Windbreaks and Garden Plans

by Angela aka Farmer Jane on January 27, 2012 · 0 comments

In the photo to the left is my incomplete final drawing for the front garden (now to be headed for the compost pile since I have to make a new final plan). I completed my first draft a few weeks ago, the second draft was finished two days ago, and yesterday I started designing the final plan. Its STILL not done, since I’ve come to mental stand-still on the formal design part. I haven’t created the formal garden because quite frankly I ran out of space! How big is this area? 52′x36′ feet and this is only one QUARTER of the front area. Yes, the area is quite large. In the photos I’ve taken of the area where we planted the crab apple trees…that’s this garden plan area. In the photo it doesn’t look that large, but after getting everything measured and finally getting the plan to scale, I can see what I have to work with in terms of space. Each square in the plan represents one square foot. You can click the photo to see it blown up full size. This year I’ll be planting each side of the walking path between the crab apple trees with alternating summer squash and zucchini for this year’s farmers market. Surrounding the squash and zucchini will be nasturtium (all the red spaces with the ‘N’) and behind each crab apple tree, chilies. As I said earlier, this design has not been completed so surrounding the chilies will be different herbs not yet populated in the plan.

My dilemma started when my thoughts of having a formal garden collided with the true amount of space I have to work with. I’m not willing to give up the idea of putting rows of Golden Currants (pictured in a grey thick line to the right) so Dom suggested dropping my stubborn desire for a formal garden and instead do complete rows of different berry bushes. *sigh*

The next problem is my asinine desire to place berry bushes in such a way as to not passively harvest all the water I can. I have NOT designed the berry bushes to take advantage of the the slope we have nor have I put anything on contour.  DERRR! So now I have to redesign the whole Golden Currant area. The new design will allow for between 18 and possibly 21 currant bushes in each front section. I’ll write another blog entry in a few days with the before and after final drawings and how my plans have morphed from simple and incomplete, to finished and ready to prep the land.

I took a break yesterday afternoon from designing which sucks the life right out of me since I get so freaked out about missing something (like the elephant in the room…passive water harvesting) and then hours of hard work goes down the toilet. Well, it doesn’t actually go down the toilet since practice makes perfect right? The more I work on my designs the better I will get at picking up on critical data needed to be incorporated. What seems so simple and obvious sometimes can be obscured by my desire for the big picture. In this case, the mistakes that I make will help me become better at what I do.

Anyway, stepping away late yesterday afternoon, I headed outside with Simone to take some photos of Dom and Noah as they worked on the windbreaks for the greenhouse. I was reluctant to put the greenhouse up until we had windbreaks in place. I’ve seen and heard horror stories on Facebook as well as in the product reviews for this particular greenhouse, about how it collapsed or all the panels blew away in a gust of wind 40 mph or greater…sometimes less! Our wind gusts can reach 75 mph in the spring. It will come out of nowhere and POOF! we need to head inside because the wind is so strong it knocks us around. With a great wind comes the dust storms which gets into any exposed orifice as well as in the clothing nooks and crannies. I’ve had sand in my underwear because I’ve refused to come in during a dust storm. I’ve determined that we do need to work in the high wind gusts and not run for cover like cowards. I know it seems stupid to do this, but hey, we do live in the desert! I just need to design desert clothing for spring and summer that will allow us to comfortably continue to work in a windstorm.

Simone was eager to help put the posts in the ground and help keep them steady. Dom dug the holes for the posts while Noah filled the post and holes with rocks and dirt. I didn’t want posts to be permanently filled with concrete in case we needed to move the wind breaks and/or greenhouse. In between each post are pallets. Yesterday, post sections were dug and two pallets were placed in between, and then they ran out of light.

All together there will be three complete windbreaks. The first, when completed will be eight feet long by eight feet high. The second and third windbreak will be four feet wide by eight feet high. They will be in a staggered formation to allow some wind through. The majority of wind comes up from the south west. Our greenhouse will be situated smack dab in the middle of the south west! Why? Because it made the most sense to put it there. Flanked on the other side of the greenhouse is a five foot high fence which will be the other windbreak for winds barreling down from the north during the cold winter months. Although the north winds don’t blow too often, when they come they can be just as damaging as the fury of a south wind. ;)

After the second course of pallets are secured, the excess post at the top will be lopped off to get everything level. Its tricky getting everything level since the land is on a slope.

As Dom and Noah struggled to get the posts level, our neighbor showed up with a Transit Level to make our lives so much better! The above photo is of Dom and Noah getting the proper measurements. Our neighbor has a son the same age as Noah, so they love to goof off. The next series of photos is of Noah being goofy and making faces at his friend. I just kept snapping photo after photo because he’s too funny.







Once the windbreaks are in place they will be planted with some sort of perennial climbing vine. I’m not sure what to put there yet, but it’ll be gorgeous! We may choose a berry and flower, or honeysuckle or something we don’t even know about yet. For me its “when in doubt, go without!” I’ll be on the look out for the perfect perennials. I know when I draw up the master plan for the greenhouse area it will finally come to me, so I’m not fretting about it right now.

