Final

The move is final! My new blog is located at: http://wildhomestead.wordpress.com
Check it out to see some photos and read more a new update on our veggie garden. This will be my last post on blogspot. Thanks for reading :)

Sara

New site

Alright folks, I'm transferring my blog to a site with a much nicer user-interface... wordpress.

I will be backlogging all of my blogger posts to the new blog, and all new entries will show up there. So please, check it out, and let me know if you have any complaints!

http://wildhomestead.wordpress.com

Spiny Amaranth

I believe I have made a new discovery with my plant identifications. I am going to contact a local expert for verification, but in the meantime I am tentatively identifying a previously posted plant as spiny amaranth.
Here's a photo of my plant. One key characteristic that I am not really sure of is the plant's spiny texture... but I will confirm that tomorrow. It sure looks like a scary plant to me, and I used to regard it as evil. Alas, it may be quite valuable to us, as amaranth is a very nutritious food source.

I'm not going to go on a research tangent, as this was an accidental discovery during another research project. However, survivallady.com has a nice little blurb about amaranth in her post "Using Wild Plants As Food."

Cutting back and getting organized

This past week has been productive and fulfilling for the most part. Seth and I have cut off the water heater, the AC and we're getting ready to cut off the refrigerator. I borrowed a book from a friend, Bill Mollison's Introduction to Permaculture.
I was very familiar with the ideas and concepts of permaculture but had yet to actually study it in a book. This is a good book to start with, especially if you're comfortable with the school textbook sort of layout. It's set up in that way, but also very pleasant and easy to read.

We've been thinking, researching and planning. When we get home from our trip (we are visiting my family for a week) we are really going to get to work on the garden and landscape. I am excited. I've really been looking forward to fall and winter planting and the time is upon us!

We'll see if we can cut our electric bill in half or less and maintain it there. I've been using hot water from the hose instead of installing a legitimate solar water heater. It works well but I only get about a gallon of hot water at a time and I have to make that stretch for dishes and some clothes.
I've adapted to washing up with cold water. It doesn't bother me much.

We also have a great compost bin going. Everything goes into it. I've even been digging through the trash to salvage things that I think would be better suited to compost or something other than trash. As a result, this past week we haven't produced a single full bag of trash.

In a few months I plan to make a graph of how we are using certain resources. I've got about 6 months worth of monetary expenses and about 4 months of electricity, so I need to start looking at the quantity of trash we are disposing of.
In 6 months I'd like to cut our output to about half of what it is. Spending half the money, using half the electricity and disposing of half of the waste-- all while *increasing* production of other projects. Let's see how this goes....

More information

I don't think I wrote about last weekend, but it was a really great weekend.
We went to a local State Park to go on a "Wild Edibles" hike where the ranger showed us different forest things that were edible. I had arranged for a meeting there with a Meetup group I am part of, that focuses on permaculture gardening and such. I met some interesting people with whom I'll probably keep in touch. In fact, we are meeting with one of the guys tomorrow and looking forward to it.

Maybe talking to him and having some sort of exchange will be useful for us. I feel like the more we talk about the homestead, the more it gets ingrained into our minds that that is what we are doing and that it's going to work for us.

Last weekend we also went to visit someone that I have grown to love dearly, Seth and Andrew's friend John. Ive mentioned him before, because we made a visit in Feb or March to his place. He has a little homestead set up several hours north of us.

Some people have a really good vibe about them and John is one of those people. I loved being at his place, it truly is an escape from all this other stuff that's going on. His porch is a concrete slab, maybe 1000 sq ft with a long sloping roof that starts at the second story of his house and runs all the way down into his garden where he was growing tomatoes and malabar spinach.
While we were there, a heavy rain broke out and it was amazing to be under that long roof with the rainfall resonating overhead. I love that rich, earthy smell that rises up in a good rain. We were surrounded by it, standing on the porch of his concrete fortress of a home. It felt like a place for people-- a big human cave enveloped in some warm sense of welcome.
I ate plenty of figs from his trees and admired the fruiting pecans and hickories. His ponds were stocked with fish and his gardens were bursting with tomatoes, okra, corn, and some squash.

What we create here in Louisiana doesn't have to be the big concrete cave, but I want to be able to transfer that feeling to some extent.
My little world is more like camping. The wooden porch gets soaked and soggy in any significant downpour-- there's no shelter there. I want to feel like I can sit outside and enjoy our place without being beaten by the rain or by the violent sun.

Seth and I have decided we're going to get rid of the internet. It manages to suck the creativity right out of me. I've kept it because I feel like I need to keep in touch with people, but I end up getting so overwhelmed that I just can't keep up and my mind goes numb and hours disappear.
I've mentioned this before and it still holds true, so we're just going to get rid of it and I'll access it once or twice a week from the library.

Today has been nice because for the most part I've left it alone. It's only now that I am writing because I feel encouraged and somewhat productive. I always feel a lot better when I'm actually doing things instead of obsessively searching the web for things I want to do, or might do, or would do "if only..."

So this wraps it up. Getting online only once a week will make it pretty difficult to keep up. I'll do what I can.
Take care.

Off the grid

Well it looks like we are turning the homestead into a full-time project now. I think we are going to shut off the internet again and I'll exclusively use the library and update here about once a week or so. We'll see how it goes.

Red-tailed Hawk

While hiking with Callum around the back of the property, we spotted a large bird flapping its wings in a thicket. I got a bit closer and the bird sidled over and crouched down among the branches. I could tell it was either young or injured, hoping it was young and NOT injured.

I went back a little later with my camera and got some photographs. They aren't the greatest images, but they are alright. I submitted the photos to the Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries and they are going to identify the bird for me and get back to me.



EDIT: The biologist wrote back to me and says it is a red-tailed hawk. That was what I suspected when I FIRST saw the bird, but then checked around on google and thought it looked more like a young Eagle. A good reason not to trust google too much... (especially considering that I try to use the internet as a resource for identifying edible plants!)

Anyway, the hawk must have been injured because it was in pretty rough condition.

Technology or simplicity?

An issue I see a lot in the area of homesteading, ecovillages and survivalism is the relationship between technology and simplicity.

There are some who believe, in simple terms, that the way to impact the environment the least, and/or achieve the greatest self-sufficiency, is to return to an old way of doing things and perhaps even shun technological advancements.

The opposing view is to use technology to improve our ability to live in harmony with nature and create a sustainable human civilization.

I wouldn't argue that either of these approaches are wrong. Realistically, however, we have to find the right balance. No doubt the current lifestyle of western colonial countries, specifically the U.S., cannot be sustained as it is. We cannot keep buying endless products, consuming goods imported from around the world, and driving from place to place in a frenzy. It's not economically sustainable, environmentally sustainable, socially sustainable and it's not emotionally sustainable for the individual.

They've been telling me this since kindergarten.

I believe the first step is reduction and simplicity. We all have to take the time just to reduce all the input. We have to reduce the amount of trash we bring into our homes, and thus dispose of. We have to reduce our consumption of food (I'm one to talk :P ), reduce our consumption of water, electricity, fuel, toiletries and material entertainment (TVs, computers, DVDs, CDs, hardware and gadgetry of all sorts).

We have to reduce our dependency on others, most especially for food, water and energy. This does not mean isolation, but it does mean that if the greater system is disrupted, people will be able to survive individually until the system can be restored or recreated. For long-term survival, food water and energy would be produced on-site rather than exclusively purchased and stored from outside.

I am not against technology by any means. I am against technology when it replaces knowledge or skills needed for survival. Many in the western world don't have to think about the people who have worked, struggled and even lost their lives to provide our food, fuel and consumer goods. We don't have to have a clue about the agricultural process to enjoy a pizza loaded with products from Mexico, Brazil, Guatemala, etc.

