Saturday, January 14, 2023

 

Hobbit Life


Sometimes you find yourself at a fork in the road, unsure which way to go. The prudent choice is to take the path, which if it proves to be the wrong one, you can still backtrack and take the other one. Humanity is at a fork in the road, the vast majority will continue on the main highway with artificial intelligence at the wheel hurtling towards an unknown future of trans-humanism. A few will shoulder their packs and strike out up the rough trail yearning for adventure, guided by nature. As I stomp along the trail, I scribble, those random thoughts might one day fill a book. Here a few of them.


The book would be about how to live off-grid, build hobbit homes and achieve the freedom and happiness of the hobbits who lived in the Shire. Their world was turned upside down by the greed and avarice of outsiders, as is ours. A handful of brave hobbits and their friends turned it around against almost impossible odds, similarly, we can build our own bridge to tomorrow. First, a look at the problem.


People work to earn money so they can work and rattle their hamster wheel every day caged in a cycle of work and debt. Addiction to social media dulls the emptiness and encourages extreme self-interest to the detriment of creating community. Technology has enabled people to live without experiencing nature. Nature is tranquility, many yearn for it, once found, it is like finding something that you didn’t know you had lost. However, it is not easy to break free of the narcotic hold of coddled consumerism. Luxuries become necessities, which then shackle you to new obligations.


A hardy few break the bonds, flee the city and boot it down the cosmic highway in search of freedom. Peddle to the metal, wind in their hair, shifting their lives from automatic to manual over-ride. Jalopies are loaded to the gunwales with everything they could possibly need to carve a new life in the wild wet woods. They pack all their fears and leave behind the one essential – nothing. There are no luggage racks on a dandelion.


We need to slow down and become nature as we once were many moons ago. Our biology is our ticket to freedom. Nature is the mother of all dumpster cowboys and master scavengers, she thrives on discarded junk, or as the folk in lab coats would say, decaying organic matter. This works because she is a community of kindred spirits, everything is interconnected, interdependent and interrelated. The history of those of us who live in the settled world is one long attempt to conquer nature. We failed miserably. We invented the corporation to become more powerful, and later artificial intelligence. First, the corporations turned against us and then artificial intelligence took over the physicality of daily life, health deteriorates and folk succumb to the slow suicide of sedentariness. The necessities of life, which a century earlier were largely free, were turned into commodities, ensnaring young people into a downward debt spiral as they bar coded their lives away.


Meanwhile, the dream continues to draw hobbit wannabees into the mythical Shire to enjoy a life of free heat, shelter, food, solar power and the warmth of tribal support. Once established, daily living expenses diminish creating a feedback loop which gives them the affluence of time and money as they climb the chakras. The reality for many is not so rosy. These are the qualities required for this lifestyle.


Physical stamina, disciplined work habits, a well developed sense of reality, sufficient skills and manual dexterity, a strong desire for homesteading life, the ability to set goals, strong individualism combined with strong community spirit. You have to ask yourself the critical question – am I doing this to get away from something or because this is the life I want.


I have been living this life for over a dozen years and my enthusiasm glamorizes over the harsh reality, for me the rewards far outweigh the perceived hardships. It is too much for some and they return to the city disillusioned – or worse, they have more baggage than an airport carousel. Off-grid living is intensely practical, chop wood, carry water, grow food. Because I am open-minded to all beliefs and persuasions, I am at the nexus point between 19th Century homesteading and the woo woo brigade. Ohh, lordly I don’t need anymore stories.


Bike packing across Patagonia or a wine-soaked saunter along ancient pilgrim routes is my idea of a good time. When you go into the wilds on your own, you get caught in a slight undertow that carries you away from the mainstream and ever closer to the shores of spirituality. Your reset button may be pushed and you find yourself living the life your life wants to live, which for me was becoming a hobbit and, like Bilbo Baggins, my boots heels wandered.


Use the gears, use the gears,” yelled the fellow cyclist.


I was cycling through the foothills of the Andes. Twice I passed a Dutch couple as I flew wildly down the hill on my fully loaded bike, only to get off and push it uphill. They would then peddle effortlessly passed me. I thought it was because they were from Holland and hardcore. My twenty-year marriage had recently ended and, like a coiled spring, I was mad for adventure. Dropping by the local bike shop, I asked for something that would get me across Patagonia. A Trek mountain bike was produced and I was taken behind the shop for a test ride. I wobbled. My previous biking experience was as a kid messing around in the backyard. Gears were new to me and not wanting to appear a complete dork I didn’t ask now to use them. As I climbed higher and higher into the mountains with the wind whipping my baggy tatterdemalion clothes, fellow cyclists could be forgiven for thinking that some village had lost it’s idiot.


It would have been a misconception. The loose-fitting clothes were an integral part of trip planning. The adage, if you sweat, you die, is a cornerstone of harsh weather trekking and it helps to be as inconspicuous as possible when passing through the barrios. Before leaving, I had studied the Royal Geographical Society’s guides for every type of expedition and read the Sierra Club’s book on bicycle touring. These guides combined with my own extensive backpacking experiences had given me a good foundation for crossing rugged country on my own. Adventure travel may not be your cup of tea, but the organizational skills required for self-sustained travel in the wild are exactly what you need for off-grid living. You also need to know how to bootstrap your life so that you are mentally and physically fully functional.


That means firing on all cylinders. Wet, tired and hungry corrodes resolve. Personal energy is the currency of life and it has been devalued by the stresses of modern life and now has to be propped up by caffeine and sugar. Your well being is too important to delegate to someone else. Lifestyle and spirituality guidance is a warren of rabbit holes into which time and money quickly disappear. To cut through the fog of healers and dealers of potions, I seek higher ground by using the navigation technique of triangulation and chart my course by taking three points of reference. I learn what polar explorers eat to enable them to cross the frozen ice fields, then what ultra marathoners do to maintain energy during a 100 mile race, finally I look to medical experts. Oats”, they shout.


My love affair with oats got off to a lumpy start. Around nine years old I was sent off to a boarding school which believed in pushing frontiers. Films, like the one of Captain Scott man-hauling sleds loaded with rock samples instead of using huskies to transport food, taught us, even in failure you can glow in the glory of incompetence. The dining room pushed the boundaries of the palatable ever closer to the gut-wrenching world of the nauseous.