Originally we had planned to get the greenhouse foundation finished on Thursday, but the windbreaks took precedent. On our agenda from today through Sunday:

  • Finish the windbreaks
  • Complete greenhouse foundation
  • Build the greenhouse
  • Finalize front garden plan
  • Continue to work on garden plans for other areas
  • Start cold stratification of berry bush seeds
  • Plant 100 Camilla Sinensis Tea seeds (seeds have been soaking for a little more than 24 hours) in seed flats once outer shell has cracked. Tea plants will not be planted outside until 2013 after they have grown and the ground has been properly prepared over the course of this year.

It may be another few days until I write another blog entry. Its still quite difficult for me to balance drawing up a garden design with other responsibilities. Its an area of my life I’m trying desperately to change in order to bring more balance to my day.

Wish me luck! This is all so exciting, nerve racking, and totally fun at the same time. Talk to you soon!

Thanks for reading! I love comments and feedback so talk to me!

Tagged as: drawing garden design, edible landscaping, garden design on contour, golden currants, greenhouse collapse, passive water harvesting, planting a formal garden, windbreaks

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Our Next Berry and Flower Order

by Angela aka Farmer Jane on January 24, 2012 · 0 comments

Vicki placed the next batch of orders which will arrive sometime in the first week of March.

Six elderberry were ordered, 3 York elderberry and 3 Nova Elderberry.

From Herb Wisdom.com:

Used for its antioxidant activity, to lower cholesterol, improve vision, boost the immune system, improve heart health and for coughs, colds, flu, bacterial and viral infections and tonsilitis. Elderberry juice was used to treat a flu epidemic in Panama in 1995.

Elderberries have been a folk remedy for centuries in North America, Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa, hence the medicinal benefits of elderberries are being investigated and rediscovered. Elderberry is used for its antioxidant activity, to lower cholesterol, to improve vision, to boost the immune system, to improve heart health and for coughs, colds, flu, bacterial and viral infections and tonsilitis. Bioflavonoids and other proteins in the juice destroy the ability of cold and flu viruses to infect a cell. People with the flu who took elderberry juice reported less severe symptoms and felt better much faster than those who did not. Elderberry juice was used to treat a flu epidemic in Panama in 19951

Elderberries contain organic pigments, tannin, amino acids, carotenoids, flavonoids, sugar, rutin, viburnic acid, vitaman A and B and a large amount of vitamin C. They are also mildly laxative, a diuretic, and diaphoretic. Flavonoids, including quercetin, are believed to account for the therapeutic actions of the elderberry flowers and berries. According to test tube studies2 these flavonoids include anthocyanins that are powerful antioxidants and protect cells against damage.

Elderberries were listed in the CRC Handbook of Medicinal Herbs as early as 1985, and are listed in the 2000 Mosby’s Nursing Drug reference for colds, flu, yeast infections, nasal and chest congestion, and hay fever. In Israel, Hasassah’s Oncology Lab has determined that elderberry stimulates the body’s immune system and they are treating cancer and AIDS patients with it. The wide range of medical benefits (from flu and colds to debilitating asthma, diabetes, and weight loss) is probably due to the enhancement of each individual’s immune system.

At the Bundesforschungsanstalt research center for food in Karlsruhe, Germany, scientists conducting studies on Elderberry showed that elderberry anthocyanins enhance immune function by boosting the production of cytokines. These unique proteins act as messengers in the immune system to help regulate immune response, thus helping to defend the body against disease. Further research indicated that anthocyanins found in elderberries possess appreciably more antioxidant capacity than either vitamin E or vitamin C.

Studies at Austria’s University of Graz found that elderberry extract reduces oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Oxidation of LDL cholesterol is implicated in atherogenesis, thus contributing to cardiovascular disease.

1. J Alt Compl Mod 1995: 1:361-69 2. Youdim KA, Martin A, Joseph JA. Incorporation of the elderberry anthocyanins by endothelial cells increases protection against oxidative stress. Free Radical Biol Med 2000: 29:51 60

Two Maypop

From Hubpages:

The maypop- also known as the passionflower, scientifically named passiflora incarnata, is a wild vine that grows throughout the eastern United States. It is a unique looking plant with three-fingered leaves and intricate bright purple flowers that bloom in the summer. It grows in near or in fields and in recently turned earth. The maypop is generally considered a pest due to it’s quick growth and hardiness, though it is classified as a wildflower. Various members of it’s genus passiflora can be found throughout the world. It’s South American cousin is the bearer of passion fruit.

However pesky it may be, don’t be too quick to kill it if it pops up in your yard. The fruit it produces can be eaten and when it grows with plenty of water it is quite tasty (as the many animals than love it can attest) and the whole plant has sedative properties that have been used throughout history to treat sleeplessness and hysteria, and it’s still in use today.

As a food

Though the whole plant is referred to as maypop, this is really the name of the fruit, a egg shaped and sized seed pod. The fruit is eaten by tearing open the seedpods and squeezing the pulp inside your mouth to release the juice, then spitting out the seeds. Think of it as eating a pomegranate. If the plant grew in an unusually dry environment the fruit will be dry inside and not worth eating. Fruit is ready when it softens and begins to turn yellow.

