year in review 2007

2007 in words and pictures…

In January I started four shelves full of flower seeds for a May reception.

I usually use my light racks for veggies, but this year was different. I don’t have much experience with flowers, some of them died or bloomed prematurely, but the end result was great.

In February we sold off The Peanut, a 1980 Mercedes 300TD that I had converted to run on used vegetable oil. We sold it on Ebay to someone in Europe. It was a weird transaction what with customs, certifications of various natures and dealing with the company that would eventually put the car on a ship and send it back to the motherland. The mileage when I handed off the keys was 305,000.

In March I ditched my beard-o look. Here I am, pre-cut.

In April we purchased our long sought after piece of land.

Our idea of building a self-sufficient life becomes concrete on this twelve acre spot in rural Chatham County. Once we make the big move, I envision scaling the local diet down to twenty five miles, with most food coming right from the farm.

The picture above is where the goats, chickens and guinea hens will live. The picture below is the property line as it enters the woods.

On May 26th, Kristin and I held our commitment ceremony.

We led a bicycle procession to the reception. It was kind of like a Critical Mass ride except that we dressed up all fancy-like.

In June I started the Cricket Bread project and set out to discover my foodshed. That month I also sold my 1981 Volkswagen Dasher, another car that I had converted to run on used vegetable oil. It was the first car I had converted. The odometer stopped working years ago and was stuck on 224,000 miles.

In July I bought an old camper to put on the land in Chatham. Code named “The Wolf Den”, we have spent many a peaceful night in its confined comfort. The camper gets horrendous gas mileage, so it will sit on the land and not be a road cruiser like in its past life. It gets to be a simple home…

To pay for the camper, I sold my last vehicle in August. A 1985 Chevy Silverado diesel with 196,000 miles on it. I hated to see it go, but sometimes you just have to make the hard decisions.

We are now a one car family (Kristin bought a 2003 VW Jetta diesel), and I am a 100% bicycle commuter. I was bicycling pretty much everywhere anyway since the Dasher had a messed up axle and the Chevy’s batteries were dead, but with them gone there is no excuse not to ride everywhere. Plus no more insurance payments, fuel costs, upkeep, etc.

September was Be Your Own Hero Fest here in Wilmington. Kristin was a lead organizer.

Hero Fest consisted of a Really Really Free Market, activist workshops and live music.

In November I attended the Sustainable Agriculture Conference in Durham, NC. I had considered running for a board position with Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, but changed my mind after realizing all the stuff that I had going on already.

Also in November, our landlord let us know that we had to move out by the end of the month. Just what you want to hear at the end of the year. We also met with a home builder in Chatham County and signed off on a contract to build our new (small) home.

In December we moved to a house across the street. Kristin and I celebrated five years together. I decided to write a book. I have asked some friends to do cover artwork and also do some illustrations.

Things are coming along…