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 »
One of the most important needs of any farm or ranch is water. Without water life is impossible. But not all water is created equal. City water is loaded with chemicals so we’re thankful we’re not in the city. We’re on a well-share with three other properties and no chemicals are used. This satisfies our
Water: A Blessing or a Curse? Read More »
As we traveled the country on our year-long sabbatical one of the things we paid close attention to was building options. I also spent months researching to find the best options for Sabbatical Ranch. We loved experiencing the thermal mass properties of adobe-style structures which are popular in the arid southwest. Desert temperatures drop significantly
Healthy Building: Is It Possible? Read More »
Sabbatical Ranch is located in the beautiful San Pedro River Valley near the headwaters of the river. Surrounded by five mountain ranges, known locally as “sky islands” because of their unique climates, flora, and fauna compared to the deserts around them, the valley is a high desert. Sabbatical Ranch sits about 4300 feet above sea
A River Runs Through It Read More »
