There are some great ideas out there!  Here’s a link to one sent to me this morning:

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/silveira44a.html

You need a bit of space but it makes perfect sense.  You build your chicken coop and put a fenced in yard/garden to either side of the coop.  The first year you garden one side and the chickens have the other; then you switch.  You get the fertilizer and the chickens get the gone to seed plants.

I know other people just let their chickens into their garden to eat the bugs – pests like tomato worm that would otherwise eat into your crop.  Chickens also naturally turn the soil with their scratching which can make it harder for weeds to take hold.  They can destroy young seedlings and disturb or eat newly planted seeds so it’s best to give the garden a chance to grow a bit before opening the gates to the hens.

Another idea is to create a 3-4 foot fenced in ‘moat’ around your garden (think a path lined by two fences, and inside the interior fence is your garden plot).  The chickens essentially patrol the garden perimeter, keeping weeds and bugs (non flying ones anyway) out and leaving fertilizer within easy transport of next year’s garden. Once the garden has gone to seed open the gate and let the chickens

200 Likes of the boxcarkids facebook page, that is. And that’s when I said I’d unveil the photos of our new home site! But that’s pretty close (and I’m told 181 is the new 200) so below are photos of our current living situation, and following it three photos of the proposed housesite in Indiana. These are three views of the same spot (looking different directions) taken last spring.  Nice and level – and note the barn!  My teenager asked if our family had any homeless people camped on their land (not that I know of) and my youngest daguhter wondered where the stores are (some 12 miles away)!

This is our current living situation.  And below…

lots of space!  No house.  That will be our next challenge!

This subject comes up from time to time so I thought I’d address it.  I believe public assistance programs are good, and unfortunately increasingly necessary.  They are a sign of an enlightened people and government because as we can all see quite clearly in these days of vast income inequality and shifting / decreasing job opportunities, there are many members of our society who need help.  I also believe that people who cavalierly suggest one ought to accept public assistance have either been poor their entire lives and know no other way, or have never been and never expect to be poor.

My own attitude towards public assistance is colored by a period of poverty I experienced as a youth.  It was a painful and humiliating time and some of my experiences then continue to have a lasting impact upon me now.  I’m very grateful, for instance, that the school systems have changed and that my children can input their student id number in the cafeteria and the person behind them in line has no way of knowing whether their account was funded by mom or the free lunch program.  They escape the taunts and shunning I experienced.  Poor is not cool in high school.

I am well aware that there are many hardworking, deserving, good people on public assistance.  I am also aware that society at large entertains many stereotypes about these people.  I have gone through the checkout counter at the grocery store, fairly oblivious to what the person in front of me was purchasing or the means they used to buy it, only to have the chatty (catty) clerk confide in me when it got to be my turn that she didn’t think food stamp recipients should be allowed to buy cookies and soda pop.

For myself – and I’m only saying this for myself (please if you are on assistance do not take this as a criticism, everyone’s situation and experiences are different) – I believe that if I accepted government assistance (and here I should say ‘additional’ government assistance as I have enrolled the kids in Medi-Cal) I would feel like I was giving up.   It is important to me to be as self-reliant as possible.  After I was laid off initially (due to lack of work relating to the downturn in the construction industry) I received an unemployment insurance check.  It made life easier – it was tight but I knew we could make ends meet.  That insurance was paid into by my employers as a result of my employment with them – so in part because of my work.  After my second lay-off I was no longer eligible for unemployment and could have applied for some sort of additional assistance.  And it might have made things easier but I’m not certain that I would have been as focused on job hunting, on finding and creating opportunities for myself, on examining my skills and how they could be marketed and learning new things.

I have worked hard to make money as a freelance worker. It’s more difficult than just job hunting! I have to really actively work to bring in work. I’ve done archaeological surveys, commercial writing, edited scholarly papers and a book, done proof-reading, and even taken on the job of producing a newsletter for a non-profit.  This latter project was complicated and required I learn an entirely new set of software – an undertaking that took many more hours than expected and for which I had to seek out help.  If I were receiving public assistance I suspect I would have passed on that project!  If I were receiving public assistance I don’t think I’d be motivated to pull us out of here and attempt to make a new beginning for us.

As far as asking for donations – it is a rare occasion that I actively solicit donations. Clearly donations are not required and no one should feel compelled to donate, especially if it makes them feel uncomfortable!  It’s your choice. Personally I enjoy helping people – especially people I feel I know or with whom I feel a connection of some sort.  I get more pleasure out of it than I do sending a check to a charity.  Our family motto is, loosely stated, ‘if you see someone in need and can help, do so.’  I was brought up to be compassionate and involved and my children are learning the same lesson.  Even in our straightened circumstances we enjoy lending a hand or helping someone out when we can.

