About Us

Winnie-the-Pooh had Hundred Acre Wood; we have thirty-six. Winnie's home was in the dense beech wood "Forest;" ours is in the land of pinon-juniper on the Colorado Plateau of Northern Arizona. Like ours, Pooh Bear's House was off-grid, but his was in a tree; we live in a passive solar home made of "earth-friendly" block composed of 87% recycled expanded polystyrene. And instead of heffalumps roaming around, we have way too many pack rats (of the rodent kind).

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Our sustainable building project and lifestyle change began in 2018 when we purchased these acres and began our transition from the not-so-big (but too big for us) city of Flagstaff. We and our pups camped with the coyotes as we became owner-builders (with lots of skilled help) and built our shop, solar plant, rainwater harvesting system, and house, completed in 2022.

 

But the projects, learning, and trial-and-lots-of-error didn't end there. Since then, we've been building raised beds, cold frames, and other means of growing some veggies, fruits, and nuts in this challenging environment, a cob oven and Dutch oven pit for outdoor cooking (when the wind isn't blowing at 50mph), and the beginnings of many other projects and plans on our list.

 

All of these projects and plans have elements of living a more sustainable, healthier, and more active life. We're by no means pros, and much of what we do ends up far short of perfect, but we're learning and having fun, that's for sure.

And in the meantime, we're keeping this blog to share some of those ideas and projects with you, and we hope you'll likewise share some with us.

~Deb & Jeremy Kingsbury