Just Me and JuJu (the donkey) and Chickens

the gang. today.

Xoxox

My One Match Fire!

This morning I woke up to snow! wtf, right? Yesterday I was sweating my tits off in my crochet bikini, gardening, getting a tan...I went to bed to the sounds of a spring time thunder storm, it was so warm I let my fire go out. While sleeping, in came some freezing cold winds & snow, so a fire was needed as soon as I woke up.
I can finally do this with only ONE match!

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HERE IS HOW I DO IT ::::*
1. I put paper at the bottom (sometimes with a toilet roll), down the middle, front to back
2. I layer tiny tree branches, by size up to larger branches on top
3. I put wood slivers on top the branches
4. I add small logs at the top of the pile...
5. and light the match to the paper at the bottom
6. then BLOW and blow and blow some more, till ya have a big flame!
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Watch the process here::::


XOXO

Cabin FEVAH, the signs

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things I think may indicate I have cabin fever ::::

1. thinking too much

2. feeling like my body wants to jump out of itself

3. wanting sunshine so bad it feels like i lost a lover every day it's cloudy

4. my dancing becomes more angry looking and spastic (alot of hair swinging)

5. getting snippy with my cat when she claws up my leg

6. a hot bath feels better then anything in the world when the first foot goes in

7. continuous thoughts of running away, far far away

8. wishing for vices that would make me knocked out or drunk

9. spending too much time on the internet

10. wondering what all the other people my age are doing at this very moment

11. wondering if my life is passing me by cause i am not standing up and doing a project at that moment

12. contemplating how important brushing my teeth is if no one is coming by, but forcing twice a day

13. urges to drive all the way to town in the snow just to get a rice milk & see cute boys in the check out line

14. checking my arm pitt smell and analzying what it means

15. Ovulation becomes a tragedy of cabin cleaning and lust

16. i remember i am only human

xoxoxo

Morning & Evening

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here is my morning...



....
and then my evening...



everything in between was cold wind.

xoxoxo

Backing Away From Society

Before I ever had health problems, before I ever found myself submerged in nature unknowingly following a path into a reclusive life... long before the change really started I never was very good at "fitting in" to society's standards. Looking back it all seems like superficial steps, practice steps, maybe baby steps into the life I would inevitably later lead - choosing the wrong kind of clothes, choosing the wrong things to say at the wrong time, the wrong music, the wrong color lipstick, the wrong haircut, the wrong colored date for the school dance.

Society always seemed to have this thumb pressing down on the very nature of the human heart, and while pressing down hard it seemed there was a voice saying that unless I gave into the demands, commands and expectations I would get squished by the giant civilized thumb. If I obeyed the thumb it would let off the pressure (a forever promise), the message being that "fitting in" was all one could choose if they wanted to be "happy" in this life.

Problem was, I saw right through the facade of all the people who had heeded to the thumb. They were not happy either - that small bit of observation alone was enough to send me searching, even if was just for a darker shade of lipstick at the corner store. But when my health led me to a drastic change in plans (aka- WHat? You mean I am not going to be a famous artist with one kid married to another famous artist living in NYC?) I found a new freedom, a freedom only nature seemed to give me.

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I was diagnosed with a rare & severe form of Celiac Sprue (autoimmune disease) around age 22. I have mentioned this before and I mention it again because it was the turning point that led me to the near utter rejection of all things connected to the outside world. Outside world being, modern civilized white picket fence, windex spraying, fine (gluten) dining, consumer monster society. This was a world I already had trouble having a toe in, much less a foot in the door. Once I got sick the not-so-hypoallergenic door was slammed shut, because there would be certain social activities (like going out to eat or enjoying holidays meals) I could never be a part of again, period, finis, over.

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Nature though didn't care. Nature has no judgement or obligatory feelings. The forest celebrates everyday in the same way, and has no concern for it's kindness or cruelty. The butterflies, the crawling insects, the opossums don't go X-mas shopping, don't go on dates, grab a beer or go out to eat. They don't care if you can have babies, or if you have a real job. In fact, the more I look(ed) at the natural cycle of life, not manipulated by humans, the more life opened up and seemed to have a safe place for me after all. It was human society that had created a modern, domesticated, civilized world that I couldn't quite fit into... so I slowly, and sometimes reluctantly backed away from "normalcy", from the high expectations of a tribe I could not force myself to function in (for the sake of my health and the rest of me).

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I really believed Janis Joplan when she said "freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose" because at my lowest points I felt the most free from the enormous thumb of society. The less I had the less I would fret, the less I was protective of, the less I had to defend or justify. At the same time, I learned that having nothing can also be a hardship which forced me to vacillate between hating modern life and using modern life in a manipulative way to get what I wanted.

