You're Composting What?!?

We're composting our poop, our excrement, our dookie. In an attempt to live more sustainably, Christy and I decided we would use some sort of composting toilet. Originally we were planning on using an off-the-shelf system but opted for something much simpler. It turns out that many of these off-the-shelf systems don't work very well. Evidently people's contributions don't always decompose in a timely fashion. So instead we opted for what's called a sawdust toilet (see photo below). Contributions are made in the toilet and covered with non-kiln-dried sawdust. There's nothing unsightly or smelly. The container consists of a 5 gallon bucket which sits beneath the seat and is housed in a lovely wooden box. After the bucket is full the contents are emptied (this is only the kinda gross part) into a compost bin (see photo below) along with straw. The organic material (notice how I never call it what it really is) composts over the course of one to two years. Through thermophyllic bacterial activity (with temps up to 160°F) any and all pathogens are killed. The result is usable AND safe compost. Technically we could use the compost on our crops but we've decided we'd delegate it for shrubs and trees.


Sawdust toilet en la tent




Humanure Compost Bin

Why are we doing this? Think about this: We're the only society that adds potable water to our poop and then later on separates it. Sure, it makes for a more sanitary environment but there's a better way. What we're doing doesn't use any water (other than rain water for cleaning) and it recycles our wastes. Unless you're using a septic tank, most waste gets sent to a waste treatment facility where the solids typically go to a landfill. And the "treated" waste water? Well, that goes back into the water table or a nearby river or ocean. Composting our waste does away with this and actually makes use of the organic material in a more sustainable manner. Of course it's much easier to simply flush and never think about it again. But that attitude is turning out to be quite troublesome. We have the same attitude when it comes to trash - out of sight, our of mind. "It's not my problem anymore."

Is that a snake you've got?

Adrian and Keith visited over the Memorial Day weekend. We had a lot of fun, as always. Spent Friday night at the Floyd Jamboree. Saturday we toured the local stores and galleries and had dinner at the Pine Tavern. Sunday we hung out in Roanoke.

Before heading back home, Keith spotted a black snake in a tree. Of course I had to run like a little kid to check it out. And, like a kid I had to pick it up.




After A & K left, Christy and I were hanging out in the kitchen area when we heard a loud commotion across the street. We then saw a deer bound over to our side of the property and then take off down the hill. I went to see what might have spooked it and found this:


Perhaps the mother detected our scent and panicked. It was amazing to see just how still the fawn was as I was only 6 feet away. Too cool!

Hammock Days

I finally got around to putting up our hammocks. What the heck took me so long?!? There is nothing like busting your hump and then relaxing in a hammock. Christy and I purchased these last year in El Salvador - $17 a piece.

Books in the queue: Bill McKibben's "Enough" and Sam Harris' "Letter to a Christian Nation"

Christy continues to plant more each day: Echinacea, Sunflowers, Chives, Marigolds, more potatoes, tomatoes, corn, black beans, okra, etc.

In addition to the hammocks, we finally started making some campfires. What a treat that is.

Applied for a private well with the health department.

It's colder than a...

The night before last, the temperature was down to 32° F and our air mattress had sprung a leak. Doesn't make for a restful sleep. This is definitely one of the low points about living in a tent long term.

Yesterday we met with the building inspector to discuss our cabin. We told him that we'd like to build it without having to do a septic system (required by code for any dwelling). He said that only way that could be done is to build a structure that doesn't exceed 150 square feet. So we decided that's what we'll do. It's a little smaller than we had hoped. But if we put in a loft and a decent sized porch we'll have adequate space.

We also finished putting up the deer fence yesterday. We can now relax a little about the deer; however, we still have to concern ourselves with rabbits and woodchucks which can dig under the fence. To address that we'll add chicken wire to the bottom of the fence and bend the bottom portion outward horizontally and cover it with dirt. Apparently the critters aren't smart enough to simply back up a couple of feet and start digging. At least I hope they're not.

Today we got a delivery of gravel for the driveway from a local quarry. We can finally park our cars there. With all the rain we've been getting the gravel is a must. With the cars now parked up the hill in the driveway, we decided to move our kitchen area up there as well.

Happy Birthday, Christy!

Christy was treated to two celebrations this weekend. Yesterday we went to a local winery/restaurant - Chateau Morrissette. Christy got to wear her purple dress with matching tights that I had gotten her for Christmas. It was nice to have a reason to get dressed up. The restaurant is located near the BRP with a beautiful view of the surrounding area. Christy had the Sauteed Crab Cake Salad and I had a trout dish. Of course we had to sample some of their wines. They were quite good. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and agreed to return.

