Tuesday, January 7, 2025

January 7 - The Campfire Trail - BOOM..... No Mud In The Basement

January 7, 2025

Day 1,194 of the Adventure


Just like that....... There's no more mud in our basement hole. Well, maybe technically there is, but it's frozen like concrete for the time being. We've been enduring cold weather for the past couple of days and even though we could walk on dry (or frozen) ground, it's still just as inhospitable as before when it was all just sloppy mud. We had hoped to be further along in the process before now, but life gets in the way of progress more often than is good for a project like this. For now, we will be content with spending our time on things that aren't so sensitive to freezing, like cement work. I'm almost certain that by now, there will be about a two month lull in the basement building. 

That's okay though. There's always the garden to clean up and prepare for Spring planting. We also need to get the greenhouse ready for early plant starts. Our yard, if you can call it that, looks like a salvage business with all of the construction activity from the past summer and fall. Then there's always firewood processing. That alone could keep us going for a couple months. I've heard it said that "If you don't have 100 projects going on at once, you're not doing homesteading right!" Maybe that's true. If so, I guess we would be considered a raging success. I'm not sure I can relate to those folks who retire, then get bored with life for nothing to do. Maybe I should start a "How to Never Become Bored in Retirement" school. Or...... Maybe I should find a "How to Retire and Enjoy the Boredom" school and sign up! 

Carry On

Adventure Quote: “I would rather die of passion than of boredom.” ― Ă‰mile Zola

Resources

Make sure to visit our website regularly to see new products and resources.

YouTube Channel: The Campfire Trail
YouTube Channel: Life of Treasures

Our Books
Treasures of Life - Daily Devotional by Shelley
Treasures of Life 2 - Daily Devotional by Shelley
Back to the Land - Planning your Back to the Land Roadmap by Martin
Wealth Creation - Principles of Wealth Creation by Martin

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Monday, January 6, 2025

January 6 - The Campfire Trail - Fireside Comfort Zone

January 6, 2025

Day 1,193 of the Adventure


There's nothing quite like waking up in the middle of a cold night when the fire has burned down too far to keep the cabin warm. It means crawling out of a warm bed, venturing outside to the wood box in bare feet and not much else. (Last night that was 14 degrees) Grabbing a chunk or two of firewood, retreating back inside the cabin and stoking the fire up. Likewise, there's nothing quite like slowly waking up in the pre-dawn morning darkness to a woodstove that's emitting enough heat to make crawling out of a warm bed a comforting and welcome experience. (This morning, that was 74 degrees) 

This time of year, comfort is largely predicated by the condition of the fire in the woodstove and that's okay. Many nights I will spend at least a small amount of time sitting in the darkness in front of it. Absorbing its warmth as the glow of dying embers builds back up into a flame. Once nursed back to life, I can make the few short steps back to the bed and it's warmth. It's all part of the cabin life during the cold grip of January.

Carry On

Adventure Quote: “Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.”
― Edith Sitwell

Resources

Make sure to visit our website regularly to see new products and resources.

YouTube Channel: The Campfire Trail
YouTube Channel: Life of Treasures

Our Books
Treasures of Life - Daily Devotional by Shelley
Treasures of Life 2 - Daily Devotional by Shelley
Back to the Land - Planning your Back to the Land Roadmap by Martin
Wealth Creation - Principles of Wealth Creation by Martin

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Friday, June 28, 2024

June 28 - The Campfire Trail - My Friday

June 28, 2024

Day 1,001 of the Adventure


It's Friday evening about 8:30 at the writing of this post. I'm sitting on the back deck admiring the woods and watching the sun peek and duck between the trees as it makes its' way towards the horizon to the west. I've never been one for weekend or Friday night parties. Many of my friends have been drawn to that. While I'm sitting here, I think there's really no place I'd rather be, Friday night or any other night for that matter. 

It's been a day of chasing around Branson running necessary errands through the summertime tourist traffic. Nothing will drive me back home to the woods any faster than that will. Among picking up my truck from the mechanic shop and stopping to deliver some samples of our garden to some good friends, more canning jars was our main objective. Can't can pickles without enough jars. But all that will begin once again tomorrow. Meanwhile, my city blood pressure is back down now and the woods are quiet and still. I wouldn't have it any other way on this Friday night!

Carry On

Adventure Quote: “Whenever possible, choose peace.” ― Donna Goddard

Base Camp Coffee of the Day: Lost in the Woods (Colombia/Costa Rica blend)

Resources

Make sure to visit our website regularly to see new products and resources.

