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Note:
This site is very much in a work in progress. We are learning and experiencing so much that is new to us. We plan to share as much as time allows, but we make no promises.

There are many shifts from first person to third person, and from past, to present, to future tenses. That's a result of the long time-span of putting this site together.

Pages that are incomplete today may be quite robust tomorrow. The photo gallery will be growing. If you are interested in what we are doing and saying, we urge you enter your email address above to be notified of changes to the site. Don't worry...There will be no spam. Your email address will only be used to notify you of changes to our site.

Living Rural

In this day and age--the 21st Century--rural life has some kind of romance attached to it. Believe us when we say that it's not really all that romantic: living a rural lifestyle requires making lots of changes in assumptions and expectations. Frankly, we have found that they're all worth it, but it's important to acknowledge these differences between the rural and urban lifestyles.

When we first arrived here, we started to ask around as to whether there was some kind of document that explained what we should know, resources we could go to, and generally, get information on the rural lifestyle.

In a conversation with the Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District (JSWCD) Manager, Randy White, he mentioned that they were in the initial draft stage of such a documVolunteer of the Year Awardent, but were having trouble getting it going. We volunteered to take a look at it, and, as they say,"the rest is history." The Rural Living Handbookwas written, laid out, printed. Requests came from literally all over the United States as news of the Handbook spread. The initial run of 3,000 quickly disappeared. A second edition followed shortly. At the District's annual meeting and dinner, Ken received the Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District Volunteer of the Year award for 2005. And to make a long story short, Ken designed, and now maintains and hosts the Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District Web Site This link to another web site opens in a new window. The privacy policies and terms of service may be different from ours. and is helping the District become more productive through the appropriate application of technology.

But rather than leave it right here, we urge you to read the Introduction to the Rural Living Handbook. This link to another web site opens in a new window. The privacy policies and terms of service may be different from ours. What you read might surprise you...

Master Gardener BadgeWhile Ken was working with the JSWCD, Marbeth was busy carving out another niche with the Jackson County Extension Service of OrMaster Food Preserveregon State University. This link to another web site opens in a new window. The privacy policies and terms of service may be different from ours. She started with the Master Gardener Program This link to another web site opens in a new window. The privacy policies and terms of service may be different from ours. and attained her certification in October, 2006. Since then, she has also become certified as a Master Food Preservationist. Her abilities in the kitchen have served her (and me!) well as she is now avidly canning.

And both of us are involved with the Small Farms program This link to another web site opens in a new window. The privacy policies and terms of service may be different from ours. at Extension. After all, we are well on our way to having a small farm, or, what some call, a smallholding.