We have – lent money to our neighbors when they were a little short and we had a little extra; picked up an extra box of food at the food pantry and taken it to our homeless friend Ben because he doesn’t have a car; given his wife Tricia rides to her doctor’s appointment or taken them shopping (before her demise last fall); stopped for a mom and her kids standing next to their broken down car and assisted her in getting some help; rescued a dog running scared in a 4-lane roadway and took him to the vet’s office listed on his rabies tag where they were able to reunite him with his owner and given a woman who just missed the bus in the pouring rain a ride to her job.  I get a kick out of doing these things!

I believe my children are learning an important lesson and will be compassionate and caring adults and that those traits will extend beyond the people in their immediate circle to the greater world.  They are also aware that we have people who might not ‘know’ us, who have never met us, but who care about us and lend a helping hand from time to time.  So they get to learn about gratitude as well and I don’t think getting a check from the government would have the same effect.  We are deeply appreciative of our friends and readers who reach out to us – sending work my way, buying cat beds, sending words of encouragement, keeping us in their thoughts and prayers and yes, sometimes sending us a donation.  In the words of my teenager – you rock!

Here is a book that will either turn you on – or completely off!  It’s called The Dirty Life, a Memoir of Farming, Food and Love, by Kristin Kimball. The author of this book meets a man who has a small organic farming venture, they fall in love and the next thing you know she’s giving up her vegetarian lifestyle and career as a travel writer in the big city and the two of them end up in a small town/rural area starting a farm on 500 acres.  And not just any farm – an organic farm that aims to provide the community subscribers with a full and balanced diet.  Not just choice veggies and herbs, but those, plus eggs, cheese, meat, and milk – all year round!  And they are going to do it without using diesel tractors, they will use draft horses for the plowing, planting and harvesting.

She is an excellent writer and has you on the edge of your seat as you read about runaway horses and falling haystacks; you’ll shudder at stories of rats in the house, and her account of catching blood in a bucket during the pig slaughter, commiserate when the entire planting of tomato plants is killed by frostbite and, very likely read with a pinch of disgust the detailed account of making pan-fried bull testicles. When I got to the recipe section at the end I was gratified to see that dish was not included (nor was the blood pudding).

I was exhausted just thinking about her day – up before 4 AM, in bed, tired and dirty and very likely unshowered by 10 PM. That level of farming is much more intense than the little hobby farm we are considering.  But then they feed over 100 people – I just have 5!  It’s a great read – here’s a link for those of you who are thinking some day you might like a little farm of your own.

In business speak thinking outside of the box means approaching a problem from a different perspective, sometimes unconventionally.  I’m thinking outside the box in my proposed leap of faith – moving my children 2,000 miles to live near family, and try my hand at sustainable living and writing.  Staying here, continuing to apply for the same small set of jobs for which I’ve been applying over the past three years, likely eventually accepting some form of government assistance is ‘in the box’ thinking – especially if it means continuing to live in this trailer!

Out of the box thinking is risky and it doesn’t always work.  It helps to have some support and backing. Those of you who have been following my blog for the past several years know that I seldom engage in any active fundraising.  I prefer it that way, and I’m sure you do too!  And if I could do this without your help I would.  But this is a big undertaking and while we have the motivation, commitment and determination to undertake this effort, we need your help.

Beyond the actual journey and the job of setting up in Indiana, we have multiple expenses that cannot wait until we sell the trailer – notably car repairs – but also flying our cat out ahead of us, reserving a u-haul trailer, and hopefully, purchasing AAA membership and a KOA membership.  We know we have many dedicated readers and friends cheering us on, praying for us, offering advice and suggestions, even reading my novel, and we appreciate all of you!  If you have been thinking you’d like to help us succeed in our journey we would be very grateful for any donation you are able to make.  If you have friends or connections that might be able to help us make this move and our new beginning a success (and as a friend recently said, if anyone is good at new beginnings I am), please share my blog with them.

With your help we will get ‘out of this box’!

Just over a month to go!  It looks like we’ll be taking our old van (which at least has had the battery replaced and 2 new tires) which unfortunately does not have much cargo space and does not have a roof rack.  If I get the hitch repaired (it was pushed into our bumper when we were rear-ended by a college student last year) we could pull a u-haul trailer behind for $320 which is much cheaper than the shipping estimates (all over $1000) we’ve been given.  But that will add to the driving headaches and gas costs.  I hope to get some minor repairs done – seems we need a new starter, and I’d love to get the AC fixed – before we leave if we can come up with the money.

I’ve been looking over routes and as much as I’d like to stop by and see various friends on the way it’s seeming less likely that we’ll make any major detours.  If we are pulling a trailer we will stay out of the mountains – don’t think the transmission could take it – and head south across Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, veering north through Oklahoma and Missouri, then across Illinois to Indiana. Looks like we’ll be on the old Route 66 for part of the trip (cool).  If you are on this route let us know and send tips on places to see and stay.  I’m hoping not to camp much if at all but we may need to (although that will require buying a new tent as we tossed the old one at the end of our 2 month camping stint at the beginning of this journey).