People don't have to know a thing to survive these days. A lot of people don't even cook their own food, much less produce it.

Technology and science (including financial, political and social sciences) have obscured the basic processes required to sustain human life. As a result, those of us who rely on those processes are completely vulnerable even when it appears that the shelves will endlessly remain stocked.

In my opinion, advanced technology, especially complicated information systems, medical tecchnology and agricultural management, should be used with much reservation. While there are many great benefits for the individual, leaping ahead at the rate we are and in so many different areas seems to be stretching us thin as a society.

We can't maintain it; we can't even understand it.

IF the society breaks down, everyone who hasn't escaped dependency is in for rough times.

What do I do?
My solution is to cut back. As an individual, I cut back in every area that I possibly can. I'm not saying that I live a spartan lifestyle, because I don't. However, I do have an idea of how much I need to maintain my family, and that's where my focus is right now on the homesteading.

A few little steps at a time. I first look at how I can make something with the fewest outside resources.
Food was an easy start. Since college, eating out had become a HUGE problem for me. I didn't even start preparing many of my own meals until last year. I feel like I've come pretty far at this point. We keep a lot of grains on hand, some spices, and throughout the week we supplement with veggies and fruit, some eggs and some meat.

We are keeping chickens now to replace the eggs from outside, and we will probably either convert to vegetarians or suck it up and start killing our own chickens. As soon as I get my act together the veggies and fruit will be growing.
It has taken us much longer because we have few tools and few things on hand. For the chickens, we've done quite well and we have decent shelter for our flock of 13 without having spent much money at all ($10 I think?).

The garden is lacking because of human labor, because of limited tools, and partially because I have big plans and haven't yet figured out how to focus and get things done (except I have planted some fruit trees!).
I've spent a lot of time researching and looking for information on local, wild edible plants. It's surprisingly difficult to find that kind of information on my own. I suspect this is largely because of the overwhelming influence of modern agriculture which has essentially devalued other food sources and as a result the information has been lost.

I am interested in wild edible planting because it's the most natural and most efficient form of food production. A managed permaculture forest can, theoretically, provide much or all of what a human being needs for nourishment. After establishing the forest, if it is well-planned, it should require very little maintenance to continue production.

I've cut back in other places which haven't been as successful. In some ways, my reluctance to spend any money anywhere has made things much more difficult for me and probably ends up costing me more than actually investing a little bit of money in the beginning and having a long-term working solution.

This is where I believe in technology. Having a solar oven, or solar water heater, or something as simple as a well-designed clothesline would reduce our dependency on a energy but without complicating our lives too much. The upkeep required for those few items would not be unreasonable homesteading.

The organization of the homestead-- deciding where to start, where to invest initally, or whether limit ourselves to creating handmade objects from very local resources from the very beginning... it all gets overwhelming.

A modern homestead is a great puzzle. Goals, values, people and resources all complicate the process of moving forward.

Like starting a business, I imagine, and perhaps that's what we are doing here.

So here I am, a week later, still pondering.

Want to know about the homestead? Seth and I are planning on switching places so he's home and I'll be working outside. The chickens have all rotated, with the Barred Rocks being added to the original flock after 2 weeks, and the little chicks taking the place of the Rocks in the hayring.
I find Bitsy to be a joy to have around here but Seth doesn't much like her. We often have visitors-- the neighbor's dogs-- coming to poop on our driveway for some obnoxious reason.
Things are well. We're happy and inspired and I believe great things lie ahead.

Homesteading alone.

What we are doing now isn't possible. When it comes to resources, and most importantly human resources, we just don't have them. I have some leadership abilities. By that, I mean that I can boss people around, come up with ideas, and manage the work around here but I need other people involved. Seth works full time and so does his dad. For now, they are the only people around to help out. Friends and other family members have expressed interest.
I don't have anything to offer them except maybe a room in my house, a room in the old house that doesn't even belong to us, and some of whatever they can help us produce. A great deal for them, huh?

My parents have talked about coming down here, and my mom is especially excited about helping us garden.

Even if we could do this alone, with only us, I do not think I want to. I want a community. I want this to be a community effort. Ive mentioned it to some friends, but I don't really know if people are truly willing to jump into this.

Most of my friends are in college. Okay, I'm supposed to be in college this fall. Maybe that's what I should do, then in a couple years I can re-evaluate the situation and see who's up for it at that point.

I am desperately lonely. At least lonely in the sense that I feel like I am on a mission to do this all by myself. Support is really low, and it undermines my ideas. It's the confidence issue, I suppose.

It would help if the 22 acres actually belonged to us. Sometimes I entertain the idea of packing up and moving to the Appalachian Mtns. Isn't that what everyone is doing these days? Well they are beautiful and I love it there...

I am interested in eco-village style community life. Any takers? Here, there, anywhere.

A big ugly rash.

About a week ago I noticed a strange mark on my knee that I casually assumed was some sort of melanoma. It appeared out of nowhere, had a very strange shape, was black/brown and seemed to exist just on the surface of my skin but with a lump underneath. Though it didn't really look like a scab, I thought maybe that was more likely and covered it in ointment and let it be.

The next day, the lump underneath was a little bit bigger and slightly red and warm to touch. Okay, an infection? I treated it again and later that day the redness went away so I assumed it was getting better.

Here's where it gets fun. The NEXT day there are these two itchy bumps around the original bump, kind of like mosquito bites. The redness is back but it's like an irritated redness NOT an infected redness. Over the next few days the itchiness and redness has spread to about the diameter of a peach and my entire knee is red, itchy and pretty nasty looking with that little scab in the center. It is, in fact, a scab.

Today it is not much different than yesterday, except the itchiness kicks up when I rub against it. My flesh certainly isn't rotting off and I don't have red streaks of blood poisoning or anything.

I must have been bitten by something but I have no clue what it was. I've lasted a week without any other symptoms so I don't think I've contracted any serious diseases, just this local dermatitis that looks and feels really uncomfortable but not painful. Oh boy.
It must have happened on one of my hikes.

The drawbacks of spending time in nature.

Another world.

This summer has been a psychological experience. Sure, we've got chickens going and some plants here and there. More than anything I've just been adjusting to my role as a mother and a human being.
It feels like it wasn't too long ago that I even realized I was a human being. I wasn't an ignorant kid, or a sheltered kid, but my world just didn't include many of the things that it now includes.

I'm burnt out on information. I don't want anymore information. I don't want to read anything else. I don't want to think anything else. I don't want to care anymore in any way. This is what my husband tells me every day. He said some things today that made me realize he knows me better than anyone else, and he tells me I think about too many things and get caught up in too many things. Maybe I do.

My husband reads fiction. He has read classics and science fiction and philosophy. He has read the Bible and the Koran front to back. He has read all of this stuff, but he loves fiction.

Don Delillo, Philip K Dick, Thomas Pynchon, John Steinbeck. In fact it was Steinbeck who sent us here. East of Eden that sent us here.

I'm not really the person that I think I am. I'm someone else.
I love being outside but my mind needs stimulation constantly. I'm the ideal office worker. I plan and I budget and I boss people around. I just need someone there to listen to me.

But now I'm tired. I'm so tired of planning and budgeting. I'm tired of creating scenarios in my head and trying to fulfill them. I'm tired of not knowing where to start and trying to come up with the motivation to do it anyway.
Yet, I have to. I feel like I have to. I feel driven to accomplish something that requires more work and more resources than I've ever had to pull together.

I can do it.