As medicine

The roots,flowers, and leaves of the maypop, or passionflower, contain natural MAO inhibitors that serve as antidepressants. The greatest concentration of these are in the roots. In addition to the sedative effects the plant is also used intensify the effects of certain mind altering drugs. In modern times the plant material has been scientifically shown to help humans with different anxiety disorders.

Three Apache thornless blackberry

Height: 4 -6 feet
Spacing: 3 ft
Sun/Shade: Full/part Sun
Pollinator: Self-pollinating

Apache berries are the largest of all the thornless berries and are nice and sweet. Very productive Apache ripens mid to late June. Hardy in Zones: 5 – 9

I can’t wait to see Simmi pick “boowee’s” off the vine! :)

 

 

Two Sea Buckthorn:

From Herb Wisdom.com:

The Sea Buckthorn is becoming increasingly popular for its impressive range of healing properties! Sea-Buckthorn is a thorny shrub that grows near rivers and in sandy soil along the Atlantic coasts of Europe and throughout Asia, where it has been used for centuries in traditional medical applications. The leaves, flowers, fruits and oils from the seeds are all used for remedies.

About The Plant

There are seven varieties of the Sea Buckthorn, the most common of which is the Hippophae rhamnoides L. Sea Buckthorn, or Hippophae rhamnoides L. is commonly known by a plethora of names including: Argasse, Argousier, Buckthorn, Chharma, Dhar-Bu, Espino Armarillo, Espino Falso, Finbar, Grisset, Hippophae rhamnoides, Meerdorn, Oblepikha, Purging Thorn, Rokitnik, Sallow Thorn, Sanddorn, Sceitbezien, Sea-Buckthorn, Seedorn, Star-Bu and Tindved.

Most of the world’s sea buckthorn plantations are located in China. There, the shrub is used for soil and water conservation in addition to its healing properties. The fruit of the Sea Buckthorn is difficult to harvest, due to the thorny nature of the shrubs themselves. The harvested fruit is quite acidic and its juices are often combined with those of sweeter fruits, such as grape or pear, to make it more palatable.

Uses

In natural medicine, there are many uses and indications for the Sea Buckthorn. Leaves and flowers are utilized for arthritis, GI ulcers, gout and skin rashes and irritations. Tea made from the leaves contains vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, amino acids, and fatty acids. The tea is typically used for lowering blood pressure and serum cholesterol, prevention and treatment of diseases of the blood vessel, and for increasing immunity. Sea buckthorn berries are used for preventing skin infections, improving sight, and slowing the aging process. The tea is commonly applied to sunburns to reduce swelling and irritation while promoting healing.

Seed or berry oil is used for asthma, angina, hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol), as an antioxidant and as an expectorant. Sea Buckthorn oil is used in traditional medicine to slow the reduction of mental agility associated with aging and to reduce the side effects of cancer and cancer treatments. It may be used to treat GI tract diseases including ulcers, GERD, upset stomach, dyspepsia and constipation.

Sea Buckthorn is a supplemental source of vitamins C, A, and E, beta-carotene, minerals, amino acids, and fatty acids. One recent study suggests that Sea Buckthorn seed oil may be effective for assisting in weight loss. Chinese researchers have completed a study suggesting that Sea Buckthorn oil extract can lower cholesterol, reduce angina and improve heart function in patients with cardiac disease. Research on Sea Buckthorn as it relates to weight loss, cardiac disease and cholesterol levels are ongoing and appear to be promising based on initial results.

Sea Buckthorn tea, oil or berries can be used for a variety of skin conditions and to heal wounds of the skin, and scientific studies indicate it may have some antibiotic properties. Extracts can be used for acne, rosacia, insect bites and sunburn.

Four Viking Aronia

Description from The Blueberry Croft

This is not a blueberry it is an aronia berry.  Select cultivar for fruit and fall color. Viking Aronia grows to about 6 ft. It is Self fruitful. ‘Viking’: It is vigorous, widely and easy to grow. Aronia is native to the eastern U.S. but the best varieties were bred in Eastern Europe and Sweden. Viking was developed in Finland. This Black Chokeberry, is an open, upright, spreading, somewhat rounded deciduous shrub. It displays clusters of 5-petaled, white flowers in spring which are followed in early autumn by blackish purple, blueberry-sized fruits which usually do not persist into winter. Lustrous, dark green foliage turns an attractive purplish red in autumn.

Although technically edible, the fruits are extremely tart and bitter, and are not recommended for eating off the bush. They will make your mouth pucker. Attractive fall color and fruit give this shrub good ornamental value for a shrub border. It is tolerant of wide range of soils. Best fruit production occurs in full sun. It spreads by root suckers to form colonies. The plants will yield in two years or less after planting and increase in production for the next 3 years when they reach maturity. .

Viking and Nero were selected in Russia and Europe for commercial fruit production. In recent years, these two cultivars have been introduced back into the United States because of their health benefits. They were selected for larger fruit suitable for jam-making. Juice from these berries is astringent and not sweet, but high in vitamin C and antioxidants. They have 3 times the antioxidant levels that are in blueberries and are noted for their health benefits. It grows in Zone 3-8. The fruit of black chokeberry has higher levels of antioxidants (anthocyanins and flavonoids) than any other temperate fruit. This is generating an increasing level of interest among consumers’ small fruit producers in the U.S.

