Category Archives: The Cabin

Possum Day
Back in the 70s an 18 year old girl, pen named Dolly Freed, wrote a book about her adventures growing up with her divorced dad outside Philadelphia, in what would be today called a mini homestead. The book was called Possum Living, How to Live Well Without a Job and (almost) No Money. It is now available by audiobook, read by the now grown author.

The title Possum Living comes from the fact that possum’s don’t have to have day to day jobs and can still make a living and survive. Diogenes of ancient Athens was her father’s hero. He lived in an old barrel in the center of Athens and Alexander the Great is quoted as saying if he had not been born Alexander he would have prefered to be Diogenes. The bible gives an idea of the lifestyle in the quote “Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or stow away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feed them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”

So this brings me to today. I am calling it Possum Day.

For as long as I can remember I have dreamed of living in a cabin, away from the “civilized” world. This was my intention when I bought the Pithole Homestead several years ago. But instead of living on the land I have been trying to do a balancing act of living both at the cabin and at the house in town. This has never satisfied me. I want to actually be a member of the forest I live in. I have realized that one main thing has been keeping me from living this way. My vehicle. It is just too easy to jump in the car and head to town, when I really don’t want to.

So with my Declaration of Possum Day I will truly begin my adventure. It may take a couple of months to complete but starting today I will live on my land. My vehicle for now will be only for important trips and emergencies. Eventually I plan on not driving at all. In the 1976 book the girl and her father spent in one year $1498.75. Her fathers reaction was “where did it all go?”. Taking into account the cost of living from 1976 to today and that it is just me and my dog, my goal is to live on around $5 a day, or about $150 a month. For now I will calculate this not counting vehicle costs and taxes, Basically just the basic survival. The end result will be $5 a day, total. This does not mean I will start from scratch but I will make use of the the conveniences I have already setup, such as solar power, and I will attempt to maintain the status quo.

Today’s post is going to be a long one.  In fact probably a week long.
I will document here what I have and what I will do will each thing. I wil list my goals. By the end of this post I will have laid out my entire plan. Possibly, a 5 dollars a day may have been a good idea in the 1970s, but I may decide to adjust it after full consideration. Maybe more like $200 a month. But I will document the journey every day.

So now on with the show.

What do I have now?

Here is my basic budget of $150 a month, leaving a little extra.

Of course this will be supplemented by what nature provides.
Here is my current status.  As I write I will note other costs and adjust my budget later.

WATER
My new .5 micron water filter  ($8 every 3 months) is doing a great job removing rust. I am thinking of attaching a home built, solar powered, UV filter, but .5 micron is actually smaller than most bacteria.  Also another small water line and a solar pump would be nice.

The 100 foot well provides ice cold water, which I use to keep a few items fresh.

And of course my solar shower bag heats the water up for a warm shower in the  summer.

Winter is still heating water on the stove and washing up indoors.

HEAT
Heat is provided by a wood stove and supplemented by a propane tank ($17 a month).

The tank can feed a heater, a cooking stove, a bright lantern, and maybe soon a water heater.  I can also use the large tank to refill small 1lb bottles.

OUTHOUSE
Well, it is actually more of a porta-potty than an actual outhouse, or a lugable loo, as the Brits might call it.  State laws don’t allow for creating and actual pit outhouse. So I have designed an 5 gallon bucket, composting outhouse, which uses replaceable, biodegradable plastic bags ($10 a year) which can then be placed in a composting barrel.

POWER
To keep the electrons flowing I have a 3 battery storage bank and a large 100 watt solar panel.

I also have a smaller 40 watt panel that I feel bad when I see it making electricity but not going anywhere.

This powers my tv, computer, recharge phones and tablet, provide light and even a fan.

At full battery bank charge I have about 1500watts available.  That’s about 12.5 Amps max at 120VAC (depending on power factor of equipment run) or 125 Amps at 12VDC.  All 3 batteries charged provided about 120 AmpHours meaning I can run a 5 watt LED light bulb for about 12 days continously without recharging.  But they recharge nearly every day.
My well pump requires 220vac with about 3500 watts peak surge so I still use a gasoline generator when I need to pump water, or run heavy power tools.  If I double my battery bank I could probably run my well pump.

So that is the basics, except food.  For now I purchase my food, usually in bulk.

There are many wild foods, and as anyone who has ever planted a garden knows, squash multiply.  Even better than loaves and fish.  If you plant one you’ll be giving them away for months.

Soups, rice, pasta, canned goods, etc.  But it is 2018, so I don’t really have to go anywhere to get my food.

Yes.  A large part of my budget was cell phone/internet.  I can order my groceries and supplies through Amazon, etc and have it delivered right to my mailbox.  I plan on putting a special large package box behind the regular mailbox.

UPDATE:  I  have added the package box.

ENTERTAINMENT

Yes, I am living in the woods.  Nature is my entertainment.  With bears in the morning, raccoons at night and chipmunks, squirrel, birds and deer 24 hours, there is plenty of nature.  But that is not all.

Yes.  I have a tv.  And along with broadcast channels I have streaming video over my internet.  Jeremiah Johnson eat your heart out.  Remember, I am posting this online, and part of my meager income is via the internet.  And when I say tablet I’m not talking pen and paper.

While there is no power, water or sewage connections here, there is an old telephone pole with a telephone connection.  It isn’t connected and with decent cell service here I see no reason to connect it.

I also have many tools and equipment for building and repair.

And I just got a new addition to my outdoor furnishings.

PARANOID?  MAYBE

At the end of my driveway is a ditch.

It presently can be crossed with a 4 by 4, but I plan on digging it deeper because I have a removable bridge.

Also there is a gate.

This gate is normally closed, even when, or especially when I am in the cabin.

You may have noticed that Lily has discovered the joy of photobombing.  Everything I want a picture of, she suddenly becomes interested in.

Also, as I have stated elsewhere, please contact me before just dropping in.  I am a friendly hermit, but I am also a well armed veteran and don’t want any misunderstandings.

(updates will continue throughout the week)