Last week Seth and I watched a documentary called "A Family Undertaking" by POV, which airs on PBS. The documentary touched on the same ideas as explored in the New York Times Article: Home Burials Offer and Intimate Alternative. The point is that funeral homes in the US have a monopoly on the arrangements made after death, though after-death care by family members has been a traditional part of human life throughout history and offers incredible emotional benefits.

In my family the general attitude has always been "put me in a pine box and bury me in the back yard." I've never been subject to attitudes condoning spending tens of thousands of dollars on a funeral. I've never even understood why the costs would exceed 1k in any situation.

The film and the NYTimes article are inspiring in that they show that people in American really aren't afraid to care for their own loved ones in death. There is a growing return to that way of handling funerals and I'm happy to see it.

I think more people are starting to take responsibility for their own lives and their own humanity elsewhere as well. Perhaps it's just because of my personal interest, but I notice more and more people gardening, homeschooling and even expressing interest in homesteading around the country. Indeed, many of us are still in the earliest stages but at least there is the interest. What, ultimately, will be the result of all of this?
Are we finding our way out of this consumer madness? I sure hope so.

The lady chickens are doing well.
I'm taking a stab at growing some fall tomatoes. We'll see how this works out... hopefully it does some good. I am saving the rest of the seeds for next spring.

I would really like to work hard on getting a winter garden going. Nothing makes me happier than leafy greens and now is the time to plant broccoli from seed.

I'm working on looking for other sources of income so that we can get some of these things going. That's right, dirt and seeds cost MONEY! At least good dirt... all we've got here is clay and fire ants.

Butchering.

We killed a rooster yesterday. He was our only rooster.

Seth and I bought four more pullets yesterday on a whim while taking his uncle Ronnie to the feed store. We pulled into the parking lot and in a cage right in front of us were four young, beautiful Barred Rock ladies. I find these to be among the most beautiful of all chickens, even if they are fairly common, and I've wanted this breed since way back when my grandfather started his last flock about 10 years ago.

These four made our grand total 14 chickens-- 11 hens, 1 rooster and 2 unknowns. We have a small cage for the 4 chicks we have, the old hay ring cage and a larger more permanent coop that we've recently acquired.

Ronnie's hen and rooster were living in the hay ring separate from the fantastic four. We took a look at them yesterday and decided that the rooster was in such bad condition, physically and psychologically, from living for however long he did in that little cage at Ronnie's, that we were going to 'dispatch' him.

I ended up being the one to kill him. I've never done this before in my life. I've seen my uncles field dress deer and rabbits and squirrels, and I knew a chicken (an old rooster who attacked me) that was killed by my grandfather. Then there was the deer and the little bird last year, both shot by Seth, that I helped clean and cook.

This was new though. Although this rooster had a panicky temperament and was fearful and stressed, when the time came to kill him, calm passed over him and he submitted. Both Seth and I felt that we were doing the right thing for this poor old guy, and we believe that the rooster may have even felt that way.

People should not eat meat if they can't kill animals. They just shouldn't. After yesterday, I am horrified at the distance most Americans have from their food, especially their animal products. I've always been horrified, but now even moreso.

I was a vegetarian for 5 years because I absolutely detest factory farming, I detest the standard American diet, and I detest animal abuse. Last year I was horrified to hear a girl in my COLLEGE Biology class respond with horror when the teacher told her that meat came from the muscle of animals.

"Are you serious?!" She grimaced, "I'm never eating meat again!"
Good.

A friend of mine recently became a vegetarian. Curious, I asked her why, and she says "if you just think about what meat is... just think about it! It's kind of gross."
So she had never thought about it until she was 19 years old?

I'm sorry. Some people are just SO removed and clueless.
When you've actually killed an animal by your own hands with intention, the process is holy. You cannot watch something die like that without experiencing a great connection and reverence for that creature. Death comes so easy, and life is so fleeting, and this is what more Americans need to understand.

How sad it is that people pass the 'dirty work' on to someone else, but are still willing to mindlessly consume the product. Chicken doesn't arrive on this planet battered and fried.

How sad it is that to Americans today, death is something to be done and dealt with behind closed doors and never experienced as a course of daily life. This holds true with the death of our loved ones as well as the source of our food.

Death is here. We cannot deny it.

I will make another post soon on this topic. For now though, the chicken count is 13. We have 11 ladies and 2 unknowns. I'm hoping for a roo and hen pair.

A frugal lady.

I haven't been posting much anywhere for awhile because I'm just tired. I need to spend time with Callum, and find routine and get used to my life.

I've been doing great, I think. I still get lonely but that's kind of what I'm asking for from life right now. My few good friends around here haven't been coming over as much on the weekends. Mostly I just see Seth's parents and his uncle Ronnie and some other people occasionally.

Next week I'm hosting a Natural Birth meetup group. I really liked the one I went to in March but that group is about an hour away so I offered to host a meeting for local members in Hammond. That should be great.

I've also signed up for a first aid class in September, and I will probably also get certified in CPR later. In August the local state park is having a few events including a wild edible plant tour, survival skills training, woodworking and basket weaving workshops. I'm planning on going to all of those. At the wild edibles tour I'm meeting up with some other people who are interested in permaculture and survivalism and such.

So I'm really working on being social, I just haven't quite made it yet.

I'm also working on being antisocial, inadvertently, by letting myself become increasingly paranoid and skeptical of my culture. I don't believe in consumerism or big governments or any of the things 'out there' that are contributing to this economic (and human rights)disaster. Seth and I buy food and gas so he can get to work, and in most cases that's all we buy during the month. We pay an electric bill and we pay our mortgage and car insurance.
The one 'splurge' is social more than anything, and that's when we go to this nice authentic Mexican restaurant down the road for dinner and we can both eat for $10 there.
It's not difficult to NOT spend money, except for the fact that everyone's doing it. That's what people do. The more I pull myself away from that kind of thing, the more disturbing I find it. Right now we're poor but we're financially disciplined. Even if we weren't poor, then, I'd want to live the same way because it feels right.

I'm not trying to be a snob, and I'm not really trying to set myself apart from everyone else but as I get more and more comfortable with my frugal way of doing things, I get more and more uncomfortable with the things going on around me.
It's knowing that we can make it on such a small income that kind of liberates us from living to spend, and spending to live, and being part of this big race we don't want to be a part of.

People around us aren't doing that. Even now. It's not a judgment of them, but simply an acknowledgment that it's part of the reason I'm having trouble socializing.

Quite simply, I feel different. Perhaps I relish the "hard life" to some extent. Not saying my life is hard by any means, but it could be easier if I gave in to the system. It could be more luxurious, let me say that.

Either way, I know that I need to take breaks from the internet. The whole thing overwhelms me. Somehow the ability to get in touch with almost anyone at any time makes me fail miserably at doing so.

I'll leave with a few pictures of the beautiful chickens. These little hens and my family and friends really are the light of my world.

The fantastic four

Muriel, one of our Americauna chicks.

New chickens, and a new home for the chicks.

I rented a library book called "Living With Chickens." Seth took and interest in it, took it to work with him and read through the whole thing in one day. He now has an incredible love for chickens and we've spent the weekend getting things situated. Since he has taken kind of a 'backseat' approach to the whole homesteading thing, it's really great that he's so passionate about something and he's been directing things as far as the poultry go.

This morning he started off asking his uncle Ronnie if we could have the rooster and hen he had leftover from his chicken rearing days. He'd been keeeping them in tight quarters and I've always felt bad for the poor things, so we finally brought them over here and they are staying in quarantine in the 'hay ring' where we used to keep our other hens. They are a beautiful silver-laced wyandotte/cochin cross bantams but the hen is somewhat ill so we aren't introducing them yet. Their names are Freddy and Celeste.

