The Big House at Borealis Homestead was initially built as an ice house around 1800. We're not yet sure about more of its early history than that, but we're hoping to find out!

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        We bought the house in June 2022 and immediately jumped into renovations with both feet. There's a lot to be done, but the space already has so much charm and character, and the goal is to let it shine!

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        As ever, it's a top priority of mine to aim toward living lightly on this planet. So we'll be renovating this house with lots of reused and repurposed materials and environmentally friendly solutions, and generally bringing this old gem into a more efficient, more sustainably managed, and healthier way of being. 

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        I was lucky enough to begin Heather Jo Flores' incomparable permaculture design course when we were right in the thick of real estate nonsensery and week after week seemed to boil down to "hurry up and wait." Beginning the course, I was taken aback at how abstract the basic ideals of permaculture design are and how it is SO not simply about gardening. Now, I find that thinking with a "permaculture mindset" is intuitive and very organically intertwined with my veganism.

        This is an area I'm deeply passionate about, and I will absolutely go into depth on permaculture as a ~thing~ as well as our plans with the property in a future post, but first I cannot highly enough recommend checking out either Food Not Lawns or Free Permaculture, which are both bursting with great information, educational materials, and resources to learn further. Go check it out!