It has been a wet fall here so far. Not complaining. We are grateful for the water and the snow on the mountains... for the beautiful view as well as the water it will bring. Water is life…. Something I thought too little about in my past life. I know it probably comes up in every blog, but, I believe it’s taken too much for granted and because it’s pumped into the home so easily without any idea of how much is simply wasted it’s easy to believe it’s an infinite supply. I think it’s similar to believing that meat comes from the plastic-wrapped section in the grocery store. Ignorance is bliss for many.
So this month marks a year since I started out in the RV and left my old life behind. While I can't say I thought I would be settling a piece of land in Utah at this point in time, it does feel as if this is where I was meant to end up. It's fitting that October of 2021 ended by casting out demons... well, one demon at least. That's not meant to be cryptic. Some shit doesn’t need to be detailed. This blog is about Movin’ On, physically leaving behind a life, but also about leaving behind emotional and mental bullshit and building something real, something true. And the truth is, no one wants to read about the ugly, dark, deep shit and I’m so not a “bare my soul to the masses” kind of person. So, we’ll leave it as is and Move On to better topics about the current state of affairs here on the land, and cheers to fewer demons.
Speaking of "cheers".... Facebook followers got a teaser regarding the name of my little piece of land here and I promised to reveal it in this blog. Finding a name hasn't been easy. There have been a few I've tried out but none of them seemed to stick.... until now. This name came about as my friend Sue and I were on a long ride with our eBikes so I have to thank her for her help in coming up with this oh-so-perfect title. Henceforth we shall be residing a
Still need a martini logo that includes an olive. It must include an olive because, well, Martini’s NEED olives but also as a “tip of the hat” to those who remember the infamous olive incident… the one and only time I had a workers comp injury and it was brought on by a wayward olive. And there wasn't even alcohol involved.
The greenhouse has been a lot bigger, longer and challenging project than expected and I’ve had more than a few gaps in between working on it. Some of it was to do other projects or odd jobs and some of it was to just try to figure out WTF to do about some the challenges. It was a lot of time of trying one thing and figuring out that won’t work so having to figure out something else. I’ve enjoyed the challenge and the photos will give you an idea of where we’re headed with it. Now, it’s literally just physical hard labor.
We finally have a shed! That took about 8 weeks to come in but they did deliver it. That was
huge in itself as no one really wants to deliver out here. So we have a place to store and lock things up. A little too late as we had our first theft. Don’t worry, it happened while I was staying at the RV park, which is why they had the balls to do it is my guess. They stole my gas can and the straps for my hammock. Not the hammock…. Just the straps. To tie down the gas can? Ass hats. So now we can lock things up. What I want to do is leave a gas can with sugared gas out to create a little instant karma for the next one. So far, that’s just a fantasy…so far.
I found a shelving unit on Marketplace that I put together so I now have some shelves and yesterday was spent organizing it and building a small work table out of pallets. I get the pallets for free and will be using them in a lot of upcoming projects but
currently, they are used to elevate things up out of the dirt like the water tanks and my white trash “washing machine”. Some people go to the gym for a workout and then have to do laundry when they get home. I’ve solved that problem. Feel free to come use my laundromat. It's a nickel a load and a free workout.
Blip has finally learned to bark at vehicles and people driving by on the road. This has been a process but she is aces at it now. Since this is really her only job I expect her to be aces at it. She will tell you she has many jobs… protecting us from lizards and grashoppers and pronghorn that she is always on alert for, and occasionally helping me dig in the dirt. She also keeps an eye on Dragon when he’s out and about. But really, she pays for the dogfood by being an alarm. She is still the most perfect little dog and I continue to be amazed at how not bothered by things that all of my past dogs would have had to be medicated to get over. Smoke alarms beeping, the solar inverter screaming when the battery gets too low, plastic sheeting blowing in the wind while I struggle to get it in place… the only thing she is bothered by is my occasional outbursts of expletives when I can’t get something to do what I want it to do. A little desensitization and counter conditioning? Maybe I'll toss a treat during my next tantrum.
The desert has been amazing to watch as the season has turned. With all the rain we’ve had I’ve watched the browns and tans slowly turn to green with splashes of yellow , white, pinks and purples from wild “weeds”. Living out here has given me the ability to appreciate colors that I just didn’t see back east and each one makes me smile, slow down, and just wonder at the tenacity and beauty of so-called weeds. I think I wrote on here before about the Safflowers that I accidentally grew here from old birdseed I tossed out on the ground. This was back in the summer when it was over 100 degrees for days and days…. they are still going and growing even after several frosts have covered them now. I’ll let them go as long as they will. I’m sure they won’t make it through the winter but they give me hope that things will grow here. It’s sheer luck that they happen to be right in front of me every time I walk out my door. Considering I tossed them on the ground when there was literally nothing here but a tent to store some things, it’s turned out to be a great spot and I will probably, if I can, always have Safflowers there.
There’s a line from a song I heard the other day, I can’t remember the song, but there was a line that said “I have more than I owe”. That stuck with me. It’s true. I try to be frugal but I will also splurge on myself occasionally. My debt right now is Thelma and my credit cards which I am generally able to pay off each month. I own a home (on wheels) and 80 acres of land. I will be growing my own food soon and have an amazing view right out my front door that other people pay to go on vacation to see. I have electricity and heat. I have more than I owe. And I earned it.
I know these posts have been erratic. The connection out here is sketchy at best. I’m hopeful that Elan has Starlink up and running in this area soon. It currently still says mid to late 2021… um, Elan, just a heads up but we’re in the “end” part of 2021 now.
Well, I think that brings everyone up to date. Hope you are all ready for the winter ahead. I’m as ready as I can be. We’ll either make it to the other side or freeze to death. Maybe I won’t pay that credit card off this month…
Until next time, Keep Movin’ On
Thanks for update sounds like you have found your true self. That’s awesome