The Field Lab
Apr. 23rd, 2024 09:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
innerstoryOne of the most consistent parts of my online life has been The Field Lab blog by John Wells. Since 2008 this blog has moved in and out and back into my regular reading list. I haven't always agreed with John, but have always respected what he was doing. Most importantly he has always been real in a world awash with well tailored online personas.
John did what many of us have only thought about doing, including me. He left a hectic schedule in media production in NYC with all the trapping such a career comes with to move out to some baron land in Texas. Once there he set about building a simple house and experimenting with minimal off-grid living, growing his skills, all while unabashedly chronicling both his successes as well as his failures.
For most of his blogs run he posted nearly every single day. This consistency and follow through is simply aw-inspiring. From experimenting with swamp chillers made out of ad igloo cooler, to the misadventure of starting a greenhouse, to building other people's off grid homesteads, or just snapping pics of his steer Ben he was always doing something to advance his stated purpose in life. Besides Richard Proenneke, I can't think of anyone more industrious.
Like Proenneke at Twin Lakes his health has led to him having to leave the off the grid chapter of his life behind. I am not going to dwell on this part simply because I'm exhausted from processing loss after the last several years, but John has sought hospice care in the wilds of society.
What I do wish to dwell on a bit is my gratitude to John. From his consistent experimenting, to relentless writing ethic, to his humbleness in the face of things not going his way, and most importantly leading a life well lived on his own terms... his experience has had an incalculable positive impact on me that will likely take me years to fully appreciate.
To honor John's impact I am adopting a new sign-off he used at the end of most of his posts:
John Wells Daily Stats: temp at 8PM,high temp,low temp,rainfall,wind conditions(CalmBreezyWindyGusty). All conditions for Milton, Vermont.
49,70,34,0,G
To learn more about John Wells, visit: http://thefieldlab.blogspot.com/
John did what many of us have only thought about doing, including me. He left a hectic schedule in media production in NYC with all the trapping such a career comes with to move out to some baron land in Texas. Once there he set about building a simple house and experimenting with minimal off-grid living, growing his skills, all while unabashedly chronicling both his successes as well as his failures.
For most of his blogs run he posted nearly every single day. This consistency and follow through is simply aw-inspiring. From experimenting with swamp chillers made out of ad igloo cooler, to the misadventure of starting a greenhouse, to building other people's off grid homesteads, or just snapping pics of his steer Ben he was always doing something to advance his stated purpose in life. Besides Richard Proenneke, I can't think of anyone more industrious.
Like Proenneke at Twin Lakes his health has led to him having to leave the off the grid chapter of his life behind. I am not going to dwell on this part simply because I'm exhausted from processing loss after the last several years, but John has sought hospice care in the wilds of society.
What I do wish to dwell on a bit is my gratitude to John. From his consistent experimenting, to relentless writing ethic, to his humbleness in the face of things not going his way, and most importantly leading a life well lived on his own terms... his experience has had an incalculable positive impact on me that will likely take me years to fully appreciate.
To honor John's impact I am adopting a new sign-off he used at the end of most of his posts:
John Wells Daily Stats: temp at 8PM,high temp,low temp,rainfall,wind conditions(CalmBreezyWindyGusty). All conditions for Milton, Vermont.
49,70,34,0,G
To learn more about John Wells, visit: http://thefieldlab.blogspot.com/
