Living off the grid
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (323744)
Rockingham, Australia
August 12, 2020 9:24pm CST
At the endurance we attended recently in Western Australia, Vince met the elderly couple seen in the photo. His conversation with them was interrupted but he was anxious to continue his chat. It turns out they are brother and sister. Tim, the brother, moved to Collie to be with his sister, Trudy, who has dementia. Unfortunately, just a day or two after the ride, Trudy had a fall and broke her hip. She is now in hospital in Perth.
Their neighbour has been chatting online with Vince and we hope to meet Tim next weekend at the next ride. She gave us a link to a YouTube documentary called ‘We Live Ourselves’ about Tim and his family. They lived off the grid on the south coast of Tasmania and raised seven children there. The documentary is nearly an hour long so you may not want to watch any or all of it but it might be interesting to some. One of the final things we see is Tim making a windmill which would supply power for the sawmill and house.
People have such wonderful stories, don’t they?
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22 people like this
22 responses
@wolfgirl569 (93495)
• Marion, Ohio
13 Aug 20
I would enjoy getting at least mostly off the grid
3 people like this
@JudyEv (323744)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Aug 20
@wolfgirl569 We can sell units back to the grid and this will pay for itself over time. We'll might have sold by that time but it will be a good selling point.
2 people like this
@cherigucchi (14885)
• Philippines
13 Aug 20
We also have windmills here in our country but uts far away from where we live.
2 people like this
@cherigucchi (14885)
• Philippines
13 Aug 20
@JudyEv Oh I see. Here it is used for electricity
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118224)
• Gainesville, Florida
14 Aug 20
I would love getting about 95% off the grid. It would definitely simplify my life. I would, however, still like to have access to the internet, because otherwise I wouldn't be able to myLot with everyone!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118224)
• Gainesville, Florida
14 Aug 20
@JudyEv I would need internet and air conditioning. Those would be the creature comforts I would need. haha
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323744)
• Rockingham, Australia
15 Aug 20
@moffittjc He chose a bleak, harsh environment. It would be much easier in our parts.
1 person likes this
@popciclecold (35011)
• United States
15 Aug 20
Wow. Before my husband went to the nursing home we watched a lot of series on Alaska and Australia. I really admired those people..There was one woman who had the nerve to live in Alaska, by herself. I tip my hat to them. They are bold.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (168445)
• United States
13 Aug 20
Wow, I may take a look at that sometime. Plenty of American's live off the grid...most are in the Western States, but I think all states have some. There is an interesting Cable TV show call Homestead Rescue..where people who think they want to leave it all behind and live off the grid get themselves in trouble, by not really knowing what they are doing. Experienced homesteaders help them out.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (168445)
• United States
14 Aug 20
@JudyEv It is alot of work. Andria Oerry might be able to make it work..but most of us would just get tired .
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323744)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Aug 20
@snowy22315 Andria sounds like she is halfway there already.
1 person likes this
@gr8nana6 (6614)
• Conyers, Georgia
14 Aug 20
@JudyEv I know, it's bad enough when you're younger, hope she'll recover well.
By the way I watched the video it was great, it kind of reminded me of the TV show "Little house on the Prairie" I can't believe that man ran around in shorts even in the cold.
1 person likes this
@Alexandoy (65350)
• Cainta, Philippines
13 Aug 20
I love the windmill because I thought all the while that windmills in The Netherlands were for electricity. But they are not. Anyway, I like the title because it is one of my dreams to also live off the grid.
1 person likes this
@Alexandoy (65350)
• Cainta, Philippines
13 Aug 20
@JudyEv it was disappointing for me to know that the Dutch windmill is for milling grains. I thought it was for creating electricity.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323744)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Aug 20
@Alexandoy I thought he was going to use it for the sawmill but perhaps I misunderstood.
1 person likes this
@kobesbuddy (73894)
• East Tawas, Michigan
17 Aug 20
OH my gosh, this is so interesting about Tim and his sister, Trudy. What a shame that she fell and broke her hip:( I definitely love to hear these stories, about the lives of others and what how they have managed in this world!
1 person likes this
@kobesbuddy (73894)
• East Tawas, Michigan
18 Aug 20
@JudyEv Tim comes from a remarkable background, living exactly like pioneers:)
@LindaOHio (153140)
• United States
13 Aug 20
My husband has always wanted to live a more self-sustaining life. Have a great Thursday.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323744)
• Rockingham, Australia
15 Aug 20
@LindaOHio Having a milking cow is a real tie, especially if it is milked twice a day. You can't miss a milking or they get mastitis. You can leave the calf with it and just shut the calf for a few hours if you don't need a lot of milk for the house. That gives you a bit more freedom.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (153140)
• United States
14 Aug 20
@JudyEv That's a lot of hard work. I don't blame you a bit! :-)
1 person likes this
@DocAndersen (54413)
• United States
13 Aug 20
i saved this for later - i am always looking for ways to kill time!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323744)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Aug 20
@DocAndersen I'm looking forward to meeting him next Friday.
1 person likes this
@DocAndersen (54413)
• United States
14 Aug 20
@JudyEv i watched a bit last night (we had a network burp so i couldn't finish it, very interesting.)
1 person likes this
@ElusiveButterfly (45945)
• United States
15 Aug 20
It is my hope that one day we will have a our own home where we can install solar panels to provide much of our energy needs.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323744)
• Rockingham, Australia
15 Aug 20
We have solar hot water but solar panels should have been going in today to cope with most of our power needs. However, because of the danger of rough weather, it's been put off for a day or two.
@BelleStarr (61050)
• United States
14 Aug 20
I am looking forward to watching this. I admire people who live off the grid, I have no desire to emulate them but I do admire the effort.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (323744)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Aug 20
What I noticed most was that he worked and walked at the rate of knots. We're looking forward to talking to him. He must be well into his 80s now at a guess.
@Shiva49 (26164)
• Singapore
16 Aug 20
It is not easy to go back to old ways of living after having enjoyed modern comforts that we take for granted now.
I agree we have to coexist with nature and treat it as our nurturer. That reminds me what my swimming instructor told me. "you should not fight with water, it is your friend" - siva .
1 person likes this