Things that are just on my mind.

I had thought about writing about fall gardens but my mind keeps coming back around to another issue so I think I will save that for later. When I get stuck on something, I tend to be a little obessive compulsive so perhaps if I share what I am thinking with you, it will help me to turn my thoughts somewhere else.

As I'm sure many of you know, Isaac Bonewits passed away recently. Right after his death, I listened to a lecture that he gave, probably his last, on a podcast by Brendan Myers. If you haven't listened to Standing Stone and Garden Gate, you really should. Anyway, Isaac was talking about magical ethics, the Law of Three, and that sort of thing. Toward the end of the lecture he made some statements about how many Pagans use these magical ethics as an excuse to not do anything to take care of the environment.

Now, I'm not going to debate magical ethics. I personally do not follow the Law of Three. If it works for someone else, then great. But for me, it just really doesn't fit. My concern is this, if we are going to call ourselves Pagan, then why are Pagans not at the forefront of environmental activisim? What are we doing?

If you are reading this blog, then I am going to assume that it is because you have an interest in living off the land, getting back to nature, and are probably aware of the many problems we are facing. For those of us who understand and realize the magnitiude of our problems, why are we not shouting it from the rooftops within our Pagan communities? Now, I'm as guilty as anyone else. I suffer the same problems as everyone else of worrying about how I'm going to pay all the bills, spending time with my family, trying to find some quiet time for myself, much less trying to work in a little activisim here and there.

We are only human and we all have fininacial and time constraints. We do what we can right? I recycle, use CFL light bulbs, and try to educate my children in how we should take care of the earth. But at some point I began to think, is that really enough? Am I really doing everything I can for the Mother? In my head I hear a resounding, No. But I rationalize why I cannot do more.

Lately, I have been giving some serious thought to what it means to be Pagan and why do I feel so strongly about environmental issues. If we say we are Pagan, then we are saying that we worship the Earth and everything that is in it. We hold everything around us as sacred. If we hold the world around us as sacred, then should we not treat it with reverence even when we are not in Circle? Shouldn't we be saying, "Hey! The world is my church! Don't trash it!" But I sit here and wonder, where are all the Pagans? Why are there not more Pagans working diligently to help create a world that will be tolerable for our children? 

Now, don't get me wrong. I know there are many Pagans out there who are doing everything they can to foster awareness and work in programs that are trying to make things better. But for the rest of us, for those who think it is someone else's problem. That someone else will fix it, here's what I have to say to you. You  have a responsibility to the Mother. She is not here to baby you and protect you. She provides for your needs yes, but it is our responisiblity to take care of Her. Without Her, we do not exist. So what is your excuse for not doing what you know is right? Are you afraid that the Law of Three is going to bite you in the butt for doing a spell to protect what needs to be protected? Stop using excuses! You have no right to call yourself a Pagan if you are not willing to be a warrior, a protector, a guardian for what you claim to hold dear. Our time is now and if you are not willing to help then get out of the way.

If the influence of the Pagan community was ever needed it is now. We are running out of time and the Mother is calling for those who are willing to fight for Her cause. Personally, I do not feel I am doing enough. I am trying to remedy that. I am not perfect nor do I claim to be. But I feel that I have been called. What my role will be I still do not know. What I do know is this, if I do not answer her call, if I do not do everything I can to create a better world for my children, how can I possibly go into the next life knowing that I failed to honor my promise to the Mother. To love Her, to worship Her, and most importantly, to take care of all that She is. So now the question is this, where does everyone else stand?

TPH-Episode 2

In this episode I share a present we got for my oldest for his birthday since he is showing more interest in spell work and I share my thoughts on simple living. There is also a book review of the “All New Square Foot Gardening” book by Mel Bartholomew and the Gardening by the Moon segment. 

www.tumbleweedhouses.com
www.tinyhouseblog.com
www.coolspringspress.com

TPH Episode 1

I just wanted to let everyone know I took the plunge and created a podcast! It is availabe on iTunes under The Pagan Homesteader. The website is http://www.thepaganhomesteader.podbean.com/. I will have to see if there is a way to add the podcast to the blog. If I can't you can go to the website to download if you don't have iTunes.

So take a listen and let me know what you think! I hope to improve the show as I go along but I'm always interested in what others have to say. Have a good rest of the week!

