be like water

In recent years I've done a lot more planning, with a more successful execution of said plans than in the past. Nothing is pefect and there are always unexpected setbacks to be overcome. This success partly comes from what I'd read in Bruce Lee's books on the philosophy behind Jeet Kun Do. The philosophy of remaining fluid became a great lesson when I entered the ever changing IT support field. Life also reminded me to not plan too rigidly when I had forgotten, sometimes gently, sometimes not so much. The lessons held this time and I've been able to complete each stage of this lifestyle change successfully. I'm very aware that I'm in what some consider to be the infancy of my plans, and that life might kick my ass again. That's life.

Despite how creepy I believe some craigslisters to be, it's still a great resource for stuff. Especially free stuff! I found a guy giving away one of those industrial plastic 55 gallon barrels there this week. Why would I need 55 gallons of water? Normally I kind of wouldn't, at least not all at once. Here's why. My rig is classified as a price point travel trailer by the manufacturer and was made with only a 10 gallon freshwater tank on board. Because of this I carry two 5 gallon expandable containers to make up for the smaller tank. Odd thing is the grey is 15, and the black is 9 which leaves me with about a 14 gallons of leeway before being full. The veggie garden plans dictate that I'm going to need a lot more water. Hence the free barrel, but also having an extra source of water is never a bad thing. It's a little bit bigger than I need, but I won't be filling it until I reach my destination. I won't even fill it completely if the refill point is close enough. However I'm keeping my eye open for a 25-30 gallon square tank which would sit better in my truck bed. I'm hoping to trade the barrel for it. We'll see what craigslist turns up between now and go time.

As a side note. I kept track of a lot of things like water consumption and waste disposal on each trip. In comparing notes recently I learned that I reduced both on my last trip. This was all prior trips before my last combined together. For those keeping score the last trip was nine days, and total combined priors to that was 14 days. Those trips also took place during the winter months with the recent one in summer.

the houseguest

So maybe I'm spending too much time with the family. At this point my parents have already started to drive me a bit mad with all their idiosyncrasies. These are the very things I've spent the last several years unlearning while living away from them, or anyone else I knew. It's not regret speaking. I'm very aware of and happy to regain some of those lost moments you miss when you're living a few states away. However, I can see and feel how different I am now compared to who I was then. It's odd how much you can change when you're not influenced (directly or indirectly) by those who've known you for so long. I mean to say friends as well as family. Some family and friends have treated me based on this growth accordingly (and vice versa) while some have not. Despite what this stay is doing to my psyche, it seems to be improving that of my parents. Mom is thrilled that there's someone whose helping her out around the house and can also fix things when they break. Dad is just happy he can watch his Chinese kung fu novelas (mostly) undisturbed.

There've been a few changes regarding project desert veggie patch. It's still going to happen. I'm simply shifting ideas on how and where. Nothing was written in stone to begin with, so no biggie. Why the shift then? In short, the welcome mat was never out as I had mistakenly thought. So the location of the farming community is out as I will not be going there. Instead I'm switching back to my original plan which was in an entirely different geographic location to begin with. Less resources there, but the challange is still accepted. I believe the garden will be easier to manage since I'm planting for only one. Well, ok, planting for two since the beagle is fond of certain veggies herself.

While I'm still here ... I'm almost ready to start tearing down the gazebo but have a new problem I need to solve. Where to dispose of the leftover wood? I found a few places that handle this kind of recycling but they want me to pay $30 per load. It will take me at least three trips, and I'm not willing to shell out $90 for disposal. I'm still looking into alternative solutions and will commence with dismantling it once said inexpensive solution is found. In other news the backyard no longer smells of dog urine; it's completely gone and you only smell fresh soil. In order to get my mom kickstarted on maintaining a garden again, I took her shopping to the local garden nursery where she picked up some nice flowers to spruce up the front of the house. She went the extra mile and even picked up some of those solar powered led lights for the pathway.

it's august, wait what?!?

I was aware that the end of month was fast approaching but had kind of stop keeping track since arriving here. Now it's August and I can't believe that spring ended, and we're already a little more than a month into summer already. The weather has been blissfully mild here, at least compared to what I endured while living in central Texas. That being said, I am already looking forward to vacating this major metro area as soon as the weather cools to somethign livable in the nearby deserts. I miss it dearly and really need to recharge my batteries.

Earlier today I connected with a friend whose "living out there already" and gather some preliminary info on starting a desert veggie garden. She's been living there for over a year, and as a local has amassed the kind of resource information that's crucial to make this work. To be honest she was a touch skeptical about the idea when I presented it but was swayed as I explained it in greater detail . My excitement level was bumped up when she agreed it could be done, but also found a way to up the ante. She brought up the desire to setup a wood burning oven. That put me over the top because I love cooking in as many old fashioned ways as is possible. Food simply tastes the best that way to me. I'm hoping to build, or if they build one before I arrive, at least get to use a brick oven to cook with by the time I make it out there.

I'm a little ahead of myself so let me take a step back. Our discussion was pretty long and involved. The first challange involved composting in the desert. Based on the lack of moisture and lack of certain elements it will have to be fed and maintained differently than a traditional one. Still, the discussion was uber productive and set us on the right path towards making it happen. The surroudning area also happens to be the bed of a large farming community which I believe will grant us access to more resources. If not, I'm ok with that and am looking forward to creative ways of making what we have work for us.

Challange accepted.