YouTube Channel: The Campfire Trail
YouTube Channel: Life of Treasures

Our Books
Treasures of Life - Daily Devotional by Shelley
Treasures of Life 2 - Daily Devotional by Shelley
Back to the Land - Planning your Back to the Land Roadmap by Martin
Wealth Creation - Principles of Wealth Creation by Martin

Please Consider Subscribing to our monthly "How-To", Do-It-Yourself" newsletter in the upper right corner of this page.   AND........

Click any of the following Video links to start your own adventure with us on our YouTube Channel:  

Creating a "Roadmap" Back to the Land


Our 30 Day "Back to the Land" Playlist



Creating Sustainable Income

Creating Sustainable Income Make sure you are subscribed to "The Campfire Trail" YouTube channel and have the "Notification Bell" set to "ALL" to receive notifications of new video publications. 
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Thursday, June 27, 2024

June 27 - The Campfire Trail - 1,000 Days on Property

June 27, 2024

Day 1,000 of the Adventure


Today marks a milestone here at the cabin property. We closed on the purchase of it exactly 1,000 days ago. The moment would have easily passed in time had I not been keeping a journal of the process. Our goal was to create a self-sufficient way of life for ourselves with some "off-grid" potential. Have we accomplished that as of 1,000 days into it? Not completely, but we have made some very serious progress. I'd like to share some of it with you. 1,000 days is roughly 2 years and 9 months. Not everything is complete, but most everything so far is functional. Shelley and I were 60 and 62 when we started. We are 63 and 65 now. We not only wanted to do this life for ourselves, we wanted to document the process as an inspiration to others who are considering a similar kind of lifestyle. We've chose to do this primarily through a couple of YouTube Channels. The Campfire Trail and Life of Treasures. We would appreciate anyone interested in following the journey to subscribe to either or both of them. 

Our first 6 months or so, included a lot of clearing for roads, building construction and infrastructure like a water supply, septic system and water sourcing. This took us from October 2021 through about March of 2022. From March, 2022, our focus shifted to getting our utility control building built and then the cabin. We got the cabin to "livable" (in a camping sort of way) by June of 2022. For the rest of 2022, we focused mostly on making the property a little more civilized. Attempting to complete things that were started but not finished. We also tried our best to learn to relax and not feel so pressured to produce any specific results. By Fall of 2022, we were gearing up for our first winter. This meant foraging for dead wood around the property to heat with. 

2023 included finishing out more of the cabin interior with knotty pine wall and ceiling paneling. We took a couple trips into the Caribbean, one in February on a cruise ship, and another in May on Treasured Times (our kids ocean going ship) to catch our breath a little.  Our oldest daughter Amanda moved back to Missouri along with her daughter and we spent time with them as we were able. We started the process for more permanent storage for firewood. One bigger structure for long term storage and a smaller one on the back deck for the weekly supply needed at the cabin. The year also included the construction of some fun things for the grandkids and a number of short road trips around the Ozarks. Shelley published a 2nd book of devotionals that year called Treasures of Life 2. I published two books in 2023. One entitled "Wealth Creation" based on our previous 15 years of business experiences. The other was called "Back to the Land" which was written to help the reader formulate a plan or roadmap for moving back to the land (assuming that's what they want to do) The year finished up with our Florida kids deciding to buy piece of land near here to build an off-grid retreat for themselves and we spent a week or so helping them with that. 

2024 has been dominated by the building of a garden area that has been very extensive. Now, as of the waning days of June, we have begun the busy process of food preservation as the garden is going into hyper-drive. The entire adventure is on YouTube going clear back to the beginning. It's been a fascinating journey for us and we think our viewing audience of followers have enjoyed it as well. 

Carry On

Adventure Quote: "Here's to having an Excellent Adventure, and may the Stopping Never Start!"

Base Camp Coffee of the Day: Lost on the Trail (Guatemala)

Resources

Make sure to visit our website regularly to see new products and resources.

YouTube Channel: The Campfire Trail
YouTube Channel: Life of Treasures

Our Books
Treasures of Life - Daily Devotional by Shelley
Treasures of Life 2 - Daily Devotional by Shelley
Back to the Land - Planning your Back to the Land Roadmap by Martin
Wealth Creation - Principles of Wealth Creation by Martin

Please Consider Subscribing to our monthly "How-To", Do-It-Yourself" newsletter in the upper right corner of this page.   AND........

