Pipe Dreams
February 21st, 2007 by 
mel
Building a sustainable home….
Somewhere in the span of the last several years, Tad and I became big time hippies. We always had an element of it, enjoyed the outdoors, recycled, etc., but somewhere along the way we both became a lot more passionate about it. I think some of it has to do with getting older, watching our friends and family members have children and starting to understand the impact of our lives on everything around us.
A few years ago, we started discussing more sustainable building options. Over time we progressed from a kit-built energy efficient home like the Enertia homes, to other options such as renovating an existing home to meet green standards, building a log cabin with wood harvested from the site, cordwood masonry, cob, and finally straw bale. Our energy would likely be provided by solar power, though we have discussed other options, and we would likely be off-grid. The dream is to wake up in a cozy custom house with a small footprint, breathing easy because the house is free of the typical chemical contaminants in your standard home, and knowing that we have done something significant to reduce our impact on our environment, while supporting local industries and ones that we believe in, those that are, by supporting people like us, having an even larger and more widespread effect. How’s that for idealism? 
My Dad would be rolling his eyes right about now (even while he grins on the inside!) In addition, we have lots of fun discussing how to make this work – Another piece of this little pipe dream is to do it mortgage free or possibly just carry a mortgage for the land if necessary. This is the piece that makes pipe dream more of an actual plan – discussing how to make it work…. We have lots of little pipe dreams that fit & feed into this one that are fun as well, but we’ll leave those for another day.
What’s your favorite pipe dream?
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May 10th, 2007 at 10:42 pm
Your pipe dream is my pipe dream, too! We’d like to do the same kinds of things you mention here. So far, we have to content ourselves with our worm bin, hee. Have you read Possum Living by Dolly Freed? The book is out of print, but you can read it at http://www.f4.ca/text/possumliving.htm
I really enjoy your blog! -Teri
May 21st, 2007 at 3:26 pm
I am researching biodiesel and I just came across something about corn heat, which I’d never heard of before… but I have lots of ideas for my ideal home. I don’t know whether it will happen any time soon. You are lucky to have a partner in crime! I am waiting for when my friend in upstate NY really decides to buy the farm. She wants to have a farm school, and some of us have coopted the idea and turned it into a collective. But the main thing would be sustainability. We’ll have to talk some time. I am always tired/distracted at spinning night!
July 28th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
Hey, Mel! I was cruising through your blog, and I noticed in your profile that you dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail! I’ve always wanted to do that, too. I’ve read quite a few memoirs about it. I’m hoping to do it when the kids are older, and when I’m in better shape, hee. It would make the homeschooling lesson of a lifetime! I love your blog! Your writings are so thoughtful, and your photographs are awesome (and I’m coveting your homespun, hee!)
October 9th, 2007 at 8:21 pm
ahhh my pipe dream - so close to yours, but I have a location…..Montana. Somewhere out in south central Montana, out by Livingston, is where I would like to rest my head at the end of each day. We would have lots of land around us, and critters to fill the land, some cows and chickens, a few horses for Jason and me, and yes, probably a herd of my doberkids. Just a small cabin, a couple of rooms, a little extra space for guests, nothing fancy. But the outdoors there is where my heart lies.
I would love to be in the foothills of the Paradise Valley - tho that is getting crowded - Bridger would be nice too. Most every day is clear so if you look down the valleys you can see till the earth curves away. At night you can see the satellites fly by overhead. The mountains are wonderful for hiking (once I got used to the altitude, this dream takes place at about 6,500 ft). The area is green, and on good years can get 3 hay cuttings. The fishing in mountain fed streams is some of the best in world. The wild life is just spectacular, you can listen to the cayote at night, big horn sheep roam the mountains, huge elk graze, antelope, mule deer, birds and small critters all over. It’s never quiet, but human sounds are few and far between.
That is my little pipe dream…
January 17th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
That sounds like my husband and me. He actually has a degree in alternative energy, and we both dream of living in a home that leaves a small impact on the world, growing as much food on our own, and living like the Birkenstock and jean wearing hippies we’re growing to be together.
We’d also like some animals and live on a mountain, on a windfarm. Yay for being off the grid!