After acquiring eight acres in the middle of the San Pedro River Valley, we arrived to start building Sabbatical Ranch one year ago today. It has been an incredible adventure! A cynic could have told us, “You’re just a bunch of starry-eyed dreamers about to get slapped in the face with reality!” Someone did tell […]
Happy 1st Birthday, Sabbatical Ranch! Read More »
This is the second article in our series on health optimization. I’ll just say up front that today’s topic is kind of a controversial one, but it’s an important one for anyone trying to navigate the modern healthcare juggernaut in an attempt to find healing. Juggernaut refers to an enormous entity with powerful crushing capabilities.
How Healthcare Became Monopolized Read More »
We have all kinds of learning opportunities to share with you! There are local and online classes (a free webinar next week on 7 Steps to a Healing Garden) and we have a variety of ranch projects that are a great opportunity if you’d like to volunteer to learn. I explain some of our progress
Volunteer to Learn Read More »
Meet Lee and her daughter, Grace. They were seriously injured by mold toxins and are still trying to heal. Lee bought a house in southeast Arizona about five years ago. When she first looked at the house she had noticed a small puddle of water on the kitchen floor, but like most people she didn’t
The idea of using animals to grow abundant plants is a bit counter-intuitive because almost everyone has probably witnessed the effects of overgrazing. Imagine any kind of fenced-in animals and it doesn’t take very long for the ground to become barren of vegetation and start looking like a desert. There has also been a lot
Building Productive Soil With Animals Read More »
Having suffered with Mold Toxin Illness and Chronic Lyme Disease for half a dozen years, along with health challenges my wife has had including a cancer scare, we have uncovered some disturbing aspects of the medical industrial complex that more people really should be aware of – before they get sick. As I was thinking
Health Optimization in a Sick World Read More »
World events are increasing the need and demand for local food security. Now is the perfect time to learn how, what, when and where to plant – including how microclimates can boost your productivity. We’ll also discuss what’s possible if you want your garden to pay for itself.
Free Local & Online Classes Read More »
I always say I’ll try anything once. Eventually I might regret that, but overall I’m pretty adventurous. Every once in a while you might suffer in some way from being adventurous, but that doesn’t mean you have to regret it. The way I look at it is summed up in one of my favorite sayings:
Forage-Fed Rabbit and Rattlesnake Dinner Read More »
That sounds like a ridiculous question. But rumors abound. Hmmm. Let’s get to the bottom of this. Our alpha hen, Java, goes around crowing like a rooster, but gets all the privileges of being a hen. For example, I mentioned in a previous post how I had thrown a big grub to Old Whitey and
Can a Hen Turn into a Rooster? Read More »
Sabbatical Ranch wouldn’t be the same without a woman’s touch. My wife and youngest daughter are an enormous blessing! They love staying busy and help in various ways with all the projects I report on, plus they work on their own projects. They enjoyed a much-deserved, special, fun day this week. The only project I
Impressive Girl Projects! Read More »
We’re looking forward to restarting our Superadobe building projects, but the winter break has allowed us to get a lot of other stuff done. One of the most important is installing many water-harvesting earthworks that will help stop erosion of our topsoil and will help build living soil which will enable abundant food production. Rainwater
Plant the Rain, Grow the Soil, Reap the Harvest Read More »
We got snow last night and the picture shows it on the mobile chicken coop. Go to the ant, O sluggard, observe her ways and be wise, which, having no chief, officer or ruler, prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provision in the harvest. (Proverbs 6:6-8) Can you learn from ants and
Funny & Humble Chicken Lessons Read More »
Do you ever wonder how pioneers 100 years and more ago survived? Talk about some rugged souls! As we experienced some of the extremes over the last week I thought about this. And then I walked by a photography studio yesterday and took a picture of the display (photo above) because I thought it quite
Tested by Extreme Weather Events Read More »
Life just got a lot busier for me! In order to fund the development of Sabbatical Ranch I’m launching Resilient Agriscaping. It’s all about helping you achieve your ultimate, elegant, edible landscape. I’m pleased to announce a few free introductory classes, both online and off. You’ll love what you’re going to learn! Agriscaping Technologies Founder
Resilient Agriscaping Invites You to Our Free Classes Read More »
A year ago next week we drove from our winter sabbatical spot in southern Texas to Arizona. We arrived with windy snow and freezing weather at Thunder Mountain Alpaca Ranch, a very hospitable working ranch near Coronado National Memorial. We stayed and helped out for a few months while scoping out properties for Sabbatical Ranch.