Store for the winter

This may be a short post but I wanted to bring something to everyone's attention. Today on Collapsenet.com Michael Ruppert put up a video update about the possibility of food prices taking a significant jump in the next week or so. He says this because in the last 24-36 hours there have been several news articles from major news outlets about Russia and the Ukraine not having enough wheat. These countries have been major exporters of wheat and if they are not able to export then we will feel the effects in our pocket books. There is also a fungus that has been devestating wheat crops in China. This is a brief of synopsis of what he said but he is encouraging everyone to begin stockpiling a 3 month supply of food for everyone in your home.

This may sound alarmist but this man is often right and if the major news outlets are talking about it then there is probably something to it. If nothing else keep a close eye on the food prices in your area. If you see prices suddenly starting to rise then I would take that as a sign that food prices are going to continue to go up. Also, be thinking about what you can store that will get you through in a pinch. If you can buy some things in bulk, now may be the time to start shopping with that friend who has a Sam's or Costco card.

On a lighter note, I am giving some serious thought to starting a podcast based on the homesteader theme. If and when I get an episode out I will let you guys know. I would love to hear some of your thoughts on topics for this podcast so feel free to let me know! I will try to post again soon with a lighter subject next time!

Making Progress

I promised I would put up another post about the progress we have made so far and here it is! Thus far we have gotten the flooring down and it actually looks pretty good. We used peel and stick tile that we found for 29 cents a square foot. It was cheap and it actually turned out great. Hubby did a good job putting it down. It's a wood grain pattern and improves the looks of the shed greatly.

Here's hubby with a little helper putting down the flooring. As you can see we are still dealing with bare walls but hopefully we will be able to start buying the insulation for the walls in a few weeks. So far we have put up reflective barrier insulation against the ceiling which has helped. It looks kind of like we have tin foil over our heads but if it works I don't care.

I don't believe I mentioned this before but when we first moved it had rained right before we got here. Did I also mention that Oklahoma is made of nothing but red clay? Well, our red clay has a good bit of sand in it so it gets very mushy when it rains. To say the least, when we drove up the truck we made some nice ruts in the yard. Fortunately, it also dries quickly and the ruts can be fixed later.

We also have put together a make shift shower. There isn't exactly a lot of privacy right now but it works. Hubby fixed up a pulley system so we can raise and lower the shower to fill it. We have also discovered that even though the solar shower works very well when the sun it out, it can actually get too warm. When it's pushing 100 degrees outside and you would like a cool shower, having to use 100+ degree water isn't the greatest thing in the world. So we have figured out that if we lower the shower during the day it gets to just the right temperature. Now that I am working during the day again I have taken to heating water in a tea kettle in the morning and adding this to the shower so the water is at least luke warm. Taking a cold shower first thing in the morning isn't exactly my idea of a good time.

Hubby didn't square it up so we will probably take it apart and redo it so it looks a little better. There is also something liberating about taking a shower outside and if you've never done so I encourage anyone to give it a try just once.

We have also acquired two new fur babies. We now have an English Shepard named Indy after Indiana Jones. I let the kids name him and they are stuck on the Indiana Jones movies right now. We also have a new kitty named Sabrina. She's a little shy but very loving.

And now for the latest news and then I'll shut up. See, this is what happens when I don't get to post for a month. Anyway, the hubby recently got the idea that we needed to have a path back to the pond. Now after working on this for most of the week we finally have a fairly clear path to the pond. Of course now the kids want to go fishing every day. We honestly didn't think anything was in there since it is a man made pond but low and behold we have baby Big Mouth Bass! The kids both caught their first fish the other day and were so excited! We may still need to stock the pond with a few fish but at least we know there's something back there!

And last but not least I have to brag about my Craigslist find today. At some point we plan on building a green house and I want to find some old windows that we can use. While looking over the free section I saw where a listing had been made for a picture window. He simply wanted to get rid of it and was giving it away. To say the least I jumped on it! As you can see in the picture the side windows open and the frame is made of metal. I can't wait until we build a greenhouse so we can put this in place. It's going to look great and this was just the type of window I was hoping to find.

So this should pretty much have us caught up to date. Now that I have internet again I will try to get back to posting on a regular basis. Everyone try to stay cool in these baking temps and I'll be back soon!