We Discovered Self-Reliance on a Maine Island

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SETTLED, AT LAST! 

Now, five years and another son—Zeke, who was born in '78! Later, we're all happily ensconced in a cozy energy-efficient home on the island. And every day, as we learn to live more self-reliant lives, it becomes increasingly difficult for us to imagine that we were ever really dependent on a fancy car . . . or a meat-heavy diet . . . or an oil furnace!

To be sure, living here year round isn't always easy. Maine winters can be pretty brutal, and keeping warm is often one of our main concerns. But we manage to stay quite comfortable by relying primarily on our home's solar gain, backed up by a woodstove (which we use for cooking as well) stoked with fuel cut from our land. We've also opted to do without electricity and many other modern (and expensive) conveniences, and are having a great time rediscovering many tricks and gadgets from the past. Laundry is still a problem (and anyone going to town is required to take along the big green bag stuffed with dirty clothes), but we'll solve that one too, before long!

MAINE COURSE

We grow most of our own food (using a greenhouse in the winter). And, during the blustery, bone-chilling months, we usually have a ready supply of still-crunchy carrots, potatoes, and onions, plus dried beans and canned tomatoes (not to mention all the foraged mussels and crabs we want, or the endless supply of fresh fish we can swap our duck eggs and honey for). So we're never hurting for ingredients to simmer into a hearty stew or soup to warm us!

Early February finds me in the greenhouse, tending to my herbs and removing the hay mulch from the fall-planted greens. These are pleasant chores, because I know that, as early as March, my family and I will be enjoying spinach quiches . . . crispy green salads . . . and duck egg omelets, garnished with fresh parsley and chives!

Once May comes, I give up my greenhouse . . . which isn't too painful, since by that time (and on through fall) our land nearly explodes with wonderful things to eat! Besides growing almost every cold-tolerant vegetable imaginable, we're cultivating a small mixedfruit orchard. So, all in all, we have quite a potpourri of culinary delights to tempt our appetites . . . 12 months of the year!  

GETTING AROUND

Since the island's school, post office, ferryboat landing, and store are all at least two miles from where we live (and because we like to crank up the old VW as little as possible!), we've learned to rely on bicycles for most of our transportation. Seth thinks nothing of riding his to school in the spring and fall . . . and Zeke is currently "in training" on his tricycle . . . but, come winter, Bob is the only one of us daring enough to straddle a two-wheeler. And he's quite a sight, too, as he pedals off in the snow all bundled from head to toe with only his eyes and his nose peeking through!

Our bikes have also provided us with an unobtrusive way to glide out into the community and get to know some of the island's other year-round residents. Of course not all 120 of them go to the "extremes" that we do (cutting firewood . . . raising organic vegetables . . . or riding bikes in the snow!), but most are kindred spirits who believe—as we do—in the importance of family. Education is strongly supported here, and cooperative buying is a respected part of the island lifestyle.

And now—standing in my toasty kitchen and spreading sweet butter and honey over warm slices of freshly baked bread (to provide an afternoon snack for a weary woodcutter and two sleepy young'uns)—I can't help but marvel at how fulfilling our lives on this rugged isle have been. Oh, we may not be providing everything that we need just yet . . . but we're a heck of a lot more self-sufficient (and happy!) than we ever imagined we could be when my husband and I were still punching time clocks in the city. And all it took to get us from there to here was a wonderful wedding gift . . . one that—at the time—we thought we'd hardly use!

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