I first wrote this post in 2012 when more than half of the United States was in a drought, including our farm in Illinois. I recalled hearing about people in Texas who were selling off their herds at rock bottom prices in 2011 because they had no water, no pasture, no hay, and no grain. And my heart was really breaking as I watched the Facebook feeds when the wildfires … [Read more...]
Collecting Rainwater on the Homestead
Although I didn't grow up on a farm, I remember visiting my grandparent's farm and my uncle's ranch as a child. I only have a few memories of what I saw there, but one regarded water. They had downspouts that flowed into water troughs. So, when we moved to our homestead in 2002, we immediately put water troughs under two of the downspouts on the barn. I had no idea at the … [Read more...]
Review: Real Goods Solar Living Sourcebook
As the Internet has become more popular, reference works, such as encyclopedias, have gone the way of the dinosaurs. So, why is Real Goods Solar Living Sourcebook: Your Complete Guide to Living Beyond the Grid with Renewable Energy Technologies and Sustainable Living in its 14th edition? Couldn't you just use Google instead of reading this book? Couldn't you just use Google … [Read more...]
Water, water everywhere! But what’s fit to drink?
A word about water filters One might think that the #1 selling water filter removes a lot of contaminants. You might also think that the most expensive water filter is the best. And you might think that a fancy system like reverse osmosis would remove more things than a simple pitcher filter. Unfortunately, if you thought any of those things, you were wrong. I thought that … [Read more...]