The City Mouse in the Country

        Pennsylvania never changes; and this has given me anxiety.  I have a variety of wild flower and grass seed that I want to plant along the front of the porch.   I've containers ready for the few tomato's, peppers, zucchini herbs and strawberries that I am planning on growing.       I have two dogwood trees and a few flowers that I planted this past weekend.   I've never planted a tree in my life.   They are in the ground now and all I could think was " Well, it's in God's hands now."     Part of this stress and the anxiety that I feel is because of a typical Pennsylvania spring can consist of highs of 80 only to be followed by snow on the ground, often in the same day.   So if I plant to early, I risk killing the very things that I want to grow.   If I plant to late, then I worry that I won't have much of a harvest at all.        Where I live is pretty much the center of hardiness zone 5B.   According to sources that means that the first frost

      This is really the first days that feel like a spring day.  The sun is warming the air to a nice mid 60 to low 70 degrees (19 - 22 C) and a variety of songbirds are filling the skies.  I'm on my way to the Mercer County conservation district to pick up some flower and grass seed, and maybe depending on what they have left, a tree or two.    I already have plans to plant two dogwoods , they are some of my favorite flowering trees and in this case, the berries will also be edible to wildlife and humans.   The flowers and grasses that I'm on the way to pick up are all native to this area of Pennsylvania and  I'm hoping that more than a few may be edible.  I'm also ready to start a small container garden and that is happening this coming weekend.     My hope is to plant some more trees and shrubs that are edible over time, turning my yard into a garden of sorts. If I'm going to do my small part to fight climate change, I better make sure that what I plant can comb

          Recently I went out to eat with friends and I order a vegetarian option.   After getting playfully teased about eating rabbit food, the conversation turned to eating healthy, and the expenses of trying to maintain a healthy diet.     We also talked about gardening, canning, and the fact that they felt things were going to get much, much worse with the American economy.     While I am far from being a survivalist, I can honestly say that one of the reasons I want to learn to garden, to forage and store my own food is because I don't like where we as a country and as a planet are going.   No, this isn't a political blog, my concerns are more food availability and environmentally based then they are political.        If the pandemic showed us anything, it's that the supply chain can be interrupted and supplies can become diminished rather quickly.   Plus when costs raise, a common reaction is to save money where and how you can.   In this case, I'm in the perfect

      I've been wondering of late if I should put this blog to rest.       It's been over a year and I'm nowhere near the audience that I've had in the past with other blogs.  Of course, those were a bit more focused.   In the past I wrote about Second and Third Tier soccer in the states, during a time when information about that level of play was hard to come by.   I wrote about communities in virtual reality pioneer Second Life and I wrote about my adventures on a motorcycle .     Myself and my Mom on back All of those blogs had a few thousand readers, and one of the greatest joys in my life was when I was recognized in a bar for my work with the now defunct and fan driven A-league.com ( USL soccer ) website.   I'm lucky if I break a few hundred hits here on any one piece.      Of course, this blog is unfocused.  I'm trying to cover a lot of ground here...and there is a lot of stuff going on in the back ground that I've not discussed.      I've also

      When we first moved out to the country, we had a vague notion of what we wanted to do.  We failed in our first year to meet any of those nebulous goals.       Sue, my wife and I have adjusted.      I've always had a passing interest in things like permaculture , we had always grown a few tomato's and other plants on our lanai when we lived in Florida.   It was, and still is to a certain extent, my hope that I have a full garden and become a bit more self sufficient.     After a year however, my plans have changed somewhat and become more focused.  We know what our limitations are.   Our original plans simply did not meet the reality of our situation.  It just being Sue and myself for example, a large garden doesn't make sense.  A container garden does.     This isn't failure, but the realization that we are always adjusting and regrouping based upon several factors.  Our plans have gained focus as the situation warrants.        However I do consider this blog to

    Well I don't consider myself a homesteader in a strict sense, I often find that homesteaders often ask questions about income and financial matters.  This article is to address a bit of confusion about how a home equity loan works and why home improvement is a secret weapon you can take advantage off.        You should always consult a tax and licensed financial advisor in your area. That being said, I am a licensed and bonded insurance agent and have over 20+ years of banking and financial experience and offer this advice freely.               I'm standing outside the house with a tape measure in my hand and marking off an area roughly 24 feet wide (7.3 M) by 24 feet long.  It's roughly the area of a two car garage.   The current garage we have is internal and used more for storage than anything else.   It's a tight space for one car.     Rates will be going up soon and it makes sense to lock in a home equality loan now while the market for homes is still high (our

    Human beings are by nature political animals, because nature, which does nothing in vain, has equipped them with speech, which enables them to communicate moral concepts such as justice which are formative of the household and city-state.  Aristotle        I came across something yesterday in INC magazine that annoyed me.   Now I admit that I generally don't read that publication but years of owning my own small company and working in banking and fiance have taught me to always be open to knowledge and inspiration ,so I expected to glean some new information from an article entitled 7 Reasons to Avoid Going Rural to Work from Home.       My job is done remotely.   I am a good 115 miles from my companies office in Cleveland and live out in the country.   The population of my town is under 1000 people for example and it's not uncommon to see Amish buggies.  I may not be "rural" but I'm damn close.     The article, which I'll let you read, is a hack piece