About Us

I would not have been able to realize my dreams as I have if I were not able to work out of my home. Since I
don't have an income from the ranch (truly a "hobby ranch") I needed to be able to provide an income while
living in a rural area. There being limited employment opportunities in a largely farming community, I feel
blessed that I could transition smoothly from my prior occupation and build a freelance technical writing and
scanning service that could provide a suitable income and keep me home on the ranch so I could "put out the
fires" where and when they need my attention.

The future is what you make it! Gather together a dream and work at making it real. If there's anything I've
learned in life aside from how to live with a yak, it's that it's not about money or material, it's what's inside
that counts. Having the power inside to make my dream come true, even on such a shoe-string budget like I
have, has surprised yet strengthened me. I wasn't at all sure I could do it, but here I am.

My future path lies in giving back to the earth, maintaining my personal goals of leaving a light footprint and
incorporating more sustainable technologies here on the ranch.

My immediate goal is to finish Phase 3 of the construction process that adds a second addition to the
building. This will be a non-insulated run-through for the animals (perhaps giving back to me and the dogs
unfettered use of my house, without living in fear of having left a door open). The Phase 3 addition will also
serve to balance off the symmetry of the structure.

I also have pledged to learn more about yak fiber in the coming year . . . how to process and use it. And in a
short time I hope to be able to offer small quantities of it for sale to other end-users of natural fibers.

		Crystal Growth Engineer: 27 years for various industries developing
		crystal growth techniques and exotic single crystal materials for use in infrared detectors, IR lasers, solar cells, and other technologies.
		Technical Writing: Writing Instruction Manuals, proposals, and
		reports.
		Publishing: Various production duties inherent in republishing works
		in large print or other formats. Old western manuscripts—back in print.

Aside from yak herding (although I often wonder who is the herdee) and escaping the torment of the playful
"Sisters of No Mercy" as they demand more and more play time, I do find myself engaged in other areas:

		I can't seem to stay completely away from engineering endeavors so every now and then I'll grow
		some crystals at home for enjoyment, study, and the sheer beauty of the natural symmetry. I do have severe problems in providing the optimum environment for good growth like steady temperature and humidity control, but often these perturbations create interesting effects in themselves.
		Designing and prototyping mechanical and electronic things that mostly don't work. But nevertheless,
		I'm learning stuff and have fun in the process.
		Former board member on the Organization for Watershed Living, a non-profit group dedicated to the
		education and preservation of the Meduxnekeag watershed and issues pertaining to it.

Roof-top Wind Farms - The
Symphonic Sounds of a
Lifestyle
"Can your homestead do this?
Hitch a ride on sustainable
energy with the author.
"Meanwhile, the powerful
sounding Mallard gets some
wind, and he gears up
smoothly. Initially it sounds like
a large fan pushing air around.
But quickly, the fan sound is
replaced with what sounds to
me like a well-tuned sewing
machine. A big one. One on
steroids...a 16 cylinder Bernina
affixed to the top of a ’71 Porsche
917 Short-Tail rocketing out of
turn 8 and about to accelerate
home." by Chris Devaney

Nanosolar Solar Cells: Cheaper
than Milk?
But what would you say to $0.99
per watt? That’s not a decimal
error, 99 cents a watt! Dream-
weaver? Living on another
planet? Attacking the cooking
sherry again? Not the case, I
assure you. Especially if
Nanosolar Inc. comes through
with their hefty promise, this
could be a reality. Solar panels ...
cheaper than milk! We could be
seeing solar panels rolling off
the presses at under a dollar a
watt by this time next year. By
Chris Devaney

Lightning!
Together, in the growing
darkness we watch the lightning
fork it’s way across the steel gray
sky, flinching with each crash of
thunder, blinking with every bolt
of lightning. I believe that
Snoball wonders the same as I
wonder... Her widened blue
eyes ask, “Are we safe? Can you
do something to make us safer?”

Those frightened blue eyes tell
me that it’s time to face the
danger. To learn what lightning
is all about and proceed to
maximize our safety. By Chris
Devaney

Make Beer - Quit Paying Taxes
(well, almost...)
Perhaps you have a favorite
beer, ale, stout or whatever, that
you would like to emulate on
your own and make yourself.
You can, and there are recipes
available for emulating many
popular and not-so popular
commercial brews.
Experimenting is part of the fun.
By Chris Devaney