The 'fantastic four' hens-- now named Nora, Star, Bella and Janine, have moved to a bigger pen, which we have all just labored and sweated over for the past 5 hours getting it secured for them. We actually picked up the basic structure of this coop from Seth's grandmother, and hauled it down the highway on a trailer while it swayed and threatened to break apart in the wind. It stands about 11-12 feet high, 10 feet long and about 6 feet wide so it was a monster to carry down the road.

We've finally got it here, replaced the most rotten of the boards, secured the wire and we've tucked a tree limb in there for them to roost on (not sure if they've figured it out yet). I'm so excited about the new cage and I hope the ladies stay safe in there.
During the days, we've been letting them roam freely. Hawks are our main concern but I haven't seen any on the land so far, and they spend a lot of time up in the tallow groves so hopefully they'll stay safe.

We also came home from the feed store with 4 more chicks-- 2 Americauna pullets (blue and green egg layers!) and two straight-run Rhode Island Reds.

It's been a long, productive day. None of the hens are laying yet, but I'm much happier knowing that we've got their living quarters all worked out. I cant wait until were getting our own, fresh eggs.

Seven hens, one rooster, and two unknowns. Pictures soon!

No air conditioning

The baby and I have been spending our days without air conditioning. One thing that does to you is get you outside! My only real problem is having a clingy infant grabbing and crawling all over me when it's 90 degrees inside.
I find myself wishing he were a toddler or an older child so I could just set him on the grass and let him run free... but the grass hasn't been cut in weeks now, and ants are swarming and wasps are all over the porch. I'll be honest, outside really isn't much better right now.

My father in law found a fun article about this very subject: The Unchilled Life.

I find the first line quite funny: "TO many Americans, abstaining from air-conditioning is a masochistic folly akin to refusing Novocain or renouncing the dishwasher." We actually gave up the dishwasher awhile ago and TODAY I was mentioning to my grandmother how much I liked her dentist because he didn't shoot me up with novacaine to fill one little tooth.

Oh well, I guess I know where I fall now...

Please send your thoughts and prayers.

The brother of a very close family friend is in critical condition after a sudden illness. We will be keeping them in our thoughts, and ask that you please do the same.

Baking and biofuels.

That's right, baking and biofuels-- but not at the same time! Not right now anyway.

Let's start with the biofuels. Remember the pesky little tallow trees that are taking over the farm? Well, I got carried away with a little more research the other day investigating their potential as a crop for biofuels. Some folks are already way ahead of me on this one, but that's only more encouraging!
They actually appear to be pretty promising as far as that goes. The outer wax can be melted off and processed into a fuel that is essentially the same as diesel. I am looking more into this as a possibility either for personal fuel or for business.

Ok, now about the baking. All I really have to say is that I am on an outrageous baking spree for the past week. It started with a loaf of bread and a batch of cookies. Now I have two loaves in the oven and a batch of dark chocolate coconut cookie dough in the fridge. The cookies are most impressive. I substituted coconut oil for butter and honey for half of the sugar, then dumped almost 1/4 a cup of dutch cocoa into the mix and ended up with great results. Oh, I used wheat flour too.

The added cocoa provides a little iron and the (10% per tbsp!), honey and coconut oil have some of their own beneficial properties. Not saying these cookies are 'healthy' or anything, but if that's what you're looking for in a cookie-- move along.

H1N1 (Swine flu)

Just for fun. In addition to this, I have a pet project where I am keeping an eye on the vaccine technologies that are resulting from this H1N1 scare.
Curious? Learn more: The H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccine and You

Goats and milk.

I've started hiking around the property in the mornings and evenings before it gets too hot. I carry little Callum on my back in a backpack and he's calm and happy the entire time. It's a good way for me to get exercise without leaving him behind. Plus, now that he's older he can really enjoy the sights and sounds.

My primary goal out here is to be able to feed my family, and maybe a few others, when SHTF, the depressions really hits, the apocalypse comes, or whatever it is. Having well-established livestock and fruit trees as well as a few native edibles and perrenial food plants will be crucial in making this happen. Food stores of grains and staples will help hold us over until we are someday able to grow our own.
Taking a look at my goals and what we have done so far, I'd say we are well on our way. No, we're nowhere near self-sufficient but we have a lot of things in place and we're adding more and more as time goes on.

I have to have a few long-term plans too. You know, if 'S' doesn't 'HTF', the depression doesn't hit and the apocalypse doesn't come... we're probably going to want to generate some sort of income as well. I'm looking at a lot of ideas as far as this goes.

It seems to me like internet retail is pretty saturated. While that may be a component of what I plan to do, I don't think I could ever rely entirely on internet sales of any product. Since we'll be working with livestock anyway, it seems natural to look in that direction for some possibilities.
I've been researching a bit into the market for goat meat and dairy products. That really appeals to me but what I've found for business doesn't sound too promising. As with most things, though, it is what you make it. I'm not expecting anything to be easy nor do I aspire to create an empire of wealth, I just want to make enough to meet some of the 'outside' needs-- such as health insurances, transportation costs, taxes, things like that.

Locally there doesn't appear to be much available for processing goat dairy or meat so that's another option-- an actual (small) processing facility which could offer potential growth for other local goat farmers as well.

This would be a huge task to take on, on top of the self-sufficiency project, but it may very well be worth it.

I have to admit, Seth and I are considering another child within the next year or so and that would mean that *my* work on the farm would be pretty well hindered for quite awhile. Perhaps with Callum, that's already the case (it sure feels like it), but at the same time... maybe I'm more adaptable and more accomplished than I imagine.
I do have a tendency to feel overwhelmed, but progress is being made around here so I can't really say that I'm not getting anything done.

I have a passion for goats and animals in general. Even if it didn't turn a big profit, if it kept us afloat it would be more than worth it. Everytime I see one of these animals I get giddy, I'M SERIOUS! They are so cute and stinky and mischeivous. I love it.

Aye, but I don't know about the meat part. How will I keep from falling in love with every one of them?

Wild and plentiful.

As far as fruit goes, just a bit of seasonal planning around here would have us covered for most of the year. The blackberries are so plentiful that we have to cut them back and mow them over to keep them under control. Good fruit May-June. Some of the bushes have gotten attacked by "rust."
I've also discovered a few patches of muscadines for late summer fruit, though I'm not sure what type of muscadines or whether we'll even get any if we are competing with the wildlife. It will be interesting to see what happens this year, anyway. Perhaps in August I can also try to root a few vines and plant them closer to the house. Most of those that are growing are pretty high up in the trees.

Aside from those, I have the figs and I would like to have mayhaw berries and plums but I'm still working on finding some plants. I've considered growing some citrus. Ronnie's kumquats are delicious and he's able to grow lemons and oranges over there, but they have been overtaken by bamboo and aren't doing so well. My mom thinks I should grow bananas! We will see about that...

There was a solitary pink wild morning glory plant growing by the road and I was waiting for it to make some seeds so that I could spread them around, but the city came and mowed down all of the plants and I finally found its mangled remains. No seeds, but perhaps something ate them.

There is good news for the morning glory, though not that one specifically. Over at Ronnie's he had a big pecan tree fall down during a storm and knocked down his power lines. As a result, all of the wild weeds in his front yard had to be bulldozed and the dirt was scraped bare. It was mostly privet and air potato vines over there anyway so he wasn't too heartbroken about it.
I wandered over there today and in the bare dirt has germinated hundreds and hundreds of little morning glories. There are some wild type as well as some cultivated (that Ronnie claims he planted years ago in another part of the yard). I find it quite amazing just how many seedlings are popping up, so I'm planning on transplanting a little patch of them to my part of the property to see how they do.

