Author: Mic Roland

Pine Fries: A Survival Food

If you’ve read my books, or listened to the podcast/audio version, you might be asking, are pine fries really a thing?  I didn’t make them up. They are a thing. Actually, some Native American tribes were known for their eating…

Well Hand-Pump Maintenance

A hand pump on your well is an excellent off-grid alternative. Mine is about as simple as they come, but still requires periodic maintenance. This month, I had to replace the bottom seal. I coaxed a few more months of…

Building a Hügelkultur raised bed

For a while now, I’ve wanted to try out some Hügelkutur in my gardening. This Spring provided an opportunity. This post is a step-by-step of my experiment. I’m always looking for where else around the property I might grow things.…

New Chicks: The sustainable flock

My brooding hen’s eggs hatched this past Friday. At first, four of her seven eggs hatched within hours of each other. A fifth egg showed “pipping” but little progress. The other two eggs showed no sign of pipping. They may…

Survey for Book 3

I have a very short survey up at FreeOnlineSurveys, asking what people would prefer for the distribution of Book 3. If you listened to the Epilogue podcast, you know the background to the questions. So, here’s the link: https://freeonlinesurveys.com/s/6IDbzuU3 If…

Maple Syrup Season Begins

New Hampshire had been in a sub-zero deep freeze for the past few weeks. Knowing that the start was near for the maple sap flow, we watched the weather carefully. A string of warmer days coming was our clue to…

Delighted at five below zero

This morning, the outdoor temperature at the homestead was five degrees below zero. We a few more days of such cold in the forecast. Most people complain about cold snaps like this, but I couldn’t be happier. Why? It’s good…