I have been building up my Priority Club points (through e-miles and the like) and have enough for 3 nights in a Holiday Inn if I combine reward points with cash (10,000 pts +$40 in many of their hotels – well worth it for the air conditioning, swimming pool and shower, not to mention a decent bed for my old back).

Hard to believe it’s so close!  I feel as though I’m totally focused on this trip – I can’t allow myself to think about all the hurdles that will await us upon arrival as far as making a home and getting this venture off the ground.  One thing at a time.

There is nothing like a little help to make one go from feeling hopeless to hopeful!  Our thanks to those readers who are reaching out to provide a little assistance and words of encouragement as we (I, in particular) gear up for the pending upheaval!  You are making a concrete difference in our lives and it is very much appreciated!

Mother’s Day is this Sunday!  Amazon has a Mother’s Day shop if you are at a loss for ideas. Just click the link below. Also consider a subscription to Audible.com – a gift that lasts the entire year!

I might come across as excited and confident about the very big move ahead of us, but in reality I’m facing it with not a little trepidation.  I’m taking this action because our realistic options have dwindled and the stresses in our lives have reached the unbearable level.  I honestly believe this move, both physically and ‘career-wise’ will, in the end, be a good thing for all of us individually and as a family unit.  But it’s going to involve a lot of big changes that require me, as mom, to be strong and positive and emotionally balanced – the rock of the family.  And now, a little over a month away from what will be an enormous and lengthy upheaval I am tired, broke and I’m not ready.

The past 3 and a half years have been difficult, even a constant struggle, full of dashed dreams and false starts.  I do believe I have overcome many of the obstacles that we’ve faced in that time and have attempted to do so with humor, equanimity and fortitude.  While I’m not likely to go around spouting platitudes like “when live gives you lemons, make lemonade,” I have been known to respond to folks who say “I don’t know how you do it” with the simple rejoinder,’ I just do what needs to be done.’  Let’s face it, when your options are doing what needs to be done, or as I say, ‘laying down in front of traffic’ the former tends to be the better choice.

I have accomplished some things.  Notably I have kept my family together, safely and securely (if not comfortably) housed, fed and healthy.  The kids are OK.  The older two are honor students, and the younger two are doing so well in their classes that the teachers opted out of the latest round of parent teacher conferences.  They have friends and have been able to pursue several of their extra-curricular interests like art, drama, music and basketball.  The animals are healthy (the dogs are a little chubby from lack of exercise) and happy.  But I’ve failed at other things – notably in this case finding full-time employment, and maintaining my own health and well-being.  I’m worn out.

So, I’m approaching what will be an enormous change at a very low point, with my reserves of energy and positive attitude exhausted.  I wish I were healthier, younger and richer!  I feel like I need to take a running long jump and I’m not up to speed.  Can I do it?  Well, that’s never been the question for me – whether I can or cannot, I will do it.

Now I just need to tap into some hidden reserves, and reframe this move in my own mind as the adventure and good thing I tell the kids it will be and not the defeat it feels like.  I can’t seem to shake the insomnia or frequent migraines but I am trying to exercise more and eat healthy foods to offset some of the stress.

Being self-sufficient, self-reliant, self-sustaining – in other words doing it by yourself – turns out not to be quite as simple as that. I’ve been reading up on the concept as it applies to growing and/or raising your own food and I’m struck by the fact that although our pioneering foremothers may have managed to do it all themselves, in the 21st century most of us require some help. That’s not a bad thing, mind you (and I suspect I personally might need more than a little help as we get ready to start our hobby farm endeavor) and frankly I’m a bit relieved to find out that even the back to the basics movement has its share of helpers and short cuts.

If you plan to start a hobby farm and produce many of the things you currently buy at the grocery store, it’s probably a good idea to put these things on your shopping list because I’ll wager they aren’t already in your kitchen:

For dealing with the fruits and veggies from your garden:
• food dehydrator (for drying fruits – range in price from $40 to over $500)
• pressure canner (these can range in price from a low (small, simple variety) of around $70 to over $400)
If you have dairy creatures and plan to make yogurt or cheese:
• cheese press (you can make these yourself if handy, otherwise expect to pay between $40 and $150)
• rennet (enzymes used in cheese production)
• yogurt culture
For bread:
• sourdough starter
Planning on brewing your own beer:
• Hydrometer (an instrument used to measure the specific gravity (or relative density) of liquids)
• Pre-hopped malt extract

With all of these at the very least you’ll be able to serve up a hearty ploughman’s lunch – bread, cheese, pickles and beer!

If you have a yen to try any of these yourself, I recommend the book “The Homesteading Handbook” by Abigail Gehring. It covers all these topics and much more (building a chicken coop, a wind turbine and a self-composting toilet, natural pest control and how to make candles and soap, for instance) and is filled with beautiful color photographs and illustrations.