WindTree Ranch in Douglas Arizona

November at WindTree Ranch

We have always made a joke about not having any "Big Bad Wolves" to blow down our straw bale houses, but now we are at a loss for a joke regarding the Paper Houses; any ideas?
Seriously, we are making buildings out of recycled newspaper and they are the best yet! Same high insulation factor as straw bale, much, much lighter, and far more forgiving and versatile; not to mention far cheaper. We've had limestone flux (the scrap after processing lime) donated to us so we are able to do our floors also at almost no cost other than the gasoline and vehicle maintenance necessary to pick up all these items in little loads (no one will deliver).
Our goal for 1999 is to complete the 9 buildings we have purchased materials for and to get in a lot of crops so that we have an income (there's still a mortgage to meet!). There is a very high demand for organic food as most the fresh veggies and fruit come from Mexico and the chemical use is far greater than in the US. People are aware of the problems of eating pesticides.
Don had a set back this week when he was riding the ridgeline with the National Forest Ranger on a horse who bolted under a Juniper tree, locked the saddle onto a branch and sent Don rolling off and down into the canyon. He has a couple broken ribs, and is real sore, but other than that he's fine. He says we are going to try mules next, or burros.
We are still eating from our gardens as the weather has been very mild, 40's at night and low 80's during the day. We have been eating organically grown produce since March. We have also done a great deal of home canning and sun drying. Now that we are building the root cellar we can get some of the storage out of the kitchen.
Don is working to get the power system up: wind, solar, and gasoline. We built Thor's Temple (a power shed) out of the newspaper with a tile roof from all recycled tile. It's very attractive and hopefully very functional too.
Again we have had many inquiries about visiting. We had 7 people this week and expect to have 2 next weekend. Our fees are $10 per day or $50 a week including meals. We are holding another paper house building mini workshop on Sunday December 6 ($25 donation). Contact us at:
WindTree Ranch,
RR 2 Box 1
Douglas, AZ 85607-9802,
windtreerh@aol.com,
WindTree Ranch
message only 520-364-4611.

WindTree making difficult decisions

© 1998 ce
quest351@aol.com

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