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What did and do I want?

To set myself up to not need society anymore.

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It is not just a survivalist thing, or a rewild challenge, or even just an eco friendly way to live. It's a way to avoid the thumb of society and the people who individually make it a (ass)whole- the judgement that burns your back as you walk away from a scolding neighbor, or a cold stare from the people in suburbia who not only have gave into the thumb, but went ahead and shook hands with the big ogar.

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But I dont mind being a threat to civilized & structured patterns. In fact, there is some kind of purpose and drive in ruffling up the straight line I was told to walk, a drive that reaches into my spirit in the purest form and says "keep going!"

I can say with all certainity, I am never turning back.

Not because I can't, but I don't want to. My back will stay facing the eyes of our harsh society in full protest to their robotic way of living. Even if sometimes I ask my very soul "WTF, why is THIS the path to choose? Why wasn't I just one of them?"

xoxoxo

JuJu The Donkey Smiles

And it's not a trick of the camera. She really does smile. It's heartbreaking how a face can make you love the whole spirit so much.

Xoxoxo

What Keeps You From Living A Sustainable Life?

I try piece by piece to make my life more in line with nature. But that sounds so cliche', and defining a sustainable lifestyle is not totally cut and dry. There are variations, nuances, and debates as to what a truly natural lifestyle is...

but by your own definition (which I'd love if you'd share too) what is the thing that most keeps you from being able to fully partake, live, and love a sustainable, earth aligned life?

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For me there are many more things I would like to do to be light footed on this planet. Not because I think the earth won't ever recover from our mistakes but because it feels right, it is something I can pass on to the people who will be born long after I die. Less pollution for their bodies, less disease for all living things. I can pass on cleaner water and fresher air.

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Here is my list::::

• I would like to be off electricity, off grid (aka i want solar panels or a complete non electric set up).
• I would like to have classes on identifying all native plants in my area.
• I would like to learn to hunt for protein foods (aka, less grocery dependence).

Here is what keeps me from having accomplished these goals::::

• MONEY .... solar panels cost big bucks
• money.... no seems to teach this shit for free
• Money..... ditto from above

Tell me your lists and thoughts, what is your biggest obstacle? If it's money, tell me your second biggest too!

One Small Split For Womankind (and tiny people)

I wanna show ya'll all the logs I've been splitting this month (see pic above and below)! This does not count the ones I have already burned on the cold nights...
I have always considered myself a feminist, not a preachy one but a quiet one who doesn't talk about it. I rather live it. Am i saying it's easy for a tiny woman to split her own logs for winter heat... NO, I am saying you CAN do it, I CAN do it, and it's vastly rewarding to be able to take care of yourself without relying too much on the system. Or the man.
No offense guys. I wouldnt mind if a dude was taking turns choppin' these bitches with me... but the point is I am doing it myself and am capable.
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Historical note:::
historically speaking men did these type of chores and women were home preparing & cooking food, taking care tons of kids, ect... I would like to say that I can now see from a back in history man's perspective why he'd be wanting a hot meal when he came home from busting his ass - splitting all these logs makes me want to come home to a warm meal too. One I dont' have to cook...
But presently speaking, I do all of it. YAY! This is one for the ladies AND small people!
xoxoxo

Ready, Aim, CHoP!

It's that time of year again, when a few chilly nights are the wild's warning of the soon to come winter. My source of heat is wood, in a Treemont wood stove that was already here at the Luck Cabin when I moved in. I lucked out cause it holds a coal overnight, and that means I won't have to start a new fire every morning, which may be one of the harder things about heating with wood.
but not the hardest.
The hardest for me would be splittin' those logs into firewood! Remember last year when I was just learning how to really do it right? Weighing in at about 100 pounds (that would be me) made splitting wood with an ax something of a zen practice more then force.
I set up the log in a stable place and take a good look at my aim. I don't have tons of extra energy to waste on missing my mark, I have to make my swings count.

I am using a "Go Devil" type ax (heavy sledge hammer-ish shape on the back end), which works WAY better then the standard tree chopping ax. I figure if i start splitting a few logs a day now, by the time the real cold comes I will be ahead of the game unlike last year which was a harsh HARSH winter that caught everyone off guard.

It may take me way more swings then I would like (check my swing style I learned last year here) and my wood may still be a lil' green (aka- not totally dry)... but it's way more efficient, good exercise, and saves alot of money to spilt the logs myself. A stack of logs a day keeps da' doctor away!