The berries are naturally astringent but are extremely astringent if picked before they are fully ripe. They are least astringent after they have been through a couple of autumn frosts. Freezing reduces the astringency of aronia berries. The Berries are harvested after they are ripe in late August or early September.  zones 3 – 7.

Two Bicolored Butterfly bush

From Gurneys:

Blossoms when most shrubs have finished flowering for the season—late summer—for a welcome flush of color. Arching sprays of foliage frame clusters of sweetly fragrant flowers that resemble lilacs. Perfume attracts droves of butterflies— that’s exactly how this beauty got its name! At 6-10 ft., it makes a supremely colorful lot line screen. Prefers full to partial sun. Potted plants. Zones 5-9.
This plant attracts hummingbirds and butterflies.

Four Josee Reblooming Lilac

From Gurneys:

This hardy lilac loves the sun and is just the right size (at 4-6 ft. tall) as an accent shrub or grouped as a hedgerow. Fragrant, lavender-pink panicles of trumpet-shaped flowers are 4-5 in. long and can’t be beat as cut flowers. Even butterflies can’t resist this lilac. Potted starter plants. Zones 2-9.

The other items ordered not shown are:

One Silver Bells Chocolate vine

One Violet chocolate vine

Six packets of boxwood- Buxus Microphylla each containing 40 seeds each.

Thanks for reading! I love comments and feedback so talk to me!

Tagged as: Apache thornless blackberry, Bicolor butterfly bush, Buxus microphylla boxwood seeds, Josee reblooming lilac, maypop, Nova Elderberry, Sea Buckthorn, Silver Bells Chocolate vine, Viking Aronia, Violet Chocolate vine, York elderberry

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Planting Fruit Trees with My Son

by Angela aka Farmer Jane on January 23, 2012 · 3 comments


I asked Noah to help me plant fruit trees yesterday. At first he objected stating “Mom? Can’t I just have one day off where I don’t have to do anything except play video games?” He acts like we require him to do so much during the day. There are times when we do ask him for help, like when furniture needs to be moved, concrete needs to be mixed or other heavier ‘manly’ work needs to be done, but its not an every day occurrence. Of course I always pull out the big guns when he explains how tired he is (even though he didn’t do anything most of the day except watch tv) and I usually bounce back with “where’s Dom right now? where did he go Noah?” LOL Oh that’s right after five hours of grueling heavy lifting, making bread, staking and pulling lines, he went to work 8 hours at his job. Or even that he spent two hours juggling making bread AND wielding pick axe because the ground is so hard and compacted it can’t simply be shoveled in order to make the holes needed to plant 10 trees today, and THEN he scooted off to work for 8 hours on his feet. So what were you saying about being tired? ;)

The real reason I wanted to plant trees with my son is to have time with him. I want him to have his hands in the dirt, smell the earthiness of the aged compost, understand how to plant a bare root fruit tree, and planting 10 trees provides 10 repetitive actions that will sink in without him even realizing it. Even if he leaves for college in a few years and never plants a tree, I want the knowledge to be there, planted in his brain.

In first photo, Noah is mixing our compost which has been aged six months with purchased compost from last year. Dom’s compost rivaled the stuff we purchased last year. Actually, I was blown away by his compost. It was so beautiful, earthy, rich and amazing. It was light, fluffy and so soft I just wanted to keep my hands in it. I thought faeries would pop out at any moment! Just kidding. He has really perfected making compost in the high desert. That is no easy feat!

The yellow lines in the photos are our stringed off areas of where concrete pavers will create our walkway to the street. The fence will be opened up and a garden gate will be put in. Flanking both sides of the walkway to the street are 8 Radiant crab apple trees, four on each side of the walkway. This year when the weather is warm enough to plant, in between the crab apple trees I’ll be planting alternating zucchini and summer squash. In front of the squash along the edge of the concrete pavers will be edible day lilies.


A Fuji apple tree was planted half way from the walkway to the pond. The pond area will be completely fenced this spring in so that the ducks can’t wander into our gardens and devour everything in a single night. Below is a Jonathan apple tree which is located halfway from the walkway to the greenhouse.

Thanks for reading! I love comments and feedback so talk to me!

Tagged as: bare rooted fruit trees, planting apple trees, planting crab apple trees

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A Long Weary Day

by Angela aka Farmer Jane on January 22, 2012 · 0 comments

Yesterday was a day filled with excitement, stress, bewilderment and exhaustion. A lot of work was done, but not by me…by Dom. I worked him too hard I fear, spreading him very thin with my list of to-do’s. Unfortunately, the saying is true “when it rains it pours” and there were a whole host of things that needed to be accomplished yesterday. Fortunately everything got done but not without leaving my man with a feeling of angst and wondering when he would be able to actually sit down and rest.

It started off with Dom wanting to make sure the next two loaves of bread were baked. He’s made a commitment to making bread either everyday or every other day as needed. We are still buying Noah the cheapo bread that he likes, but soon enough that will come to an end, leaving store bought bread behind in the dust. Making a no knead bread is fairly simple but it does involves some time commitments. Add to that us shifting to sprouted sour dough no knead bread, and you can see how the process and time commitment will change even more.