If you can’t eat your meat, perhaps you would like dessert,” said Miss Gray, hovering behind me. Her prim matron’s uniform barely containing her inner drill sergeant.


She had an uncanny resemblance to Colonel Krebb, the assassin in Ian Fleming’s ‘From Russia with Love’ (the woman who fatally stabbed Bond with the poisoned blade in her shoe.) I looked forlornly at the gobs of gristle and fatty mutton floating in the watery stew. Miss Gray goes over to the counter and returns with a ladle of canned fruit salad, a rare treat from the usual soggy bread pudding. She dumps the fruit salad into my bowl of mutton stew.


My escape was by brief stolen moments day dreaming as I stared out the window when the teacher’s back was turned. Whack! a hard wooden blackboard eraser thrown with deadly accuracy across the classroom and smack into my skull ends my reverie. The school library was my other source of solace. Among the tomes of Macaulay and Gibbons were the latest James Bond books, the garish covers removed so that the black hardbacks blended in with the imperious empire builders. The Bond books were my Harry Potter and I became an expert on the likes of Col. Krebb and her ilk. It was not until many years later that I realized it was all part of the attempts to mold character. My love of books became my handrail to hobbit life. I did manage ten years of schooling and then one day, during the final year, I metaphorically stepped out the window, went from tuition to intuition and never looked back. Education is best acquired, not bought.


Self-education is I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is. The only function of a school is to make self-education easier, failing that, it does nothing,” said Isaac Asimov.


For me, books are leverage. All the wisdom, insights and knowledge of a lifetime gets distilled, clarified and put into order in a book. I jaywalk through life cutting corners and taking short cuts. There is much that I should do or should know, but don’t. Hidden away on side streets or stashed at the back of thrift stores, there are shelves of wisdom and all available for a pittance. Last summer, I picked up a free 24ft sailboat off a lawn on nearby Nogies Creek, I enthusiastically gathered up all my sailing books and eagerly read them with notebook and pen at the ready. After wading through them my enthusiasm for the ocean wave was dampened somewhat and could be summed up by Mark Twain’s comment “civilization ends at the shoreline.” However, books on sailing boat maintenance and repair are a gold mine of useful information for those of us who live on the edge.


Diesel engine repair, solar systems and fixing leaks. These and many more challenges are covered in sailboat repair manuals, and they are sympathetically written for the klutz aground on a coral reef. Then there are the awe-inspiring accounts of the single-handed sailors who give there all in the ‘round the world’ races. They are the elite and hailed as national heroes. I couldn’t help noticing the dichotomy between them being exalted and achieving success by fundamentally violating the rules and practices of good seamanship. Building a yurt out the back is not the same as rounding the Horn, but, their single-minded perseverance and nobility of spirit inspires our own modest endeavours.


On another pinnacle are indigenous Elders. The ancient knowledge that has been pasted down through the generations has been recorded and generously shared for all our benefit. Foraging and herbal medicine that has been passed down is timeless treasure, along with an ethos of respect for the environment and for each other. All of this, and more, is available for pennies. The last word goes to Beat poet, Gary Snyder, In Western Civilization our elders are books.” Next comes the big question of where to homestead, but first, I have a cautionary tale to tell. (to follow in the next instalment).

Tuesday, March 29, 2022

 The Ancient Future



People work to earn money so they can work and rattle their hamster wheel every day caged in a cycle of work and debt. Addiction to social media dulls the emptiness and encourages extreme self-interest to the detriment of creating community. To break free of this feudalism you gotta say ‘fuck ya’ to the narcotic hold of normality.


A hardy few break the bonds, flee the city and boot it down the cosmic highway in search for freedom. Jalopies are loaded to the gunwales with everything they could possibly need to carve a new life in the wild wet woods. They pack all their fears and leave behind the one essential – nothing. There are no luggage racks on a dandelion.


Biomimicry is doing what nature does, we don’t anything extra, our biology is out technology. It is already in us to ride with the dumpster cowboys and apprentice to the master scavengers. Nature is about community, everything is interconnected, interdependent and interrelated. She may be a hanging judge, but she does leave the door ajar for us knowing that we are hardwired to mess up. We need to look back to where we lost the plot.

Back in the 1980s the necessities of life were turned into commodities, this ensnared young people into a downward debt spiral as they barcoded their lives away. Meanwhile the off-griders enjoyed free heat, shelter, food, power along with tribal support. Once established, the added bonus of a feedback loop fills their lives with even more time and resources. My enthusiasm glamorizes the harsh reality, I choose this life because for me the rewards far outweigh the hardships. It is too much for some and they return to the city disillusioned – and that got me thinking.


I have jaywalked through life devoid of dogma or guidance. Bike packing across Patagonia or a wine-soaked saunter along ancient pilgrim routes is my idea of a good time. When you venture beyond the beyond into the wilds of farflungery you get caught in a slight undertow that carries you away from the mainstream and ever closer to the shores of spirituality. Your reset button may be pushed and you find yourself living the life your life wants to live. It is this spiritual connection with Nature that is essential to off-the-grid living and it is also the mental adjustment that some folk find most difficult.


Off-grid-living is all about integrating lifestyle and land use with ecological realities chimed with drifting into the mystic. This is nothing new, the spiritual and physical world have always been one for indigenous people. We are fast approaching a global crunch time when the woolly sweater folk in the wild wet woods who have built resilience into their lives and have skills, knowledge and resources will be the lucky ones. We will be the ones to help are less fortunate neighbours who chose not to adapt and prepare while it was still easy to do so. The Old World with it’s patriarchal society is contained, controlled and separated, our new tribes will be flowing, fused and unified. Living as outliers on the very margins enables us to see what is coming long before the huddle masses in the centre. We may live alone, but are never alone because there is an unseen spirit world just beyond our perception. The spirit world needs us and we need them, magic happens when we connect. We have to trust in the intelligence of the universe as we jettison the junky lives we have lived and not just live with nature but become Nature; when you give yourself to nature she gives you back yourself. Being dharma bums doesn’t take away from the very physical side of living in the woods, it requires an unpolished rough readiness. There are skills to be mastered, like, the ability to think without thinking, to live in the here and now, not to ruin today worrying about tomorrow, to live by natural law and the laws of life, there is nothing to seek – this is it. We all have a long distance to travel within ourselves, that said, we also have the means within ourselves to solve problems, however, you got to shoulder your own pack to find your own truth. Take heart that all these changes are not a malignant force, but an essential quality of the natural world innate in all things.


