One must think of some pitfalls that may arise while living in a remote location. I am just going to share one that we have dealt with and continue to deal with on a day to day basis.
Appointments– If someone is sick, gets physio, sees a chiropractor or anything the like, these could become an issue with constant travelling etc. which could cause for some issues to arise. One must consider how to combat this, we are still working on it.
Suggestions below!
Winter is almost here. These temps sure make it feel like winter but it will dip down a bit more before winter is in full swing. But we say bring it on cause life is good, cause we are heating with wood. Have a great day out there!
So 2018 was our first year here on Mapleberry Homestead. We accomplished quite a bit this year. We built our cabin, got out of the trailer that felt like the walls were coming in on us and are ready to usher in the new year! Looking ahead, we plan on closing in the deck this coming year and getting a well. These are the top priorities as of right now for the homestead. Having said that, here is a current shot of our cabin in the woods.
Sitting here watching something on the computer when I hear something outside on the porch. I look out and its the white faced black bear that has been getting into our garbage and he’s making his way over to our water jugs. First thing I was thinking is should I grab a gun or a camera. I opted for the gun, no intensions of hurting or killing him, just as a security measure and to scare him away if he didn’t listen to me. Well, told him to leave and he is obedient, like most are but he only jogged about 20-30 feet and stopped at the driveway. So I fired a shot in the air, just a small .22 round, something to scare him and he was gone…..Life in the woods I guess 😉
Here is a clip of the bear caught on my trail cam early this month….(There is a smaller bear in this clip too, it is the bigger bear that showed up tonight.
So we have been living Off Grid since 21 March 2018 permanently. It hasn’t been all that long, but has been an adjustment nonetheless.
First thing to mention would be building your home while living with a family in a travel trailer. Key point would be ‘family’. As doing this with two adults or solo, it could be done in a tent, haha. The travel trailer we have is quite large but the walls and ceiling seem to be shrinking in on us these days. It really does become a challenge at times living in here. Lugging water, composting waste, etc is extremely easy compared to just day to day life in small quarters with a family. Not to make it sound completely horrible, as it is not, and is very doable, just to give you a bit of a reality check 😉 . Another thing is showers when it is sweltering hot out. The convenience of showering at any point when on grid is a blessing we most certainly miss, especially on work days. But again, we have a pretty decent setup and make it work.
Well, just wanted to drop a quick note here on some things we deal (currently) with on a daily basis, any questions can be put below in the comments or by emailing us. Thanks 🙂
Jeremy & Ashley are living in the backwoods of Canada. Jeremy is a former member of the Canadian Forces who was released medically and had to find a new path for himself and his family.
Follow their complete build of the Off Grid Cabin below!
We have just launched a campaign where YOU can buy a T-Shirt from Mapleberry Farm! All proceeds for the shirt go towards the purchase of a new GoPro Hero camera. This camera will help out with the production value of Mapleberry Farm’s YouTube channel. So it is a WIN WIN, you get a cool Tee and we get to up the value of our Channel (which is still another WIN for you that watch 🙂 ) Check the link to get YOURS!
https://www.bonfire.com/id-rather-be-off-grid-mapleberry-farm-tee/
Well, today was brutal! It rained all night and wouldn’t you know, I woke up to a leaking roof. Luckily it was leaking through the sunroof and into the tub so it could have been worse. It also let me know where to look on the roof for the entry wound (of the leak). I got a tarp out from under some pallets that I have picked up over the weeks and threw that on (no small task alone!) That worked well and I got the leak stopped. Now cold and wet, I went into have something to eat.
After eating, I went back outside to find my charge controller completely submersed in water. I had it sitting in a battery box underneath the camper. Well, the lid to the box had blown off and the box was full of water with the charge controller inside of it. Disheartening to say the least. Anyways, this meant I had to take the wiring off the batteries where it was hooked up. Task complete. For now.
During all of this, my carbon monoxide detector started going off in the camper. I believe this was because of me running the kerosene heater. Anyways, I did not want to listen to it going off after the morning I had been having. I took the battery out and opened the door to air out the camper (the battery is now back in it).
Another thing I needed to get done was find a folder holding all of my families passports, birth certificates, etc. We need this in order to change over all of our information at our new residence. My licence is to expire in 8 days so it is absolutely necessary that I find it. Problem is, it is in a shipping container completely packed! I ripped and tore through that thing for hours with no luck.
Well if it wasn’t for bad luck, I would have no luck at all.
Oh, and a skunk was lurking around. So I guess some good luck on that one as I didn’t get sprayed. He would have become mittens if that happened.
If you would like to see a video of this day, you can check it out here:
So we decided to get a plan to go by to build our Off Grid Tiny Home. In the video below, you will see the full blueprints we will be using to build our Off Grid Tiny Home for our Homestead. We are living in our travel trailer at the moment and will be staying in it while we build.
I give a quick overview of why I am no longer a member of the army but am now starting a homestead.