Anyway, before baking the bread, he needed to fill in a few ditches we formed last year in front of the house so he could pull the truck right up to the house and unload the furniture. A few days ago we were able to get some stuff off of craigslist for free, but running out of time, Dom needed to leave the furniture on the truck until Noah could help him take it all off. So, the ditch is filled, and bread is finished, and now the truck gets unloaded. A free couch in great condition needs to go downstairs into our office. We got the couch for free when the guy with the ad said “if you can get it out of our basement, you can have it!” Dom and Noah went up a few days ago, snatched it from one basement only to bring it to our basement. I guess it was always meant to stay underground. :)

Next was a fridge one of his co-workers gave us. The fridge has some wear and tear and rust on it, but it works great. The fridge will go into the utility/summer kitchen. I thought the fridge was going to do him in for sure.

After the fridge, Noah and Dom brought in our new nightstands. Okay, so they aren’t new, but they are new to me. I was on the lookout for a second dresser with three drawers when I found a matching set of nightstands for $75.00. They were heavy requiring both guys to pick them up (I know they don’t look it right?!) The nightstands were brought downstairs. I haven’t decided what color to paint them yet, but we’re leaning towards just a simple black.

After everything was brought to its final destination, we had breakfast, Simone woke up and came out from her room and I had to do a little persuading to get my fully exhausted husband to go outside and stake and pull the string to mark the new garden areas as well as where the new paver walkways were going to go. I felt bad, but it needed to be done. Reluctantly (because he was tired) he headed outside and marked everything. I have been waiting for over two weeks for him to stake this part of our land, but because we needed to get the gravel near the greenhouse area, it had to wait. Since our fruit trees for that area had arrived, I needed to have the area marked so we could plant the trees today.

It takes a long time for me to plan an area out. How do you know what to plant? Where to put it? What will go well in a particular location? Observation, thinking, research and finally making the plan. It took over two weeks to get the plan solidified on paper. Frankly its exhausting drawing up plans. I feel a weight on me and in the back of my mind always looms the thought, “what if I left something major out, like an access point, lack of proper drainage, not enough passive water harvesting” so I end up spending hours upon hours in my room on my bed trying to make it all fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. I have yet to draw up the master finished plan for our front formal garden because it scares me to death! A formal garden? Me? What-who said that? I’ve never been one for formal gardens, but in this area of our land, I feel its a good fit. Its the front of the house after all, why not create something a little more formal and beautiful. In the future, this will not only be our home, but also where we have our cottage industries and ultimately being visited by clients and giving tours of our operation.

The first photo at the top is of Dom staking out the front garden area. I love that its now done and I can see my “rooms.” Each large box I consider a room. I’m looking at left side and right side as two separate but identical areas separated by the walking paths.

Our bare rooted fruit trees have been soaking since yesterday morning to give them a nice long drink of water. Today they will be planted in the area that was staked out yesterday.

Things to do this morning and throughout this week:

  • Plant 10 fruit trees
  • Build canning station shelving
  • dig out walking paths (prep for pavers)
  • Draw up complete formal garden
  • Stake out formal garden
  • Order seeds for Three Sisters Guild
  • Order seeds, berry bushes and roses for formal garden
  • Thursday lay foundation for greenhouse
  • Saturday and Sunday greenhouse gets constructed. :)

Another busy week ahead. Without jinxing us, we are also happy to report that none of us have even had a cold or flu in one full year. Simone usually gets at least one cold per year that lasts a few days, but even she did not get her yearly cold. I wonder how long that will last!

Here are a few more photos from yesterday:


Thanks for reading! I love comments and feedback so talk to me!

Tagged as: designing a formal garden, no knead bread, no knead sprouted bread, planting bare root fruit trees, staking garden area

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The First Fruit Trees of 2012 Have Arrived

by Angela aka Farmer Jane on January 21, 2012 · 0 comments


Yesterday the first fruit trees of 2012 arrived on the homestead. I’m so excited to break ground and plant these beauties. Ten trees are all grouped together, bare rooted in tight formation. 8 Radiant Flowering Crab apple trees, 1 Fuji Apple tree and 1 Jonathan Apple tree. Since we’ll be planting 8 crab apples in the front of the house, it makes sense to plant a few more varieties of apple trees. I’m thinking of planting 8 more varieties but to keep it compact, four apple trees with two different scions each will be planted. I think the perfect location for them will be behind the new greenhouse. The new trees will protect the greenhouse from winds coming up from the southwest.


The previous home we lived in had the most gorgeous crab apple tree in the front yard. Its beauty ruined me forever!

Here’s a photo of what that tree looked like in the spring of 2010:

Do you see what I mean by being ‘ruined’? I was never able to get this tree out of my mind, so we got 8 more just like it. The birds were also in love with this tree, not allowing us to take a single crab apple from it. None could be found on the ground either. Because birds love them so much, I felt that 8 would be a little overwhelming for them and hopefully they would leave a few for us to make pectin. Sunflowers will be used as well to divert their attention away from our fruit trees and berry bushes.

This year we’ll be planting all of our fruit trees in a new way called the new-fangled method to expand root growth by 400%. Colorado State University has a pdf called “The Science of Planting Trees” . Peaceful Valley has a demonstration video that’s very helpful if you’d like to plant your fruit trees using this new technique.  I’ll post the video so you can see what we’ll be doing. The way they are now planting them makes more sense to me, so I can’t wait to see the results.