Irish playwright, Samuel Beckett, could be the patron saint of sustainability, “Fail, fail again, fail better.” Make mistakes, learn from them and move on. None of this is new ground, the techniques and materials that may seem new to us have a legacy going back hundreds, if not, thousands of years. It’s all the recent stuff that is wrong and hazardous.


What you are doing by going off-grid is creating a story, your own song line, stories are the currency of life, the better the story, the better the life, you squeeze all the juice out of life by living slow.The Ancient Future



People work to earn money so they can work and rattle their hamster wheel every day caged in a cycle of work and debt. Addiction to social media dulls the emptiness and encourages extreme self-interest to the detriment of creating community. To break free of this feudalism you gotta say ‘fuck ya’ to the narcotic hold of normality.


A hardy few break the bonds, flee the city and boot it down the cosmic highway in search for freedom. Jalopies are loaded to the gunwales with everything they could possibly need to carve a new life in the wild wet woods. They pack all their fears and leave behind the one essential – nothing. There are no luggage racks on a dandelion.


Biomimicry is doing what nature does, we don’t anything extra, our biology is out technology. It is already in us to ride with the dumpster cowboys and apprentice to the master scavengers. Nature is about community, everything is interconnected, interdependent and interrelated. She may be a hanging judge, but she does leave the door ajar for us knowing that we are hardwired to mess up. We need to look back to where we lost the plot.

Back in the 1980s the necessities of life were turned into commodities, this ensnared young people into a downward debt spiral as they barcoded their lives away. Meanwhile the off-griders enjoyed free heat, shelter, food, power along with tribal support. Once established, the added bonus of a feedback loop fills their lives with even more time and resources. My enthusiasm glamorizes the harsh reality, I choose this life because for me the rewards far outweigh the hardships. It is too much for some and they return to the city disillusioned – and that got me thinking.


I have jaywalked through life devoid of dogma or guidance. Bike packing across Patagonia or a wine-soaked saunter along ancient pilgrim routes is my idea of a good time. When you venture beyond the beyond into the wilds of farflungery you get caught in a slight undertow that carries you away from the mainstream and ever closer to the shores of spirituality. Your reset button may be pushed and you find yourself living the life your life wants to live. It is this spiritual connection with Nature that is essential to off-the-grid living and it is also the mental adjustment that some folk find most difficult.


Off-grid-living is all about integrating lifestyle and land use with ecological realities chimed with drifting into the mystic. This is nothing new, the spiritual and physical world have always been one for indigenous people. We are fast approaching a global crunch time when the woolly sweater folk in the wild wet woods who have built resilience into their lives and have skills, knowledge and resources will be the lucky ones. We will be the ones to help are less fortunate neighbours who chose not to adapt and prepare while it was still easy to do so. The Old World with it’s patriarchal society is contained, controlled and separated, our new tribes will be flowing, fused and unified. Living as outliers on the very margins enables us to see what is coming long before the huddle masses in the centre. We may live alone, but are never alone because there is an unseen spirit world just beyond our perception. The spirit world needs us and we need them, magic happens when we connect. We have to trust in the intelligence of the universe as we jettison the junky lives we have lived and not just live with nature but become Nature; when you give yourself to nature she gives you back yourself. Being dharma bums doesn’t take away from the very physical side of living in the woods, it requires an unpolished rough readiness. There are skills to be mastered, like, the ability to think without thinking, to live in the here and now, not to ruin today worrying about tomorrow, to live by natural law and the laws of life, there is nothing to seek – this is it. We all have a long distance to travel within ourselves, that said, we also have the means within ourselves to solve problems, however, you got to shoulder your own pack to find your own truth. Take heart that all these changes are not a malignant force, but an essential quality of the natural world innate in all things.


Irish playwright, Samuel Beckett, could be the patron saint of sustainability, “Fail, fail again, fail better.” Make mistakes, learn from them and move on. None of this is new ground, the techniques and materials that may seem new to us have a legacy going back hundreds, if not, thousands of years. It’s all the recent stuff that is wrong and hazardous.


What you are doing by going off-grid is creating a story, your own song line, stories are the currency of life, the better the story, the better the life, you squeeze all the juice out of life by living slow.The Ancient Future



People work to earn money so they can work and rattle their hamster wheel every day caged in a cycle of work and debt. Addiction to social media dulls the emptiness and encourages extreme self-interest to the detriment of creating community. To break free of this feudalism you gotta say ‘fuck ya’ to the narcotic hold of normality.


A hardy few break the bonds, flee the city and boot it down the cosmic highway in search for freedom. Jalopies are loaded to the gunwales with everything they could possibly need to carve a new life in the wild wet woods. They pack all their fears and leave behind the one essential – nothing. There are no luggage racks on a dandelion.


Biomimicry is doing what nature does, we don’t anything extra, our biology is out technology. It is already in us to ride with the dumpster cowboys and apprentice to the master scavengers. Nature is about community, everything is interconnected, interdependent and interrelated. She may be a hanging judge, but she does leave the door ajar for us knowing that we are hardwired to mess up. We need to look back to where we lost the plot.

Back in the 1980s the necessities of life were turned into commodities, this ensnared young people into a downward debt spiral as they barcoded their lives away. Meanwhile the off-griders enjoyed free heat, shelter, food, power along with tribal support. Once established, the added bonus of a feedback loop fills their lives with even more time and resources. My enthusiasm glamorizes the harsh reality, I choose this life because for me the rewards far outweigh the hardships. It is too much for some and they return to the city disillusioned – and that got me thinking.


