November 16, 2009

Bliss

I do complain, it is my way of expressing the problem so a solution can be found. I am so happy today I think I will never complain again.

We have been living and working this farm for 9 years now. We had to sell off part of it to keep it. We both work everyday to progress our life here and create a secure place for people to live in the future. Most days it is a thankless backbreaking grind. But some days, like today, one looks up to see things in a new light. Slowly and surely we have pulled ourselves to the top of the mountain, where we can see success at last!




When we first moved here we were a little house surrounded by trees, dark and quiet. That very day the neighbor put a road in, cutting down trees and breaking the ground. The absent trees, and internal rotting, created havoc on the old growth forest and a lot of it had to be cut down to save the house. When you log your property, even selectively like we did, you are left with piles of logs and branches unsalvageable by the loggers. We were told to burn these piles, we could not. These piles have been sitting, turning grey and making homes for birds and squirrels for 5 years now. My husband pulled the the hardwoods out and built his 7 foot fence around 4 acres for our animals and birds and almost a thousand square feet of raised bed gardens.



To make a short story longer . . . we could not walk on over 50 percent of our property because of a cliff line. I had only been "up top" 3 times in 9 years. It is so steep I had to come down it on partly on my hind quarters. We get our water from a wood box in the creek up there (so we have gravity fed water) and in the summer my husband was going up there a couple of times a day to keep the filter cleaned.

But today . . . .






We feel like we scratched off paint chips to reveal the Mona Lisa. The ugly piles of wood became a valuable base for our road. Pictures from the top tomorrow, gotta love a cliff hanger!
peace for all
p.s. click the pictures to make them full size

19 comments:

  1. It's such rugged (and beautiful!) country. Do you have a lot of bear?

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  2. Yes Sue we do have bear. We fenced our orchard so there are 8 mature apple, plum and pear trees for them to eat and they leave our stuff alone. We are rugged and wild, one could say our place was the opposite of your pristine place. Thanks for the visit, peace for all!

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  3. How beautiful!I dream of living in the mountains someday,maybe when Hubby retires.You all have defiantly worked hard and it looks wonderful !

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  4. Ruralrose, it looks like a little piece of heaven to me. I love the ruggedness of it all.
    We also have many bears, (black bears), and also moose, trampling through our property. I love to see them.
    Wishing you and your husband all the best.
    Karen : )

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  5. thanks for the photos ruth,.....
    if anything what do you miss from non country life....
    our village life is certainly not as isolated as your house, but there are a few city things I do miss from time to time...I would be interested to hear what you miss>
    x

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  6. Wow-a new trail to the top! Congrads. Your DH must have buns of steel after scaling that cliff several times daily. Congrads on that too. {{smile}} lots of silliness this am
    Kris

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  7. Your photos and description of your life are just amazing! The road must make things a lot easier.

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  8. Look at all the visitors, it's like a party! And that is what I miss most living isolated like this John, to be able to get dressed up, go out, kick up my heels and let my hair down! Kris my dh still has the body of a 20 year old, he is a hottie for sure, purely icing though, I tell you his heart is so big and his love for me so genuine he could be a stinky troll and I'd still be his. Storming here today, not good to show the panoramic mountaintop and lake views, maybe later today. Melodie this is supposed to be retirement for us as well, what we thought would be a 3 year project. I hope you are studying the real estate where you want to end up so you will be ahead of the game. Also, don't be shy to take advantage of the free copy of my new book, link on the side here. It won't be free much longer as it is listed with Amazon.com, it is full of little known information about living in the country. Karen I never have had a moose in my yard, I would be delighted - we must live in a similar area, off to your blog to see where you are, thanks for stopping to visit me. And Pearl, you are so kind and sweet to me, I don't know how you find the time. Yes, it sure does feel like a little party here to celebrate my success, thank you all - peace

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  9. Great photos, Ruralrose! Gravity-fed water supply... you just keep on amazing us! I love hearing about all that you do to stay in keeping with true homesteading. That road looks heavenly after describing how difficult it was before. Amazing, too, all that fallen wood/debris you were able to reuse.

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  10. Thanks Erin so glad to hear from you today, since I was wondering how you survived the storm. Did you loose any trees? Did it flood you basement? peace

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  11. We downloaded your free book copy a while back and found your thoughts so very similar to our own that we purchased, and just the other day received, a copy from Amazon. I look forward to reading it in it's entirety.

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  12. Mr H. I can't express how honored this makes me feel, thank you . . . and the bliss continues!! - peace

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  13. How lucky you are. The land sounds beautiful. We were out in BC last summer and I can see the appeal. I admire the hard work you have put into it.

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  14. Thanks for the visit, i spent the afternoon at your blogs, was soooo hungry afterwards - original stuff was great to find - peace

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  15. Thanks for visiting my blog.... and I am truly amazed by your blog, and your homesteading. I love reading about others who live this close to the land, and I still hope that someday I can. Even though we live on 27 acres and are 30 mins from any city, hubby doesn't have the strong desires that I do to make this more of a homesteading venture. :-( Perhaps, still, someday!

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  16. Oz Girl, don't despair, you are alone there just because you are ahead of the crowd - I think there will be a mass exodus from the cities when the food runs short (and no I am not a fatalist I am an optimist, but no use living with your head in the sand) - enjoy this quiet time, read about how-to and get the tools and seeds necessary to live the way, in your heart, you know is right - first start with things you can do easily and make the most difference - for me it is all about food so I learned to grow what we eat, then how to preserve it, did you download my book? thanks for the kind words, peace for all

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  17. here too, people use logging debris as log bridges and as road bases. A few years later they often regret their choices as wood inevitably rots.
    As it is north america many have moved on by then leaving their mess behind.

    I hope your roads work out better.

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  18. You make a very good point. It was my concern as well, but our road was built by a man who has been building roads in the area for 30 years. Our debris had been in a pile rotting for over 5 years so what hasn't rotted has petrified in a way. What was left was mostly cedar poles. To be safe we have covered all exposed debris with large rocks moved with the excavator. Time of course will tell. Talk about leaving your mess behind . . . even though the previous owners moved on 20 years ago and the farm appears pristine, we are constantly picking up rusty nails and broken glass . . . it seems they just dug a hole in the ground here and there for their garbage to go . . i am not saying this is worse or better but it has been going on for a very long time everywhere . . . you seem a little bitter you must be a farmer, peace

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  19. Congrats on the road! What a journey!!

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