back in the 90s we knew we wanted to live in the country
have a large garden
have chickens
maybe other animals
collect rainwater
use solar power
maybe wind power
be almost self sufficient
i guess thats called a homestead
i started collecting in a large file articles on all of this
i subscribed to mother earth news
texas gardener magazine
this folder got thick
real thick
i attended seminars and seminars and seminars
on rainwater collection and solar power
did rainwater tours
did solar power tours
did green tours
did the annual funky chicken austin tours for years
then
when our youngest son graduated from high school
we started looking at property in the hill country
we wanted to be north of austin
in the country
easily accessible to austin my work my wife shes work
we looked and looked
we even had a 13 acre tract sold that we wanted the weekend
before we made an offer
the guy just wrote a check for all of the land
i had accumulated architectural plans for these things
called envelope houses
using a double wall system to act as an envelope to insulate
and make it energy efficient
then
one sunday my wife she was looking in the newspaper
in the ads
there was this ad
that just jumped out at her
it started out
an artisan built house with the feel of a hunting lodge
well that got her attention
she called the next day
went out to look at it
video taped it
came to my office showed me the video
we drove out that evening to look at it
when i saw it
i knew that it was the one
we made an offer the next day
we moved in a few weeks later
well we had two homes for awhile since at that time the market was slow
we gradually moved in to the country n full time in a few weeks
since we found we were no longer staying in town very often
having gravitated to the country n every chance we got
after a year i added a rainwater collection system with one tank
but since then it has grown to a system with 22000 gallons for the
house and 8000 gallons for irrigation
the water that no well or city system can duplicate
when the well died we quit using it for irrigation
we opted not to reactivate it
we added an organic garden with its on drip irrigation from the
rainwater irrigation tanks
we added a 400 sq ft chicken coop
these girls provided us with lots and lots of eggs
made yards and yards of compost from leaves some of
you gave us
this compost was used in the garden to make all our
organic veggies
baby chicken that never laid an egg
he was just mean
especially to my wife she
he is the only chicken we had that got their own grave
we added well over 100 shrubs and trees to the 1 acre fenced yard
that the house sits on
10 of these are large shade trees like cedar elm monterey white oak
red oak hickory burr oak
there were already 10 large cedar elms
so we make about 60% of our electric power
some months we make all of it
we tore down the carport and built a garage
added a 10 ft square greenhouse on one side
to winter things over
we killed off all our st augustine grass
by covering it with black plastic
covering that up with 4 inches of mulch
after a year
i gradually relandscaped that area
with xeric plants
crushed granite walkways
leaving much of the area mulched
we added 3 water trough ponds to provide water for our
dogs and cats and the wildlife
i sowed native seeds in the pastures and just let them go
the turkey deer dove loved it
the quail returned two years ago
yes i sit out side and whistle bobwhite to them
no we dont hunt any of them
we just enjoy them
purple martins come home each april
they zoom around overhead like jet planes
im sure thats where the military got the idea
for their fighter jets
some years we have bluebirds return to their houses
so bright blue they are
a good sign we have a poison free property
we added a beehive
harvesting several gallons a year
yes
my wife she couldnt stand it
she gave most of it away
lucky you if you got any of it
several winters in a row
we kept two of our neighbor paint horses
just so we could watch them in the pastures
one spring
we even had a colt born here
a visitor here recently said as he got out of his car
this place is an oasis
as he left before he got back in his car
he said
its so pleasant here so quiet
if you have visited here
you know what he meant
we notice that folks dont want to leave
when they come out to visit
my rainwater brother has sat on our upper deck
from what seems like hours
just sitting there soaking it all in
another friend of my older brother came to visit
he loves turkey hunting
he sat on our upper deck for a long long time
just watching and listening to them
from that upper deck you can see cattle goats
longhorns deer turkey roaming around
in the spring you see acres of wildflowers
we have so enjoyed living here the last 15 years
but
all good things must come to an end though
tomorrow i will explain why
the organicgreen doctor
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