I have jaywalked through life devoid of dogma or guidance. Bike packing across Patagonia or a wine-soaked saunter along ancient pilgrim routes is my idea of a good time. When you venture beyond the beyond into the wilds of farflungery you get caught in a slight undertow that carries you away from the mainstream and ever closer to the shores of spirituality. Your reset button may be pushed and you find yourself living the life your life wants to live. It is this spiritual connection with Nature that is essential to off-the-grid living and it is also the mental adjustment that some folk find most difficult.


Off-grid-living is all about integrating lifestyle and land use with ecological realities chimed with drifting into the mystic. This is nothing new, the spiritual and physical world have always been one for indigenous people. We are fast approaching a global crunch time when the woolly sweater folk in the wild wet woods who have built resilience into their lives and have skills, knowledge and resources will be the lucky ones. We will be the ones to help are less fortunate neighbours who chose not to adapt and prepare while it was still easy to do so. The Old World with it’s patriarchal society is contained, controlled and separated, our new tribes will be flowing, fused and unified. Living as outliers on the very margins enables us to see what is coming long before the huddle masses in the centre. We may live alone, but are never alone because there is an unseen spirit world just beyond our perception. The spirit world needs us and we need them, magic happens when we connect. We have to trust in the intelligence of the universe as we jettison the junky lives we have lived and not just live with nature but become Nature; when you give yourself to nature she gives you back yourself. Being dharma bums doesn’t take away from the very physical side of living in the woods, it requires an unpolished rough readiness. There are skills to be mastered, like, the ability to think without thinking, to live in the here and now, not to ruin today worrying about tomorrow, to live by natural law and the laws of life, there is nothing to seek – this is it. We all have a long distance to travel within ourselves, that said, we also have the means within ourselves to solve problems, however, you got to shoulder your own pack to find your own truth. Take heart that all these changes are not a malignant force, but an essential quality of the natural world innate in all things.


Irish playwright, Samuel Beckett, could be the patron saint of sustainability, “Fail, fail again, fail better.” Make mistakes, learn from them and move on. None of this is new ground, the techniques and materials that may seem new to us have a legacy going back hundreds, if not, thousands of years. It’s all the recent stuff that is wrong and hazardous.


What you are doing by going off-grid is creating a story, your own song line, stories are the currency of life, the better the story, the better the life, you squeeze all the juice out of life by living slow.The Ancient Future



People work to earn money so they can work and rattle their hamster wheel every day caged in a cycle of work and debt. Addiction to social media dulls the emptiness and encourages extreme self-interest to the detriment of creating community. To break free of this feudalism you gotta say ‘fuck ya’ to the narcotic hold of normality.


A hardy few break the bonds, flee the city and boot it down the cosmic highway in search for freedom. Jalopies are loaded to the gunwales with everything they could possibly need to carve a new life in the wild wet woods. They pack all their fears and leave behind the one essential – nothing. There are no luggage racks on a dandelion.


Biomimicry is doing what nature does, we don’t anything extra, our biology is out technology. It is already in us to ride with the dumpster cowboys and apprentice to the master scavengers. Nature is about community, everything is interconnected, interdependent and interrelated. She may be a hanging judge, but she does leave the door ajar for us knowing that we are hardwired to mess up. We need to look back to where we lost the plot.

Back in the 1980s the necessities of life were turned into commodities, this ensnared young people into a downward debt spiral as they barcoded their lives away. Meanwhile the off-griders enjoyed free heat, shelter, food, power along with tribal support. Once established, the added bonus of a feedback loop fills their lives with even more time and resources. My enthusiasm glamorizes the harsh reality, I choose this life because for me the rewards far outweigh the hardships. It is too much for some and they return to the city disillusioned – and that got me thinking.


I have jaywalked through life devoid of dogma or guidance. Bike packing across Patagonia or a wine-soaked saunter along ancient pilgrim routes is my idea of a good time. When you venture beyond the beyond into the wilds of farflungery you get caught in a slight undertow that carries you away from the mainstream and ever closer to the shores of spirituality. Your reset button may be pushed and you find yourself living the life your life wants to live. It is this spiritual connection with Nature that is essential to off-the-grid living and it is also the mental adjustment that some folk find most difficult.


Off-grid-living is all about integrating lifestyle and land use with ecological realities chimed with drifting into the mystic. This is nothing new, the spiritual and physical world have always been one for indigenous people. We are fast approaching a global crunch time when the woolly sweater folk in the wild wet woods who have built resilience into their lives and have skills, knowledge and resources will be the lucky ones. We will be the ones to help are less fortunate neighbours who chose not to adapt and prepare while it was still easy to do so. The Old World with it’s patriarchal society is contained, controlled and separated, our new tribes will be flowing, fused and unified. Living as outliers on the very margins enables us to see what is coming long before the huddle masses in the centre. We may live alone, but are never alone because there is an unseen spirit world just beyond our perception. The spirit world needs us and we need them, magic happens when we connect. We have to trust in the intelligence of the universe as we jettison the junky lives we have lived and not just live with nature but become Nature; when you give yourself to nature she gives you back yourself. Being dharma bums doesn’t take away from the very physical side of living in the woods, it requires an unpolished rough readiness. There are skills to be mastered, like, the ability to think without thinking, to live in the here and now, not to ruin today worrying about tomorrow, to live by natural law and the laws of life, there is nothing to seek – this is it. We all have a long distance to travel within ourselves, that said, we also have the means within ourselves to solve problems, however, you got to shoulder your own pack to find your own truth. Take heart that all these changes are not a malignant force, but an essential quality of the natural world innate in all things.


Irish playwright, Samuel Beckett, could be the patron saint of sustainability, “Fail, fail again, fail better.” Make mistakes, learn from them and move on. None of this is new ground, the techniques and materials that may seem new to us have a legacy going back hundreds, if not, thousands of years. It’s all the recent stuff that is wrong and hazardous.


What you are doing by going off-grid is creating a story, your own song line, stories are the currency of life, the better the story, the better the life, you squeeze all the juice out of life by living slow.The Ancient Future



People work to earn money so they can work and rattle their hamster wheel every day caged in a cycle of work and debt. Addiction to social media dulls the emptiness and encourages extreme self-interest to the detriment of creating community. To break free of this feudalism you gotta say ‘fuck ya’ to the narcotic hold of normality.


