Frontier Living

Just over 4 years ago we moved off-grid.  The area we now call home is identified as frontier based on low population and the distance to urban life.  Living 45 minutes from a small town has provided some insight into how life might have been for my grandparents.

We do have power (solar) and a dug well with a solar pump that now allows us to water the animals so we are not quite at the level of living in the mid to late 1800s.  We plan to have water into the house this spring.  My wife will be particularly happy about that.

We have 40 acres with 7 acres fenced.  To fence the rest of the property will require nearly 1 mile of fencing and a few thousand dollars that will have to wait until the home is finished.  When we first moved here we planned on building a barn and a house.  As life plans often change based on...well life, we decided to build the barn and then build the house on top of it.

We wanted a barn suitable to house horses, goats and whatever else we might want plus storage for hay.  Our plan was for a 36x36 barn with a hay loft.  What we ended up with is a 36x36 barn with wings on 2 sides that are 11x36  for hay storage.  The house is larger than we originally planned and is 36x36.  It is basically the original hay loft with a 14' ceiling in the middle 12x36 section sloping down to 8' walls.  One unexpected result of building the home on top of the barn is the wonderful view.

We heat the home with a wood burning stove that also doubles as a slow cooker in the winter.  Among the "new" technology we have decided to use is propane.  We bought a propane cook stove and when we get water into the home we will have a propane water heater.  Not exactly off-grid but as I age it seems to be the better choice.

We have learned a lot since moving here and living in a 10x20 tool shed for the first 3 years.  The purpose of this blog is to share what we can about our experiences.  There have been challenges with failures and successes yet overall these have been the most rewarding experiences of my life.  One goal of mine is to be capable of living here as long as the Lord allows with my wonderful wife in a location that reminds me of God's awesome creation every single day.

God Bless