Off the Grid in St. Margaret's Bay

I knew that my neiighbours Andrea and Shawn Redmond had built themselves a house way back from the road a few years ago. But when I heard it was also off the grid, and that they were raising chickens, goats and pigs, I wanted to get out there and talk to them.

Shawn does handyman and construction work, and Andrea is a painter (as in artist, not house painter) who also boards dogs. Shawn built most of the house, which is powered by solar panels and a 1-kilowatt wind turbine. In addition to the livestock they have now, they're hoping to add Scottish highland cattle, which are hardy and spend their winters outdoors.

Out of my visit came a five-minute radio documentary for CBC Radio's Information Morning in mainland Nova Scotia. You can listen to it here (in mp3 format).