The garden is off to a pretty good start. Today I planted some high-bush blueberries in front of the fence. Working up some ideas for potatoes and a couple of other things we didn't get into the ground this year. So now we've got the firewood, the maple syrup and the veggies. Next I guess we'll have to get a vehicle that runs on vegetable oil. I recently finished a book called Farewell My Subaru about that very subject. This guy from Long Island moves to New Mexico and buys a ranch that runs off the grid (using solar power). He also buys a diesel Ford F-250 which he converts to run off the left-over grease of a Chinese restaurant. This is one of the rare instances of having your cake and eating it too. He gets to drive a big honking truck and not feel guilty about it since he's not polluting the atmosphere. For now, as far as zero emissions go, I have to satisfy myself with the reel mower. Self-sufficiency is my North Star--I don't expect to actually get there, but it gives me direction.