Today, the Pugh clan arrived from Charlotte. Christy's parents, Jim and Linda, and sister, Nancy came up for the day to celebrate Christy's 34th. We all had lunch at a local cafe - Over the Moon Cafe. We hadn't seen Christy's family for six weeks so it was good to catch up. After lunch we gave everyone a tour of our home site and updated them on our progress.

Afterwards, we decided to have a tailgate party in the road since our driveway was too muddy for parking.

The Pugh clan in Floyd

Later that night, Christy and I went to a party in town where the hosts were celebrating the husband's birthday. It turns out that there were two other people there, not including Christy, whose birthday was also May 17.

Time

Christy and I are finding that we're getting a lot of reading in. I must have read 5 or 6 books in the last month. One of the books I'm reading now - "Siesta Lane" by Amy Minato - is about a woman who leaves the city to live in a "cabin, no running water, and a year living green". Mmm, sounds familiar for some reason. Anyway, I'm liking her writing and her experiences. She's provided me with some good quotes. About going to the woods: "Time stops long enough for thought and feeling to catch up." And then my favorite: "I am beckoned to renew a childhood connection with soil and sky that once offered me solace." This one resonates with me because I too had a childhood connection with the dirt. So often I'd leave my house in Ayer, MA to spend the day in a nearby field or the woods. Climbing trees, observing and catching insects, or just exploring. That's something I found myself doing no matter where I lived, be it New England or out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.



Sit. Relax. Read a book.

Today Christy and I took the day off and rode our bikes on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect ride. The weather was awesome and we had the road to ourselves. Some of the nice things about biking the BRP is that it's in great shape, there's little traffic, AND what little traffic there is is limited to 45 mph. It's a biker's dream. Having said that, the hills can be a killer. Most of the Parkway in this part of Virginia is at an elevation of over 2000 feet.

For dinner, we had a pasta salad with some of our newly harvested greens - kale, Osaka Purple, and Chard) - Yum!

And the fun begins!

Christy and I have been busy on preparing the garden beds and enclosing it with a 7.5' deer fence. Apparently the deer here are very aggressive towards gardens. We've decided on going with a circular enclosure instead of the standard square or rectangle. Given that the site slopes on three sides it made sense to deviate from the norm.



Working on the beans and cucumbers bed


Locust post for fencing

Digging with the post-hole digger and tamping dirt has aggravated my carpal tunnel syndrome. I find myself waking up at 3 or 4 in the morning with excruciating pain in my left wrist. I thought that leaving the high-tech world would have eliminated this condition - not! I had a similar experience after returning from a Habitat for Humanity trip to El Salvador. Apparently the act of tamping dirt is something my wrists don't like.

The Winter Wren nest near the tent was empty this morning. Yesterday there were 5 newly hatched chicks. This morning there was one dead chick at the entrance. I'm guessing either a raccoon or 0possum. I was just saying to Christy that we should start naming them. Oh, and speaking of wildlife: I forgot to mention that upon our return from New Hampshire we discovered bear activity at our site. We saw some tracks and our bird feeder was demolished. I'm hoping to get my first glimpse of one eventually.

Getting to use the chainsaw (Stihl 280) quite a bit. Mostly to cut the locust posts for fencing and also for fire wood.

"Dear Ricky"

After a much needed 10 day vacation to NH, Christy and I began settling back into our new life - and all that that entails. It was so good to see everyone - my daughters and our friends. We had a very active week and a half. Spending quality time with my girls and granddaughter, including a fun trip to Boston. An awesome 2 days in Portland with our friend Valerie. And then lots of visiting with other friends. I even got in some soccer with Marc and Anne's boys, Nicholas and Eli. Oh, and let's not forget that breakfast with Bruce and Liza at Intervale House of Pancakes.

The day after our return I woke up at 5 AM to a cacophony of birds. Surprisingly I was able to go back to sleep. Later in the morning I went to the post office to retrieve a registered letter. To my astonishment it was a reply letter from my biological father in Brazil. Through a former co-worker (the amazing Ruggero Dimedrano), I was able to find an address for the name "Milton Chester De Castro". I wrote a letter back in February in the hopes that it was my father. Well, after a ten year search my wait was over. Words cannot describe how happy I am to have gotten this letter. A letter that expressed regret for not having made contact with me sooner. and asking for my forgiveness. Mind you, the last time I saw my father I was about a year old living in Germany (Needless to say, I don't remember him.) Finally I can see what that side of my family looks like, learn some history, and more importantly - see him. He's 76 years old and is retired from the pharmaceutical industry. He has two other sons and five grandsons. I wrote him a lengthy letter in reply forgiving him and sharing what's been going on in my life the past 49 years. I'm still in shock as I type this. I found my father. He's alive, he wants my forgiveness, and he wants a dialog. I couldn't ask for any more. Well, perhaps two round trip tickets to Sao Paulo.