Today we’ll be:

  • Unloading the fridge, couch and night stands off the trailer
  • Staking and pulling lines to mark where the front walkway and crab apple trees will go
  • Digging holes for all ten fruit trees
  • Soaking the bare rooted trees in water over night before planting them tomorrow

So exciting!

Thanks for reading! I love comments and feedback so talk to me!

Tagged as: crab apple trees, Fuji apple, Jonathan apple, planting bare root trees

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Eco-Eliteism is Coming, Are You Ready?

by Angela aka Farmer Jane on January 20, 2012 · 2 comments

“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live; it is asking others to live as one wishes to live. And unselfishness is letting other people’s lives alone, not interfering with them. Selfishness always aims at uniformity of type. Unselfishness recognizes infinite variety of type as a delightful thing, accepts it, acquiesces in it, enjoys it.” Oscar Wilde

Eco-Eliteism is coming, and actually I believe it’s already here. Does Eco-Eliteism spring from a real desire to help the planet and our fellow man or is it the result of “greenwashing” which is similar to brainwashing? Are we really passionate about saving the earth or is it the greatest marketing blitz to ever hit the airwaves and internet? I’ve seen so many eco-terroristic companies (is that a real word? eco-terroristic? ;) ) who continue to pollute the planet, maim innocent people with poisons in the ground water, lie about fracking, and then start some sort of campaign about how they are dedicated to being green. What does that mean exactly when these very companies refuse to clean up their messes, pay for the damage done to the scores of people with cancer or who have died as a result of those pollutants and get off the hook on a technicality. Isn’t being green more than just the bottom line for a company? I used to think that being green was a good thing, but now I just see it as the big green monster of envy. Who is doing more, who’s greener, trying to seduce others to the ‘greenside’ of the force and so on. To me, Eco-Eliteism is an attitude that leaves out the desire to really know one another and instead hopes to crash others into their way of life because after all, they’re the best right? “We’re green. We have the latest green gadget or gizmo that has a tiny footprint and a hefty price tag.” Bamboo used to be a great green alternative, inexpensive, blah blah blah. Now? The average family would be hard pressed to afford the eco-products on the market. But money isn’t the only thing I’m talking about here. I’m not trying to target wealthy people who can afford to purchase such products…I’m talking about an attitude that exists with a lot of people I’ve spoken to. Whether rich or poor, someone is spouting the importance of “being green.” Its almost like a large percentage of eco-minded people have become Stepford wives (men and women). I feel many are becoming obsessed with eco trends without fully knowing all the consequences. There are still harmful chemicals being used, reputable companies giving in to GMO’s, people who are in a “kum-bi-yah” moment, holding hands and quoting Al Gore. I’m sorry, I’m not on board with these people. Yes I believe our environment is important, I believe that knowing where our food comes from is important, but I don’t believe in sticking together just because of global warming or sacrificing our personal identities for the sake of the cause. Everyone is at a different level when it comes to being green, and others like us, refuse to be labeled as such. I’m not green, my family isn’t green. We’re homesteaders in search of a better life for ourselves. I’ve never been one for conformity, I don’t like it, never have, never will.

Thinking back a number of years when Dom and I had considered living in an eco village, we had the opportunity to visit a few villages located in Pennsylvania. We were fascinated by the thought of living in a community of like minded people who shared the same goals and desires as us. However, these people had a bottom line. They wanted hundreds of thousands of dollars up front to join. The houses all had to be uniform and the same. There were specified colors, stuff you needed to do just like them and since we would have been close to the last family to join, we were low men on the totem pole with limited voting or participation rights. Wow! Doesn’t that sound ideal to you? They all talked the same freaky lingo, made the same gestures and fake placid smiles, and any questions were viewed as a hostile move since the decisions made were made by consensus…disagreeing meant the whole group must be wrong!

There are times when I can be very confrontational and my questions sound more like the inquisition than a mere inquiry. During our tour of this particular eco village, I voiced a few concerns like, “How come you use liquid nail glue? Wait, is that Styrofoam in the walls? What is that smell? Wow that’s a strong chemical odor coming from the basement! Is that particle board?” The problem? They talked about how “eco-friendly” they were and everything in those houses were NOT eco-friendly. They purchased products that claimed to be eco-friendly but too me they were nothing more than “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” They were snotty individuals that probably viewed me as an Eco-Eliteist because of my questions. There are plenty of things in our home right now that aren’t eco-friendly, but I’m talking about a whole village that laid claims to being Eco-conscious but where anything but that. They didn’t even grow their own food in this village. All of them were pulling in six figure incomes, and I’m sure they looked down on us for coming in with our raggedy clothing and lack of fashion sense. But here’s the rub, I have met people on the other end of the spectrum that refuse to use electricity, will not throw anything away and will build structures using their waste, will eat every last morsel in the fridge or cabinet even if its MOLDY just so it doesn’t go to waste, and will look down on others for not doing the same. There needs to be a happy medium where we aren’t Eco-Elitists with a mission to pat ourselves on the back for how green we are. I think we can reach out to our greater community, offer our services and talents, live a life of simplicity and beauty without judging those who don’t do it like us.

