http://www.theruralindependent.com Country living. homesteading, homeschooling, alternate energy, gardening, cooking, organic, self sufficiency, money making. Visit with people everywhere, committed to living a rural, healthy lifestyle. Sun, 23 Mar 2008 22:43:10 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Seldom do we at the Rural Independent have a product leap out of the computer monitor and grab us by the throat, but this one surely did. The Aquaduct is a tricycle with a built in water filtration system. At the back end there is a large water container for ... http://www.theruralindependent.com/2008/03/01/aquaduct/ After four birches on the property of his Skootamatta Lake island met their natural demise, Andy Tamas decided “they were too good to let go for firewood.” Instead of sending them up in smoke, he’d make some of the old fellas part of an addition he’d been building on his ... http://www.theruralindependent.com/2008/02/29/log-skidder/ There are root cellars and then there are root cellars. This web page covers an underground storage container made from culvert. This concept is extremely bold in every way. When it comes to underground storage, this may very well be the granddaddy of them all. I am convinced this ... http://www.theruralindependent.com/2008/02/29/root-cellar/ Wow what a difference just a few days makes. The chickenhouses are dang near done. The guys have been busy daylight to dark hanging curtains and installing equipment. I still have a long list of things that need to be done before the chickens come, but I’m much closer than ... http://www.theruralindependent.com/2008/02/18/homesteading-blog/ We are not ready for spring. Very simply put: this is crunch time. We have seeds to order, potting soil to mix, bird netting to find, row covers to locate, and kitchen windows to clear for a landing. Of course, the prep work for the garden ... http://www.theruralindependent.com/2008/02/18/homesteading-blog-2/ As it turns out, everything Amy and I plan to do has already been done by various members or our family. It also turns out that sustainable small scale agriculture and low-energy living has been done by people all over the world for a very long time. My Dad’s Father, Harvey ... http://www.theruralindependent.com/2008/02/18/going-to-the-country/ Last night I started a batch of sourdough bread and set it by the wood stove to proof over night. So today, while at home, I punched it down and shaped it into two loaves and set them back by the fire to proof a second time. The second proof ... http://www.theruralindependent.com/2008/02/18/homesteading-blog-3/ So it is 10:40 here in VA and we have been busy. Kids are fed (pumpkin muffins homemade with love), laundry is switched, coffee has been roasting all morning, and the fire is made. I have worked on a paper and done some work work as well. i am about ... http://www.theruralindependent.com/2008/02/18/homesteading-blog-4/ Today was the day for rotating the leaves in our chicken composter. With the aid of our feathered friends we were able to collect all of the scratched and shat upon leaves into an impressive mountain of rich compost. As we said in the last update, we're guessing that the ... http://www.theruralindependent.com/2008/02/18/the-future-house/   II woke up early this morning, around six. It was dark and foggy, and very warm out. Sitting in the yard with the dogs for a few moments listening to the roosters crow, my birthday wind chime sounded like the bell buoy that I used to be able to ... http://www.theruralindependent.com/2008/02/18/homesteading-blog-5/