One year ago this month I started working remotely full time for an off-site employer. Having poured all of our savings into the ranch I needed an income to provide for my family and keep developing the ranch. That dramatically slowed us down, but we still made some significant progress this year! We’re developing as […]
2024 Sabbatical Ranch Progress Read More »
We’ve lived in multiple states around the country: from coastal states on the Atlantic and Pacific to the great lakes and the great plains, and from the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachian Mountains to tornado alley! And we have visited or at least traveled through almost every state. Most places have four seasons even though
Erratic Seasons of Sabbatical Ranch Read More »
Arizona’s infamous flash flooding finally struck us. For the last couple of weeks the monsoon thunderstorms have been hitting all around us but mostly either entirely missing us or just sprinkling a little bit – until Saturday. We’ve had our fair share of severe rain events, but nothing like this one. No neighbors we know
Flash Flooding Hits Sabbatical Ranch Read More »
Surely everyone has heard how good exercise is for them, so shouldn’t we all love it? We’ll talk about that as well as better alternatives than exercise. And I’ll have a simple movement challenge for you: can you perform a few basic moves that most people should be able to do without any problem, but
Do You Not Enjoy Exercise? Read More »
My daughter is very modest so she wouldn’t brag about her accomplishments. But I will! Over the winter she made a comprehensive plan for a year-round harvest of more than 75 different plants for food and medicine for people, pets, plants, beneficial birds & bugs (micro & macro). I asked her to write about it
Growing vegetation on the desert has many challenges. One challenge is that hard, dry ground makes it difficult for anything to take root. We’ve been working on developing good soil, but regular watering is required. Rainwater-harvesting earthworks are designed to help, but that by itself would take quite a few seasons to transform desert into
Irrigation Changes Everything! Read More »
We don’t like rattlesnakes, rodents, and javelina, but there’s more critters we do like than those we don’t. And then there’s a number of critters that we have mixed feelings about. Some of these critters are quite entertaining!
Favorite Critters at Sabbatical Ranch Read More »
Gravel and urbanite, stormwater and topsoil: all inadvertent gifts from neighbors near and far. Some people may look at these things as problems rather than gifts, but we turn problems into solutions and put them all to good use! Years before we bought this property I’m guessing one or more contractors delivered quite a bit
Generous Neighbors Read More »
Last year our big infrastructure project was running a waterline from the well – located three properties away – down to the ranch (four properties share one well). That project was a lot of work and full of surprises. Over the last year we’ve been doing rainwater-harvesting earthworks and building soil for Gardens, Gardens, and
We’re happy to have completed our second dome this summer! With this third and final report I hope to have provided a good overview of the process for anyone considering it. (See Part 1 and Part 2.) With a team of seven you can build one of these small domes in about a week, but
Finished Dome Build Report Read More »
