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 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!