A hardy few break the bonds, flee the city and boot it down the cosmic highway in search for freedom. Jalopies are loaded to the gunwales with everything they could possibly need to carve a new life in the wild wet woods. They pack all their fears and leave behind the one essential – nothing. There are no luggage racks on a dandelion.


Biomimicry is doing what nature does, we don’t anything extra, our biology is out technology. It is already in us to ride with the dumpster cowboys and apprentice to the master scavengers. Nature is about community, everything is interconnected, interdependent and interrelated. She may be a hanging judge, but she does leave the door ajar for us knowing that we are hardwired to mess up. We need to look back to where we lost the plot.

Back in the 1980s the necessities of life were turned into commodities, this ensnared young people into a downward debt spiral as they barcoded their lives away. Meanwhile the off-griders enjoyed free heat, shelter, food, power along with tribal support. Once established, the added bonus of a feedback loop fills their lives with even more time and resources. My enthusiasm glamorizes the harsh reality, I choose this life because for me the rewards far outweigh the hardships. It is too much for some and they return to the city disillusioned – and that got me thinking.


I have jaywalked through life devoid of dogma or guidance. Bike packing across Patagonia or a wine-soaked saunter along ancient pilgrim routes is my idea of a good time. When you venture beyond the beyond into the wilds of farflungery you get caught in a slight undertow that carries you away from the mainstream and ever closer to the shores of spirituality. Your reset button may be pushed and you find yourself living the life your life wants to live. It is this spiritual connection with Nature that is essential to off-the-grid living and it is also the mental adjustment that some folk find most difficult.


Off-grid-living is all about integrating lifestyle and land use with ecological realities chimed with drifting into the mystic. This is nothing new, the spiritual and physical world have always been one for indigenous people. We are fast approaching a global crunch time when the woolly sweater folk in the wild wet woods who have built resilience into their lives and have skills, knowledge and resources will be the lucky ones. We will be the ones to help are less fortunate neighbours who chose not to adapt and prepare while it was still easy to do so. The Old World with it’s patriarchal society is contained, controlled and separated, our new tribes will be flowing, fused and unified. Living as outliers on the very margins enables us to see what is coming long before the huddle masses in the centre. We may live alone, but are never alone because there is an unseen spirit world just beyond our perception. The spirit world needs us and we need them, magic happens when we connect. We have to trust in the intelligence of the universe as we jettison the junky lives we have lived and not just live with nature but become Nature; when you give yourself to nature she gives you back yourself. Being dharma bums doesn’t take away from the very physical side of living in the woods, it requires an unpolished rough readiness. There are skills to be mastered, like, the ability to think without thinking, to live in the here and now, not to ruin today worrying about tomorrow, to live by natural law and the laws of life, there is nothing to seek – this is it. We all have a long distance to travel within ourselves, that said, we also have the means within ourselves to solve problems, however, you got to shoulder your own pack to find your own truth. Take heart that all these changes are not a malignant force, but an essential quality of the natural world innate in all things.


Irish playwright, Samuel Beckett, could be the patron saint of sustainability, “Fail, fail again, fail better.” Make mistakes, learn from them and move on. None of this is new ground, the techniques and materials that may seem new to us have a legacy going back hundreds, if not, thousands of years. It’s all the recent stuff that is wrong and hazardous.


What you are doing by going off-grid is creating a story, your own song line, stories are the currency of life, the better the story, the better the life, you squeeze all the juice out of life by living slow.The Ancient Future



People work to earn money so they can work and rattle their hamster wheel every day caged in a cycle of work and debt. Addiction to social media dulls the emptiness and encourages extreme self-interest to the detriment of creating community. To break free of this feudalism you gotta say ‘fuck ya’ to the narcotic hold of normality.


A hardy few break the bonds, flee the city and boot it down the cosmic highway in search for freedom. Jalopies are loaded to the gunwales with everything they could possibly need to carve a new life in the wild wet woods. They pack all their fears and leave behind the one essential – nothing. There are no luggage racks on a dandelion.


Biomimicry is doing what nature does, we don’t anything extra, our biology is out technology. It is already in us to ride with the dumpster cowboys and apprentice to the master scavengers. Nature is about community, everything is interconnected, interdependent and interrelated. She may be a hanging judge, but she does leave the door ajar for us knowing that we are hardwired to mess up. We need to look back to where we lost the plot.

Back in the 1980s the necessities of life were turned into commodities, this ensnared young people into a downward debt spiral as they barcoded their lives away. Meanwhile the off-griders enjoyed free heat, shelter, food, power along with tribal support. Once established, the added bonus of a feedback loop fills their lives with even more time and resources. My enthusiasm glamorizes the harsh reality, I choose this life because for me the rewards far outweigh the hardships. It is too much for some and they return to the city disillusioned – and that got me thinking.


I have jaywalked through life devoid of dogma or guidance. Bike packing across Patagonia or a wine-soaked saunter along ancient pilgrim routes is my idea of a good time. When you venture beyond the beyond into the wilds of farflungery you get caught in a slight undertow that carries you away from the mainstream and ever closer to the shores of spirituality. Your reset button may be pushed and you find yourself living the life your life wants to live. It is this spiritual connection with Nature that is essential to off-the-grid living and it is also the mental adjustment that some folk find most difficult.


Off-grid-living is all about integrating lifestyle and land use with ecological realities chimed with drifting into the mystic. This is nothing new, the spiritual and physical world have always been one for indigenous people. We are fast approaching a global crunch time when the woolly sweater folk in the wild wet woods who have built resilience into their lives and have skills, knowledge and resources will be the lucky ones. We will be the ones to help are less fortunate neighbours who chose not to adapt and prepare while it was still easy to do so. The Old World with it’s patriarchal society is contained, controlled and separated, our new tribes will be flowing, fused and unified. Living as outliers on the very margins enables us to see what is coming long before the huddle masses in the centre. We may live alone, but are never alone because there is an unseen spirit world just beyond our perception. The spirit world needs us and we need them, magic happens when we connect. We have to trust in the intelligence of the universe as we jettison the junky lives we have lived and not just live with nature but become Nature; when you give yourself to nature she gives you back yourself. Being dharma bums doesn’t take away from the very physical side of living in the woods, it requires an unpolished rough readiness. There are skills to be mastered, like, the ability to think without thinking, to live in the here and now, not to ruin today worrying about tomorrow, to live by natural law and the laws of life, there is nothing to seek – this is it. We all have a long distance to travel within ourselves, that said, we also have the means within ourselves to solve problems, however, you got to shoulder your own pack to find your own truth. Take heart that all these changes are not a malignant force, but an essential quality of the natural world innate in all things.