None of us are going to all be the same. I’ll say it again, I’m not green. I don’t believe in conserving energy for the planet, I’m mostly concerned with handing money over to a company when I could be using that money for seeds to plant, or baskets to buy for the next Farmer’s Market. I’m more concerned about bringing out the best fruits and veggies. Is that selfish? Maybe, but if I’m selfish for feeding others, so be it. Garbage is another problem. I’m not concerned about being green and not using plastic. I’m concerned about my family’s health and well being. Plastics are not good at all for them. They also happen to be bad for the environment, but that’s not why we have chosen to move away from using plastic. To me its kind of like starting a healthy diet. You’re bound to lose weight, but being healthy is the major goal, losing weight is just a nice perk. Being plastic free in our home will help us do our part for the environment, but I’m not going to look down on others for using it outside our family. That would be silly.

I believe we can be mindful of the things we buy and how they do affect our greater community, but I’m not willing to take that on as a religion. Eco-Eliteism is a trap. I would rather do what is best for our family and let it have the ripple affect outward. Everything starts at home anyway. Doesn’t it all come back to our personal choices? If they’re personal, then why do we as people mandate them for other peoples’ lives? ESPECIALLY if the person doing the mandating isn’t walking the walk themselves! Don’t get me started on that one!

Daniel Goleman, author of Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships said it best:

“Self-absorption in all its forms kills empathy, let alone compassion. When we focus on ourselves, our world contracts as our problems and preoccupations loom large. But when we focus on others, our world expands. Our own problems drift to the periphery of the mind and so seem smaller, and we increase our capacity for connection – or compassionate action.”

I believe that we are at a time in history where being “green” will be a blanket statement. It will smother any real dialogue, allow us to indulge in our own self congratulatory ways without realizing what impact we are having on the world around us and on our community. We need to start thinking again about what is really important. When you see people more kind to animals than humans, you know we are headed in the wrong direction. When eco-terrorism becomes the mainstay of eco-activism in some sort of tit-for-tat childish activity that puts the lives of others at risk, we’ll need to re-evaluate our priorities of what “green” truly means.

I’m not green, I’m not an Eco-Eliteist nor do I aspire to be one. My focus is this; Live well, simply and at peace with those around us. I want peace in my life. I don’t want to contend with others who don’t “fall in line” with being green. Some are more knowledgeable in the area of being green and others are more experienced in actually being green. I want to stay in the middle where I can stay true to who I am and enjoy those on both sides of the debate. ;)

Thanks for reading! I love comments and feedback so talk to me!

Tagged as: being green, Daniel Goleman, Eco-Eliteism, eco-terrorism, eco-villages, Social Intelligence

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Our New Homestead Toys

by Angela aka Farmer Jane on January 19, 2012 · 0 comments

Last night a few new toys arrived from UPS to dazzle and amaze us. On the left is the All American 21 1/2 quart pressure canner and on the right is the De’Longhi juicer.

We’re going to be ready this year for some major canning events. I plan on turning the front of the kitchen peninsula into a fully shelved area for all our canning supplies, as well as for our home canned food. Oneida had a major sale on hermetic jars in different sizes so Vicki ordered 10 sets. Each set has 4 jars each. They will be great for organizing, storing food and so on.

I’ll be measuring the peninsula today to see exactly how I want the shelves to be placed. I was waiting on the pressure canner so I could include it and the stock pot into the whole design. I can’t wait to get started on this project. It won’t take more than an hour to put everything together and the end result will be not cluttering up our limited cabinet space with empty jars and heavy equipment. There is so much potential in our homes if we sit and really think about what will make our lives easier. Another project I’ll be working on is getting all of our kitchen drawers organized.

I found this great DIY drawer organizing solution. Click the photo and you’ll be taken to the website to see how to make this organizer for $2.00.

We have limited drawers, but they can be made into very efficient spaces with a little thought and ingenuity. We have one massive drawer that is the same size as the cook top  and I would love to make an organizer for it. We open the drawer and everything shifts to the back. I also have a drawer that I’ve designated my baking drawer, but some how other tools always migrate into that section. The potato peeler is one such item. What does potato peeling have to do with baking (NOAH)? ;)

I also want to design a system for our cabinets were things pull out easily. Its like a tray that pulls all the way out so you can see all the food or equipment in the cabinet.

Our kitchen continues to be a work in progress and I’ve enjoyed making it unique to our family’s needs. The dining room is about 75% finished and will probably be completely finished this month. The kitchen will probably take another year of tweaking and perfecting before its completely done. Little by little we’re getting there.

It took a few weeks to decide what kind of juicer to get. While this one was a little pricy, it was still cheaper than a Champion juicer or even a Green Star. The juicer is for getting Simmi off of rice milk. She used to only drink Welsh’s grape juice but now that she’s on GAPS the only juice she can drink is fresh juices. I’ll be including her in the process of making the juice so that hopefully she will take a sip. She is very picky about juice. She even knew the difference between Welsh’s grape juice and a cheapo knock off. Who knows…maybe she’ll surprise me.

Today is a big day for us.

