The quest for peace of mind

Have you noticed what a rare person it is that seems to have "free" time these days? And rarer still is the woman who has "free" time. Many of the modern conveniences we have in the world today are really quite inconvenient when you stop to examine the impact that they have on our lives.

Women, by genetics, are multi-tasking machines. We evolved to care for the babies, make the food, tend the home, nurture family and friends, and many other tasks - most often doing more then one of them at the time. Men on the other hand evolved with a much narrower focus. Men are fantastic at the "one at a time" tasks. Hunting and gathering, scouting a safer location for the coming season, things that take great concentration.

The price we pay for these evolutionary functions on our health are quite terrific in modern times with all its "labor saving" devices. It makes it so much easier to a good many things at once. The residual stress from such an increase in "saved" labor is taking its toll on the lives of a good many women. There is something to be said for doing just one thing at a time. What a pleasant thing it is to weed the vegetable garden, or sit on the porch and snap peas by hand. When it comes to a home, I think that there are few things more life enriching then a large porch. Everyone should have memories of "life on a porch."

Today, the number one cause of death among women is heart disease. In fact, more women will die from heart disease this year then from the next 15 causes of death combined.

Isn't it time for us to slow down, eat better food, exercise more, and take some quality time for ourselves?

Exercise doesn't have to be time spent in a gym. It can be time spent walking around your property, taking a walk in the city, working in the garden, horseback riding, walking behind a plow in your garden, any number of things. When did exercise become about the "stair master?" When did the longest walk in many people's lives become the walk from the sofa to the refrigerator?

Here I am at 50 years old, horribly overweight and out of shape because of lengthy illnesses and an accident that injured my back - but I am embarking once again on the life of my youth, the life of my fondest memories, a life that is self-sustaining, organic and healthy.

I am looking forward to this journey, and to your company along the way.

Welcome to Backwoods Woman

Whether you are already a fully self-sustainable rural homesteader, an urban dweller desiring to live a more organic and sustainable life, or simply a curious visitor - Welcome.

My interests in self-sustainability began in my childhood in what is now a suburb of Portland Oregon, but what was then rural Oregon. The youngest child in a large family, each year we harvested fruits, nuts, cabbages, berries, assorted vegetables and as a family we would process our own food for future consumption. We canned, we dried, we pickled, we preserved the bounty grown in our own yard and additional bounty from "u-pick" gardens near to our home. We raised chickens, rabbits and a cow or two for eggs, meat, and milk.

Sometimes today, people seem surprised at the things that I know and know how to do, but growing up - life was all about what we could learn, what we could do, and how to have far more on very little resources. Looking back, I realize just how far below the poverty level we were when it came to cold, hard cash. On the flip side - we ate like kings, we were all physically fit and healthy, and there was never a "poverty of spirit."

I hope that the things you find on this website will be informative, entertaining, and will perhaps provoke you to examing how you live your life and how you can change your life so you can enjoy each day you have here on the planet to the fullest - and with regard for all the living things around you.

Let the journey begin...