The hot topic of conversation these days is definitely higher prices. You can’t go anywhere without hearing people complain about some item they just bought costing half again as much as it was last month. Gasoline and food prices top the list.

Because of skyrocketing prices, many of us are trying to figure out how to cut back and simplify our lives, so we aren’t under constant pressure trying to cover our monthly bills.

Meet Dan Lewis and Jill Brandsborg, a Guemes Island couple who are living out their dream of a simplified, stress-free life. After struggling with their fast-paced lifestyle and consumption, Dan and Jill left their jobs in Denver in 1996 in search of a simpler, less expensive and less stressful way of life. After traveling for a couple of years, they settled in La Conner, and in 2000 bought 13 acres of land in the middle of Guemes Island where they built their dream existence.

The couple live in a 250-square-foot cottage, with a loft for their bedroom. They built their cottage by hand with the help of friends.

They are completely off grid, meeting their meager energy needs with a small solar electric system that is enough to provide lights, charge their cell phone and run their computer. And no, they don’t have a TV. Their water is provided by a rainwater catchment system that collects rainwater from their roof and funnels it into two 3,000-gallon storage tanks, which is enough water to last them four months.

In addition to producing their own electricity and collecting their water, they also grow much of their own food. They have a large garden plot surrounded by an 8-foot high deer fence. Inside the fence they have a number of fruit trees as well as a vegetable garden.

When Carol and I first walked onto their property for our visit, there was a peacefulness and tranquility that you don’t experience very often. The cabin is surrounded by woods, so you don’t see any neighbors. The loudest sounds you hear are singing birds.

Jill and Dan are committed to keeping this simplified lifestyle.

“We’re trying to make as little impact on this earth as possible,” said Jill. “There is a simple elegance here I want to preserve.”

“We started out to build a simple lifestyle, and we’ve learned to build a sustainable life,” Dan added.

As Carol and I were shown the many sustainable elements that they employ, I asked myself if we could possibly live a similar lifestyle? Probably not, but we certainly could adapt some of the sustainable features Dan and Jill have developed.

I don’t believe the price of energy or food is going to come down any time soon. So the only way for many of us to make ends meet is to cut back and conserve. Carol and I are already growing a lot of our own food, cutting back on our driving trips, and are considering installing solar collectors on our roof.

There are many different approaches to becoming more sustainable. Each of us will have to decide what works best for our lifestyle. Dan and Jill are an inspiration to us all.

As we were leaving I asked them what is the best part of their new life? Dan answered “No stress, and getting to be together. We don’t have a lot of money, but we have a beautiful life.”

To which Jill chimed in, “I feel richer than ever before. Each morning when I wake up I can decide what I want to do that day, and that is a real gift.”

CoCoRaHS update
A couple of months ago I wrote about a new Web site that uses volunteers to track rainfall, hail and snow across the United States. Each volunteer submits a daily precipitation report on the Web, and their report is then visible on a map of the United States.

Washington state joined the network this month, and I was the first state volunteer. I urge anyone who is interested in weather and keeping weather statistics to join the CoCoRaHS network. With each volunteer using the same type of rain gauge, we’ll get a more accurate picture of the rainfall patterns across Fidalgo Island.

I’m already finding my automated rain gauge is not as accurate as I thought. I’ll write more about that in a future column. But for now you can go to cocorahs.org to volunteer, or to check rainfall almost anywhere in the country.

May summary
May had a couple of highlights, and many more lowlights. First the highlights. On May 16 we finally broke our 70-degree barrier with a high temperature reading of 75. Then the very next day we broke the 80-degree barrier with a reading of 86 degrees. I think that may be it for our summer. We also had a sunny weekend for the Waterfront Festival, another first.

Lowlights included only eight sunny days for the month, the same as April. Normally we average 12, and last year we had 16. We also had above average rainfall during May, with cooler than average temperatures.