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| Seeding the hemp field |
Richard seeded the hemp field with his handy seeder. And about five or so days later, we had sprouts!
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| Hemp sprouts |
The baby goats are still up to their fun and games.
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| Pixie on Taylor while Patty watches. |
And we have had some amazing looking storms come through, but little to no rain for us. Richard took these photos of a storm at sunset.
And in other news...Richard got the solar panels hooked up and we are now totally off grid and functioning. We only have to run the generator for the well pump.
We have a bad connection on one of our hoses that Richard is continually trying to fix. As a result we have inadvertently made a small pond. I'm thinking of moving the pigs near it so they can enjoy some mud, which might help with the bugs.
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| run off pond |
He also made a bat house and hung it on the office in the hope that some bats will move in and help take care of our mosquito and fly problems.
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| Bat house on office |
We have so many little tiny black flies and the mosquitoes come out at dusk and dawn. Poor Harley the pig has about rubbed all of his hair off trying to scratch. One of the goats, Oreo, is doing the same, but doesn't look so bad. We spray her with bug repellent, but Harley is just too unpredictable to get close to. I have someone coming to look at him today and maybe take him home to his farm in Black Forest. That will be better for him and me.
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| Hairless Harley |
The office is coming along....
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| Office door |
We have a contractor coming today to give us an estimate on doing some pad work. We are looking to buy a tiny house...well, a nice storage building, Amish made, that we can turn into a tiny house. We have decided this is the only way we will have time to get a reasonable shelter in before winter. Things are just going too slow. The tiny house will have two lofts for bed space and we will put in a bathroom and kitchen. We are excited about making it a nice little home. But first things first....
I stumbled across your blog recently, when I did a search for pallet fences. I read a little of your story and could relate in many ways. While we don't live in a traditional desert, we do live in an arid part of Australia. I hoped to pass on some suggestions which we have learned in our experience setting up land.
ReplyDeleteIt's great you're starting with small dwellings, because as you've probably noticed, time is precious and there is never enough of it. We had our house built for us, so that we could move in quickly, but what we learned from that experience was, it sapped all our funds so that we had very little for developing the rest of the property.
If we had our time again, we would have built a smaller dwelling, and attached large shade structures as we could afford it, between the other outside projects. We moved to the property to be "outside" more, and it seemed silly that we built such a large dwelling to stay inside. We've had to work hard to turn the tide since, in recouping money and getting "outside" set up so we can be out there more.
So you actually may want to congratulate yourselves for starting small, and even work it into the overall property development. Build small dwellings joined together with shade structures. Because a shade structure is more cost effective than anything you build with fully enclosed walls and windows. If you value your time outside, you'll want to be outside more, and your animals get the benefit of seeing you more too.
Regarding shade for your animals, I would ask your neighbour-friend, Larry, what native tree (non-poisonous to livestock) grows well in the area. He may even have one in his yard which you can collect seed from, or cuttings. Raise them in your protected area with the houseplants, and create vertical space if you have to with shelves. We learned that shade was very important to property management. It kept what little rain we did receive, in the ground, rather than drying the soil out while it baked in the sun.
Trees also brought the little birds that would feed on the insects. Anything thorny in this regard is beneficial too, for the little birds to nest and raise their young. They would have an adequate food supply in bugs - they just need the attractive real estate to move house!
Working with hardy natives, meant we could grow shade fast, and an eco-system started to develop around us. There is a lot more on the subject to share, but I'll start with the basics. Find a hardy native that will grow with little assistance from you. Propagate it continually. Plant in stands as windbreaks and as reprieve for livestock from the heat. They will love the bird company, picking the insects from their hides. You will notice different native plants popping up as a result of the first hardy stands of trees/shrubs you put in. You may be able to propagate them too.
Without the shade though, you will be in a never ending battle with retaining water and nutrients in your garden. I don't know if you already have this link, but I thought it would be helpful: http://www.geofflawton.com
Once you register your email for free, you can watch all the videos. Of particular interest for your property, would be the gardening in a desert videos. He uses some real life examples, which you will find amazing - I did. Anyway, good luck with your new adventure.
Hey, thanks for the suggestions, Chris. We are familiar with Geoff Lawton and his videos and are in fact trying to figure out where to start with our land. Richard is currently taking a Permaculture course online. While we desparately need shade, or think we do here, the winters are bitter cold, down to -40 F, our need for enclosed structures is probably one of the most important tasks facing us right now. We need to get the barns up for the critters and we need to get a heatable structure for ourselves as well. The camper we are currently in will never hold up to those kinds of low temps. Fortunately, here in the high desert of the San Luis Valley, the summer temperatures never get really high, and now we are blessed to be receiving afternoon and evening thunderstorms. The Monsoon rains have come! Thanks for the link. I love watching people transform their properties into lush gardens that support foodscapes and native plants. Our native plants here...prickly indeed...are salt brush and rabbit brush. We have planted two Aspen trees and a Lilac bush thus far. I am excited to see how our land changes over time as we implement new ideas. Thanks again and good luck to you as well on your land!
DeleteYou're on the right track already by researching permaculture. It opens so many possibilities understanding how to read and manage the land. It's saved our bacon too I'm sure. So many innovative ways to address problems and turn them into solutions.
DeleteWow, -40 Fahrenheit, I keep forgetting the complete difference between the North and Southern Hemispheres. Our winters are vastly different. I can see the urgency for enclosed shelters for your animals in that case. Our animals are more in danger of being heat struck than frozen. We're lucky to get below 4 degree Fahrenheit during winter, but can get close to 80 in summer.
I'm trilled the rains have arrived for you. The gardens would no doubt appreciate it, as would the animals. We can watch each others properties develop over time. We're in it for the long haul. My husband often says the only way we're leaving this place, is in a box. ;)