When I began this blog, my reasons for doing so did not include generating income. This has not changed. However, I have decided to begin participating in the Amazon Affiliates Program. The way this works is that now, when I link to products on Amazon, the link includes my affiliate id. If someone makes a purchase after following one of my links, my account is credited with a small percentage of the sale amount.
This will change nothing for readers. If you click on a link, you'll be taken to the same page as before. If you decide to buy an item, I'll get a small reference bonus, but the transaction will be the same for you as before. My participation in this program will not influence the things I choose to talk about, and will not change the way I review items that I link to. Above all else, my goal with this blog is to provide information to others, and to, hopefully, help to inspire those interested in making a lifestyle change. Giving an item a positive review in hopes that it results in a reader buying the item via my affiliate link would not be serving my purpose, and would put at risk any trust that readers have in the opinions I offer.
Why then, you may ask, did I sign up for the Amazon Affiliates Program? The answer is actually very simple. I did so, in hopes that it might allow me to improve the blog. I do not expect to make very much, if any, income from the program. However, any income that I do make, will be used to purchase books or other products that can be reviewed for the blog.
Showing posts with label Introduction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Introduction. Show all posts
Monday, August 13, 2012
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Canine and Feline Companions
I thought that it was well past time for me to write a post about our canine and feline companions. Most people would simply call them pets, but I try to avoid the term. To me, the term pets implies ownership. The definition of pet is:
"a domesticated animal kept for pleasure rather than utility"
"a domesticated animal kept for pleasure rather than utility"
-Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary - www.merriam-webster.com
I don't think of the animals who live here as pets. They are our companions, our friends. They are free to come and go as they please. They remain here of their own accord, and can leave anytime they choose.
Currently, there is one cat and two dogs living here. Miss Kitty is the cat, Luke and Jack are the dogs. We're still not sure if Jack is going to stick around. He's been here less than a week, but he seems happy, so I have a feeling he'll stay.
Miss Kitty is a muted calico, who the vet believes is maybe 3-4 years old. She came to live with us in November of 2010. We had been discussing the need for having a cat around the place, as we had a mice problem. One day, while I was at my desk working, I looked out the window and saw a cat walking up the drive way. We sat some food out, and she eventually came and ate it. She stuck around, so we fed her again later. She was clearly very hungry and happy to have food. The fact that it was raining when I spotted her makes me think that she was homeless and was looking for something to eat. After waiting a week or two, we decided she was going to stick around so took her to the vet for a wellness checkup and some shots. We started letting her come into the house, and taught her to use a litter box. Later that year, in December and January, we had to be gone for a long period of time, as my Dad was very sick. We spent 4-5 weeks away from home, with just quick visits to check on things about once a week. Kitty was waiting for us when we returned, and we knew that she had found a new home. Today she is an inside/outside cat. She spends quite a bit of time inside, but will often spend nights outside. She has learned how to tell us when she wants out, and sometimes even lets us know when she's ready to come back in. She hasn't done much to address the mouse problem, but we love having her around nonetheless.
Luke is a Labrador Retriever mixed with what we believe is Chow. He is about a year and a half old. He's been with us since he was 6 weeks old. We had been considering getting a dog for quite some time. I had decided on a Lab, because I felt the breed would do well in our environment. We planned to either do a rescue, or possibly buy from a reputable breeder. However, we heard via a friend about some lab mix puppies that were needing a home. They were going to be sent to the pound if a home couldn't be found, so we decided that we'd like to give one a home. If I am remembering correctly, there were 4 puppies remaining when we went to look at them. One was very shy, and another was very active, friendly, and curious. We ruled both of those out, as we didn't want a puppy with an extreme personality. We decided on the friendlier of the two remaining puppies. Having a puppy around was a new experience for both Andrea and myself. I once swore that I'd never do it again. As Luke got a bit older, though, and matured, he has become very easy to deal with. He's very friendly and gentle, and never gives us any trouble. He occasionally wakes me up at night, but its always because he's heard or seen something. Sometimes I'll get up and go outside with him. I use to have to do that a lot, but now its rare. There have been a couple of times when I've had to actually go into the woods with him so he could try to track whatever it was that had his attention. I'm happy to do it, though, because I know that its very unlikely anything or anyone will sneak into the yard without Luke noticing, and either alerting us with his barking or run them off. We certainly see far fewer deer and turkey since Luke came to live with us.
Jack is, we believe, a German Shepherd. We're assuming he's mixed, but we have no idea what with. Once we take him to the vet for the first time, we should have a better idea. Our guess is that he's 3-6 months old. I previously described how Jack came to live with us. He's been here for nearly a week now and I think he's going to stay. We still haven't heard of anyone losing a puppy matching his description, so its seeming more and more likely that he was set out on purpose. So far we haven't had any of the issues with Jack that we had with Luke when he was that age. I think that Luke is helping to make Jack feel safe and will help to teach him what is expected of him. Its good that Luke has the opportunity to establish himself as the leader now, because there is a real possibility that Jack may grow to be bigger and stronger than Luke. If he does, we should have two good watch dogs at that point. I've always said that most burglars would run at the sight of a black Lab/Chow running towards them barking and growling. I suspect that adding a German Shepherd to that equation will just make them run that much quicker.
