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 »
In this post:
– I recently posted a personal ad on behalf of our rooster, Big Red. No responses yet, but we’re still looking.
– Summer is finally winding down and so are many of our projects. High temperatures this week are in the 70°s, which are the lowest we’ve had since probably April or May.
– Today is our 25th wedding anniversary!
With this dome build I’m trying to take pictures of all the key steps involved and include basic explanations in a series of articles. If you’re just interested in the process or are considering this option, these articles give a good overview of everything involved. But if you were going to build a Superadobe or
3-Week Dome Building Progress Read More »
