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Thursday, April 29, 2010

Off the grid living...

I came across these amazing photographs by Keliy Anderson-Staley today on Apartment Therapy, originally from Ahorn Magazine. Anderson-Staley grew up off-the-grid, without electricity, plumbing, or phones, in the woods of Maine. She started this project of documenting life "off the grid" before she moved away from the community. She returned to finish the project, and the pictures are not only beautiful, but her musing on life as it was, and is, off the grid is lovely.
Both my parents (separately) live off the grid, but with solar power, well-water, septic, and they both as of the last few months have cell phone service reaching them. My dad has a log cabin, my mom a submerged adobe, they both live within 1 hour of a large town or city. Although they do have creature comforts like electricity and water, there is still a huge decompression that happens when you travel down a long, very bumpy, 4-wheel drive necessary, unmaintained road, to reach there green-homes, and there is something satisfying about watching your consumption out of necessity rather than choice. You have to monitor usage and waste of all kinds to live this way. I find it so refreshing to unplug, and focus on simple pleasures and pastimes, the beautiful, quiet landscape surrounding, and all that sky!







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