Mankind has had it very difficult throughout most of history and still does in much of the world. There’s definitely something to be said for working smarter, not harder. But is there such a thing as going too far, making life too easy, and getting too soft? Think of robot vacuums and mowers, elevators, electronic […]
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 »
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 »
Quick update on dome build status, but first check out the flowering prickly pear cactus near the dome that has yellow, orange, and pink blooms all on the same plant! When we built a dome last year I kind of waited until we were pretty much done and then did a reveal. This time I’m
Superadobe Is Like Working With Playdough Read More »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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
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
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
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 »
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 »
My girls have an amazing pioneer spirit! The ranch property came with a well-share agreement (common in Arizona). Four properties share one well that is located two properties away from the ranch. The girls wanted to haul all our water from the well on foot, which they did for the first few months! Once we
Waterline Project Full of Surprises Read More »
