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{"id":36,"date":"2014-09-29T09:14:00","date_gmt":"2014-09-29T09:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2014\/09\/living-off-the-grid-in-va.html"},"modified":"2016-04-14T23:06:37","modified_gmt":"2016-04-15T03:06:37","slug":"living-off-the-grid-in-va","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2014\/09\/living-off-the-grid-in-va.html","title":{"rendered":"Living “Off the Grid” in Virginia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"Appalachian\"$ You know the New Testament\u00a0account: St. Paul struck by a literally blinding light that knocked him off his horse en route to Damascus in early 1st century Syria \u2013 a life changing event that led him to cease persecuting early Christians and to become a follower of Jesus.\u00a0 It was, in a word, a profound conversion<\/i> experience.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to 21st century Damascus, VA and let me introduce you to Jon and Carole Towers who are also in the business of\u00a0conversion<\/i> \u2013 low-impact living, energy conservation, and permaculture husbandry conversion that is.<\/p>\n

Married for 27 years they\u2019ve had quite the diverse and enriching journey before settling into their present homestead on the edge of Damascus in southwest Virginia.\u00a0 Carole, who practices as a perinatal nurse, has been a horse\u00a0trainer in Michigan, and has spent years as a sheep herder in The Snake River Canyon in Oregon, and in the Pyrenees, France.\u00a0 Jon has worked \u2013 among many professions \u2013 as a medical social worker, newspaper publisher, and a designer and builder of low cost, energy-efficient homes.<\/p>\n

When they moved (from Boone, NC) to their new 1.6 acres property in Damascus, their loose vision at the time was to convert it \u2013 as much as possible \u2013 into a low technology, waste-reducing, energy-conserving, low-impact homestead that would become, as they discovered, an on-going \u2018experiment\u2019 in trust.<\/p>\n

Surprise<\/b>:<\/p>\n

Carole describes how she envisioned the land as an open tapestry or \u2018quilt\u2019 that she didn\u2019t want to rigidly control.\u00a0 She was curious and wanted to see what \u201cwould appear\u201d if certain sections were\u00a0left un-mowed with very little tending.\u00a0 To her \u2018surprise\u2019 a whole array of bio-diverse flora sprung up \u2013 and with it species of birds and insects that perhaps would not have otherwise appeared.<\/p>\n

Jon reflects on the energy saving, cost-cutting features of the property: everything from recycled military sleeping $\"J&C\"$ bags they use as window quilts, and the 1700 gallon water-catchment cistern that collects rain water for the animals and land irrigation, to their outside solar shower, weed control\u00a0Sheet Mulching<\/a>, and the ways they compost and recycle paper, plastic, and glass \u2013 not to mention the \u2018converted freezers\u2019 they use as low-energy refrigerators costing less than $10 a year to run!<\/p>\n

When I asked them about any spiritual \/ moral philosophy underpinning their way of life, Carole elegantly stated,\u00a0\u201cWe are One\u201d.\u00a0 From the billions of organisms in the soil to the outermost regions of the known universe, how we relate to, reverence, and learn from our environment, has a lasting impact on every cell and facet of the whole created order. And\u00a0as Jon, who periodically shares his wisdom with the Environmental Planning class at a local college, asserts: \u201cIt\u2019s all about balance and responsible stewardship.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to their various ways of living in a low-tech and sustainable manner, Jon and Carole have also opened their home to transient pilgrims like me who can rent a room for a period of time; learn from this endearing couple, and roll up their sleeves to help out in the yard! For a while they were \u2018Wwoofers\u2019 \u2013 members of Worldwide Opportunities on Oraganic Farms<\/a> \u2013 and had volunteers from around the world live, work, and learn on their property.\u00a0 And so the adventure and \u2018experiment in trust\u2019 continues . . If you\u2019d like to learn more about their way of life, you may contact Jon directly @ jonwtowers@gmail.com<\/p>\n

Until our next yarn: tread lightly on the earth beneath you . . and learn to listen, like Jon and Carole Towers, for the heartbeat of creation. Like the variety of birds who now alight on their window sill, it may surprise and enchant you!<\/p>\n

Peace Pit Stoppers \u2013 G<\/p>\n

Image Insert:\u00a0 Chuck Crookshanks & Iva Hilton<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"