Funny all those little seeds must have been waiting there for years-- waiting to get a chance to touch the bare Earth.

Good bread and work.

I started a loaf of bread kind of late tonight. Seth is in a bad position and I feel guilty for it. He hates change, it seems. The past year has been full of it. I dragged him to Virginia, married him, made him a father, dragged him back to Louisiana, encouraged him to take jobs, and to leave jobs and now I'm encouraging him to switch jobs again. Something that seems like a really good opportunity has come along. He's happy at his current job and things are going well there so I think he is hesitant to leave.
I can tell it's really getting to him.

He said he wanted bread earlier so I started making bread. I forgot it takes 3 long hours to make so I'll be up until 11:30 or midnight I suppose. Everyone else has already gone to bed.

This time I loosely followed the recipe on the back of my bag of flour. I added too much honey and butter but both of those are delicious so I don't think many problems will be caused. The dough feels exactly the same, but tastes a little better than my previous attempts.


It will be nice to have fresh bread again. It's so wonderful homemade, and so wonderful to make. I haven't done it in awhile. I'd call it laziness, or procrastination.

Sometimes I wonder how people have made it so far with infants around. How does anything get done ever?
I guess it does. I guess it does around here, too, but mentally it all just feels incomplete, in-progress and very scattered.
Thus is life, hm? I'd be feeling the same way without an infant, really.

It's actually no different.

The chickens are big now and I love their soft feathers. They are all pretty sweet and tame. Even though it's a hassle to move them back and forth, morning and night, it's the only time we spend with them besides feeding and watering. It's good that they're so used to us.
I really love those creatures.

Signing off now, as I await a warm slice of bread with butter and honey... or perhaps the sound of a crying child.

Compost follow-up

The compost is too wet and not getting enough oxygen. The too wet thing is because we've recently had some rain, despite the fact that we're in a severe drought. The lack of oxygen... well, I often ignore the compost so that's what's happening there.

As usual.

Slow and steady as usual. I've been putting a lot of energy into helping Seth with a job, getting things around the house to go more smoothly, daily chores, and recently I've been browsing the forums at survivalistboards.com. There are a lot of bright individuals over there with quite a bit of good dialogue. I'm also reading some fiction and listening to audio lectures online. (FYI: I'm "ss834" in the forums)
A lot of intake, not a lot of output.

Okay, I have a big galvanized wash tub to use for outdoor washing... dishes, laundry, whatever. The chickens are doing well. I want to get serious about creating a big run for them and when they are old enough I may recruit Ronnie's rooster to breed and start some new chicks next spring. Ronnie has also been talking about mating the pygmy goats. Seth says he heard that pygmy milk is no good, but I read the opposite, so I think it's worth trying.
We'll get a goat yard set up and maybe take a nanny and her kids. That'll do it for animals for awhile-- goats and chickens were our primary interests. Oh, and the rabbits! We have rabbits and Ronnie has quail.




Other than that I've got to get the vegetable bed going. I am thinking about starting with intensive potted veggies and a deep raised bed. I know I need to start small for now, since it is only me, and if some people can do it on 1/10 an acre then I should have no problem growing right off the porch.

The rest of the figs will go in the ground this weekend and that'll be it for my trees that have needed planting.

The other plants have suffered from the heat wave of the past 3 weeks. Though the chives, the trees, the mint and the wildflowers are still doing well.

I'm going to start some tomato seed this weekend as well and whatever else I already have. My compost is getting pretty nasty and awful. I think I'm either failing miserable or succeeding. Its got grubs of all sorts in there and tons of fire ants because they are everywhere and they get into everything. They eat about half of what I put out there.

... sigh...

Kitchen and electricity.

Seth keeps telling me that before we do anything, we need to address the basics-- get the "infrastructure" set up and *then* I can worry about the garden. Sounds good, but geez, where to start?
Recently we had a great upset over the sink. We have a shallow, stainless steel standard indoor kitchen sink and I detest it. Dishes pile up over the course of the day, or when we have dinner guests, and it just makes the entire kitchen, and thus the entire house, look awful. Also, since the sink is so shallow, water sprays or spills out of the sink on to the counter when we're washing dishes and the cheap particle board has started to swell and buckle underneath. Its just nasty looking.

The other day the sink drains were clogged from food getting caught down in there. Yes, and easy solution to this would be to get a strainer so the food doesn't go down the drain, but at the time I packed up the dirty dishes and went outside to wash them and it was so much more pleasant.

I had the sun on my face, and the water goes into the ground and waters some of my trees (we use ivory soap, not detergent, so it isn't as nasty for the ground). It reminded me of backcountry camping and it felt good.

We've been talking about having an outdoor kitchen. What we'd start with would be a big, deep basin sink and dish drying rack. We may switch from the ivory soap to something else, and the water could be directed directly to water the plants.
It's kind of silly that we had to put down a treatment plant out here because ultimately I don't know if we will even be using it in the long-run. I'd like to recycle our gray water and have a compost toilet and everything... but... oh well. It was a parish requirement or we couldn't do anything at the time. It does still drain out on the property.

Anyway, I'm rambling. I just got our electricity bill for this month. Last month we were using an average of 31 kWh/day and this month it was closer to 35 kWh/day. ACK!
That may be close to average, or maybe even a little less considering we've just gone through an extensive heat wave with temps in the 100's for the past 3-4 weeks... but still I think that's pretty high. Especially for "homesteaders."

Since we're talking about moving the kitchen, I am looking into the possibility of kerosene cook stoves. There's a great discussion on kerosene cook stoves at endtimesreport.com-- and frankly a decent discussion on a lot of other survival/self-sufficiency related items.
I'm trying to determine now whether that really would be a more efficient option. Better in emergencies or disasters indeed, but is it really more cost-effective?

I will be looking into some of this stuff and plan to come back with some more information to share on my research.

The Snake, and other photos.

We had something of a humbling experience with a snake yesterday. While Seth's dad was moving a pile of old building materials he uncovered a snake. The snake was molting and its behavior was confusing and more aggressive than we would have expected from a non-venomous snake. The human mind can play tricks on you in moments of fear and uncertainty. None of us knew what a young cottonmouth looked like and we misidentified it as a viper... though in retrospect we aren't sure why we did except that we just didn't know.

I snapped a few photos of the snake and came inside to identify it. One of the local lensmasters in my area keeps a great set of lenses about all sorts of creatures, so I found the lens Snakes of Louisiana and quickly realized that this little guy was a Garter snake... not a moccasin!

Great news... except some tragedy had already occurred outside that I won't disclose. It really does save a lot of trouble and grief to be knowledgeable and experienced with your surroundings-- whatever they happen to be but *especially* out in the country.

A few more photos to share...

The building of the chicken run last week.

The three figs growing healthy and ready to be planted.

... and a little bird's nest with a single egg.

Another day on the farm.

I feel like things were going well for about two straight weeks. I managed to have quite a lot of time to update the blog and go on little adventures around the property. Now it seems like everything has changed--

Oh yeah, my husband got another job. Instead of him being home to share the duties of baby-rearing, I'm back to full-time during the days and along with it have come the blues. I started this blog knowing that I was going to have to admit to some setbacks and long periods of no productivity-- but actually admitting to it almost feels like a failure.

Of course there is no true failure here. I'm taking care of my baby and everything else around here as best I can-- absolutely worth it. It's just that in the process I've had to neglect a few things that would otherwise help to keep me motivated and keep my spirits up. It will take awhile to balance it all out again.

