Christmas 2008 has come and gone. This is the first year we've been "on our own". We decided it was too far and cost too much to return to Michigan for Christmas. So we had a very modest celebration with our little family unit, right here in Casco. One aspect we definitely enjoyed was the lack of travel on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Not only did we stay home for celebration, we traveled about a 1/2 mile to the village church for the 11pm service. It was all very relaxing.
In the month since my last post, much has happened. First, we had a big ice storm on December 13. We were very fortunate since the power was off for only about 6 hours and the ice only about 1/2" thick. There were many others in New England, especially Massachusetts and New Hampshire, that were without power for a week or more. The total was in excess of 500,00 people in the dark at one point. Western MA had much more ice build-up and tree damage. Even so, there were many white pines damaged here. The day after the storm it was eerie outside - very quiet, punctuated by the gunshot sounds of branches letting go under the ice load.
About a week after this storm, we received a major snowfall. It snowed all night with an accumulation of about 12". We had much more around the house to dig through in the morning since the snow from the roof slid off and piled up. Doing our morning feeding the of the horses was much more challenging since we had to dig out and break trail out to the paddock. But we managed. It it doesn't kill you, it will make you stronger!
We've been actively looking at land to purchase and also potential communities to join. We've generally been pre-qualifying the land via the Internet to cut down on driving. We did visit a couple locations around Belfast. One location was 14 acres of mostly wooded property with a stream (brook out here) running through it. The owner had done site preparation including installation of septic and built a shed. He suffered a chronic injury in an auto accident and so was giving up his dream to build. We really like the land but felt too much of it was unusable for growing food. It was basically a hunter's paradise. The price - $44,000. Our ideal at this point is something in the 15-20 acres, partially wooded with the balance available for agriculture. We also seek land with an excellent southern exposure to maximize passive solar heating of our house. We are looking for sufficient forest that we can get some building material from and firewood. Carefully managed, a forest can provide both for years.
Cheryl recently came across a new community being formed near Belfast. They have 70 acres of mixed forest and open ground, 3 tractors, a chicken house and various other farm-type facilities already existing. They are referring to this new community as a libertarian village. Some of the folks on my mailing list may freak out when they read the word "libertarian". Granted, people calling themselves libertarians have been known to take some extreme views. But, take a look at what Wikepdia has to say about libertarian. You'll find libertarian to encompass a rather wide spectrum of views. The basics are indivdual liberty, limited government, reliance on civil institutions and free markets to promote social order and ecomonic prosperity. Interestingly enough, these tenets were known as "liberalism" in the 19th century. The modern version of liberalism has adopted a "statist" approach, bringing big government into the picture. Fascinating how political/philosophical terms we think are sacrosanct and we beat each up for subscribing to are actually much more fluid over time.
At any rate, Cheryl and I find ourselves having commonality with these basic precepts. We are not fiscally conservative and socially liberal although we have used these descriptions. The terms liberal and conservative are mental straightjackets that neither fit us nor the times we live in. Fighting over which "ism" one belongs in is nothing but fiddling while Rome burns. We are attracted to the idea of individual liberty and personal responsibility on all issues at all times. We are coming to see the government as a problem, not the solution. This is not to say government does not have legitimate functions. But there is no Big Daddy and we cannot abdicate our responsibility and authority in search of one. It is up to us as the people to be part of the solution.
So we will give the libertarian village a serious look as we have all others. We also attended a meeting by a group in Portland, also seeking to form a village. The basis for this village is a model used by over 300 villages in Russia. The model is contained in a series of books by Vladamire Megre. These books reveal the life wisdom of a woman named Anastasia. It is probably fair to say Anastasia is a mystic although there is much more to say. We listened to a presentation by a man named Peter who spoke of the village he is part of creating in Lithuania. He is on a tour of North America, promoting this village concept. The group in Maine is looking to purchase substantial land (350-1000+ acres). The concept is each member would own a 2.5 acre portion, with the rest held in common. Although initially attractive, we felt the cost to get in and the amount/type of limitations made this not a good choice for us. Still, the Lithuanian group is accomplishing much such as squeezing their own oil to make biodiesel, raising and selling food to fund the community, etc.
Well, my fingers are getting tired. As always, we have much to be thankful for on this journey. It is difficult on a number of fronts but we are happy to be active in seeking our dream. Thanks for the supportive, wonderful comments from our friends and family! It really helps us keep going.
