proud of Misha for being so daring, yet sad to have disturbed the creature. We are almost certain that it was a beaver hiding under the ledge.

To catch you up - the last four days we have been trying to take apart part of the beaver dam to try and rid of the beavers from the ranch. The problem with them being there is that they are making these ledges under the main roads that the tractors for the rice fields have to use. In order to keep the roads in good condition, the beavers have to go. Thus, we've been trying to frustrate them off the property by tearing down their dam repeatedly. This was Matt's idea. The method is peaceful and respectful of the situation. The funny thing is that every morning we return to the dam to find the beavers have replaced what we had undone the previous day. It's a battle to see who will give up first. Humans vs. beavers. Who will become most frustrated? Kareena made it her job every morning to go down to the dam and undo the beavers work. Hopefully she outlasts the beavers. =0)

Trailer Move and Adventure

Alright folks. Here's the deal. We wanted to move off-the-grid so we bought a 1977 Taurus Travel Trailer and put it on a piece of land Matt's relatives own. The trailer is eighteen feet long but it feels smaller when you're inside it. We currently live in the trailer and our only accommodation is propane thus far. Our first night in the trailer was a wreck. We didn't have working propane to start out, so we couldn't cook dinner or heat the trailer. (Heating the trailer isn't a priority for us. However, it was FREEZING that first night). As for light to see in the pitch black night, we only had a flashlight and six small-sized candles.

The second night was even more uncomfortable and here's why. We tried for a second time to get the propane working on the trailer and could not light the pilot still. Feeling defeated, we decided to call it a night when all of a sudden Kareena smelled skunk. Matt called the dogs to get them back inside the trailer before they got sprayed, but it was too late.... As soon as Misha walked in, the smell in the trailer was overbearing and we found it hard to breathe. We started coughing and yelling at the dogs to get out of the trailer. We spent the next hour figuring out what we were going to do because the dogs would be sleeping in the trailer with us. Then we decided Matt would go to the store while Kareena stayed with the dogs so they didn't run off. (We weren't going to put them back in the trailer without being cleaned). Without running water in the trailer, Matt bought two gallons of water and a ton of tomato sauce. We later found out the most effective tomato wash is with the tomato juice... Needless to say, we cleaned both dogs just in case and neither of them were happy to be scrubbed with tomato sauce and rinsed with the water. It was another cold night, so it was highly uncomfortable for everybody. We went to bed even more defeated than when we found out the pilot wouldn't start. We slept with our heads under our five covers to avoid the chemical smell of Misha. Fantastic.

The next morning, Matt and I needed to work full-time in Davis, a city 30 miles from the land, so we needed to find a way to bathe. Matt already had a membership to a gym, thanks to his parents, from the results of a wonderful birthday and Christmas present. Kareena had no means to a shower. She bought a gym membership that day but was too shy to shower without a bathing suit on in the communal shower area. So, realizing her hands were really only what smelled of skunk, she went to work without a shower and her hair pulled back.