There is observing and then there is OBSERVING

In my last post I shared my observations in terms of understanding how systems work within my homestead and I thought before I continue with an understanding of the interdependence of these systems I would take another stab at observation. The observations of the last post were what I see with my eyes; observations I've gleaned from working with this land over several years now. But this doesn't get to the soul of the issue. And it is in the soul that I connect most viscerally with this lifestyle.

In the chicken coop the ladies sit perched on the piece of birch we have wedged in a back corner for their roost. At one end of the chicken row sits Fluffernutter the Rooster. A small guy, he is still master of these harem. I love to watch the little ladies as they venture out of the coop in the morning. At first their steps are hesitant and then assured as the strut around their yard I imagine hearing that song " Walk Like and Egyptian.' If I am in the yard when one of the girls announces the laying of an egg I will venture into the coop to gather the freshly laid, still warm treasure.

The compost bin is a gathering place of life. Inside the pile there are beetles, microorganisms, worms. On top of the pile a couple of red squirrels will fight over choice bits from the kitchen scraps. Often there is a sweet girl dog chasing the squirrels away. A form of sport for both critters I imagine. I have heard raccoons argue over the compost pile. The turning always brings to mind Yeats great Gyre for me. It is a marking of the passage of time. Bits  and pieces of past gardens, past meals, past seasons all layered with so much intention to be returned to soil. Turning turning…

I trod along the paths in the garden and love the feel of the hay under my bare feet. In the morning the eastern light will kiss the dew. I will pick whatever herbs or produce needs to be harvested that day and bring it inside to be put up or eaten later in the day. It is here that my mind wanders while I plant one small carrot seed after another or pull a weed or envision the garden in full bloom even though it is just spring. More often than not it is the infestation of cucumber beetles, the black flies swarming on those first really warm days of late spring, the dog trotting through a just planted row that will pull me from my reverie. But just for a little while and never with any great headache.It is part of the natural push and pull of this endeavor. Regardless it is that sense of accomplishment, of satisfying work, of a body tired from honest labor, of a reckoning at the end of the day where the tally is always positive that keeps me coming spring after spring to this spot of earth.

At night, in the summer, I lie awake in the dark. The moon cast shadows of the pine across the yard. In the woods around me I hear the coyotes yipping on a hunt and the barn owls share there moonlight serenade.  I will account for all that I got done during the day and all that I hope to finish in the morning. And I will know that It was a good day.

By Design Part 2

Permaculture design is a whole system approach to design. In order to understand the whole system one must observe what occurs within that system. If I were to look at the  homestead only as its individual corners I would miss connections that could be made between each corner. For example, lets look at four key areas to the homestead, the chicken coop, the compost pile, the garden and the house.

Currently the chickens are living in a chicken coop on the sorta southwest corner of the property. They require a fenced in yard for the spring so they don't eat the garden, they need to be mucked out, they require some feed to be purchased on a regular basis, they give eggs, they love to eat slugs, they like to eat food and garden scraps. They have not laid many eggs this winter because they are not getting enough day light with their current arrangement.  Next to the chicken coop is a small shed that was used for the ewes. The old paddock has been well fertilized. It is fenced in with welded wire and would be easily accessible to the chickens.

The compost bins are located at the northwest corner, along the tree line. They are used to collect any food scraps that the chickens do not eat; egg shells, coffee grounds, orange peels. I collect fallen leaves, grass clippings and garden waste to construct the compost piles.  There are two bins constructed from old pallets. I turn the piles but not as regularly as would be required to harvest finished compost regularly; however I do harvest compost sufficient to side dress perennials. 

If the house is at 6 o'clock then the vegetable garden is at 12 o'clock. In between the house and the garden is a perennial herb garden that I created by sheet mulching. This garden has mostly medicinal and culinary herbs and flowers. It is at a point where things are getting crowded and some of the perennials need to be divided. In this garden bee balm, mint and evening primrose have have firmly established in one key hole bed and maintain themselves fairly well. Elecampane, astragalus, feverfew, motherwort, arnica ,horehound, oregano need more room. 

Also in between the house and veggie garden is a fire pit constructed on one side with a large boulder, two other sides are built with large flat stones buried half way up. Around this is a former owner's former garden. In the spot is a variety of mint I have been unable to identify, there are paper whites and irises that come up. I have a big patch of comfrey here and some rosa rugosa. Among all this is black raspberry which does not really produce berries but does over take everything every year.

