A sustainable lifestyle - the Edgewood Project

Where ever I go, I keep my eyes peeled for examples of a sustainable lifestyle. After all, that is what I am all about. It shocked me a week or so ago when I was told that one of our homeowners was called 'crazy' for having a large garden and livestock. Crazy? I thought that was only something I was called a few years ago. The things I would have told that person that called one of 'us' crazy!

I was working with my dad, a.k.a. 'Uncle Rog', this past week on the Edgewood Project, working towards getting the occupancy permit on that house. This project turned out amazing. I am not just talking about the trim, hardwood floors, and how incredibly tight this house is, I am talking about how sustainable the entire property and project is. If you were to drive back to the house, you would be driving across a big field of alfalfa, which is harvested to feed livestock at a local farm. The driveway is made of crushed concrete, which came from local road construction. Instead of piling it in a landfill, we used it for the driveway. Once you arrive at the house, you immediatley see the large gardens that are nearly full of vegetables. The homeowner has local customers who pay her for the freshest vegetables around. The customers show up and the vegetables are picked fresh! That is leading others to a sustainable lifestyle! The garden also produces the homeowner's vegetables that is consumed by her family. That is sustainable! She will not have to worry about what she is feeding her daughters, because all of the vegetables that they will eat come out of that garden. To store the vegetables after they are harvested, there are plans in the works for a Michigan cellar, which is a cool, dark area where the harvest is stored underground.

The picture above is great. I took this picture the other day while on site. Usually, when I tell people I saw a bunch of chicks , they think I mean something else. This bunch of chicks arrived in the mail from Iowa...yes, I said the mail. The homeowner brought them out to the site along with a group of ducklings and all of us gathered around to see them. These chicks will grow up to be egg layers, which the homeowner will sell and use for her family. That is cool! That is sustainable! The ducks will provide the family with eggs and also will be a source of sustanance. Along with the ducks and chickens, the homeowner intends on having goats, pigs, and anything else she sees fit to raise out on her land. I have approached her to raise a pig for me that I will ultimately use to feed our crews. I love it!

The homeowner has had this vision of a sustainable life for a long time. I am happy to have helped her, along with our crews, create a sustainble home that will compliment her incredibly sustainble lifestyle. I applaud her for all she is doing, it is not only 'cool', but it is a great story for others to spread the word about. She is setting a positive example, an example I hope others will follow.

Great job, I am proud of you and wish you the best of luck!!