Irish playwright, Samuel Beckett, could be the patron saint of sustainability, “Fail, fail again, fail better.” Make mistakes, learn from them and move on. None of this is new ground, the techniques and materials that may seem new to us have a legacy going back hundreds, if not, thousands of years. It’s all the recent stuff that is wrong and hazardous.


What you are doing by going off-grid is creating a story, your own song line, stories are the currency of life, the better the story, the better the life, you squeeze all the juice out of life by living slow.The Ancient Future



People work to earn money so they can work and rattle their hamster wheel every day caged in a cycle of work and debt. Addiction to social media dulls the emptiness and encourages extreme self-interest to the detriment of creating community. To break free of this feudalism you gotta say ‘fuck ya’ to the narcotic hold of normality.


A hardy few break the bonds, flee the city and boot it down the cosmic highway in search for freedom. Jalopies are loaded to the gunwales with everything they could possibly need to carve a new life in the wild wet woods. They pack all their fears and leave behind the one essential – nothing. There are no luggage racks on a dandelion.


Biomimicry is doing what nature does, we don’t anything extra, our biology is out technology. It is already in us to ride with the dumpster cowboys and apprentice to the master scavengers. Nature is about community, everything is interconnected, interdependent and interrelated. She may be a hanging judge, but she does leave the door ajar for us knowing that we are hardwired to mess up. We need to look back to where we lost the plot.

Back in the 1980s the necessities of life were turned into commodities, this ensnared young people into a downward debt spiral as they barcoded their lives away. Meanwhile the off-griders enjoyed free heat, shelter, food, power along with tribal support. Once established, the added bonus of a feedback loop fills their lives with even more time and resources. My enthusiasm glamorizes the harsh reality, I choose this life because for me the rewards far outweigh the hardships. It is too much for some and they return to the city disillusioned – and that got me thinking.


I have jaywalked through life devoid of dogma or guidance. Bike packing across Patagonia or a wine-soaked saunter along ancient pilgrim routes is my idea of a good time. When you venture beyond the beyond into the wilds of farflungery you get caught in a slight undertow that carries you away from the mainstream and ever closer to the shores of spirituality. Your reset button may be pushed and you find yourself living the life your life wants to live. It is this spiritual connection with Nature that is essential to off-the-grid living and it is also the mental adjustment that some folk find most difficult.


Off-grid-living is all about integrating lifestyle and land use with ecological realities chimed with drifting into the mystic. This is nothing new, the spiritual and physical world have always been one for indigenous people. We are fast approaching a global crunch time when the woolly sweater folk in the wild wet woods who have built resilience into their lives and have skills, knowledge and resources will be the lucky ones. We will be the ones to help are less fortunate neighbours who chose not to adapt and prepare while it was still easy to do so. The Old World with it’s patriarchal society is contained, controlled and separated, our new tribes will be flowing, fused and unified. Living as outliers on the very margins enables us to see what is coming long before the huddle masses in the centre. We may live alone, but are never alone because there is an unseen spirit world just beyond our perception. The spirit world needs us and we need them, magic happens when we connect. We have to trust in the intelligence of the universe as we jettison the junky lives we have lived and not just live with nature but become Nature; when you give yourself to nature she gives you back yourself. Being dharma bums doesn’t take away from the very physical side of living in the woods, it requires an unpolished rough readiness. There are skills to be mastered, like, the ability to think without thinking, to live in the here and now, not to ruin today worrying about tomorrow, to live by natural law and the laws of life, there is nothing to seek – this is it. We all have a long distance to travel within ourselves, that said, we also have the means within ourselves to solve problems, however, you got to shoulder your own pack to find your own truth. Take heart that all these changes are not a malignant force, but an essential quality of the natural world innate in all things.


Irish playwright, Samuel Beckett, could be the patron saint of sustainability, “Fail, fail again, fail better.” Make mistakes, learn from them and move on. None of this is new ground, the techniques and materials that may seem new to us have a legacy going back hundreds, if not, thousands of years. It’s all the recent stuff that is wrong and hazardous.


What you are doing by going off-grid is creating a story, your own song line, stories are the currency of life, the better the story, the better the life, you squeeze all the juice out of life by living slow.The Ancient Future



People work to earn money so they can work and rattle their hamster wheel every day caged in a cycle of work and debt. Addiction to social media dulls the emptiness and encourages extreme self-interest to the detriment of creating community. To break free of this feudalism you gotta say ‘fuck ya’ to the narcotic hold of normality.


A hardy few break the bonds, flee the city and boot it down the cosmic highway in search for freedom. Jalopies are loaded to the gunwales with everything they could possibly need to carve a new life in the wild wet woods. They pack all their fears and leave behind the one essential – nothing. There are no luggage racks on a dandelion.


Biomimicry is doing what nature does, we don’t anything extra, our biology is out technology. It is already in us to ride with the dumpster cowboys and apprentice to the master scavengers. Nature is about community, everything is interconnected, interdependent and interrelated. She may be a hanging judge, but she does leave the door ajar for us knowing that we are hardwired to mess up. We need to look back to where we lost the plot.

Back in the 1980s the necessities of life were turned into commodities, this ensnared young people into a downward debt spiral as they barcoded their lives away. Meanwhile the off-griders enjoyed free heat, shelter, food, power along with tribal support. Once established, the added bonus of a feedback loop fills their lives with even more time and resources. My enthusiasm glamorizes the harsh reality, I choose this life because for me the rewards far outweigh the hardships. It is too much for some and they return to the city disillusioned – and that got me thinking.


