Off Grid

Life Moves

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Laura

Before I left Tiny House Ontario, I took a couple of photos inside the house. It always surprises me how much changes there during the day. Not just out in the forest as one would expect but inside of the house too there is always the flux of change.

My art gallery stays pretty much the same because I very rarely sell a piece of my own work. Still I hang them on tiny nails so I don’t damage the wooden walls very much, so they wobble with the wind and are very rarely level. Too, inside, with the switch and the light that I added this year, the wall looks different than it did earlier this summer when I put them up. Outside the window, the gravel is waiting patiently and settling in. The big change will come next year when the collected rocks are added and this becomes a flag stone patio.

The shelved wall is always fluid. From the season that needs heat to the other seasons there is a huge change because all things that freeze are moved to Hamilton with me. Also there are books that come too, because I can’t live the whole winter without them, namely: Erazim Kohák: The Embers and the Stars, Julia Cameron: The Artist’s Way and all of my own writing. The other change is warmth and peace of mind in the form of the heater and the carbon monoxide/smoke detector.

There are always little changes too because I refer to the books, use the games, light the candles, burn the sage and so on. Every tiny thing moves, because life moves and changes. We too move and change, sometimes these are obvious glaring differences like a move to Australia, finishing a degree, finally finding job security, illness and death.

Most of the time, change is barely perceptible; like the changes I refer to here in the photos. Only those who monitor change can see them clearly. I am the sort of person who notices subtle changes and this is why I know that in my life there is a shift happening. I see this as clearly as I see that I did not put the bag of seeds and the candle away in the right spots on the shelves below. I don’t know the impact of these changes, but I know that they are coming.

“The scariest moment is always just before you start.” ~ Stephen King

Categories: Erazim Kohák, Off Grid, Open your eyes, Original Art work of Laura Moreland, Stuff, Tiny house, Tiny House Ontario, View, Writing | 4 Comments

Life Without Water

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Laura

At Tiny House Ontario how I live is much the same as other people in standard homes, except I don’t collect stuff and I don’t watch TV. Also, I don’t have any running water.

I mean, I eat, cook, clean, sleep, read, entertain, I have hobbies and I also take care of myself, my pets and the land that surrounds me. The main difference really between the way that I live in my Tiny House and the way that most people live is two fold, consumption and the time I need to spend on water and bathing. All aspects of this are more time consuming because I have to fetch it, heat it, and organize for off site bathing.

Next spring a most of this will change! I now have the eves troughs up and the barrels are purchased so early in the year before the spring rain, I will install two barrels on the roof of the WC so that I can catch my wash water. I will be installing an enclosed outdoor shower, and I already have everything hooked up in the in-house for the tap to work.

Life will be nearly as convenient at THO as it is on grid! I only have to bring in drinking cooking and dish rinse water unless we have another drought. Let’s hope we don’t!

I have space up top for four barrels; don’t worry, when I built I planned for the extra weight being on the top of the structure. I am planning on installing only two barrels in the spring, to see if this is enough. If this does not provide enough water for my use, I have a back up plan. It is easy to add to two barrels later and if I have to do this, I will get a water delivery truck to come. Certainly with four roof rain barrels and one ground one if is worth the money to have a truck come and for the short term it is much cheaper than it is to drill a well. Any additional water on the truck can simply be dumped on and around my garden to give it a huge drink.

Here is the roof where the barrels will go.

Categories: Off Grid, Ontario, Simple living, Tiny house, Tiny House Ontario | Tags: nature, rain barrels, spring rain, water | 2 Comments

Fresh Fall Food

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Laura

It has been as cold as 8 degrees below zero up at Tiny House Ontario. I left the garden totally uncovered and mostly everything is now frozen off; however, there is still some fresh food available for nosh. I had cut down all the swiss chard when I left three weeks ago, because I figured it was on it’s last grow; surprising thing, is that it grew up again so I got another nice sized bag to eat.

The flat leaf Italian parsley was started late this year with a 1/2 a pack of 5 year old seeds and even with the horrible drought, it has been producing enough for me to use all summer. It is a perennial that continues to grow too, year after year, as long as the winter freeze does not kill it. The other half pack was what kept my Hamilton house in parsley for the last 5 years. A very good producer for a $3. pack of organic seeds! I cut off three good sized bundles to make 3 tabouli salads; one for me, one for my cousin S, and another for my Aunt C, so we all got a nice healthy side dish this week. There is still plenty there to make a couple of more salads but it is fun to dig under the snow to get it, so I left it.

Sage is another easy keeper. I don’t plant this from seed because one plant is PLENTY for my family. Among other things, it makes what would be a good sweet potato and coconut milk soup, really great. Sage has nice deep undertones that stay on the pallet a long time after eating. Here is the recipe that I like, because I am a GF veg*an, I simply substitute chicken broth for a gluten free veg*an soup base. I also don’t fully puree mine because I like bits – and speaking of bits this is nice with a handful of chopped peanuts on top too.

So, what I wanted to say is that I am glad that I did not dig up the swiss chard. It was a zero mile mouth full of yum!

Categories: Environmentalism, Food, Nature, Off Grid, Ontario, Re-Use, Simple living, Sustainable living, Tiny House Ontario, View | Tags: coconut milk soup, dinner, food, italian parsley, vegan | 1 Comment

Assurance

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Laura

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.” ~ Rachel Carson

Now, it is late in the fall of the year. It is clear now for light to come to the forest floor because the leaves are off of the trees. When I walk back toward the escarpment I am able to see across the fields below; my eyes carry me through the forests and clearings and there I spot a couple of sections of the Rideau Canal. The smell of fall is deep and soothing. Soon the damp leaves and twigs will decay to soil and produce energy for the rebirth in spring, that will surely follow the long winter cold.

The days are warm enough that with a fleece and thin gloves it is comfortable. The forest is always comfortable for me.

I hope you will take the opportunity before it is too cold, to enjoy whatever the small slice of natural world you can find in your environment.

Soon, I will have to make this walk with snow shoes.

Peace out.