Homesteading in Bleecker

Pam and I love our boat, and we really enjoy cruising and living aboard.  But when we returned to NY last summer, we both realized how much we miss upstate; the mountains, the forests, and even the climate.  We had an opportunity to buy ten acres of land in Bleecker and we took it, once again becoming New York State taxpayers.

We had to return to NY for my daughter's wedding in VT last weekend ( the Bleecker in-laws dog sat for us). While there, we arranged to have a guard rail cut with the county highway department (very efficient and accommodating) so we could access the road built by my father-in-law and his friend (the fella we bought the land from), and met with a logger to clear half of the land for the small home and out buildings we're going to build.  I'm getting psyched.

We're in Virginia tonight on our way back to Georgia.  We'll be heading back north in the spring to arrange for well drilling and to begin construction.  We're going to build most everything ourselves. If I can take an old trawler and sort out things that don't work, I think I can take brand new stuff and put it together to make stuff that does work.

We intend the place to be off the grid.  We plan on using solar, wind, and possibly even water power for electricity, using boating technology that I've learned over the years.  We'll use propane for cooking and backup heating.  Wood will be our main heat source.

Horses, chickens, apple trees... we're looking forward to it all.  As for Drift Away, that's up in the air.  We're debating whether to keep it and spend winters down south, or sell it so we can focus on the homestead in Bleecker.  If we decide to sell it, it will be for a realistic price, preferably to one of you folks who might want to pick up where we left off.  There's still lots to do!

We'll be starting a new blog for the Bleecker homestead project.  If it's anything like our Drift Away blog, it should be a lot of laughs and a lot of missteps.   I'll let you all know what's happening, and the URL of the new blog once we decide on a name for it.  It's like when you get a new cat or dog.  You don't name it right away.  You adopt it, and then it sort of names itself.  But we do welcome suggestions.