I have jaywalked through life devoid of dogma or guidance. Bike packing across Patagonia or a wine-soaked saunter along ancient pilgrim routes is my idea of a good time. When you venture beyond the beyond into the wilds of farflungery you get caught in a slight undertow that carries you away from the mainstream and ever closer to the shores of spirituality. Your reset button may be pushed and you find yourself living the life your life wants to live. It is this spiritual connection with Nature that is essential to off-the-grid living and it is also the mental adjustment that some folk find most difficult.


Off-grid-living is all about integrating lifestyle and land use with ecological realities chimed with drifting into the mystic. This is nothing new, the spiritual and physical world have always been one for indigenous people. We are fast approaching a global crunch time when the woolly sweater folk in the wild wet woods who have built resilience into their lives and have skills, knowledge and resources will be the lucky ones. We will be the ones to help are less fortunate neighbours who chose not to adapt and prepare while it was still easy to do so. The Old World with it’s patriarchal society is contained, controlled and separated, our new tribes will be flowing, fused and unified. Living as outliers on the very margins enables us to see what is coming long before the huddle masses in the centre. We may live alone, but are never alone because there is an unseen spirit world just beyond our perception. The spirit world needs us and we need them, magic happens when we connect. We have to trust in the intelligence of the universe as we jettison the junky lives we have lived and not just live with nature but become Nature; when you give yourself to nature she gives you back yourself. Being dharma bums doesn’t take away from the very physical side of living in the woods, it requires an unpolished rough readiness. There are skills to be mastered, like, the ability to think without thinking, to live in the here and now, not to ruin today worrying about tomorrow, to live by natural law and the laws of life, there is nothing to seek – this is it. We all have a long distance to travel within ourselves, that said, we also have the means within ourselves to solve problems, however, you got to shoulder your own pack to find your own truth. Take heart that all these changes are not a malignant force, but an essential quality of the natural world innate in all things.


Irish playwright, Samuel Beckett, could be the patron saint of sustainability, “Fail, fail again, fail better.” Make mistakes, learn from them and move on. None of this is new ground, the techniques and materials that may seem new to us have a legacy going back hundreds, if not, thousands of years. It’s all the recent stuff that is wrong and hazardous.


What you are doing by going off-grid is creating a story, your own song line, stories are the currency of life, the better the story, the better the life, you squeeze all the juice out of life by living slow.The Ancient Future



People work to earn money so they can work and rattle their hamster wheel every day caged in a cycle of work and debt. Addiction to social media dulls the emptiness and encourages extreme self-interest to the detriment of creating community. To break free of this feudalism you gotta say ‘fuck ya’ to the narcotic hold of normality.


A hardy few break the bonds, flee the city and boot it down the cosmic highway in search for freedom. Jalopies are loaded to the gunwales with everything they could possibly need to carve a new life in the wild wet woods. They pack all their fears and leave behind the one essential – nothing. There are no luggage racks on a dandelion.


Biomimicry is doing what nature does, we don’t anything extra, our biology is out technology. It is already in us to ride with the dumpster cowboys and apprentice to the master scavengers. Nature is about community, everything is interconnected, interdependent and interrelated. She may be a hanging judge, but she does leave the door ajar for us knowing that we are hardwired to mess up. We need to look back to where we lost the plot.

Back in the 1980s the necessities of life were turned into commodities, this ensnared young people into a downward debt spiral as they barcoded their lives away. Meanwhile the off-griders enjoyed free heat, shelter, food, power along with tribal support. Once established, the added bonus of a feedback loop fills their lives with even more time and resources. My enthusiasm glamorizes the harsh reality, I choose this life because for me the rewards far outweigh the hardships. It is too much for some and they return to the city disillusioned – and that got me thinking.


I have jaywalked through life devoid of dogma or guidance. Bike packing across Patagonia or a wine-soaked saunter along ancient pilgrim routes is my idea of a good time. When you venture beyond the beyond into the wilds of farflungery you get caught in a slight undertow that carries you away from the mainstream and ever closer to the shores of spirituality. Your reset button may be pushed and you find yourself living the life your life wants to live. It is this spiritual connection with Nature that is essential to off-the-grid living and it is also the mental adjustment that some folk find most difficult.


Off-grid-living is all about integrating lifestyle and land use with ecological realities chimed with drifting into the mystic. This is nothing new, the spiritual and physical world have always been one for indigenous people. We are fast approaching a global crunch time when the woolly sweater folk in the wild wet woods who have built resilience into their lives and have skills, knowledge and resources will be the lucky ones. We will be the ones to help are less fortunate neighbours who chose not to adapt and prepare while it was still easy to do so. The Old World with it’s patriarchal society is contained, controlled and separated, our new tribes will be flowing, fused and unified. Living as outliers on the very margins enables us to see what is coming long before the huddle masses in the centre. We may live alone, but are never alone because there is an unseen spirit world just beyond our perception. The spirit world needs us and we need them, magic happens when we connect. We have to trust in the intelligence of the universe as we jettison the junky lives we have lived and not just live with nature but become Nature; when you give yourself to nature she gives you back yourself. Being dharma bums doesn’t take away from the very physical side of living in the woods, it requires an unpolished rough readiness. There are skills to be mastered, like, the ability to think without thinking, to live in the here and now, not to ruin today worrying about tomorrow, to live by natural law and the laws of life, there is nothing to seek – this is it. We all have a long distance to travel within ourselves, that said, we also have the means within ourselves to solve problems, however, you got to shoulder your own pack to find your own truth. Take heart that all these changes are not a malignant force, but an essential quality of the natural world innate in all things.


Irish playwright, Samuel Beckett, could be the patron saint of sustainability, “Fail, fail again, fail better.” Make mistakes, learn from them and move on. None of this is new ground, the techniques and materials that may seem new to us have a legacy going back hundreds, if not, thousands of years. It’s all the recent stuff that is wrong and hazardous.


What you are doing by going off-grid is creating a story, your own song line, stories are the currency of life, the better the story, the better the life, you squeeze all the juice out of life by living slow.    


Friday, September 25, 2020


Peddles are Optional

The peddle fell off 150 km from home, a kind farmer welded it back on, three hours later it clattered to the road, I lashed it back on with a bootlace. The next morning I made it to a hardware store and replaced the wobbly peddle with a five-inch long bolt, enabling me to finish my 1,947 km and eighteen day bike ride around Ontario and contribute $745 to the Great Cycle Challenge for Sick Kids cancer research.