We have no immediate plans to bring bring any other cats or dogs to the property in the near future. Of course we hadn't planned on Jack showing up, so you never know. We could probably use a couple of outside cats to help with the mice and moles, but Luke does a decent job of that and I'm not sure that Kitty would even tolerate having more cats outside. I know she's never stand for another one living inside.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Media Reviews
From time to time I will be reviewing various types of media that pertain to simple living. This may include websites, books, online videos, and films. Many blogs have a regular schedule for such reviews, although I will not be following any schedule. Most of my reviews are likely to happen shortly after I have first discovered the website, finished reading the book, or after watching the movie/video. There are sure to also be a few reviews of books that I have read in the past, or websites that I'm currently using. These reviews will come as I'm inspired to write them.
When I write a review, it isn't done with the eye of a critic. I will not be giving a rating based on the number of stars or thumbs up. My purpose for writing reviews is to share my reaction to whatever it is I am reviewing. I'll likely focus on how useful I find the material and whether I learned anything new or not. I'm sure to make recommendations, but please keep in mind that as individuals in unique situations what is useful and/or enjoyable to me may not be for you, and vice versa.
I do hope that my reviews are helpful, and that they help to spread the word about media that I believe to me beneficial to those seeking to live a simpler lifestyle. Feel free to leave a comment if you would like to suggest a particular website, book, video, or film. If it is something I think I would find helpful, I may review it for the blog at some point.
When I write a review, it isn't done with the eye of a critic. I will not be giving a rating based on the number of stars or thumbs up. My purpose for writing reviews is to share my reaction to whatever it is I am reviewing. I'll likely focus on how useful I find the material and whether I learned anything new or not. I'm sure to make recommendations, but please keep in mind that as individuals in unique situations what is useful and/or enjoyable to me may not be for you, and vice versa.
I do hope that my reviews are helpful, and that they help to spread the word about media that I believe to me beneficial to those seeking to live a simpler lifestyle. Feel free to leave a comment if you would like to suggest a particular website, book, video, or film. If it is something I think I would find helpful, I may review it for the blog at some point.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Organization of Posts
I have found that the easiest to follow blogs are generally those that are either organized completely chronologically (events are written about as they happen) or are entirely based on past events, experiences, etc. Unfortunately, this blog is going to be neither of those.
If I were starting this blog at the beginning of my journey down this path of simplicity, then I could probably blog purely chronologically. I'm well into my journey, though, and there are several activities, events, and decisions from the past few years that I will want to write about. I will also want to write about day to day life and describe things as they happen. I'll likely also have several posts that are not about events, but are simply my thoughts on various topics.
I do not have a formal plan put together for differentiating between the different types of post. My guess, at this point, is that I'll likely not assign a title to articles that are discussing day to day life, while I will assign titles to other types of posts. Of course this might change, as I have more posts to deal with, so don't rely solely on the title as an indication of the type of post.
Hopefully I can manage to keep things fairly organized. At the very least, I should be able to keep it from being a total, unorganized, mess.
If I were starting this blog at the beginning of my journey down this path of simplicity, then I could probably blog purely chronologically. I'm well into my journey, though, and there are several activities, events, and decisions from the past few years that I will want to write about. I will also want to write about day to day life and describe things as they happen. I'll likely also have several posts that are not about events, but are simply my thoughts on various topics.
I do not have a formal plan put together for differentiating between the different types of post. My guess, at this point, is that I'll likely not assign a title to articles that are discussing day to day life, while I will assign titles to other types of posts. Of course this might change, as I have more posts to deal with, so don't rely solely on the title as an indication of the type of post.
Hopefully I can manage to keep things fairly organized. At the very least, I should be able to keep it from being a total, unorganized, mess.
Our Little Slice of Heaven
Andrea and I both grew up in the hills of Eastern Kentucky. After getting married we moved away to college, and lived in that city for the next 12 years. I was perfectly content living in the city for several years, and swore that I'd never move back to a rural area. As time went on, however, I began to be drawn to the country living.
Approximately 3 years ago we purchased a tract of land on which to eventually build our dream home. We own 32 acres, of mostly hilly and wooded land, which borders a Wildlife Management Area. We have a small stream running through the property, and another, larger stream, serves as the southern boundary. We live 6 miles from the nearest town, which has a population of less than 1,000 people. As far as most people are concerned, we are in the middle of nowhere, and we love it here.
I've come to think of the property as being divided into five general sections, which is likely how I'll refer to them throughout the blog. First we have the yard. This includes the site where our mobile home is located, along with the front and back yards. I also generally think of the shed as being in "the yard".
