Blue Collar Farm Project, April Update.

Well guys, David and I finally got a chance to go for a walk about on the farm. There was still lots of snow but we where able to walk on top, making things a little easier on both us cripples (David has a bad ankle, I've got a bum knee).

First impressions on the farm are good. Most of the pre determined locations I had map scouted turned out to be keepers with great trees to hang stands. The north side of the farm was lacking in buck sign from last year, but there's already deer moving through there, plus the land owner mentioned that he often sees deer come out of the north east block of timber, so there's deer there.

 I'm assuming that it's most likely a doe group, the ultimate buck bait in November. The south side of the farm showed a lot more sign from last fall, including a couple of rubs that looked decent. I'm sure there's a good reason with the new alfalfa field on that side of the farm and the fact that the cover oats was harvested late last fall.

I get a sense that the majority of the deer are actually bedding off the farm on the timber both to the north and south. We'll be able to tell better once the snow all melts. If this is the case I may do some hinge cuts where the timber is the deepest to help define the movement a little better. This will give us more cover to access stands in the evenings.

David and I were able to predetermine seven different potential stand locations that offer both safe access and exit along with scent management zones (see stars on picture).

There's four that are particularly strong that we'll key on this year. Three of these spots are going to need substantial timber cutting, both harvest and hinge, to make the locations both more desirable browse wise and to create staging area's, and open up filming and shooting opportunities. There's also some burdock that I will be mowing and spraying out this year.

The back alfalfa field looks like a great location to improve on the already existing ag. There was really well defined transitional edges on both the north and south sides of the field, and a land bridge across the boggy type creek. The alfalfa that's in there is old, woody and offers very little nutrition wise, we'll be able to improve that with some new zero till/rotation techniques that have been developed over the last few years in the states. But that will be in year two.

So it would seem we've found a better spot, now it's time to make our spot even better. David and I will be putting in a day of work in May (should have been today, stupid snow). We'll take lots of pictures to share.

Building a cleaner, brighter future for society.......by being your own person.

Choosing to Live life by societies standards

Grow up, go to school, graduate, go to collage, graduate, get a job, get married, get a mortgage, buy a house, have kids, raise those kids, pay for collage for kids, pay off debt with job, retire, sell house bought with mortgage to survive in retirement, pay taxes that whole time..........then die.

Be a slave for the system

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or choose to live your life by your standards

This post is going to deviate from my usual material, but it will fit in down the road with what I'm doing.

I'll be honest, my mind has been wandering as of late. There was a point in my life I wanted nothing more than to live “the dream”. Do all those things in the previous paragraph. I'll admit, some of those things are important, such as school, getting a job and paying some level of taxes. But I'm beginning to question the other things. There's a set of societal standards that have been put in place over the last 50 years. Some of these standards are even written into law, such as building permits, standards and inspections, government run retirement plans and pensions, and government mandated living standards.  These laws and systems are supposed to be in place for our protection. But as knowledge and technology has advanced some of the laws in place have become obsolete. Things such as the need for running water, electricity and sewers/septic all have reliable and safe substitutes, substitutes that remove a person from reliance on government or monopoly utility providers. You would think that society and governments would embrace these developments as a good thing and a way to reduce wasteful spending and harmful actions against the planet............but this hasn't been the case.

Now lets drift back to “the dream”. A person has to mortgage to purchase or buy a home. This home must meet these standards that are in place for our “protection” in order to get the money to buy/build. This simple rule eliminates alternative lifestyles and homes. They also ensure that the buyer is reliant on the service providers, and that they are locked into a mortgage with the bank (aka debt slave). All these systems have been put in place to ensure that a person contributes to society, in a fashion that makes companies and governments money. Here in North America government and corporations are tied together, and pander to each others greed. Add in that housing prices have skyrocketed in recent years, well beyond what I'm willing to put myself into debt. So there was a short time where I figured my dream was over.

There had to be another way?

Then I began to think.........really think. Not of how I could do better so I can make someone else richer, or put myself into a deeper hole financially. But instead on what's important to me, and what is actually a necessity and what's a luxury. Things such as house size, how that home is looks vs how functional and efficient is is, how necessary utilities are procured and used and so on. Over the last few years I've been lucky enough to secure a roof over my head that I own with zero debt, but I'm still locked into a monopoly utility when it comes to water and power. So, the solution for me is simple. I'm currently developing a system that breaks reliance on utilities and banks. I'm going to take my current home and develop responsible and clean energy, water and waste management systems. I'm doing this on a budget that anyone can afford. The ultimate goal is to develop this system to the point where I'm 100% self reliant and sufficient.  It's a slow process that will have some hiccups, but I'm set on succeeding.  After that the plan is to buy an acreage I can afford, sell my current home and build a house and greenhouse using reused and re-purposed materials, grow my own food and live completely free of utilities and any societal “system”. All without a mortgage, all without being a slave.  I will save for my retirement in a way that doesn't make someone else richer.  I will be my own man, I will be free. And I plan on sharing it with the world.....

I've chosen to be happy, not to make others happy. I've chosen to live my life as I see fit, in a way that will be proven to be better for me, my neighbours and better for the planet. I don't need someone to tell me how to live..........I've decided that.