He's One-of-a-Kind

Richard Taylor, 49, could possibly one of the most interesting people one could hope to meet in a lifetime. Known as Ricky or Ricky T., Taylor has spent his life going against the grain, and it has served him well.

Taylor sits on his worn in couch in his log cabin in Jersey, Ga. smoking a cigarette and drinking a glass of iced sweet tea. His hair reaches below his shoulders and he dons camouflage Crocs on his feet. “I built this house all on my own. I cut the trees down and I designed it for my family,” said Taylor. He has two children: Hudson, 20, and Elsa, 15. The house is marvelous. It boasts a star design in the hardwood floor and hand-painted stained glass windows in the bathroom.

Taylor grew up in Jersey, but did not graduate high school before left home at the young age of 16. “I was tired of all the rules. I wanted to get out and go on some adventures,” said Taylor. He traveled the country hunting and sight-seeing. He returned to Georgia frequently, only to leave again. He finally returned home and settled down to start a family. His trips are still frequent, however. He has recently been to South Africa, Belgium, and Maine.

He is very passionate about nature and the preservation of it. He grows his own garden every year with a wide expanse of vegetables and fruits. He then eats them straight from the ground or cans and freezes his crops. He claims that his homemade salsa is very tasty. Just this past summer he had a bountiful crop of tomatoes, squash, garlic, peas, beans, several types of lettuce, cabbage, carrots, muscadines, and apples. “I just grow things that I know I'll eat. I enjoy doing it, and it's less expensive and healthier than buying it at the grocery store,” said Taylor.

His hobbies overlap into his job. Taylor is employed by Burge Plantation in Newborn, Ga. Burge is a 930-acre farm that holds private events and hunting parties. It has been in the same family for 200 years. He is a grounds keeper of sorts, but from his explanation of his job, it would seem that he is more of a jack-of-all-trades. Taylor said of his job, “I planted an orchard of over 1,000 trees this past spring. I do tours for the hunters, and I also guide tours for elementary school students on field trips. My job is pretty laid back, and I get to do what I like to do.”

The annual Earth Day Celebration at Whippoorwill Hollow Farms in Covington, Ga. is one event that Taylor never misses. Whippoorwill Hollow is a certified organic farm that hosts many events and sells produce along with having a “pick your own” option for blueberries. Taylor does wood carvings there with a chainsaw and paints for a live audience. It is quite a sight to see. When asked where his visions come from for his carvings, he said, “I just carve what I think somebody might enjoy looking at.” Taylor sells his carvings and paintings and donates the money to establishments such as Whippoorwill Hollow.

Taylor feels that life has been good to him thus far, but said everyone should, “Be careful. Don't get caught up in the rules of everything. Do what you love and do it well. At the end of the day, that'll always be better than getting paid a lot to do something that you hate.” Well said, Mr. Taylor.

My Garden

I started thinking last night about what all I want to plant in my garden in the spring. This past spring, I had tomatoes, squash, carrots, strawberries, peppers, and watermelon. They thrived throughout the summer and helped create some delicious meals. This coming year, though, I think I want to plant some experimental things. I want to change it up a bit.

I think I'll only do big, fat tomatoes. No cherry tomatoes. I absolutely love fried green tomatoes, and it's impossible to make them from the small guys. And maybe some kind of purple green bean. My catalog has some very interesting specimens in it. Definitely going to do peas this time around...I really missed out on my fresh peas this year.

I may even try a lasagna garden. I don't like spraying pesticides and the like on my plants, and I hate pulling weeds, so maybe if I do the lasagna technique that will solve half of the problem. Plus, it'll use up this monstrous pile of newspaper that I haven't wanted to get rid of because I knew it would come in handy. I know it seems a little early to be thinking about all this, but you've got to get a plan in mind early on. Gardening takes preparation! I'm so excited! :)

Christmas recycling

I was thinking about getting all of my Christmas decorations down this afternoon and putting them up, but decided that I had too much to do. They will have to wait until this weekend. I got to thinking about how much trash I go through every year at Christmas time.

After shopping, all those shopping bags inevitably get thrown away instead of reused. The scraps of wrapping paper get tossed, along with the wrapping paper itself and probably the box too, after it's torn open. Then there's all the plastic that things are packaged in. I always have double the trash than any other normal time.

So I think this year I'm going to strictly use bags. Because I don't know about everyone else, but I reuse bags after I receive a gift in them. I neatly fold them up and use them the next time the occasion rolls around. So as much as I loooove wrapping presents, I'm going to stick to bags in hopes that they will be reused in 2010.

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Deck the Halls!

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Slightly humorous, but also true

A blogger posts on the negative effects of the amount of toilet paper we use and how many forests are destroyed to make our super soft tissue. Suggestions are made to buy recycled toilet paper and which ones are the best.