The best moments of this adventure were camping wild under pine trees beside a lake or river. The most insightful happened along the Collingwood / Thornbury section, dense vegetation framed the road, bright hot sunshine, dusty gravel shoulder, opulent development – it was a déjà vu moment – I felt just like I had cycling out of any South American city; perhaps it really is all about the journey, not the destination. My top speed was 58 km on the hills around Denbigh. The last two days were the longest and the most distance travelled, both twelve-hour days covering 278 km. The funniest moment was at the ferry terminal at Tobermory – ferry tickets were only sold over the phone or online. My phone was dead, I plugged it into an outlet on the outside wall of the office building, the man inside at the desk ignores my window tapping and waving, not so the ticket booth lady, she leaves the booth and yells at me to get out of the flowerbed. By lying on the pavement with arms outstretched amongst the weeds I can just operate the phone as it comes alive with 2% battery. I quickly dial, then it dies. The ferry lady, in maritime uniform, runs out of the booth again and shouts at me across the parking not to use their power. I gesticulate my dilemma to her in fluent Mr. Bean to no avail.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Update on Building a Yurt


Yurt Building Update

Yurts are easy and cheap to build. They can be owner-built for a few hundred dollars and provide four-season homes that are simple to construct in about six weeks. That said, they only work when the fundamental principles of architecture and construction are strictly followed.
Those principles are structurally safe, built to last for decades, livable without fossil fuels, always dry, warm in winter, cool in summer, won’t burn and doesn’t annoy the neighbours. Then there are the essential intrinsic requirements – sunshine, fresh air ventilation and a pleasing view.
The design only works when the site works. When choosing the site evaluate – slope, groundwater flow, surface water flow, water table level, soil composition, vehicular access, solar orientation, sunshine and wind.

The reason you should build or supervise the construction of your yurt is that details matter - or you listen to the whispers of intuition, so you don’t hear howls of remorse. There is a plethora of micro homes and yurt kits available in the marketplace. These are convenient and expensive consumer products. Consumerism is a polite word for profit and envy. Buyer beware. 
To date, I have built three yurts and with the third one I really think that I got everything right (full construction details are available in my ebook and on this blog). They are all in central Ontario where winter temperature can drop to – 20c. In a damp or cold climate full exposure to winter sunshine is essential.

The basic specifications remain the same. Twenty foot inside diameter (floor space 315 sq.ft.), door faces east, the south facing window is a full-size recycled patio door set on its side. The other four windows are equally spaced around the wall and all can be opened. The twelve-inch diameter center post is set upside down to maximize the surface area to support the roof beams. The roof has an eighteen-inch overhang, this is a simple way to protect the wall from the weather. The yurt must be built above the surrounding ground, this is further enhanced by setting the lattice wall poles on a stem wall made of 25 kg ‘poly’ animal feed bags filled with crushed stone and tamped rigid. This wall is two bags or ten inches high. A drainage channel is dug around the outside to direct surface runoff away from the building. The site is carefully chosen or modified to prevent ground and surface water becoming an issue. I used R20 six-inch fiberglass insulation, there are more expensive, but environmentally more friendly alternatives, like hemp. The waterproof membrane for the roof is an industrial quality 40 ft by 60 ft tarp. I cut it in half so that the roof has two layers and the remainder covered the walls. Because all four windows open, I am not concerned with having breathable walls. The inside wall is covered with used lumber tarps which are available free if you ask nicely. I will cover both the inside and outside with cow manure. A herd of cattle graze my land, in spring the area where they have been fed round hay bales is a sloppy mix of cow poo, mud and strands of hay. This mixture is free, comes ready made, spreads like peanut butter and sets as hard as tree bark. Within a few weeks of applying it is hard, a grey brown colour and has no smell. It is applied in two thin layers and the final one on the inside is whitewashed. To get more heat from the wood stove, I position the stove four feet laterally from where the pipe goes through the wall so that more heat radiates inside rather than into the great outdoors.

On a personal note, I do get a certain about of criticism from friends who say, “You can’t tell people that they can build their own home in six weeks for $500, other people are just not like you.” Well, maybe I am too enthusiastic at times, however, with a little help from your friends you might be surprised just what you can achieve. To help you saddle your dreams, I am happy to respond to questions and comments either by email, hughmorshead@gmail.com or through Facebook.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Summary of yurt construction

The yurt is 20ft in diameter and has a surface area of 315 sq. ft. The center is 8ft high and 6ft 6" at the wall. The frame is made of eastern white cedar. A stem wall of two layers of hard-packed animal feed bags filled with crushed stone keeps the timber off the ground. This enables construction on rocky and uneven ground without need of excavation equipment. The 18" overhang protects the walls. Fresh cow manure makes the very best plaster; it's free, comes ready made, spreads like peanut butter and sets as hard as tree bark. The center post is either a tree trunk with a fork or simply set upside down. There are five windows, the main one is a south-facing patio door set sideways, the other four are evenly set around the wall and all open outwards so that there is plenty of ventilation and daylight. I did a cement and lime stucco on the inside of my first yurt, now I will plaster both the inside and outside with cow manure, on the inside it will be sanded down and white-washed. The lattice wall is filled with insulation and this is covered with at least two layers of used timber tarps ( free and generally slightly ripped). Chicken wire covers the taps and this anchors the cow manure. One layer of cow manure works, however, when time permits, a second layer will be added. The roof has three layers, the first is an old tarp, next is 6mil. polythene vapor barrier, then a heavy duty agricultural tarp (500 sq, ft.). Cedar poles wired together hold down the tarps and keep the four inches of compost in place. The roof is the seeded with grass seed.

Photos of my yurts.

Here are photos of the three yurts that I have built or are under construction. Detailed instructions and comments will be added later.

Yurt No.1 with cow manure exterior plaster
interior of Yurt 1.
South facing window
Center post and raised bed.
Door.
Woodshed and summer kitchen.
Straightening window frame post with Spanish windlass ( twisting a loop of chain with iron bar).
Upside down center post.
 Detail of post and roof beams.
Second  hobbit home.
 Yurt No.2
 Center post