How do ya'll stay warm for the winter and what do you think is the most earth friendly way to heat your home?

XOxoxoox

Rural Entertainment: The Fireman's Fair

Ya'll know by now I love local rural events... they are nothing like the big splashy Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest and French Quarter parties I grew up with in New Orleans - instead they are personal, down home, small crowds, nothing fancy, and people are just happy to see the other people who all live the same hidden mountain & farming lifestyle. They don't try to put on a show, they just are themselves. (I mean this even for our local wrestling matches, even if the guys do sport a few sequins!)
So Yesterday right around the bend from the Luck Cabin was the Spring Creek Fireman's Fair, I had gotten a flyer in the mail 2 weeks ago that made it hard to resist attending (see pic above) - seeing that Smokey The Bear was going to be there, they were going to play Bingo, have live music plus live Firemen....I HAD to see.

The first live band rocked the stage, i mean as much as they could rock out without scaring the other locals (aka slow and country).... they kinda rocked it Johnny Cash style, with the Beatles song "Act Naturally" thrown in the mix. And you best believe I danced - in fact a old, smelly drunk man found me (he said he lived "down yonder") and we were the only two people who cut a rug on that green grassy area in front the stage, while a crowd of maybe seven people watched & clapped.

Since me and the drunkard became BFF's, he also taught me how to play HorseShoes! I had never played before, but basically you are throwing heavy ass horse shoes like 40 feet into/across the air in order to hit a tiny metal pole sticking out the ground, in a pile of sand. I hit it once... out of about 30 tosses. :)

My awesome neighbor (remember the one who saved me in the night when I first got my donkey JuJu?) was diggin' into the atmosphere - as we watched the M.A.M.A helicopter fly in. The helicopter landing pad serves two purposes in our rural nook, and that is to bust people growing pot & for when we call 911. Yeah, we are so freakin' rural they can't even get us to a hospital in time before we'd die so they just fly this bad boy in and save us. (see pic above).

There was plenty food & drink --- including fried apple pie, hot dogs, hamburgers.... none of which I can eat since I have Celiac Sprue and shall never be able to partake.
There was also a silent auction. Well. There was a really odd assortment of things for auction, my favorite being this set up below.....

Faux Wiener Dog in a Baby Bed.

I had no idea why they had numbers spray painted on the ground in a circle either, till my neighbor explained this was for the Cake Walk.

I can't eat cake, but I can walk - so i joined in. Basically it's like musical chairs and each person stands on the big ole' number on the ground, they start up the music and everyone gets walkin' in circles (i was getting dizzy) till the music stops. Then they pick a number out of a hat... the kid who picked it picked his own number (little psychic!) and won a cake (go ahead and eat it little kid, cause i can't anyway)!

My Drunkard BFF took this picture of me and smokey the bear. Drunk people don't always get the main attraction in the picture, ya know. But you can tell SMokey The Bear reallllly was there, right?

I thought "Sparky The Fire Dog" was gonna be a real dog, but it was just a dude in a costume. He was not real, like Smokey The Bear. ;)

The BIG main attraction that it seemed so many had prepared for was the Lawnmower Race!! For real, a woman standing next to me during the race told me her son had spent weeks on getting his lawnmower ready for the race, by putting in a go-cart motor... and in fact he had fixed his lawnmower to race a few years back.

Right at the beggining one guy's lawnmower BLEW into smoke, another's broke down had to be pulled off, one older man road slowly on his, while just a few guys were blowing past everyone, nearly tipping over trying to come in first place.

Decorated with Hooters Stickers, numbers, southern flags, cow bells....

I was rooting for the grey Lawnmower, cause i was standing next to his Mama, but he didn't win.......

The Fireman's Fair though was a total WIN!

PS- I never did find tha' Bingo game? Where was it at?

Xoxoxo

Mud Wrestling in the Luck Pond

It didn't start out that way... it always starts out innocent, with a finger, a wellie boot, then a toe. Next thing ya know, your legs are sinking and your knees are covered in mud. Then someone pushes you down in the mud and your face is splattered....... then IT'S mutha' freakin' ON! Mud Wrestling!!!!! Mud Zombies start coming towards the other people who are watching in surprise, to pull them down into the dark skanky smelling muck........ dirty loves company!

There was plenty mud slinging, mud being shoved down other people's pants, mud squished just for the lovely feeling of squishing it... i think someone even put some in their own pants to see what it would feel like if ya poop'ed yourself! That is what good times are about. :)

Swimming with the snapping turtles didn't last long though...

This is the kinda girl gang you don't wanna F with. trust me.

