In 2009, Scott ordered a book titled,
Mortgage Free, (you can read his review on Amazon.com). The author, Rob Roy, outlined his philosophy and strategies for living free of a home mortgage (literally, the "death pledge"). This book stands out as more of a guide than most of what Scott reads -- we have returned to it over and over in the past 2 years, as we planned and dreamed about how someday we, too, might build our home and life in a way that did not enslave us to money and the need to have copious amounts of it. The two key principles of the Rob Roy strategy included #1 the grubstake (I hate that word...though, and will substitute "nest egg" instead) and #2 the temporary shelter.
The purest followers of the strategy would first save up a nest egg big enough to pay for land outright... with cash. We chose a more impatient route and took out a small $80,000 mortgage to buy our 1 1/2 acres last fall -- when prices were very low. The monthly payment is very small, and we felt that it would still give us ample flexibility until we can pay it off.
So that was Step #1... a slow, slow process of saving, working a lot, navigating banks and real estate offices, and countless trips to Nevada County to drive endless miles of back country road, walking property lines and scraping through manzanita bushes...Scott estimates he walked over 60 properties and this parcel was easily one of the smallest. We used our nest egg to put a large down payment on the land and had a bit left over to start our homesteading project.
Step #2 The Temporary Shelter. Here is where it gets exciting! Planning how we would move to the land and figuring out how to live there... as soon as possible! Our decade of idealizing the "Simple Life" will now be put to the test. What are the basic necessities? Can we continue to hold "normal" jobs without living in a "normal" house? Rob Roy's book describes in detail how people build temporary dwellings on their land, to occupy for free while using your resources to build the actual house. All that money being burnt up on rent and utilities and cable TV and other nonsense gets redirected in building a homestead.
We, however, live in a county (state really) with a pretty stringent building code, so most of the temporary shelter's described wouldn't come close to meeting permit requirements. We opted for the temporary tent instead, which still fails to satisfy code requirements, but in the words of the county planner "We have no way to permit it" and..."What's the worst that could happen?"...
The photos above shows our first homesteading encampment. During spring break, we slept in the bed of Scott's truck while building the tent platform. Please note the handmade wooden lumber rack made from an exotic Amazon wood, as mentioned in the previous post. We were hopeful that we would pitch this tent in a few days, and spend the rest of the week working on other developments- namely, electricity. So we set up camp on Saturday...
Sunday, Scott purchased the building materials. Who knew this would be a full day event?
Monday... Breaking ground. It was a strange feeling to be making our first marks on the land. There was the amazement that we were actually beginning our homestead, but also a feeling of responsibility- we were also starting to make our own footprint on the place, and our actions could be either helpful or hurtful.
Tuesday... Much of the same. Leveling the ground became a day and 1/2 long digging project for Scott, and Annie was of no help to him. The baby seemed to be feeling a bit exposed as hawks circled above, and she sprouted her very first tooth- both things resulted in a very clingy baby for our first few days on the land.
Wednesday... Annie's first day of work. Scott had the day to practice being the stay-at-home dad... a role reversal that will be a nice change of pace for everyone, we think.
Thursday... The platform's STILL not done???
Friday... Penny was more and more comfortable playing in the pine needles and watching us work. We finished the floor and started on the ridge poles.
Saturday ... it all came together. The side rails went up, we hoisted the tent onto the ridge, our neighbor helped pull the rain fly over the top, and we finished fastening grommets and tying ropes just in time to have dinner with a friend. Our new home was built in 7 days!
We returned to our tent once more this month to bring up a bit of furniture and to get a sense of what life will be like living here. We are less than one month away from our official moving date, June 11th. Scott's last day of school is June 10th, and I begin my new job in Nevada County on June 15th.
The logistics are pretty intense and not all perfectly worked out yet, but we have a feeling that each problem or need will be met and solved as it arises. I admit, there have been moments of anxiety and the occasional panic stricken thought of, "Wait. What am I doing?!" But honestly, these fears are mostly tied to my concern about being away from Penny and making the transition back to working full time. I know these feelings are the same for every mother, wherever and whenever she first goes back to work. This will be a much bigger challenge than living in a tent, I'm sure of it!
But back to logistics. On this last trip we moved the futon and the workbench into our temporary home. The futon, for sleeping, the workbench for safe keeping. Scott made this workbench last year and it has since been soaking up moisture in our very damp garage in Berkeley. The bench has suffered a great deal in these conditions, and we're hoping that the drier mountain air will calm some of the expansion and warping that has occurred. Normally a workbench wouldn't be your first priority piece of furniture in a move, but this bench was a labor of love, a work of art, a piece of furniture, a tool, and the cornerstone of Scott's future woodworking shop. It was put ahead of the dining room table.
We have another trip planned for Memorial Day weekend to move a few more of the logistically complicated items. Specifically, a car and a spiral staircase.... a what? Yes. A spiral staircase. Scott and his brother rescued it from a jungle of vines, tied up and hanging down the side of a Berkeley canyon... It has since been undergoing repairs and renovations by Scott's students, and I still haven't actually seen it. But where will it be going? And why do we have it? These are questions I leave up to Scott's inspiration and ingenuity. However, I'm trying to imagine what we will look like from across the fence... living in a tent with a workbench as our table, and outside, an old '97 Ford Escort parked next to a spiral staircase. You know...just the essentials.
