Ontario

Bear the Tinker

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Laura

“People who have no dreams, are poor”  ~ Bear the Tinker


It is two years since I met Bear the Tinker at my cousin’s organic farm.  A Tinker is an travelling tinsmith for those of you who don’t know (I did not).  The Tiny House where he lived and worked out of for many years, and still for much of the year is a Caravan which is drawn from place to place by his lovely horse and companion, Callum.

Meeting Bear stands out in my life as one of the great experiences.  It is hard to describe him, his storytelling, his music his wit and his peace.  The strength of presence of this man, and his connection to the past is something that one must experience to believe.

This is a clip from a great old TV show out of Canada.  Bear the Tinker lives near Kingston Ontario.

If you see him on the road, stop!  Ask him where he is heading next to tell stories and sharpen knifes, I am urging you, make Bear a part of your plan, even if you have to travel far to meet him.  If you must work to arrange it, or travel to be where he is, please do so, treat yourself to this experience.

Here are the links so that you may find him….

Bear the Tinker

Facebook

News clipping

Here is a tip (just in from Bear).  If you want to meet him, he will be at the Delta Fair for 3 days, and events at Murphy’s Point Park on July 20 and August 3. Also FYI… he offers Yurt Building courses for small groups of 10-12 people. 😀

Categories: Bear the Tinker, Kingston, Magical, Ontario, Open your eyes, Simple living, Sustainable living, Time, Tiny house, View | 5 Comments

Land Claim

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Laura

I wonder if we all moved off of Turtle Island how long it would take for nature to swallow up all signs of human life?

I think it would not take very long, at all, for all signs of Tiny House Ontario to totally disappear.

The driveway, is just a little over a year old.  It was a lot of work to get it in but even so, in just a year nature already fights back against settlement.  HJ and I spent an hour yesterday recovering the West edge of the driveway back from the forest because Mother Nature is trying to reclaim it from us.  This is the third time that we have had to do the job in the calendar year.  It is not a horrible job, but had to be done because driving in in a car was somewhat like going through a car wash; there was always something rubbing up against the vehicle.  Admittedly, Baby does not do much to keep it back and I suppose if we were driving in and out more with a large vehicle that the drive would be more permanent. Even so, back to the wondering of how long it would take for all signs of us to disappear?

Categories: Environmentalism, Forest, Nature, Off Grid, Ontario, Tiny House Ontario | Leave a comment

Gaining Comforts

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Laura

Tiny House Ontario has become a lot more comfortable this year.  A little bit of rearranging, turning the cupboard door, the W/C (non addition) through the side window have all made things feel a bit bigger and easier to access.  It all helps to make the space feel better even though it is not yet completed.

Here is what it looks like now.

Due to the fact that we pay as we go with her, THO is very much a project that is still underway.  The major ones to do here are (in order of operation) the flooring ($1500 and time), the kitchen (drawers, 12 volt fridge and 2 burner cooker – $2000), the furnace ($1500), the well (plus solar and hand pumps -$7000).  None will be done this year unless we fall into a little bit of money and if this happens the furnace will jump que so that we can use THO more comfortably and with more safety this winter.

Categories: Money, Off Grid, Ontario, Simple living, Tiny house, Tiny House Ontario | 2 Comments

Laughing Wire Water Garden

Posted on June 2, 2012 by Laura

My cousin Vernie, one of my favourite people, let me know that he had some chicken wire to put over my garden to keep out the rodents.  So I went over to his place to pick it up and he shared a few hilarious anecdotes from the past.  He just slays me!  His daughter Tracey has also inherited his wicked sense of humour so we laugh a lot when we are together.  I love that my life is filled with hilarity!

Vern also shared one of his new inventions with us, a very cool corn planting machine.  The man is a genius!

With chicken wire in hand and though it was raining cats and chihuahuas we braved the rain to reseed and also to put the chicken wire down.  It looks pretty nifty and will be interesting to see how the plants can come though it.  Hopefully they will not all be gnawed off.

This morning it was still pouring but the seeds seem to one totally in place.  I hope it keeps on raining for another day or two since everything is dry as bone here and water is needed to get the food growing.

I left a small rubber container out on the cloth porch last night and it was about 2 inches deep this morning.  Thus it was a good rain.

My mom used to sing… “oh Lord don’t let the rain come down, because my roof has got a hole in it and I might drown”, but we are dry in Tiny House Ontario as well as in town doing a blog post.

I think I will sing… “oh lord how I wish it would rain down on me” to keep that water coming for a bit and get my garden going.

Categories: Environmentalism, Forest, Friendship, Off Grid, Ontario, Simple living, Sustainable living, Tiny House Ontario | 1 Comment

Cuddling Corner

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Laura

I rearranged the furniture at Tiny House and have found that I really like to sit in this little corner.  It is particularly nice if one of the dogs cuddle in with me while I read or write.

The photo of Honey is not too flattering, but she does not get on line much and I won’t tell her about it, so please don’t tell her about it either.

Categories: Dogs, Off Grid, Ontario, Simple living, Time, Tiny House Ontario | Leave a comment