Callum is teething. Over the weekend he also had a low fever and seemed a little ill, then a doctor's appointment on Tuesday (regular checkup) and last night he broke out in a rash. Now he's miserable and teething.
Also over the weekend Seth and I were *both* sick. Seth more sick than I was, so I tried to help him and care for the restless little baby all day (I think it was Sunday.. or Monday).

Perhaps I'm getting used to it again. I wish I could take Cal outside and walk around but it's been in the mid- to upper- 90's here all week and it's just miserable. Early mornings are okay because we can find a few spots of shade at times. For the most part it's like walking out into an oven and just not pleasant.

Anyway, Seth is working! We aren't living off of our savings anymore so we might afford to spend a bit on some of our projects (yeah, or finish paying the bill for some of our old projects...).

We still have to finish the chicken house. We haven't lost anymore hens, and what we have works for now but it could definitely be better. It seems like we've hit a wall with this project. I suppose its because we've been trying to work out the cheapest way to do it. There are still some materials available around the property for us to use so maybe we can get it done without spending anymore... We will see.

Some rosemary that I started from seed are coming up. I only started a few because I didn't think it was a good time to start them, but there are two precious little seedlings now. All of the other plants are doing well. I'm looking to mulch everything soon because the heat is getting bad and I didn't have enough mulch to begin with.

All things coming along slowly... I hope to get some time for a very thorough update soon.

Business Plants, Homestead updates

What's been going on around here the past couple of days?
We've made a more permanent chicken coop by tying a tarp over the hay ring that we were already using. Then we fastened the wire around the ring to make it more secure. It's a good little run area for the 4 hens we have now and it will be easy to move. We had planned on constructing a chicken tractor but I'm actually more pleased with this because it was essentially free.
We are still moving them from the run to the little chicken house at night. Soon we are planning on fastening some nesting and laying boxes to the run so they'll have somewhere safe to go at night.

In the next few days we will probably be cutting down some of the Tallow trees. I think it's important that we cut them down before they go to seed. Some already have little green seeds forming.
Callum and I walked around yesterday morning pulling up dozens of little seedlings near the fenceline. They come up very easily when they are young.

I planted two longleaf pines that I had dug up from another area of the property. They are so tiny right now. One is about 4 inches tall and the other is maybe 7-8 inches.

I also have 3 figs I'm going to be planting soon, now that they've got some healthy leaves. These were given to me a few months ago as root cuttings. I thought two of them were going to die but they are doing great now.

Hm... other news is that we are looking into business options, such as becoming an LLC. It was Andrew's idea and I'm exploring that idea. I think it would be a great thing to get started. Not sure what all we would produce but I have QUITE a few ideas.

Abrupt end.

Squidoo broadcast.

I've been doing quite a bit of work over at Squidoo building my pages which focus on the homestead, the property and different aspects of the whole project.

Please go over and take a look at what I've been up to...

Okay, this first one is just about the blog, but there's so much more! My lens sort of "fleshes out" the whole idea behind the blog and shows the big picture. I'm quite proud of this one and I've been working at it for a couple of weeks now.
The Wild Homestead Blog

A new lens about the old farmhouse that I hope will serve to document the idea Seth and I had of turning that into an "art project." This one is a work in progress, but we'll see where it goes.
The Art of Preserving an Old House

Tallow trees! If you don't know about Tallow Trees, you should learn :)
Controlling the Spread of Chinese Tallow.

And a little Bio I put together that's kind of silly, in my opinion, but whatever....
The Wild Homestead- Who Writes It?".

Little Ladies'-Tresses

Well, there's been another identification, and this one I'm quite excited about. The ID was made by naturegirl7 at squidoo (she has a lot of great 'lenses', so be sure to check them out!).

This little flower is a member of the orchid family. I think the species we have is Spiranthes tuberosa, also called Little Ladies'-tresses.


If you want to see how gorgeous this flower is when it's actually in bloom, the Connecticut Botanical Society has some great pictures.

I've spotted the flowers in 3 different places right around our house but I think they've been mowed now :-\ Next time I find an interesting little plant like this I'm going to mark its location so it can grow and bloom in peace.

Community.

When I write, I'm usually nursing or wrestling with my 6 month old. Now that he's crawling we've worked out a system where I have the laptop on the floor and he chases me around, or I chase him around. My work is punctuated by cuddling and kissing and constant tug-of-war with the objects he just can't wait to sample.
He is always happy for a break, though-- a trip around the yard, visiting the chickens, or just sitting on the porch. It's a good life we have.

One of our friends came over last Friday and Seth played his guitar as the sun set behind him. The light faded out of the sky and Brennan joined in, singing some lyrics he had written down. The vibes were so positive.



"This is what it's all about. This is what we're doing," I realized. Seth nodded with understanding.
That moment illuminated this whole "dream" that I have. This is the human aspect of the dream. Moments like these are the reasons, on a personal level, for seeking self-sufficiency and preserving nature.

I spend a lot of time thinking about this project and that project and trying to figure out how to get things going and how to make things work out. Even though I know that the whole point of all of this is each individual moment I can't help but get caught up in the planning. It's not even the final outcome that I am considering, because I never envision a final outcome... just a constant, steady work-in-progress.

On that note, I'm going to get a little more reading in while the little one is asleep... so I can spend time with him when he wakes up! :)

Layout

Just a warning... I will be experimenting with the layout of the blog for a few days so be prepared for some changes until I get it right. Thanks!

More documentation...

I walked around the property again, just to get a good idea of what's going on in the places that I'm not visiting every day (though even in the few acres immediately around us, I find myself surprised to see whats growing!). Here's an example of things right around my house that I forgot to include in the last post...


Some of the flowers have died, but it's a really pretty little plant that Ive spotted in a few locations.

Here's a tour of the places we don't visit as often but are right around us.

This is one of the most beautiful places on the property. We have a grove of live oaks, water oaks and a few pines. Its nice and shady during the day and so far hasn't been heavily disturbed by the tallows.

A pine tree killed by pine beetles.

A surviving pine tree.

A live oak hidden in a tallow forest.

This area is often wet and boggy and was also heavily fertilized for decades when the cows were here. As a result things grow very well and there are tons of butterflies, moths and dragonflies.

I stopped along the way to eat some fresh blackberries :)

That's it for now. Another update coming soon!

Overall land survey.

I've been busy researching the few different species that I can identify out here. The purpose of doing this is to try an catalog any native species we may have growing. It has slowly sunk in that because this is old pastureland, the chances of any healthy remnants of prairie being out here is pretty slim. The original composition of this area was probably pine forests anyway, so it's very unlikely that native prairie plants would suddenly show up in a heavily grazed field.

Here's a quick description of what I have identified (sorry, my pictures have come out blurry):
Around us:
-Horse Nettle

-Bahia grass

-tallow tree, of course
-dewberry, blackberry

-smartweed

-thistle (bull thistle I think)

In the bog:
-lizards tail
-pickerel weed

Some other things I *may* have identified:
-little quaking grass?

-vasey grass?

Without having identified everything, at least a few things are pretty clear. Almost all of these species can be considered invasive *but* most are especially common in disturbed soils, or land that has been overgrazed. No big surprise there, but it's useful information because that means with a good management plan, we can get some more native species established. Eventually, after several years, some of the plants that rely on overgrazing to be competitive will back off and some of the native grasses and wildflowers will start to take over. According to the Meadow Makers, when the natives get established, controlled burns can be used on a regular basis to manage the health of the prairie.

