>> In the rolling hills of
Vernon County you'll find a
hobbit house inspired by the
movies.
For Harvey Baumgartner it's a
way to find his earth center.
>> For this little piece of
land, I thought, well, it's
my opportunity to create my
Garden of Eden.
>> Raised on a dairy farm Harvey
graduated from Madison Area
Technical College, and served in
the US Army Special Forces
during Vietnam.
Down on his luck, Harvey had to
make a choice.
>> And at that time, I wasn't
doing very good financially,
and I thought I should take that
to heart.
If I need to live according to
my financial ability then
this is how I have to live.
I can't have electricity,
I can't have all these bills
coming in.
>> For more than a decade Harvey
has lived off the grid,
a prairie pioneer.
>> Originally, when I moved
here, I only had two months to
get a structure up, and so I
worked like mad.
It was raining, and snowing
and cold.
>> This 12-acre hilltop is
called Coyote Flats, the only
part of his failing farm he
was able to preserve.
As a master carpenter Harvey
built a home off the land,
and in the land.
>> These walls are actually
just dirt.
And all I did was paint
the dirt.
I just took the sod and
a shovel, and threw it up on
the roof.
That's how I did it one shovel
full at a time.
And then I went to the dump
and I got these windows.
And I said, "Wow, crank out
windows.
Amazing!"
>> The cost to build this entire
farmstead, roughly $2,000.
>> I consider it all
earth friendly.
>> Harvey is profoundly
committed to conservation,
and his organic gardens.
>> If you could become more
green, I'd go there.
That's why I'm doing
what I'm doing.
I mean, I really would like to
bring people back to the earth.
And Wisconsin is such a lush
place to live.
I see the ridge about 15 miles
away, and that's pretty special.
>> From the roof of his sod home
Harvey takes in the panoramic
view.
>> I feel like I own a lot
of real estate, even though
I don't.
It's kind of like John Muir
says, if you tug on one thing,
it's connected to
something else.
>> Harvey lives in tune with the
seasons, the earth, and the
moon, from sundown
to sun up.
>> I open one eye and when
I can see a little bit of
light coming in the eastern sky,
I say it's time to get up.
And you hear the birds tweet
or the turkeys gobble,
You say, "Oh, boy, I'd have
missed that if I'd have still
been laying in bed."
I get up, make my coffee,
and then go to the outhouse,
put some more wood in
the stove.
>> With the fire going strong
Harvey heads for the barns,
his dog and loyal companion
Sadie, always nearby.
>> A good day, boy, when
the sun's out, you know?
And everybody's happy.
When the animals are all happy,
that makes me happy
You know, go down and milk
the goats.
I usually do it at seven in
the morning and seven at night.
This is the old grandma one.
You kind of gotta get'em in
the mood, then you just squeeze
'em, and out comes the milk.
Ya, yeah, come on sweetie.
It was fifteen below when they
were born.
And their little tails go
ninety miles an hour, as fast
as they drink.
The goats, you know,
nuzzle ya.
And show ya all kinds of love,
and the horses do the same
thing.
This is my transportation
center.
>> When he can Harvey travels by
real horsepower.
>> It just keeps you going
all the time.
>> And there's no "time" to
waste.
>> The chicken coup has really
taken a beating, it's really
falling apart.
I wanted to make it a little
more interesting.
I made the nests like
swallow nests.
I thought that would be more fun
for them.
Normally this many chickens
would keep this from freezing,
all winter long.
I have all different kinds of
colored eggs.
Oh, yeah, there's a blue
one, yeah.
It could be the lousiest day
out and you come down here
and there are in there,
baawk, bawk, bawk, bawk,
always happy.
People are after me all the
time, to tell me to get
a windmill.
They say, "You can't pump all
the water for them horses all
the time.
What are going to do when you
get old?"
Well, I'm already old and
I still have to pump a thousand
pumps every day.
When that's done, then I come
in and have breakfast.
And then I probably go out
and haul some more wood in.
The old timers used to plan
that if you had a woodpile the
size of your house,
that was the right amount to
make it through the winter.
I cook with it, you know, and
heat.
And then it's time to
start cooking.
This is tomatoes from the
garden, and basil from the
garden.
The corn I grew, and the
wheat, I grew.
That's were I do all my baking
is in this thing.
Stick that other one in.
>> When it comes to preserving
food without electricity
Harvey uses an eco-friendly
fridge.
>> And that's a challenge.
I keep stuff in that back room.
I keep that curtain down and
then it stays about between
32-40 degrees in there all
winter.
You just go with what you got,
every 12 hours I got
fresh milk.
Every day, I got fresh eggs.
You just eat fresh.
You go down to the garden, and
you pick stuff, and you bring it
up and you cook it.
>> Harvey also enjoys making
wine, bread, and a
Wisconsin specialty.
>> I went down to an old
cheese maker, down in Monroe,
where I was originally born,
and I said to him, "I want
to make some cheese."
And he said, "Okay, this is what
you got to do."
People wonder what I do all day.
Well, this kind of stuff takes
a little longer than modern day
stuff.
>> Harvey no longer watches the
clock.
He lives on nature's time.
>> We need to listen to our
hearts.
If you have a question about
anything, listen for the
inner truth to come to you,
and you'll be surprised
what comes.
>> Harvey says life is so easy,
why go and make it complicated?
>> It really is nice not
going to the mail box,
and not getting bills after
bills after bills.
I really don't miss electricity.
I don't even know what I'd do
with it now if I had it.
>> So what started out as an
uncertain financial future
turned into a homegrown,
earth-friendly fortune.
>> But it's like anything,
as soon as you don't enjoy it,
don't do it.
And that's kind of the way I
live my life.