Donations From Thunder Mountain Alpaca Ranch Read More »
What is a mold-avoidance sabbatical? How long does it last? What good does it accomplish? Should you come to Sabbatical Ranch? What about remediation? Let’s explore these questions and more. Sick Building Syndrome Mold toxins are a leading cause of sick building syndrome. If you experience frequent headaches; dizziness; nausea; eye, nose or throat irritation;
Do You Need a Mold-Avoidance Sabbatical? Read More »
We’re discovering more and more desperate desert critters that want to eat our stuff. And there’s no shortage of critters who want a chicken dinner. We had to chase off another attacker – twice in a row! More on all that below. Terror of the Neighborhood: Javelina I recently reported that a BIG cat and
Many the projects we work on here at Sabbatical Ranch are experimental as a demonstration site for the benefit of everyone. We’ve been developing a variety of experimental gardens in the last month or so and I suppose it’s about time I report on them. Here’s the list so far:
– Rain garden
– Hugelkultur
– Critter gardens
– Caliche gardens
– Chicken garden
– Greenhouse garden
– Courtyard food forest
– Chicken jungle
– Sunken garden
– Shady place
– And there are more in the works!
Gardens, Gardens, and More Gardens! Read More »
Have you ever played a game where you have to figure out what something is based on a tiny part of a photo? I enjoy those. A surprising photo I recently captured makes for a good guessing game. I progressively zoom out in each picture below to keep you guessing as you read this post. How soon can you figure it out?
Also in this post:
– Cat Attack! Mexican Jaguar?
– Updates on Previous Projects
Oxymoron? Contradiction in terms? If that’s your opinion of microbes, I hope to change it as I share some revolutionary discoveries you may not be completely aware of! Microbes are one of the marvels of creation that demonstrate intelligent design and pretty much every surface on earth is covered with them. It’s estimated that our
Marvelous Microbes!? Read More »
What are these things? Need a quick, easy, cheap, mold-free, and surprisingly durable shed or greenhouse? Then you’re going to like this post. In a number of different posts on building I’ve shared some of the problems with conventional buildings that make them prone to mold. For people who have experienced Mold Toxin Illness this
Hoop House? Caterpillar Tunnel? Read More »
Rats and mice! These rodents are legion on the desert. I am mostly a live-and-let-live kind of guy – except when it comes to rats and mice. So I declared preemptive war on them. This is a war story. Who will win? Read to the end to see how we turned a problem into multiple
Americans have been some of the most generous people in the world. I’m not talking about the government, I’m talking about the countless, self-sacrificing individuals who have given their time, talent, and treasure to help their fellow man. Innumerable benevolent societies and charitable organizations have been started and supported voluntarily. Countless multitudes have been helped.
Is Sabbatical Ranch Worthy of Your Support? Read More »
We just got a small flock of adult chickens! We got three hens and six roosters from Echoing Hope, a local nonprofit ranch that is chemical-free and similar to Sabbatical Ranch in a variety of other ways. Even though the chickens are beyond their prime for meat or egg-laying, we plan to make good use
Mold-Free Chickens Read More »
Hardly anyone wants to live in a desolate desert. Everywhere people settle they usually cultivate the land and plant things. The Arizona desert is no different. We moved here because it’s a desert, but who wouldn’t want to make it more livable for people, pets, and plants? We’ve experienced many types of harsh weather here
The unofficial motto of Sabbatical Ranch is, “It’s about the journey.” It helps keep things in perspective when things take longer than you’d like, when the work seems harder than you’d like, and when things don’t work out the way you’d like. It seems like every project we start is always more complicated than it
It’s About the Journey Read More »
Freezing nighttime temperatures have brought our Superadobe/Hyperadobe building to a pause for the winter, but I’d like to provide an update about what we learned and built this year. I want to keep sharing answers to questions I’ve found about how to build for healthy living without going into debt. I have to say that
One of the things I said I’d include in this blog is some of the simple, DIY projects we work on. This one is really cool! I combined a rocket stove with a rocket mass heater and created a hybrid of the two. These are extremely efficient compared to a conventional fire (eg. wood stove
Rocket Heater + Pictorial Read More »
There are many reasons to grow your own food! Examples include: taste, variety, nutrient density, personal enjoyment, exercise, chemical-free, budget, food security, and many more. What’s your story? We had a conventional garden 20 years ago. We weren’t very good at it and my wife was a coupon queen so we decided it was more
Why Grow Your Own Food? Read More »
We’ve discussed the pros and cons of various building styles in our search for the best option for Sabbatical Ranch. Building with earth comes out on top, mainly for health reasons but it also turns out to be quite economical. And there are options that make it very doable for just about any ability level.
Affordable, Natural Earthen Building Read More »