Thank gawd for the outside shower here at the cabin which actually has warm water - but only a little bit so we all piled in to wash our clothes and faces off before the warmth ran out!

YiPPpeeeee Zipppppieee!

Xoxoxox

JuJu Drama: Lessons From The Animals

Today I decided to take Juju Bean (the donkey) on her first casual walk with me. I decided to make the first one short and sweet, by leading her up the road behind my cabin and back. No water to contend with, just a nice path into the forest. She did really well, until we came back home to the gate to her fenced in area.... then she pulled me like a determined kid pulling a piece of taffy with their whole face. She tugged hard on the rope halter and tried to pull me down, as my tiny amount of body weight pulled back.
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Lesson #1: Learning to be assertive when it counts!
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I had to stay calm and look her directly in the eye and firmly command that the gate was the direction we were going and under no uncertain terms was she going to tell me where to go. WTF is it that makes it SoooooooOOOoOooo hard to do this? Although I am an extroverted personality I don't believe I am all that assertive in my personal interactions... let's just say I am bleeding heart for all that walks & lives on this earth & beyond. My first thoughts are 'if i was her i wouldn't wanna go back in either, i would wanna keep walking and BE FREE!' --- all this comes to me with a swoosh like the Born Free Movie "born free, as free as the wind blows as free as the grass grows...." (i know I am big sucker and wild spirit!)
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After I got her into the gate, we proceeded to have a lil' hissy bitch fight. I got her a carrot treat to reward her and she ran away from me into some bushes and nearly refused the carrot - finally took it from me, then ran away from me again. Just like any bad relationship moment I felt like a failure and wanted to cry while she ignored me pouting on a log - but when I decided to walk back to the cabin and leave her alone she called out to me in bellowing HEE HAW's to not leave her.
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Lesson #2: 2nd time's more a charm!
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I did leave her for a bit then came back to take her for a second walk. After the rules were established she eased up on her sassy sh*t and actually started to enjoy our hike .... so much that she crossed a creek twice and we found some apples together! I thought about how it's easy to forget that the first time we do just about anything it's a little clunky & ridiculous, there's nothing in life that seems to not need practice! I mean, really.... remember your first dance, first time behind the wheel of a car, first time you did the dirty deed?!!! Yep.
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Thanks Juju...
XOxox

Everybody's Got SOmething To Hide 'cept for Me and Mah DOnkee!

Yesterday in the early evening JuJu Bean my donkey arrived! Yipppeeeee! I practically ran down my road to meet the man dropping her off cause I was so excited to finally see her --- since he didn't think his horse trailer could make it up my steep gravel road we decided to take her out down there and that I would walk her up (about a mile).
When she first jumped out the horse carrier, he handed me the rope and she literally dragged my tiny ass about 20 feet down the road, with me pulling as hard as i could to get her to stop .... the man came and stopped her for me, then sent me on my way alone to my cabin.
Just me and JuJu Bean... he said we could "bond" along the way.
Considering I was a total stranger, she was very well behaved, I kept handing her little pieces of carrot and tried keeping her going in the right direction --- which she didn't want to go. She would try to turn back down the road suddenly and i would try walking her in circles till we turned back towards my cabin again....she kept testing me out until finally she accidently stepped on my foot! YOUCH! And I screamed in pain (loud echo through the forest) - this for some reason made her more compassionate to me, and we moved along more smoothly.
It took me only a short while to realize the sound of the creek & small waterfalls was scaring her- so with carrot treats we hauled along till we got to the turn to my house....

Where WE HAVE to CroSs a CREEK to get there!!!! JuJu Bean was NOT having it. As in there was no f-en way she was crossing that water with me, no matter how many carrots and lara bars pieces I bribed her with --- she stood her ground and protected her fear with all her body weight.

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So for the first hour we talked. I looked her in the eye and explained how there was no way to get home except to cross that water. I then showed her it was safe to cross by crossing it a couple times by myself (while she was tied to a tree). After a long time seemed to pass, and I had watched a raccoon cross the creek instead of JuJu, I decided to go look for some help. I ran up the road, leaving poor JuJu behind to knock on neighbor's doors - but no one was home. I found an apple tree & a dog and figured I would take any help I could get. I put out LOUD Clear messages to the universe to send someone/anyone/anything who could help me.

