How Do You Run Away From "It All"?

If I may try to answer such an all inclusive question...I 'ran away' to this place back in 1980. Knew no one, came alone. I, like the Hopi, was looking for a place which I didn't have to fight for...a place no one else much wanted. The abundant water, oxygen giving forests, and lakes which felt little pressure from overfishing were a bonus. I had much in common with the 'old-timers', many of whom lived pastoral lives and some who still spoke the language of their native scandinavian countries...having a font of natural knowledge in the guise of Ojibwe elders, who knew methods of harvesting wild food and herbs was another bonus. Gravity and attraction brought me in touch with other hippie homesteaders at various stages of their growth. The nearly three decades that have passed since then have wrought many changes. Some have left their homesteads for the 'glitter and the rouge' of other places...many of the younger generations of Ojibwe have rejected their elders' path...the pastoral farms have been bought up by ag interests...center pivot irrigators and row crops have replaced small dairy and sheep farms in the valley...second and third homes have been built for the 'trickle down' wealth from Reagan/Bush/Bush policies and Clinton's .com/globalism and stock market booms. The price of land has escalated from 100 bucks per acre...to thousands of dollars per acre. Small subdivisions are sprouting on 40 acre parcels near lakes and forests. We've been relatively immune, but weekends find noisy, polluting, gas guzzling 4 wheelers 'enjoying' the forest roads at 60 mph...green for forests and blue for water all they are able to discern. Our homestead is an eden to us. If I was deaf and didn't leave home ever...I'd have little idea of what was happening beyond a mile of us. We've traveled extensively, and have often thought we may leave here to find a place away from what we see as a growing fascism and militaristic imperialism in this country...not wanting to be a part of an empire with troops in 130 countries of the world, and yet portraying itself as the arbiter of freedom and the perpetual victim. But...being an observer of history...a traveler through time and space...I can set myself apart from the complicity of all that...make my stand here and try to create as much change by example and by speaking out as I can. I know this place...deep in my psychic soul...the trees and the waters and the animals know me...we are friends, kindred spirits...and that is all I can ask for.

Though with the changes, it would break my heart to leave here, someday I will, as ashes or dust or perhaps of my own volition.

The Endless Madness of Capitalism

 When I built my homestead this forested area was filled with towering pines and old growth maple/basswood/oak which felt much like a sanctuary. The state legislature at that time mandated the DNR to log no more than 5 contiguous acres. There were no other homes in the area. I've felt secure and at home on our 50 acres within 72 square miles of forest and wildness. In the past number of years, Republicans have wrested control of our state legislature and slowly upped the number of acres which could be logged. Actually they mandated that logging increase to support the activities of the DNR and to subsidize the counties. Now they have been logging 80 contiguous acres...and leaving very little buffer. They've put the forest on a 30 year rotation, so everything is logged over time. Plus a number of ATV and snowmobile trails have been put through the woods, a couple of subdivisions have been or are being planned near here and a 50 space RV park catering to ATV riders to tear up the forests. I've been here since I built in 1984, am in my 70s now...and we're thinking of leaving, although we're at a loss to where. Seems the dilemma isn't limited to the Bay Area...and there are a lot of people who are flush with cash buying up everything. The Earth is shaking, and as it does it's shaking people from their roots.

There is no safety from the madness of capitalism, I'm afraid...predicated on endless growth and with it the burden on the Earth...I feel so deflated.

 It was the spring of 1994 and we had returned from a round about tour of everywhere from Utah to Arizona and New Mexico...visiting folks who had used some type of alternative method in construction...Met Bill and Athena Steen on our journey, just before they finished "The Straw Bale House" book. They had built a very small place at the time, and it was great to chat with them. Met other folks in Gila, New Mexico area who had built homes from Straw Bales...Visited Black Rock Range Lodge where "Out on Bale" was being published.

We got to preparing the south forty to build a straw bale studio for Cheryl...she worked from it until her retirement 5 years ago, when we turned it into a full fledged cottage, complete with bedroom, outdoor sauna, summer shower, summer laundry house, outdoor biffy...of course, it's also where our pit greenhouse and lower gardens are...with solar pumped irrigation. I'm going to try to include two albums here...one of the construction. We had two work/play parties on two different days...to get people to understand the concept...while I cooked food in our solar oven. We had a full moon hay ride, too, through the adjacent forest roads. Then, another album of how the studio became a cottage.

Album One: