Recently on one of the prepper Facebook groups I'm a regular on, a member posted of their desire to move from their city home to a rural property and start a farm. Its a popular desire among preppers, I had a similar desire myself as recent as 5 years ago. Having a decent amount of land, where you can grow your own food and raise chickens or even a cow or two, and a home that you can walk out the back door and not be a stone's throw from your neighbor would be great. I've had access to such a property, during my time as a child (grandparents lived in a small town) and later as a 20 something (a friend's parents owned 40 acres in the Ozarks). There is something really magical about being in real woods and grassy fields.

Its a dream that is unfortunately being more and more priced out of the range of anyone but the truly rich. The cost of land fit for farming has skyrocketed. First came second homes by people with money in the country and more recently during the start of the pandemic, rural properties you could be safe from infection (and conveniently work remotely from) all have driven the supply of small family sized plots of land out of reach.

This has lead to a modification of the design into "collective rural living", where a group of families go in together to buy a larger property which is subdivided into small home lots, while a communal set of common buildings are shared by all. This has its advantages. A small farm will require certain equipment, small tractor, construction and maintenance equipment, farm sheds and food storage buildings all of which are expensive and aren't used on a full time basis. Having a slightly larger tractor, which can be shared and used on all of the resident family's home gardens, as well as perhaps a larger communal farm area, spreads the costs and makes it more affordable. Yet, the number of affordable properties of the size needed for this option are just as scarce anymore.

I want to propose an alternative, which is more readily available and I would argue more doable for a small group.

Having pollinators in your yard and garden is both a beneficial thing, it helps your veggies and flowers grow seeds, but its also just a lovely thing to watch. Raising honey bees and managing hives though is a huge commitment for most people. Luckily there is an alternative, which is fun and suited for Green Wizards.

(copyright "I, Tony Willis, Wikimedia Commons)

Native bees, can be successfully encouraged to live in your garden with a little care and some resources they can use. Which can go a long way to bringing back needed biodiversity and helping pollinators in general. And unlike domesticated honey bees, it require a lot less time. You just need to learn a bit about their needs, how they live and their life cycle through the year. Bumble bees are especially useful due to their size. They can "buzz pollinate" vegetables like tomatoes, peppers and potatoes, which are not as easily pollinated by smaller insects.

An additional benefit of bumble bees as local pollinators, they don't appear to be affected by the colony collapse syndrome currently harming honey bees.

All in all having a bumble bee hive in your garden is a very useful thing. Let's get started then.

How many times have you needed some important paperwork, say a car title, military discharge papers, high school diploma for a job interview and had to turn the office or home upside down look for it? I have and its a lot too. While we may not like that fact so much of our Life's critical information is stored on bits of fragile paper, the fact it is, and we need to have it organized and available. If the pandemic has taught me one thing, its that.

Time to get yourself organized.

"I read it once, then went right back a second time with a yellow marker to highlight the important stuff. You will too."

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Storytelling is as old as humans sitting around a cave fire. Maybe even earlier. There's nothing that says you are in for a treat as settling in a comfortable spot near the warmth with a few friends and family while a good storyteller begins their tales. Stories entertain us, teach us lessons and brings us together. Good storytellers are a gift from the Gods themselves, though not everyone can be a "good" storyteller. It takes inspiration, a bit of wit, and an eye for your audience.

Though to be a "successful" storyteller takes one more thing, business sense and the knowledge of how to sell your story. This book, "Career Indie Author" by Bill and Teresa Peschel will teach you that.

With our new members and activity recently I've been meaning to restart the main page blog. I had several subjects prepped and half written when this came across my Faceplant timeline this weekend.

"1 in 4 Americans are skeptical on climate change... Who gives a shit? That doesn't matter. You don't need people's opinions on a fact. You might as well have a poll asking: Which is bigger 5 or 15? Do owls exist? Are there hats?

I love John Oliver. Leave it to a Brit, to tell you that you are an idiot and make you laugh at it.

Unfortunately his sentiment, which is echoed by too many people on the Left and in progressive circles, especially in the field of climate change, is all to common. "If the Deplorable people won't do the right thing, then we need to force them to do it!"

Funny how in the next breath, many will be shouting about how those same Deplorables are embracing fascism and authoritarianism.

Why should we care what a quarter of the American population thinks?

From time to time, I see really well done posts on other websites, that speak to the skills and principles we talk about here on Green Wizards. Recently over on Peak Prosperity, a more upscale preparadeness website, a member named VTGothic posted the steps he is taking to get ready. He gave me permission to share it here:

"Yes, you can repost. Thank you for asking. I’m pretty busy in the summer working on infrastructure, since Vermont summers are short. This year the primary task is residing the house – which is a project (!) as it’s a large house, in places reaching 2.5 stories. And, of course, cutting, splitting, and stacking 3 cord of wood for winter."

My 100 Year Survival Plan: A brief intro to our ark-building metrics
by VTGothic

I have my own 12-Step program for preparing, and for regularly evaluating how we're doing with the process. It's designed for someone with modest means, like me, and requires a corresponding greater commitment of time. (Money and time substitute for one another.) I wrote it 8 years ago and continue to use it to develop my "ark" for the coming troubled waters. I don't share it very much, but this seems like an opportune time and thread for doing so.

We here at Green Wizards talk a lot about gardening and learning to grow your own food. Its such a basic skill that no matter what style of Green Wizard your are, you should have a familiarity with it. You may not have a green thumb, but you should at least have a little bit of dirt under your fingernails.

It can be hard though, to experiment with gardening if you are like so many today, a renter. Income inequality, economic disruption, employment insecurity and other factors of the collapse of our society into the Long Descent make owning your own home or owning a home with enough land to garden difficult. Community gardening and share crop farming, gardening on someone else's property, can help you gain access to space to grow but there isn't anything like having a garden you can call your own.

Luckily the Internet and Youtube has a universe of examples of ways to grow food without land. Here is one great, low cost and easy way to do just that.

Its that time of year again, where we make grand promises to the God of Progress, which we promptly forget come January 2nd. I thought it might be better to start small, with just three habits I'd like to get into doing in 2020. Feel free to post yours too.

1) Take Better Care Of Myself: Whether its eating better, getting occasional exercise, learning to meditate, I want to take better care of myself and my body. You can't do much if you are always running at full throttle, which up until recently I was doing too much of. I'm not going to set any benchmarks, no walk 3 miles a day, eat home cooked meals 3 times a week. Seems to me that when ever I make it a contest, I fail. I'm going to just put "Do Better" on the white board in my kitchen where I'll see it.

2) Talk To Friends and Strangers More: Regrettably, having focused too much on my work life, left me little time for a social life. Not the grand, "Give Concerts in the Park" kind of stuff, but the simple things like having lunch with friends from time to time. I've realized that I have perhaps a half dozen people outside of work that I talk to on a regular basis.

And that means not just friends. I need to make an effort to try new things that involve people. Not just planned things. I need to learn to speak in public better so a visit to the local chapter of the "Toastmasters" seems to be something to look at. And not just planned events. Attending those concerts in the park and actually striking up a conversation with a stranger too.

3) WRITE MORE! Now that's a big one, lol. Time to stop writing down story ideas and outline, instead write stories.

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Along the lines of more writing, Ecosophia and Green Wizard regulars G.Kay Bishop sent me a copy of her submission to the "After Oil" Romance Anthology. It wasn't chosen because it was a bit long, but it is still a good story. You can read it, and discuss it here: "Ruinous Love" Discussion Thread.

Here's wishing everyone a good start to the new decade. May we still be here talking when the next one rolls around.

David

Its that time of year that we all hate, yes "Shoppingmas"! Get thee down to your local temple of spending, or log in online to the holy Ama-kin (one day shipping via angels available!). Really though, its the time of year that we do give gifts to friends and relatives, so let me offer some green alternatives.

Green Books
Top on my list to give are books. If they don't have a copy of Greer's "Green Wizardry", then that's a natural stocking stuffer. If they got that from you last year, then consider our own Teresa Peschel's "Suburban Stockade". Its a great second book on the skills we need to relearn. Other than that, hit the book stores and take a look at their discounted books. I've gotten several garden and herbal books for a deep discount. Don't forget some of your local bookstores too.

Give A Journal
Writing down what is on your mind in a personal journal is something I've recently stated doing. I never did before but I've found that keeping a journal really keeps me focused on the important things. I have one main one which I write in in the evening when I have some personal time, but I also keep a smaller pocket notebook on me during the day to jot things down for adding to my larger journal later. Good for teenagers, though they may roll there eyes at you for it. Don't be surprised if you find them writing in it later.

First let me say, this is the first book that made me brush my teeth more. Second, I wish I had written this book.

Its that time of year, where we buy things for friends and family. Much of what we buy though is going to be a clueless purchase. Unless you are like a few of us and actually ask the person what they need and would like, your Christmas shopping will mean aimlessly walking around a crowded and lets be honest, soulless temple of consumerism that is the Mall or Big Box store, looking for something you can vaguely think will be useful.

Or go online and do the same, scrolling through the selections and recommendations that the algorithms generate (and we know are being paid to be that high). This year why don't you buy something that will set your friends and family onto a path of resilience and sustainability.

Tersea Peschel (aka Teresa from Hershey here and on Ecosophia) and her husband Bill are living the Green Wizard lifestyle, now for many years. "Suburban Stockade" is a collection of her experiences and learning distilled into an easily and enjoyable read.

At just over 300 pages its not something to pick up and read in a long afternoon. Teresa though breaks the book down into 36 short chapters, each about a specific theme of 5-10 pages. Though several subjects, like "Chapter 11: Buying A Home" and "Chapter 28: Grocery Shopping and Food Storage" come in around 25 pages. Within each chapter are short subsections. Not only are they very informative but are filled with personal information on Teresa and her family's life. This makes it a great book to toss into the car or in a backpack to be pulled out when you have a few minutes to read. You'll be left with much to think about too.

(See the entire listing of chapters here: Pershel Press )

You'll be motivated to make a change or two in your own life. Changes which will make it better and also save you real money. Give it to a friend and help them prepare for the Long Descent. It is the perfect companion to John Michael Greer's "Green Wizardry" and a great addition to your library. Buy two and give one away.