Next, to the west of "the yard" we have an old, dilapidated house that is just waiting for me to tear it down. The house actually has a completely separate drive way. Over there is also an old shed, which I use for storing some scrap lumber as well as an outhouse, which I haven't really checked out very thoroughly. There are also a few hundred feet of woods separating the "old house" from "the yard".
To the east of the yard is a trail which leads down to a small stream. Across the stream is the area we are turning into a garden. It is nice and flat, but hadn't been cleared in years. I have parts of it cleared, but am still working on other parts. There are a few acres in this section, probably 3-4 total. The boundary with the garden is the Wildlife Management Area.
The bulk of the property is the hillside behind (to the North) the 3 previously mentioned sections. I will generally refer to this area as "up the hill". Our property runs up the hill to the cliff line, where it meets the Wildlife Management Area boundary. I estimate that this hillside area accounts for at least 20 acres of our total tract. Fortunately there are several old logging roads that provide access to a good portion of this area.
The remaining section of our property is actually located across the highway. There are approximately 4 acres between the road and the creek. This is another section that has not been cleared in years, although I have recently began the process of clearing it. This area does flood from time to time, so its usefulness is limited.
It is worth noting that the term "highway" can be very misleading. While the road running by our house is technically a state highway, it receives little traffic. It is actually part of a Scenic Byway, which is often used by bicyclists and motorcycle riders. There are days, especially on weekends, when the bulk of the traffic are motorcycle riders. Other than that, the traffic is almost entirely limited to locals.
Approximately 3 years ago we purchased a tract of land on which to eventually build our dream home. We own 32 acres, of mostly hilly and wooded land, which borders a Wildlife Management Area. We have a small stream running through the property, and another, larger stream, serves as the southern boundary. We live 6 miles from the nearest town, which has a population of less than 1,000 people. As far as most people are concerned, we are in the middle of nowhere, and we love it here.
I've come to think of the property as being divided into five general sections, which is likely how I'll refer to them throughout the blog. First we have the yard. This includes the site where our mobile home is located, along with the front and back yards. I also generally think of the shed as being in "the yard".
Next, to the west of "the yard" we have an old, dilapidated house that is just waiting for me to tear it down. The house actually has a completely separate drive way. Over there is also an old shed, which I use for storing some scrap lumber as well as an outhouse, which I haven't really checked out very thoroughly. There are also a few hundred feet of woods separating the "old house" from "the yard".
To the east of the yard is a trail which leads down to a small stream. Across the stream is the area we are turning into a garden. It is nice and flat, but hadn't been cleared in years. I have parts of it cleared, but am still working on other parts. There are a few acres in this section, probably 3-4 total. The boundary with the garden is the Wildlife Management Area.
The bulk of the property is the hillside behind (to the North) the 3 previously mentioned sections. I will generally refer to this area as "up the hill". Our property runs up the hill to the cliff line, where it meets the Wildlife Management Area boundary. I estimate that this hillside area accounts for at least 20 acres of our total tract. Fortunately there are several old logging roads that provide access to a good portion of this area.
The remaining section of our property is actually located across the highway. There are approximately 4 acres between the road and the creek. This is another section that has not been cleared in years, although I have recently began the process of clearing it. This area does flood from time to time, so its usefulness is limited.
It is worth noting that the term "highway" can be very misleading. While the road running by our house is technically a state highway, it receives little traffic. It is actually part of a Scenic Byway, which is often used by bicyclists and motorcycle riders. There are days, especially on weekends, when the bulk of the traffic are motorcycle riders. Other than that, the traffic is almost entirely limited to locals.
Introduction
Welcome to my home on the web. Let me begin my introducing myself. My name is Jonathan. I live just outside of a small town in Southeast Kentucky. I have been happily married for 14 years. My wife, Andrea, and I are both in our early 30s. I am not a writer, as you will quickly realize. I work in the IT field, doing a combination of software testing and data analysis.
While I do not plan to use this blog as a platform to advocate for any particular ideology or political view, I think it is only fair that I am open regarding my views. I am an environmentalist, which drives my desire for living a simple, sustainable lifestyle. Politically, I consider myself a liberal, and, although I'm not currently registered as such, find that my views most closely align with those of the Green Party.
I've tried blogging in the past more times than I can remember. Each time, I began the process full of motivation to tell my story, only to let other things take priority over blogging. I hope that this time is different, as I believe the information I have to share could be useful to others. I hope that you enjoy following my journey, and that something I say can be helpful as you follow your own path through this crazy world.
While I do not plan to use this blog as a platform to advocate for any particular ideology or political view, I think it is only fair that I am open regarding my views. I am an environmentalist, which drives my desire for living a simple, sustainable lifestyle. Politically, I consider myself a liberal, and, although I'm not currently registered as such, find that my views most closely align with those of the Green Party.
I've tried blogging in the past more times than I can remember. Each time, I began the process full of motivation to tell my story, only to let other things take priority over blogging. I hope that this time is different, as I believe the information I have to share could be useful to others. I hope that you enjoy following my journey, and that something I say can be helpful as you follow your own path through this crazy world.
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