{"id":947,"date":"2012-05-30T04:01:27","date_gmt":"2012-05-30T10:01:27","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2016-03-23T15:38:53","modified_gmt":"2016-03-23T21:38:53","slug":"3-pathways-for-3000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/articles\/3-pathways-for-3000\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Pathways for $30.00"},"content":{"rendered":"

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As you know, we moved just at the end of winter into our homestead!\u00a0 What you cannot read on a flat screen is the giddy squeal in my voice when I say that.\u00a0 Oh, it is a great deal of work, do not misunderstand, but it is the work of my heart.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Moving in just before the spring thaw, we quickly realized that walking paths would be a first order of business.\u00a0 The house has three doors that we use almost equally depending on which part of the land or deck we intend to use, and none of them had sidewalks.\u00a0 Our busy feet quickly trampled the grass into a muddy mess.\u00a0 The immediate crisis of muddy children was alleviated by dragging home some pallets from the local hardware store, free to a good home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Pallets,<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So the pallets lay for a month.\u00a0 The kids thought it was fun at first, like jumping on rocks at the local creek.\u00a0 Bugaloo, the two-year-old, quickly wearied of the long jumps and of the fear that her tiny foot would fall through the cracks.\u00a0 This was definitely not a safe option, nor a practical one, as the others in the house just started walking in the grass around them!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"After<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We live in Northwestern Montana, a place once known for its logging industry.\u00a0 Although there are hauntings of the logging industry, by and large, it is no more.\u00a0 One such shadow is a small operation on the edge of town, affectionately known as \u201cTom\u2019s place\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 One day I stopped in.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDo you have woodchips?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNot nice ones.\u00a0 No one ever wants \u2018em.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think I do.\u00a0 How much are they?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo, really.\u00a0 No one wants these.\u00a0 They are rough pieces of cedar, not the nice garden variety you get at the hardware store.\u00a0 These have some greenery in them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, I happen to know that cedar is terrible for growing anything.\u00a0 It is terrible for a garden bed, ideal for a walkway!\u00a0 When he said that no one wanted them, it left him with an ecological dilemma.\u00a0 He ethically harvests trees for his business, and he wants to see that excellent carbon source used for the maximum benefit of the local land.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Cedar<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We live rather far out of town, and he was so pleased to find a good home for his cedar woodchips, he delivered a dump truck full for only $30!\u00a0 That barely covered gas, and certainly didn\u2019t touch the labor of loading and delivering.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The kids and I spent several sunny days combing our land for just the right sized rocks.\u00a0 With the snow melting and the much anticipated sunshine, this was a labor of love.\u00a0 It was a wonderful excuse for all of us to study the nature surrounding us and we made a few discoveries along the way.\u00a0\"Ants<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I found by studying the rocks on the ground that there was an overgrown flower bed, long forgotten.\u00a0 My children discovered an unusual variety of ant, and the land and our family officially began the introductions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Chaya<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I have a total of three paths to make.\u00a0 Free rocks and $30 in mulch.\u00a0 Sunshine and a job completed\u2014what a wonderful return on our money!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Pathway\"\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Enjoy your next job well done, <\/span><\/p>\n

Chaya<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  As you know, we moved just at the end of winter into our homestead!\u00a0 What you cannot read on a flat screen is the giddy squeal in my voice when I say that.\u00a0 Oh, it is a great deal of work, do not misunderstand, but it is the work of my heart.\u00a0   Moving […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[229,19],"tags":[194,553],"yst_prominent_words":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Fvks-fh","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/947"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/947\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=947"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}