And then there is the veggie garden itself. The veggie garden has nettles, rhubarb, asparagus, good king henry, bunching onions and walking onions. and hops. It also has corners of the garden that are more acidic than others. At some point in the history of the ground it had a fire pit. This spot has the right balance between alkalinity and acidity. There is a tall field pine tree that shades the far southern corner. I have let some lettuce and chard go to seed for the last couple of years and now they reseed every year. Borage is firmly established as a volunteer every year as well.  Currently there are parsnips in the ground waiting for spring harvest. There are old trellising structures standing sentinel above the snow. There are some tools still out there because the snow fell before I managed to get them put away. There is no source of water close to the garden. The paths are mulched with mulch hay given to us by a local alpaca farm at the end of last winter. Garlic is planted. I planted some garlic from seed purchased last fall and bubils saved from the season before. Most of the beds were covered in composted sheep manure, lime and chopped leaves. Common pests are slugs, cucumber beetles, tomato hornworm, japanese beetles and mice.

To the left of the garden is a black berry patch, a small patch of everbearing raspberries, an elderberry bush that produced berries for the first time last year, a hazelnut bush that needs a mate and the orchard; with one tree with a small guild under it. This is on land that slopes gently down to the bottom of the orchard. The ground of the orchard has lots of red clover, yarrow, johhny jump ups and dandelions. Poison Ivy has taken hold on the north side of the orchard but so has burdock. The orchard consists of a dozen fruit trees 3 pears, 9 apples of mixed varieties. They are semi- dwarf  and over twenty years old.

Finally there is the house. If the flow of the land to all the productive corners of the property were to be considered petals on a flower, the house is the stamin producing the pollen for fertilization. From the house I cook and preserve the food that the garden and chickens produce. From the house the food waste feeds the chickens and the compost bin. From the land comes the food and firewood. The flow between these different areas is ongoing during the most productive times of the year.

In the next post I'll look at that flow as it exists now and ways to improve the flow to improve their integration.

By Design Part 1

The idea of design is an interesting one for me at this juncture in my life. First it implies creativity. Homesteading is an inately creative pursuit. When the idea of homesteading first sparked my interest it was in my little 5'x 10" community garden plot in Portland, Maine. While my initial interest in gardening sprouted from the ability to grow fresh food for Tristan and myself and save some money; I also learned that what I planted and how I planted it could create a tiny, beautiful little oasis from a hectic life. My mind could wander while my body tilled and weeded. Lines of poetry would form when the osprey that nested on a nearby train trestle, caught thermals off the hill where the garden was located. The play between greenery and flower was an interesting palette to work with.

That garden provided some healthy food  and some important lessons during lean times in those days. The most important lesson was that I could provide for myself even if I did not have a lot of money. A seed gets planted, a small amount of effort goes into the growing, a little more effort and I could save the product to eat later. The next creative pursuit was learning how to preserve and cook the product from the garden.  The way that I ate changed during this time. I could see that if I made my bread instead of buying it I had better quality at a lower price. It added a moment every few days where I could concentrate on the kneading as a meditative process. The smell brought my children into the kitchen. I learned that if I could slow down for those few moments of bread making that the result was better than if I rushed through it. 

From scratch was not just something I could apply to cooking it was also something I could apply to many other things. The idea of from scratch opens up a whole host of possibilities. It means that you can see the possibilities that can be gleaned from an object. A skein of yarn becomes a hat. A bounty of forsaken zucchini becomes fritters, bread and omelets. A pile of scrap wood can become a chicken coop. A group of people with a common need can create a solution from scratch. From scratch requires creativity. From scratch seems like an important element of design.

From scratch requires a tally of what you have and what you need. An artist can't paint if there is no  canvass. Applying principles of permaculture design to the homestead and a life require a similar examination.  In the language of permaculture this is observation. In part 2 of this post I will share my observations.

Many hands...

My family has been through a lot of changes over the last year.  A person who had the knowledge of some of the tools and chores around the homestead no longer lives here…along with some of the tools he used. I have had to find work outside the home whereas I used to be a stay at home mom who knitted all our hats, mittens, socks and other wooly goodness. I used to grow and put up most of the veggies we ate. I homeschooled both my sons but now my youngest is in school. We eat different food because the time to cook from scratch is stretched with schedules. The garden was not maximized to its potential last year. Things did not get done.

     I struggle in my thoughts between what would be easy; a small apartment in town, and what feels right; finding a way to make this work. In that effort I am fortunate to have my friend Rhonda. Rhonda squats on land that has been in her family since the early 1800's She has a little shack she built herself. She hauls water and has a little solar panel she charges off a car battery. She works part time at an alternative health store. She is an herbalist and has a vast knowledge of wild foods.