Click any of the following Video links to start your own adventure with us on our YouTube Channel:  

Creating a "Roadmap" Back to the Land


Our 30 Day "Back to the Land" Playlist



Creating Sustainable Income

Creating Sustainable Income Make sure you are subscribed to "The Campfire Trail" YouTube channel and have the "Notification Bell" set to "ALL" to receive notifications of new video publications. 
Video List
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Wednesday, June 26, 2024

June 26 - The Campfire Trail - GRID DOWN......AGAIN

June 26, 2024

Day 999 of the Adventure


I was on a phone call this morning when I noticed the computer blink out at the desk where I sat. I assumed the computer itself had just gone asleep and the screen went black. When it didn't come back on after I finished my call, I began to investigate deeper. Most of the cabin was powered but some of it wasn't. Upon further investigation, it became obvious that the grid circuits were out but everything else remained on. The "everything else", was all of the circuits powered through our solar plant. This is the fourth "power outage" we've experienced here and it's the fourth time it hasn't affected us. The one difference this time is that the solar panels have actually been disconnected for several months while we installed new panels and are still working to wire them up. How can that be? you may ask. Well, the system is intended and designed to be a "Primary" system when its working. Because the panels are not currently connected, it's reverting to a "back-up" system. Meaning, the grid is currently acting as the primary power source, but part of its function is to keep the solar system charged up. Or more accurately, the battery banks. This creates a grid powered back-up in the event the grid stops working. Which it did for a time today. So even when things aren't fully functional from our independent power system point of view, It all still works as an emergency back-up. The only thing this experience told me was that I need to get some wires buried from the panel rack to the utility control building. So, as of today, all of that has moved forward a few priority points on my agenda. 

Whether it's a primary power supply or an emergency back-up supply, an alternative form of power comes in handy when it's needed. Today it could have easily gone un-noticed, but another time, maybe not. It's a simple part of planning that can make all the difference if a more serious event were ever to occur.  Here's to having power when we have no power!

Carry On

Adventure Quote: “If you can learn to stay cool and keep thinking, you’ll figure out what you need to do.” ― Vincent H. O'Neil

Base Camp Coffee of the Day: Lost in the Dark (Colombia Dark French Roast)

Resources

Make sure to visit our website regularly to see new products and resources.

YouTube Channel: The Campfire Trail
YouTube Channel: Life of Treasures

Our Books
Treasures of Life - Daily Devotional by Shelley
Treasures of Life 2 - Daily Devotional by Shelley
Back to the Land - Planning your Back to the Land Roadmap by Martin
Wealth Creation - Principles of Wealth Creation by Martin

Please Consider Subscribing to our monthly "How-To", Do-It-Yourself" newsletter in the upper right corner of this page.   AND........

Click any of the following Video links to start your own adventure with us on our YouTube Channel:  

Creating a "Roadmap" Back to the Land


Our 30 Day "Back to the Land" Playlist



Creating Sustainable Income

Creating Sustainable Income Make sure you are subscribed to "The Campfire Trail" YouTube channel and have the "Notification Bell" set to "ALL" to receive notifications of new video publications. 
Video List
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Tuesday, June 25, 2024

June 25 - The Campfire Trail - First Red in the Tomato Bed

June 25, 2024

Day 998 of the Adventure


FINALLY...... after what seemed like way too long, we have some redness showing up in the tomatoes. It's not much yet, but it's a start. They were still green last night. Red tomatoes signal the beginning of sliced and salted tomatoes, salsa, spaghetti sauce, ketchup and many other tomato delicacies, not to mention BLT's. Now these small cherry tomatoes will not make BLT's but will most likely end up on one of Shelley's salads. That's okay, there are plenty of bigger ones that can make sandwich sized slices. I'll pop a few of these small tomatoes down as an initiation to tomato season. I plan to introduce a couple of the larger ones to some bacon, lettuce and mayonnaise very soon now! 

Carry On

Adventure Quote: “A tomato may be a fruit, but it is a singular fruit. A savory fruit. A fruit that has ambitions far beyond the ambitions of other fruits.” ― E. Lockhart

Base Camp Coffee of the Day: Lost on the Trail (Guatemala)

Resources

Make sure to visit our website regularly to see new products and resources.

YouTube Channel: The Campfire Trail
YouTube Channel: Life of Treasures

Our Books
Treasures of Life - Daily Devotional by Shelley
Treasures of Life 2 - Daily Devotional by Shelley
Back to the Land - Planning your Back to the Land Roadmap by Martin
Wealth Creation - Principles of Wealth Creation by Martin

Please Consider Subscribing to our monthly "How-To", Do-It-Yourself" newsletter in the upper right corner of this page.   AND........

