Off Grid Homesteading: Year One

THE SITTING TREE handmade, free~spirited life

YEAR ONE: 2012

ABOUT US A guy and a girl had a dream. To raise a family. To live and work off the land, connected to the earth and each other.

Dreams do come true!

We live with a trio of wildly creative and beautiful unschooled boys, an English Setter called Bailey, and a reclusive black cat who wandered into the house a few years ago and never left.

This last spring we bought 10 acres of land on a dead end road, nestled in the Blue Hills of Northern Wisconsin. Plenty of wide open space for solar and wind power, gardens, sheep, chickens, bees, a house, and what ever else we can dream up!

We're building it all from scratch, with our own two {well, ten} hands and using as many recycled materials as possible. We're also paying for everything in cash, so the process is slow going.

Slow going is a good way to live, though, don't you think? Working with the rhythms of the earth, and seasons, and life.

You can read all about our progress at www.thesittingtree.net

THE HILLS The Blue Hills of northwestern Wisconsin are remnants of a mountain range older than both the Rockies and the Appalachians.

The picturesque area gets it’s name from the beautiful bluish

The Hills

The Homestead

The Creek N

The Rivers The Lakes The Flowage

The Morraines

Map by Mike Murphy

BLUE HILL POTATOES The locals call them Blue Hill Potatoes. We call them free gardening materials.

HOMESTEADING COST REPORT ITEM

ESTIMATED COST

ACTUAL COST

Land

10,000

13,500

House

10,000

Solar/Wind

3,500

Drilled Well

10,000

Chicken & Turkey Coops

FREE from Craigslist

Misc. Tools

500

Sheep Shelter

FREE from Craigslist

Art Studio (remodeled camper)

100

Garden/Tool Shed

FREE from Craigslist

Sand Point Well

250

29

104

DIY COMPOST TOILET A sustainable toilet that can be used indoors or out and doesn’t use a drop of water or any amount of electricity. And most important, it has absolutely no odor. Seriously.

Each time you use the toilet, add a layer of organic material such as sawdust, grass clippings, hay, etc. When the toilet is full, it goes into the compost bin with more layers of organic matter. In about a year, you’ll have gallons of usable compost for your garden!

Want to learn more about humanure or how to make your own compost toilet?

SPRING EQUINOX

ADVENTURING We spent most of an afternoon hiking up the blue hills, looking for a formation called Devil’s Kettle. The trails in Rusk County are unmarked and very difficult to find if you’re unfamiliar with the territory. We never did find our trail, but instead stumbled upon this beautiful ravine with natural springs, waterfalls, and ancient glacial pools.

THE RIVER The Chippewa River runs just west of the Homestead. We often hike the old logging road, that runs behind our property, to its beautiful banks.

SUMMER SOLSTICE

TREE FORT Mike and Jake spent a long weekend building a multi level tree fort made from free wood palates.

AUTUMN EQUINOX

LAMB STEW

CAMPFIRE APPLE TREATS

A hearty autumn stew to celebrate the season’s bounty.

A gluten free version of grandma’s favorite apple pie.

SERVES 8

SERVES 8

1lb. cubed lamb roast 1 pint beef broth 4 carrots 4 celery stalks 1 medium onion 1 pint stewed tomatoes 1 pint corn 1 clove garlic sprig of rosemary salt & pepper to taste

8 Honeycrisp apples 8 tbsp butter 8 tbsp sugar 2 tsp cinnamon tin foil

Cook lamb, broth, onions, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper in a slow cooker on high overnight.

Core apples, with an apple corer. Fill each center with 1 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1/4 tsp cinnamon.

Wrap each apple with tin foil and place in the hot coals until apple skins split.

Cool and serve warm.

CORN DOLLIES

AUTUMN CHORES

TRAIL CAM A trail cam, on the edge of the woods, to document the different species of wildlife while we’re away.

Thus far, we’ve seen signs of: Coyote Bear Deer Turkey Geese Grouse Chickadees Goldfinch Blue Birds Blue Jays Crows Chipmunks Squirrels Nuthatch Porcupine Woodcock Sandhill Cranes Pheasants Harrier Hawk Turkey Vulture Cottontail Rabbit Bald Eagles Coppers Hawk Redtail Hawk Robins Woodcock Woodducks Malards Raccoon Brown Thrasher Woodpeckers Bats Yellow Shafted Flicker Blackbirds

PORCUPINE

PLANT DYED YARN

FROM PLANT TO SWEATER

LATE OCTOBER: LAST WEEKEND OF CAMPING FOR THE SEASON

WINTER SOLSTICE

Valentine Heart Card FREE KNITTING PATTERN

DOWNLOAD NOW

NEW ARRIVALS

Our latest WINTER collections are here.

S H OP N OW

SWEET HEART ORNAMENT

Add a natural touch to your Valentine’s Day with our Tree Branch Valentine Ornaments.

THE SITTING TREE handmade, free~spirited life Shop: www.thesittingtree.etsy.com Blog: www.thesittingtree.net

Copyright 2012 The Sitting Tree