Hippies

Are usually pretty awsome.

I had the opportunity today to visit my friend Dean and his aspirations of living off the land. A slow progression is being made here. First comes the house and the learning and hopefully one day a dive into the ocean of self sustainability. It is a goal that I echo within the deepest realms of my being. It was absolutly wonderful to have the opportunity to see someone's beginning attempts at going back to the land.

Dean has found a like minded compatriot in Kenny. Kenny is a retired man who long ago bought a quarter section in an area north of Shell Lake. Deffined by giant eskers left by the glaciers of long ago and bordered by limitless amounts of crown grazing land and provincial forest, this property is a little piece of heaven within spitting distance of civilization.

A few of the notable things that Kenny has created are:
-An orchard bordered by a beautiful fence made of willow.
-A contraption for catching fresh water coming out of the side of the esker to feed his garden via gravity flow.
-An underground fridge. Kenny dug a hole deep enough that maintains an ambient temperature of 5 degrees celsius. Simply amazing, essentially a free fridge.
-The water is free, clean and delicious. Oh and you get from a hand pump!


Kenny is a man who probably has ten thousand thoughts floating through his head at any given time and is genuinely interested in each and every one of those thoughts. As a result Kenny's "mansion" is somewhat of a convoluted mess. One bright summer day Kenny had an old winnabego dragged to his property. After slashing the tires he began the quest of building his freedom. Eight and a half by twelve feet at a time he constructed a building around this trailer. No foresite requires no limitations so the structure has continued to grow into a misconstrued maze. Wild weasels living in the house keep the mice away and the occasional salamander stuck in some plastic will stir Dean from his slumber. Wine and curried vegetables are served by candle light and the comforting glow of a wood stove keeps us toasty at night.

This is a place I must visit often.