Introduction: Mark

Greetings, land of blog.

My name is Mark, and I am the patriarch of this idea.

The 'rules' post below is an excerpt from an email correspondence with my family and friends about this idea I came up with. As my wife has already mentioned I have plenty of crazy ideas, most of which I keep to myself. This one made it past my 'certifiably crazy' filter so I spilled it out on the table. I was surprised by the positive feedback I got from most people I shared it with.

As from myself, I am self-employed and at this time have no co-workers, save my wife who helps tremendously with the paperwork. Last year I planted my first garden - a tiny 10x10 plot with too much shade. Had I needed that plot to produce food to live on, we surely would have starved. I very much enjoy hunting and fishing, though I am not very accomplished in either of those endeavors. I have long held a compulsion to harvest fruit from wild trees that I find, including the 30' mulberry that dumps buckets of fruit early in the summer.

So what is the purpose of this challenge? I hope to improve my hunting, fishing, and farming skills, and to learn more about edible wild plants in the local area. I also hope to foster a sense of community with my family and close friends that are engaged in the challenge as well. And who knows beyond that - perhaps I'll buy a Conestoga wagon and follow the California trail...oh wait I don't think that idea should make it past the filter...