     During a recent visit we were discussing the challenges with gardening that we faced last year. Ronda lamented her inability to grown winter squash, I lamented the faced paced life that took so much time away from gardening and putting food by. She shared that she knew several other people with the similar challenges. The solution was simple. A group of us will get together and grow a large quantity of one crop and divide it among the group. Contrary to the idea of a communal garden where each person would have to get in their car in order to tend a communal plot. Each person can stay home and tend their own plot and share some of the bounty.  Each of us may have unique strengths growing some crops. I will be planting brussel sprouts, cabbage, rutabaga and broccoli towards this effort. I can get these easily in the ground in the spring. They do well with the soil I have. I can grow micro greens under their canopy and when it is too warm for the greens I can mulch them heavily so I will not have to spend time weeding them.  It is my hope that as part of this effort we can have a monthly pot luck at each other's house and offer to weed and mulch the garden of the host. Our first organizing meeting is Sunday, February 2.

     For me I think the root to making this venture work is to tap into the human capitol. It is not for lack of will or knowledge or even small financial resources that I find lacking. It is the time and hands to get some of the work done that seems to be missing from the equation. I learned a simple lesson last summer that I soon forgot. I had just received some laying hens. I traded them for the sheep and goat. It was a reasonable decision. The sheep and goat were at this point only mouths to feed and more often than not they were eating what I did not want them to eat ( I could tell a sad tale about brussel sprouts).  Laying hens on the other hand are perfect little food factories. I didn't have the right housing for them. So I had a work party. I gathered a bunch of scrap wood and some old windows and turned the sheep shed into a chicken coop. Actually a bunch of friends and I turned it into a chicken coop with a good door, nesting boxes and lots of room for some more layers. 

I think the solution to this will come from my community. By strengthening my community I can build in resilience.

From this day

This is a problem mind map that I made. It is an exercise from a class I am taking in Permaculture design through the small farming and sustainability certificate at Umass Amherst.  This is an eye opening exercise for me. Permaculture design has always intrigued me. I practice some of its principles on my homestead but felt like there were some elements to its overall implementation that I was missing. Permaculture is a wholistic systems approach to design.

I've been trying to figure out how this space could remain relevant to the homesteading discussion and sharing of information. I am excited to share with you my thoughts on this.

Let's begin with the problem. I have 7 acres, a small house that needs some work. I have the challenge of trying to balance the need for income ( from a job that takes me away from home) with the time requirement that work on a homestead necessitates. How do I find the balance between all of these in order to keep the homestead instead of packing it in and finding a little apartment in town?

I love my home and little plot of land but is it too much for one person to manage?

This really is the questions I ask myself every time I get my car stuck in my driveway, lay out cash for another repair on something and lay awake at night worried about the diminishing pile of wood we have for our heat during this very cold winter.

This is January when seed catalogs beckon, big plans are made. It is also a reflective time of year for me. Life slows down a bit. It is also time for me to think of gratitude. I am blessed to have this spot and this land. I may have lost some knowledge and labor when Mark and I divorced but what remains is my own stalwart energy and desire to live this simple life. The project at hand is to figure how to make this happen and that is where this blog can be useful. This is why after all this time I still find myself coming back to this space.

I've got some plans. Not big plans. But plans I think can reframe this challenge in a way that can bring me a life of balance between home and work. I am excited to share some of these plans with you.

Grace

I love the first seed catalog. It arrives in November just as the wood pile is starting to show a small dent. It is always in color just as the last hints of color have been scrubbed from the horizon.  It says hope. This year more than other years. The last year has been a year of angst and turmoil.  Separation, hopes of reconciliation, rediscovery of self as myself and not wife, job hunts, car woes, learning curves and shame at the condition of my gardens as life got so busy that the garden was at the bottom of the priority list. 

And yet there is hope. Why? Because for the first time in ..oh…9 years…my wood is chopped, stacked and under cover before the snow flies. That's right! This girl got it done ( with a little help from the big kid)! I kinda think that when life is actually just one foot in front of the other and not a balancing act then it is easy to focus on what I find important.  Either that or I am just going to get this done out of spiritual spite. Grit. The inevitable result of getting what you want is that you sometimes just have to do the work to keep it. In my heart I know that if I can keep a productive garden, boil some sap down, get my wood in, tend my apple trees, grow some meat birds and layers; somehow by all that effort I will be keeping the amount of actual money I need to get by on down.  Not that I won't need some and at sometimes I will need a lot.

