Welcome to the Site Site.

Written, May, 2011.

Ten years ago, June, 2000, I moved into this modest suburban home in Eugene, Oregon.  My first, other than a small hand built house in the boondocks of the Arkansas, Ozarks in the late 70's.

My inclinations towards a more modest lifestyle emerged years ago and have evolved and strengthened.  Moving into this house has provided me an opportunity to transform a 1/4 acre, nothing special property, in a direction that will satisfy many of my needs from resources on site.  The projects are ongoing, probably always something to do but a lot has already been done.

My reasons for trading grass for food production, storing rain water, removing the driveway, making use of passive solar design, creating bits of habitat are many.  They involve economics, the environment, ethics, politics, fun and more.  The web site covers many of these issues.

The Property, The Neighborhood

The property is a quarter acre. It is flat. Solar access is very good. The backyard is on the south side of the house, the house oriented east- west. The neighborhood is moslty '50s and '60s suburban, with the exception of infill taking place across the street. A wholesale nursery is winding down and turning into suburbia starting in 2006 and up to the present, 2011.

My house built in 1955. It is early ranch, 1600 square feet including the large sun room and converted carport. Demographically, the neighborhood is middle/working class. There are 5 or 6 other "permaculture" property projects within a five minute bike ride. One neighbor down the street has a nice solar electric system, there's a 1200 sq ft straw bale studio several minutes away used of yoga and permaculture classes. That property shares a property line with another renewal project, the fence is down and that house to another permaculture site with a fence down. Two others properties of an acre each are a couple blocks further down the street fully into making big changes.

My next door neighbor took out his gravel driveway and turned it into a garden. He as with bees and a fair amount of edible landscaping. Neighbors on the other side have cold frames on their several raised beds along with several chickens to go along with a hot tub and still plenty of grassy back yard.

The soil is pretty good here, an historic flood plain of the Willamette River. This area was a patchwork of small farms and orchards 50 years ago. Nine acres of cabbage were under cultivation down the street up untill 15 years ago. Now it is "developed" with lamentable suburban 3 bedroom snout houses with too much concrete, too little thought of site and solar design and minimal creative landscaping.

Punch here for a graphic map of the site.

The photos below illustrate the property when I moved in.

Links to other pages at the bottom.

 

Backyard view to north and sunroom		Backyard 2010.
Driveway 2000.		Driveway 2010.
Backyard. View to the southeast.		Same view, 2011.
Front yard from the street, 2000.		Same view 2011.

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