The dog ran back home and with just some apples I got back to JuJu at the tree- who started to wag her lil' tail and gave me the saddest scratchiest HEE HAW I could have ever been blessed with! She was happy to see me! I left the apples with her and then ran back to my house to call for help....

then came back down to JuJu, where we did a hella lotta "bonding" while sitting there waiting. And Waiting. waiting, waiting so much that... Oh shit it's now getting dark..... and darker, and no one has come.... and darker.... the owls hooted a long f*ckin' time ago. It finally got so dark I could not even see JuJu or even my own hands in front my face, my eyes burned to keep them open in the total darkness that had evolved over the hours. And I knew the help that I had called was never coming, I had no flashlight, ... i tried to think of what to do, but my eyes would just close and I would sigh. JuJu didn't want me to walk even 1 foot away from her in the darkness.

Then, like a light at the end of a black forested tunnel, someone was driving up the road! It wasn't the help I called for on the phone, but rather the help I called for telepathically in my panic'ed wonderings around my 'hood. A neighbor pulled up to the sight of a donkey tied to a tree and a worn out girl- and asked "are you alright?"

No. not alright.

But saved.

She said she had a horse who wouldn't cross that same creek, and she had a barn further up the road without any creeks to cross - a barn with horse stalls that JuJu could stay the night (is this not Soooooo baby jesus, mary and joseph??!?)

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My Savin' Grace neighbor pulled her car around to shine light on the road, her dog added emphasis on it being the right time to move along, and JuJu practically dragged my tired ass so fast uphill I could hardly catch my breath. When we got to her place JuJu went right into the horse stall...........

TO BE CONTINUED .......... (just like Young and the Restless but different!)

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(Title of this post refers to this Beatles song.)

Xoxox

Prepping The Chicken Coop Nesting Boxes

NO chickens yet, but the part of my Mini-Barn (built this month) that is for the hens and their handsome rooster is only a day away from being completed! My uncle who built this barn (who was nice enough to teach me some shit while buidling it) loves raising chickens - he has bunches of chickies, and we designed their safe house together. :)
He said for the nesting box the best layers underneath where the chicken will lay eggs is the following:

• Bottom Layer - Dirt
• Middle Layer- Hay
• Top Layer - Cedar Shavings
  

I didn't have hay and I noticed all the dirt was wet from the rain. So I made a dirt/hay compromise for now ---

I made the bottom & middle layer all super dry peat moss, and then put thick cedar shavings on top! I figured this was good cause I use peat moss for my compsting toilet, and essentially you want the same kind of 'clean composting' action going on where your chickens will poop-pee.

Hope the ladies will love it!!!

Xoxoxo

Using My Non-Electric Hand Washer

Remember how i put together my Lehman's Hand Washer a few months ago? Alot of people wanted to know how it worked - or even IF it worked, because the washer itself costs about as much $ money$ as buying an electric clothes washer, which means for most of us eco livin' folks it's a big investment! Up until recently I had been washing my clothes in the tub, and I used to also use the wonder wash hand spun washer (2 pound load ideal for a single person who never needs to wash blankets or sheets)......

Using this larger wash load Lehman's Hand Washer is seriously easy, and I am now using less arm strength then the 2 pound load hand spinner ---> I can fit a shit ton of clothes in there, and even my neglected blankies ( which were really hard for me to wash the last few years!)

The way I have it hooked up for the summer is I set up the washer on my porch, I have a hose running from my Gravity Fed Spring Pump, to the washer to fill it up with water...

I fill up the basin with water, and put either lemon & baking soda or just nothing with the clothes to give them a better wash. I don't use soaps or detergents at all- so when the water drains out it isn't going to do any harm to the dirt, plants, trees and insects it touches.

Once you fill it up, you simply push the handle back and forth and the washer starts making a swooshing, cleaning noise I reallllllly like.....

Oh and ya' have to pose like a happy super model and sit your ass on top the washer for photo ops, and realize only after tha' pic is taken that ya got your butt all wet.

LOOK how nasty dirty that water got, that swooshing thingy pushed all that junk out of my clothes! Isn't that super grody-fied?!! Cat hair, Leslie Hair, pieces of the forest I picked up like crushed leaves and twigs.....

I let the water out the bottom drain by twisting the black nob open (it's underneath the washer), I have the drain hooked to a long hose.

I then fill the water up for a second rinse...

Once I am finished with the final rinse, I let the water out and then I get to the really awesome part------>

SQUEEZin' the clothes through the wringer!!! The wringer is completely worth every penny it costs because it makes it so clothes hanging on a line dry way faster, and more evenly. Wringing my clothes by hand had stretched stuff out and left them much more wet then this cool invention.

You can even put sheets and blankies through this thing, and jeans too! All you do is spin the hand crank round and round...

Even if you use some kind of clothes dryer, the wringer helps - I hang mine on a line to dry though since it's free, good for the earth and smells so good when the sun bakes the water out the fabric. :)

Xoxox