Click any of the following Video links to start your own adventure with us on our YouTube Channel:  

Creating a "Roadmap" Back to the Land


Our 30 Day "Back to the Land" Playlist



Creating Sustainable Income

Creating Sustainable Income Make sure you are subscribed to "The Campfire Trail" YouTube channel and have the "Notification Bell" set to "ALL" to receive notifications of new video publications. 
Video List
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Monday, June 24, 2024

June 24 - The Campfire Trail - Summertime, Let the Sweetness Begin!

June 24, 2024

Day 997 of the Adventure


Let me introduce you to a summertime treat. Blackberry Iced Tea. This was not even on my radar as we began using a freeze-dryer to preserve fruits and vegetables. It was not until the blackberries went into the machine. The whole berries themselves took longer than expected and I'm not sure it's something we want to do very much of. After that first batch, we decided to run them through a blender first. Mainly to break the skins of the berries so the drying process was quicker and easier. The berry "puree" became berry powder. Interesting no doubt. Since it was destined to mostly become "smoothie enhancer", the powder was actually something that was easy to process, easy to store and easy to use. As we cleaned the drying trays of the last of the berry powder residue, a BRILLIANT thought occurred to me. Blackberry Iced Tea. I'm sure I'm not the first to have had the idea. 

The powder is very concentrated and has not lost any of it's flavor. A teaspoon or two of it in iced tea. You can see it in the photo in the jar on the right. The berries you see floating in the cup are freeze-dried whole berries which also contain a burst of flavor and re-hydrate quickly when tossed into the tea.  I look forward to adding this mixture to a milkshake, or maybe simply on top of a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I'm pretty sure either way would work for me. So, here's to summer, let the sweetness begin!

Carry On

Adventure Quote: “Drinking tea with a pinch of imagination!” ― 50 Ways to Drink Tea

Base Camp Coffee of the Day: Lost in the Woods (Colombia/Costa Rica blend)

Resources

Make sure to visit our website regularly to see new products and resources.

YouTube Channel: The Campfire Trail
YouTube Channel: Life of Treasures

Our Books
Treasures of Life - Daily Devotional by Shelley
Treasures of Life 2 - Daily Devotional by Shelley
Back to the Land - Planning your Back to the Land Roadmap by Martin
Wealth Creation - Principles of Wealth Creation by Martin

Please Consider Subscribing to our monthly "How-To", Do-It-Yourself" newsletter in the upper right corner of this page.   AND........

Click any of the following Video links to start your own adventure with us on our YouTube Channel:  

Creating a "Roadmap" Back to the Land


Our 30 Day "Back to the Land" Playlist



Creating Sustainable Income

Creating Sustainable Income Make sure you are subscribed to "The Campfire Trail" YouTube channel and have the "Notification Bell" set to "ALL" to receive notifications of new video publications. 
Video List
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June 23 - The Campfire Trail - Some Things Are Just Too Easy

June 23, 2024

Day 996 of the Adventure


Nearly everything we've been doing in the garden this year has been experimental for us. we've grown tomatoes, okra, beets, carrots and other vegetables before. I'm more referring to the techniques and technology. The greenhouse comes to mind, as does the raised bed planters. We've also played with hydroponics and now, we're giving some micro-greens a try. Of course, it takes a small amount of special supplies, but nothing all that complicated. Our first attempt is already coming on strong. The picture is about 3 days-worth of growth. Add one more skill to the skill-set!

Carry On

Adventure Quote: “Don’t limit yourself, discover new areas of expertise” ― Sunday Adelaja

Base Camp Coffee of the Day: Lost in the Woods (Colombia/Costa Rica blend)

Resources

Make sure to visit our website regularly to see new products and resources.

YouTube Channel: The Campfire Trail
YouTube Channel: Life of Treasures

Our Books
Treasures of Life - Daily Devotional by Shelley
Treasures of Life 2 - Daily Devotional by Shelley
Back to the Land - Planning your Back to the Land Roadmap by Martin
Wealth Creation - Principles of Wealth Creation by Martin

Please Consider Subscribing to our monthly "How-To", Do-It-Yourself" newsletter in the upper right corner of this page.   AND........

Click any of the following Video links to start your own adventure with us on our YouTube Channel:  

Creating a "Roadmap" Back to the Land


Our 30 Day "Back to the Land" Playlist



Creating Sustainable Income

Creating Sustainable Income Make sure you are subscribed to "The Campfire Trail" YouTube channel and have the "Notification Bell" set to "ALL" to receive notifications of new video publications. 
Video List
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