Our neighbor Rodney came with a bush hog yesterday to mow the area around our house and he also cut some paths through the fields and cleared the areas around my newly planted trees. A little bit of lawn makes the place seem so different and I won't deny that I kind of enjoy it. Especially for now, because it gives me a better idea of how much room we have and how the different gardening areas (wild grasses vs vegetables vs some ornamentals and shade trees) can be arranged. He left two huge patches (maybe 2500 sq ft each) out front with a path bording them. The path gives it kind of a "neat" look, plus makes it nicer to walk around and look at things.

I am thinking if we leave those areas for the native grasses and wildflowers, we can even have a border. Ronnie has a bunch of piles of antique bricks that are behind the old hay barn (lying beneath the bamboo forest). I think those would be beautiful as a border, though I'm not sure if there are enough for that whole area.

This is what I've been up to the past few days. A lot of my time is spent on research and walking around looking at things, trying to visualize and plan the best arrangement.

I also tend to have a problem with excessive enthusiasm. In other words, I'm easily distracted so it takes me quite a while to finish different projects.

Even writing this blog has taken nearly two hours because a little yellow songbird came and sat in my window and I spent awhile trying to figure out what it was at whatbird.com.
Then I got sidetracked again by Cornell University's Project FeederWatch.

I'm a huge nerd.

More on Tallow

An excellent point was brought up by Thais over at Port Hudson Organics, that the bees love the Tallows!
Earlier in the spring when the weather was a bit cooler, Callum and I were walking around the field and made our way over to one of the tallow tree circles (I'll tell you about these in just a minute). The trees had just begun blossoming and as we neared the trees we heard a constant electric hum. Upon closer inspection I saw that the trees were buzzing with wild honeybees! This is quite a reassuring sound amid reports of declining honeybee populations.
The American honeybee is a welcome presence in any garden and the long, golden, chain-like flowers of the Tallow are a honeybee favorite.

Any Tallow management project would have to take into account the benefit of these trees for wildlife. Not only do the bees love'em, but the birds do too. Of course, the birds end up being part of the problem when they spread the seeds to surrounding natural areas.
It is most likely that our project on the farm would be a management project rather than eradication. The Tallow tree problem in some southern states has gotten to the point where landowners are advised by the state to remove these trees from their property entirely. However, as young and energetic as I am, I can't imagine the cost and energy required to rid the property of these trees (nor do I want to think about all the herbicide that would have to be used if we found ourselves forced to take that route).


Here is an idea of what we are dealing with. The picture above is the property immediately in front of our house. Every tree you see, besides the lonely maple sapling up in front, is a Tallow. While the cows were here, they grew up along the fence lines. The "Tallow Tree Circles" are 3 big circles next to our house where the trees were cut down and piled up about 20-30 years ago. The area was not mowable because of the huge debris pile, and the seeds of the "debris" trees were able to germinate and grow undisturbed. In the back of the property where there are still a few old oaks, gum, pine and maple growing, the Tallow is busy taking over the understory and competing with the younger versions of these already established trees.

Ultimately it would be nice just to clear out patches of these trees at a time and establish and nurture the growth of other species that are equally hospitable to the wildlife. It would probably be a good idea to start with the areas where seedlings of other species are already trying to establish themselves. Help those along first, and clear out the Tallow competition. Later, we could move on to the mini Tallow forests themselves.

We are still thinking of ways to approach this issue, and any suggestions or feedback are certainly appreciated!

Tallow Tree Daydreams.

Occasionally I find myself absorbed in daydreams of eradicating the Tallow Tree. I spent some time earlier today wandering around photographing the Tallow for a new web lens I'm creating that focuses on managing Chinese Tallow. Control of this species is critical to preserving the property. Take a look at the link to find out more.
Also, after I wrote the last entry I decided to go out and get a few things done. I made the border for a vegetable bed in the front and moved some gravel from under the trailer to make a path so I don't end up walking through mud while trying to get to the veggie bed. I also repotted some of the young cacti that Ronnie gave me.

I took tons of photos this evening of the various grasses and plants growing out in the field. I will organize it into a photo tour in one of my upcoming entries, so stay tuned!

Accomplishments.

Things are slow going with a six month old. Especially now, the little guy has taken to crawling and he's just all over the place! Not only that but it's getting up to 90 degrees during the day now and we're sitting in the middle of an open field so it's HOT!

Outside work and exploration is usually reserved for the mornings or the evenings. I was reminded of something very important the other day when I went out to water some plants. I turned the hose on and the water was BOILING hot just from sitting in the sun. Why use a water heater when the sun alone will make your water that hot?
I am going to spend some time reading up on DIY solar water heaters and hopefully this will be a project we will start on soon. Another cool idea is the solar oven. Save money on cooking, and you can keep the house from heating up so if you are using the AC it won't have to work as hard.

Well, I'm not getting out as much as I'd like but here are a few things we have accomplished in the 1.5 months since moving in....

-I haven't had a single plant die on me yet. We've got all sorts of things growing, mostly gifted ornamental plants, but I've got to get my green thumb somehow. There's a rose, a mandevilla, a sword bean, a tub of catnip and spearmint, a tub of wildflowers, scarlet sage, chives, shallots, croton, 3 young figs started from root cuttings earlier this spring, 2 pine trees that really need to be transplanted soon, aloe vera, some cactuses, 2 parsley plants, tomato and pepper seedlings, one little nasturtium, a few four o' clocks, a gardenia, and rosemary seeds (I'm trying but I'm not sure if these will come up.) Also, we went to visit Seth's great grandpa and came home with cuttings of Turk's Cap.
-Also I've planted a red maple and a bald cypress in the field
-We've built new stairs for our porch.
-Raising 4 little hens in a temporary run.
-Harvested some blackberries
-Explored and photographed the property. May not seem like much, but a critical first step!

Wow, is that all? I feel like I'm missing something but I'm probably not. I suppose we're just getting adjusted and I'm trying to find time to do things while looking after the baby.
By the end of the summer I'd like to be growing more veggies, have the pine trees and other potted plants planted somewhere, finish the permanent chicken tractor or coop. For now, I'll keep it at that.

Come Fall, I want to plant the figs, work on getting the tallows under control, get ready for a winter veggie bed and set up better fencing to keep my dog on our land.

Ah yes, I will also be starting school either in June or in September (haven't quite decided on that yet).

Slow and steady work is all I need to focus on, otherwise I will overwhelm myself with all that needs to be done.

Philosophy of grasses.

How GREEN!

As I walk through the fields I find myself grabbing the stalks of these plants, tugging at the inflorescence (the flowering part-- I have recently learned courtesy of the University of Florida), and feeling a subconscious satisfaction when my hand is quickly filled with little grass seeds. Then what do I do with these seeds? I toss them aside-- for what do I need this strange plant material?

I had never considered it before, but my subconscious habit to grab the seeds and spread them around is a perfect example of the brilliance of nature's system. Things are meant to work together in this way. As we become more aware of our surroundings, we also become more aware of the impact even our smallest, most insignificant habits have on those surroundings.

As much as we unconsciously aide the spread of certain species, we also unconsciously destroy others (or even the same). It takes much awareness and an extremely open mind to develop an understanding of our true impact on the Earth's systems. Even then, can we really change ourselves all that much? Do our changes truly make a difference, or do they just shift the impact to another area?
This question reminds me of Newton's simple observation: "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." Can we really do "good" without then enabling, somehow and somewhere, something "bad"? Is there really any way that we can assign these values-- "good" and "bad" at all if they both exist simultaneously within the same action?

Okay, I'm not here to delve into moral rhetoric, but I just want to expose a bit of my own belief that there isn't and never will be a "good" way to do things versus a "bad" way. Our actions are all just experiments; conscious experiments; unconscious experiments; observations and explorations. We are just tinkering with our world in the ways in which we were designed. Our world is also tinkering with us.