So this is the puzzle I will try to solve. Because right now I am challenged. Grace is something I am trying to tap into a lot of these days. Grace for me has always meant,"Karin, Try to walk across this floor without tripping." I am naturally clumsy unless dancing. But Grace can have this divine touch to it. It is facing hard times with composure, no catastrophizing. Not easy some days. 

For example, I am now a member of a very exclusive club. I have my third car in one year and my second blown head gasket. I went through a couple of really challenging months with my prior car. I was blessed by the good neighbors and friends who gave me rides or let me borrow their cars. I was blessed with the generosity of my aunt and uncle in procuring the current car.  Last Tuesday my new-to-me car started smoking. A bad habit for humans and cars. I now have to figure out what I should do next. I will look at this current predicament as a challenge. Single motherhood is always a test of problem solving skills. This current situation is not karma kicking me in the butt. I am a good person. I try to think of others, I work hard and  I am a good mom. It is what it is. 

So on this evening after I write this blog post I will go up stairs and knit some hats.  I will be offering on my etsy shop a discount on hats. I normally sell my hats for 30.00. I will be offering my hats on etsy at the price of 25.00 plus shipping if you buy the car repair hat. The car repair hat will be listed in either masculine colors or feminine colors.  They will be listed in sizes small, medium and large. All the wool is local to Maine. They are lined in an alpaca wool blend. The designs will be the surprise when you open your package.

And then tomorrow I will write my list of seeds that I will plant in my garden next spring.

Eat from the Garden, Pray the Electric Doesn't Get Turned Off and Love your Children Fiercely

Life falls around you . The roof leaks,you find our kids smoking pot, your marriage not just dissolves but it implodes most gruesomely around you and you find yourself rebuilding what you knew was not a perfect life but at least a life you could live with.  

If you are lucky to have girlfriends who lend you books like Create the Marriage You'll Love then you'll find comfort and hope for a little while that you might be able to put things back together, " If he could only read this book he would see how we could make it all work out !" You slip the book to him in a box of his stuff that you found in your now spacious closet. Then have to mumble a," a please may I have the book back? I have to give it back to my friend." after you are served with divorce papers. 

There are the forays into romance and bodice rippers as your body grows accustomed to a more spacious bed.  Your favorite at this time is the Outlander Series because really who can resist a tall strong Scottish man in a kilt named Jamie. Your best friend offers some erotica from her bookshelf with a wink and a caveat," For when Sex in the City  and a glass of wine just won't do it"

You think it must be kismet that Sharon Old's Stag's Leap is published and win the pulitzer the same year you are divorcing and rediscovering your poetic voice. Some days you grieve with her over the dissolution of her 30 year marriage. yet somehow her divorce seems so mature and reasonable while you swing from depression, anger and extreme highs of self-confidence in your ability to be an adult.

Soon though you know you are going to have to read THAT divorce book. And for one glorious week you  fall asleep with visions of Gelato, meditation and beaches.  Yes, you admit you read Eat Pray Love. For one week you could imagine yourself as Julia Roberts( you pretty woman) at the same time holding on to the words of  your therapist's, " You will not believe how you feel in one year."  Only Eat, Pray, Love is a fantasy. At least for you. Not that fantasy is bad. On occasion you  admit to occasional trips to fantasy island. It is called buying a lottery ticket. For the 24 hours before the numbers are called you can fantasize about paying off your mortgage, buying a brand-new car, and replacing your front door. ( Ever the practical yankee). But there are few fortunate women who have the resources to take a year off from life to heal. You  are too busy volunteering in your kid's schools, nurturing a new relationship with your crock pot and trying to accustom yourself  to the reduced circumstances your checkbook( ever the book that is always being written) relays to you. 

Which is why when you saw Bootstrapper by Mardi Jo Link  at the bookstore you told yourself that once you  got caught up on the phone bill, electric bill and gas bill you would treat yourself to a book. Bootstrapper is a divorce memoir about a woman with dreams of farming and how by TRUE GRIT she gets through that year of living dangerously. You can relate to the worry about how her kids are doing through the schism. You laugh along with her as she surrenders her wedding gown to an ex-con. You can empathize with the personal discomfort that comes from accessing services that are meant for other people, not you.You cry along with her heartbreak that comes when dreams are redefined. And when you turn the last page you know you will have to read the acknowledgments at the end of the book just so you can still hear her voice.  This is the book that tells you that it will be alright. This is the book that tells you that you can keep the homestead  (farm). Because Mardi did it and you can too!