How we spend easter on the homestead....

So many chickens,... So little time.....

Just a quick update:
Now that we are getting on average 6 eggs a day, this next easter egg hunt coming up in a few days is going to be great! Between our eggs and Jack's 2 dozen a day, there are going to be soooooo many colored eggs! It's gonna take a bazillion hours to paint them all!
I emailed a company near here to get a few rain barrels for the water reclamation system, so I am starting to plan it in earnest now.
A found a used, small engine to convert for use in my first wind generator. Expect post on its construction, as well as its tests and usage.
Finally felt comfortable turning off the light in the pump house. Not too worried about freeze now, however, I am still lighting the stove sometimes to keep the girls warm.
Amanda has started a huge run of starts in the green house from seed, and just yesterday started the second run of seeds... If the weather keeps up good, I will be tilling the garden proper soon!
I been filming a lot with the new camcorder and am learning many new ways to get it to internet format. editing is still the biggest time loss...
Plan on getting a load of manure to turn into the firepit herb bed soon from a local company only five miles away! Yea for local animal poop!
Starting the ditch digging tomorrow for the Faerie Sanctuary entrance stream. I will have help via Shamus!
Will also be getting the firepit herb bed pre-compost till done tomorrow.

Firepit Herb Bed - PART 3

Firepit Herb Bed - PART 2

Firepit Herb Bed - PART 1

Clearing brush & removing or relocating Oregon's famous blackberries is a big part of “carving out” our subsistence here on The Little Red Homestead In The Woods; whether it be creating a space for a new garden or herb bed, or blazing a pathway through to a destination. Although this provides great fodder for the fire ring, and subsequently, brouhaha's with family & friends, it has also provided materials for; fence-making, marking out and/or bordering a new or existing herb bed, child entertainment, craft works, building supplies, and tools. I try to use all that is available to us.

For this project, I am simply putting the cleared brush into the fire pit, since the majority of it is blackberry vines and roots. The lack of a wheelbarrow yet would make this project take even more time, however it's proximity to the fire circle will make it go alot smoother. The photos will be in order from the beginning of the work until the end. Not in pictures is the view from when we first moved in, as I have already done quite a bit of clearing to this area.

Besides extending the old bed out to create more herb and garden space, pampering the new trees that have shot off the hawthorn tree since this bed was first established. Some cultivation and tumbling of the soil is also in order. I will be laying down wet and pre-decomposed cardboard underneath the up-heaved soil, with more soil and amendments to follow.

Hawthorn trees are one of the Celtic sacred trees that are present on our homestead. Keeping these trees healthy is very important to me. A hornet infestation found at the base of this mother hawthorn was of great concern (painfully so!!) when we first moved in. After trying a couple of different ways to extract the yellow jackets from their hide-out, I eventually had to resort to fire. But it seems the tree has held on despite the rotting, pre-fire hijacking, and the fire itself. New growth has shown both on the upper and lower areas of it. YEA! And the shoots off it also seem to be prosperous.

And so another space for herbs and veggies has arisen!

little Rant on patenting "Urban Homestead"

Just a little rant on the Dervaes patenting the terms "urban homestead" and "freedom garden" - jeez, our desk chair sure makes a lot of noise! LOL

coop

I have finally seemed to have gotten the frame for the chicken coop done. The rain has wrecked havoc on my schedule for it, and the fact that the lumber is scattered all over Benton County... hahaha. It seems sturdy enough! Thank you Jack & Ethan for donating scrap lumber to the cause.

After finishing the floor frame, I put up the 4 corner posts, followed closely by the 2 side posts. I then put up bracing and put the window in. After the ceiling braces were completed, I drank a beer to celebrate! The frame is done, yeah! Oh yea, I also added a bit of the floor so I could have something to stand on! Now to cover the durn thing in plywood and install the doors and gutter/rain catchment system!

-UPDATE:

other than the roof, and a little bit above the door, and trim, the coop is done! A temporary latched on tarp is supplying the cover, and today I spread straw on the bottom. To keep the young-uns separated from the mature birds, I have strung fencing through the middle of the coop. I plan on adding a ceiling stick between the sides to hang the feeder from. Today I also changed the chicken nipples from their small bottles to larger, more efficient bottles, and strung them up in the coop. I am building the gate for the enclosure today and stringing up the upper flight deterrent on top of the already in fence. A few ground stakes should secure the bottoms temporarily. YEA CHICKENS!