South Dakota? Why not?

Posted on by August 29, 2017

South Dakota?

Who knew?

We own property….but check this video out for information about establishing South Dakota residency.

Pretty darn cool.

South Dakota has no vehicle inspections, no state income tax, and it looks like it’s very easy to establish residency there.

If you are spending most of your time on the road, it might be good to have residency in a state that would be beneficial for that kind of nomadic lifestyle.

More information can be found at:

http://www.mydakotaaddress.com/

More info about the author of this post at http://www.elementvanlife.com/

 

come fly with me….

Posted on by August 29, 2017

Here’s another great video from Dylan Magaster….this time about a guy who converted a retired airplane into a home.

Bruce Campbell has a lot of ideas about why rescuing one of these planes is a good idea.

And, really, why shouldn’t we rescue them?

They’re a pretty tight structure…built to withstand some pretty unique circumstances…made out of a material that won’t degrade.

Why wouldn’t that make some sort of house?

Man, though….it sure takes a lot of forest to move a plane onto your homesite.

A plane is a big thing.

Still….it’s pretty interesting, I guess.

Read more about Bruce Campbell and his plane at http://AirplaneHome.com .

not exactly…but…close

Posted on by August 28, 2017

This isn’t exactly what we have to do over at the old barn.

Not exactly…but…close.

The barn roof was messed up on one corner and the sill plate is rotted out….so we need to jack it up some to hold the whole mess up….and then replace it….and reside the corner with some good rough sawn oak.

We worked on the roof this past weekend….so that might be a project for sometime in the near future.

It’s a learning curve to be around all this old and broken stuff.

I don’t know how much of that corner we’ll have to replace. Sometimes you can’t see all the rot before you start tearing into it.

I appreciate all these videos, though.  When they speed it all up, it makes me think that maybe the job won’t take as long as I thought.

We’ll see.

Oh….I almost forgot to remember that the other side of the barn needs the sill replaced all the way down the wall….not just the corner.

That should be a little harder to do.

I don’t want to remember that part right now, though.

I choose to forget that part for the moment.

Why Organic, Sustainable Farming Matters | Portrait of a Farmer

Posted on by August 26, 2017

Here’s a short film from “The Health Journal”.

Great stuff….very appealing….the way farming should be done if we didn’t need to buy our chicken breasts for .99 a pound.

Here’s the YouTube description:

When it comes to your food, nature always has the last word.

Most pro-organic documentaries make their point by taking stabs at the cruelty and other evils involved in the world of industrialized farming. In this short documentary portrait, Jesse Straight, owner of Whiffletree Farm, shows us a different approach. As he gestures to the beautiful landscapes that surround us he explains, “being a farmer is special because this is my office. You spend your day making animals happy…you get to do things that help the things around you thrive”.

The passion that Jesse exudes in this film will make you question every fast-food burger you’ve ever eaten, but for all the right reasons.

This stuff isn’t hard to figure out.

It’s the “right way” to go.

We don’t want to do it, though.

Factory farms are what we know.

“Thrive” is the word to focus on, though.

Our lives can be so good if we move in the right direction.

people like a party….

Posted on by August 28, 2017

“Tomorrowland” fascinates me.

This is some crazy….insane….stuff.

What a party!

Look at all these people out there….dancing…watching the spectacle.

A three day ticket for this thing costs 282.00 US…plus airfare and lodging.

I think that it would give me a headache….but….it looks crazy wild.

When we get “overseas”….it won’t be for Tomorrowland.

We’ll just have to crank up the jams in the minivan.

But, you know? If for some strange reason we all did end up at Tomorrowland, I suspect that Jenny and the kids would not have a hard time getting into a big party.  I think that they’d be up for some “jumping around”!

I might even be up for some jumping around, too.

If I couldn’t jump around at a party like this, what would I be good for?

Sitting around the cracker barrel….eating a pickle?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MP1NzpL_88

higher….higher….higher.

Posted on by August 25, 2017

Something is always happening….and, sometimes, more needs to happen.

More….that’s how people roll. We need “more”.

We live in an old house….and we have an older house a couple of miles down the road that needs some immediate action before we can live in it.

Three years down the road, it needs some “immediate action”.

Raising the roof is one option that we thought about.

Going out the back with an addition of some sort is another option.

We need more….and you have to work for more.

This weekend, I’m going to tear a section of the barn roof off and repair it.

That’s not as big a project as raising a roof.

We’ll see how that goes….and if it goes well, maybe next weekend, I’ll go up a story on the little house.

Why rush into anything?

I’ve procrastinated for 3 years, what’s another week?

 

 

high in a yurt….an airbnb adventure

Posted on by August 24, 2017

The San Juan’s.

What’s that? Who? Where?

I’m just kidding….that’s where Jenny’s folks live.

It’s pretty nice out there.

Here’s a yurt you can rent through airbnb  ( https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/8286641 ).

Man….you can rent just about anything.

We need to rent an adventure.

“New Backyard in Norway”…..

Posted on by August 23, 2017

This is a another great video from Salomon TV…..again, featuring Killian Jornet.

Here’s the description from the YouTube video….

Kilian Jornet is considered the greatest mountain runner ever. But he doesn’t consider himself a runner. Join Kilian in his new backyard in Norway as he attempts to ski and run in a single day the Seven Summits of Romsdalen, a 77km route with 9000m of elevation gain.

The phrase “new backyard in Norway” caught my eye.

What the heck, Kilian?

Good for you!

Check out the end of the movie, too….”I think my big moment is always tomorrow….”

What did we do before GoPro?

the moment….

Posted on by August 22, 2017

We now have a very shaky, handheld video of the sun hiding behind the moon.

I took it yesterday….when totality came.

It, for all its weird shakiness and….weird shakiness….is kind of cool to have. It’s nice to have some kind of “record”, I guess.

I wish I’d just looked at the sky, though.

To be in a group of people….to be with my family….and get to experience a moment when everyone was amazed by a natural event was pretty darn special.

Someone in the crowd we were enjoying took this video….it’s easier to watch than mine.

Traveller’s Rest, SC was a mellow place to see this cool sight….(we didn’t end up trying to get out to Dupont State Forest)…and the crowd was a lot of fun.

Speaking of crowds….we had two different people offer us eclipse glasses.

Isn’t it funny how the “best of human nature” is contagious?

I’m glad we all got a chance to see something amazing.