This thinking isn't an attempt to absolve myself from making choices which I perceive to be the right choices, the compassionate and considerate and generous choices that I really do hope to make. This thinking is only a way to comfort myself when I feel that I havent done enough-- that I haven't made a difference and that what I am doing is worthless or trivial. Nothing is worthless or trivial. Nothing at all.

Enough of that... let's talk about grasses.

I am in the process of learning about grasses and meadow plants. Funny, cuz I never would have imagined myself interested in grasses. Who cares about grass? It's everywhere! Big deal...

I remember in the early days of my plant scholarship (I say that as if I am an advanced botanist, because it makes me feel good) I would browse through the college catalog looking for horticulture courses and I would find all these courses about "turfgrass." The only turf I knew existed on golf courses and I found that stuff repulsive and absurd. I'm somewhat sorry to say that I've changed my opinion. Okay, I still think golf courses are repulsive and absurd, but the little plants that inhabit them are only doing what they have been manipulated into doing-- and they sure do seem to be doing well!

So this entry is my tribute to the grasses short and tall, the creepers and the taprooters and everything in between. Oh I just love grasses!

What got me started on this? Right next to our trailer we have a huge circle of mud from where the septic tank was dropped into the ground. Under the trailer we have pure red clay. When it rains this place is terrible-- mud on everything. It's a little better now that we have built steps off the other side of the porch, but not too pleasant either way.

So I look out into the field with envy. Delicate easter basket grasses, thick weedy grasses, strange plants of all sorts and, of course, the ever-present tallow shoots. I don't care, I just want something to cover up this mud!

I walk down the road and look at my neighbors extensive, manicured lawns. When I say extensive I mean it! These people have taken perhaps 100 acres (together) or more and they have set free these tough, durable little plants which have probably been created in some research lab at a university somewhere (LSU perhaps?). I am shocked, repulsed, and impressed by this! Of course, it's not only my neighbors lawns, but lawns all over the parish, the state, the country. It seems grasses are creeping and crawling slowly to consume to all four corners of the Earth. Some do it with the assistance of chemicals and fertilizers (also created in some lab somewhere), and some do it with the assistance of ignorant homonids.
Either way, it is a full blown invasion.

And I love it. Why do I love it? I love it because it is a perfect example of nature at its finest. Sure, some may say that turf grasses are not natural, especially those that are fully dependent on our obsessive-compulsive nature, but the funny thing is that they are natural. Nature has provided for these dear little plants a species so deeply concerned with their survival that they will do just about anything to promote it. That and a little sunshine is all anyone needs, right?

Let's hear it for the grasses!

Quiet times.

Today has been a slow day. Our neighbor was supposed to come by today to help bushhog but he hasn't gotten around to it. As it is, the grasses and tallow trees are growing up all over the place. Most of the vasey grass has had time to make seed and the seeds are ripe now. I'm not familiar with how that stuff grows out here but the pasture was always short before, because of the cows, so there's a possibility that things will really get crazy now that it has time to grow up and propagate. We will see.
I mentioned to Seth how nice it would be to be able to maintain data with GIS technology and then we could *really* get an idea of just how agressive some of these invasive species are. The blackberries are nice for fruit (the fact that they are growing wild means we don't have to tend to them!) but in open patches that haven't been mowed, fresh green growth is shooting up all over the place.
I have a few plants around the place that I still haven't identified. There's something Ronnie calls "tea weed" that I haven't been able to find out about. That grows just as wildly as the thistle and the tallows. Maybe I will take a picture sometime and someone will be able to help me identify it.

Ah yes, and the hens made it through the night. I hope we can set something up for them this weekend.

Update on the pullets.

I went out to feed the young hens this morning and was greeted by tragedy. Something managed to grab one of the hens through the wire of their roosting area and killed her :(
I knew this was inevitable if we didn't get a secure, more permanent coop built but we kept putting it off anyway. This evening I tried to secure their box and I really hope it will get them through the night for another week or so until we can build something more substantial. Not only is the house a failure but their 'run' is hardly much at all. We are trying to do it as cheaply as possible so right now the frame is an old hay wheel and we wrapped some hardware cloth around it and stretched a sheet over the top to protect from hawks and provide some shade. I also laid a few panels of trailer skirting up against the area in order to give them some protection from the rain.
Right now we are carrying them to the run during the day and then carrying them back to the house at night. It seems to be working out, except, of course, the incident last night.

In other news, today was Seth's last day at work. He doesnt have another job yet, but he's got a few interviews and hopefully we'll hear something soon...

Photo post

Another camping update...

Bitsy LOVES all of our land. So do I.

The farm is so so quiet. I can't believe we're out there. We heard coyotes the first night. There were deer tracks around our house. So much wildlife. So much love.

Finally!

Well, we've moved. We dont have electricity so we're kind of camping out. It's not so bad. I enjoy it.
I'm thieving internet right now so I won't spent too much time here..

Native plants and other things.

I'm growing less and less interested in conventional vegetable growing. I mean organic conventional vegetables too.
The local native plant society has done a lot to its website, and apparently has a new president. This is exciting. I've spent much of the day looking at different options for native plants and perennial vegetables. I'd like to eventually plant A LOT of fruiting trees and things like that. I like the idea of a forest garden, and I'm becoming more interested in open meadow plants as well.
All I'm saying is.. I have too many ideas to sleep.

Thats about it. Everything that is going on seems too huge, too important to explain.
I can hardly form a bullet list.
But here I'll try...

-I think my entire soul has been going through intense cleaning and purging.
-I feel like my life is coming together in one solid piece.
-We are officially moving on Wednesday.
-Big huge obnoxious plans.

Still working.

We visited Seth and Andrew's friend over the weekend.
He was setting up solar panels while we were there. He showed me the 'control room' but all of this is very new to me, so I listened but had very little to say about it.
Seeing his place was inspiring though. I don't know what initially set me off in this direction, but the homestead has dominated my future goals for the past six years or so. No, I remember, it was when I became aware of intentional communities way back in the day and decided I was going to join a commune... haha.

With our land now cleared, I'm in a hurry to get things set up and move out there. We got the permit for the septic system. They are surveying tomorrow or Thursday. I also got another quote on the well, and the difference is $1100 from the estimate the other company gave us. I had to spend the day looking at the detail and trying to make any sense of it.

I'm hoping it's all done by April.
After this stuff with the property is handled... things will be much easier I think. I'm going to get to work on a garden, so I'll probably be just as busy but at least it won't be calling and hassling with people and price quotes and all that stuff. It's amazing just how much time that consumes. I'm really really glad to see this thing moving forward though.

Our home site.

Here is our land. This is where it all begins....

Progress.

This week has been so busy. We are finally making progress on the property. I called and set up appointments with a few companies on Monday, met with the guys yesterday and today and we will be getting the trees and brush cleared on Monday!
Not only that, but the guy we decided to hire is really awesome and he's going to be looking around for companies to do the water well, the septic tank and the electricity. This guy also does driveways and other site clearing, so we will probably have him do a little more work before then.

I'm thinking out next major investment on the property will be SOLAR ENERGY!! Because seriously, we might as well use the rest to get ourselves off the grid. Louisiana has a new 50% tax rebate on solar energy now too....

I'm excited. Being out there this morning reminded me just how beautiful that place is and how much I can't wait to be out there, and have Callum grow up there.

We'll be spending less per month on the loans for the trailer and setup than I would have spent on rent at my old apartment for less than 4 years. And we'll have it paid off in FIVE. Nice. 100% ours in 5 years.

Then solar, and trying to grow our own food and having a cute little family...