  • We’ll be picking up a free couch (for our office area down stairs)
  • a free fridge (for the utility kitchen)
  •  two night stands for our room (I found matching set),
  • a large concrete mixer for the pavers
  • stone for the greenhouse

 

Thanks for reading! I love comments and feedback so talk to me!

Tagged as: All American pressure canner, De'Longhi juicer, GAPS Diet, organizing the kitchen

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The Incandescent Revamp, a New Bedroom Design and a Restful Sleep

by Angela aka Farmer Jane on January 16, 2012 · 1 comment

One of my personal goals for 2012 was to become more energy efficient, you can read about that here.  I was trying to decide what kind of lighting I wanted in our new bedroom and at the same time be mindful of what kind of bulbs we use.

My personal goal of being energy efficient is now spilling over into other parts of the house, namely the dining room chandelier. A video I watched this morning was explaining how much it costs per year per bulb and I immediately started to tally just the dining room wattage. According the video I watched, it costs a little more than $50.00 per year for one incandescent bulb being turned on for 8 hours a day. I have six lights in the chandelier, so basically it costs us $300.00 per year for keeping the dining room light on. That’s just one fixture. My son has a habit of leaving his light on after he goes to school and if I don’t turn it off (if his door is open) that’s another $50.00 per year. Simmi doesn’t have a light in her room, but there is one in the closet which she turns on at night. We will need to remove that light because it also costs another $50.00 per year. We leave a regular flood light on in the dining room at night because its pitch black in our house at night.. Add another $50.00 or more per year, and that doesn’t even include ME leaving my light on in my bedroom all night and during the day because I don’t have much light where I’m sleeping right now. So far, how much is that in just light bulb energy per year? And then there’s the kitchen which doesn’t get decent light till later in the day. Yes the lights are on in the kitchen also, and since there are three lights in one kitchen fixture, add another $150 to the equation. We also have an outdoor security light that costs $20 per month, and a hallway that gets absolutely no light at all. During the day the hallway light is on quite a bit, so lets tack on another $100 per year for those two bulbs. I just added everything up and the cost comes to $800 per year to use incandescent bulbs. $67.00 per month and over five years is $4,000.00. This amount is ONLY for using our incandescent bulbs! This amount doesn’t include using the electric ovens, the convection oven (we no longer use a microwave), stove top, the fridge, the computers left on hibernate or sleep and the monitors constantly running a screen saver, the baby monitor, four or five cordless phones, and the biggest energy sucker of them all…the air conditioner.

Going back to my original thought about my personal goals, you can kind of see how its gone from personal goals to all out energy efficient assault! I don’t know how I could separate out what I want to do personally from what we need to do as a family. It seems kind of silly for me to only focus on my energy habits when it could be as simple as screwing in new light bulbs alone. But here’s the rub…LED light bulbs are extremely expensive. While each bulb will pay for itself in one year, and they last 17 years, I think without doing the math its safe to assume its worth the investment! We don’t want to get the compact fluorescent bulbs because first of all I have lupus, which the fluorescent lights irritate. Splotchy nasty looking purple coloring is NOT a good look on my face or neck. Secondly, these bulbs are horrible for the environment. If all your interested in is saving money, maybe this bulb might be for you, but its not good for the landfills where mercury will escape into the landfills and ground water. Third, they don’t last as long as the manufacturer claims, and you can’t get a single person from these companies to answer questions concerning the environment and the long term damaging affects CF will have. I’ll pass thankyouverymuch!

My goal is for Dom and I to move into our bedroom by our anniversary on March 20th or is it the 21st? I can never remember, I’m horrible with dates and so is he, so we just usually celebrate both days! Maybe that seems a little wacky that we don’t remember the day we got married, but I love celebrating it all week long instead. Besides, each day is a treasure with him and I celebrate my life with him daily. Anyway, getting moved into our own bedroom will be a major accomplishment. It also means we will be in the basement where there is no light at all coming into our room. Fun right? So I’ve been trying to come up with creative ways that I can keep my personal goal of becoming more energy efficient in 2012 and still have our bedroom look warm and inviting. So here are my lists of options:

I have always wanted to have crystal chandeliers hanging from both sides of our bed above the night stands, so I’ve chosen this great alternative pictured on the left. Its a simple chandelier with candles. I can always add more crystals if I want to kick it up with the bedroom bling, but it looks rustic and elegant all at the same time, so I’ll most likely leave it as it is. The cost? $35.00 each plus the candles. Behind the chandelier on the wall will hang a mirror on each side, which will further illuminate the warm glow of candle light.

We spend at least 8 hours per day in our bedroom, sleeping, being intimate *blushing*, joking around, talking to my kids, watching TV and being online. I want my bedroom to be very comforting and inviting.

We’ll also be raising bees this year, so I’m hoping to have a small amount of wax in the fall to make the candles for our room as well. I’ll like having a candle chandelier because its a part of my commitment to becoming more energy efficient and kicking romance up a notch. ;)

The only major work that needs to be done in my bedroom is the fireplace being refaced like the dining room. There is god-awful 70′s style paneling which we’ll be painting. I’m not up for taking it all down just because it looks horrible. I’ve opted instead to paint it, and then do a gorgeous wallpaper stencil design in silver. It will go directly onto the freshly painted paneling to create a beautiful design. On the main wall where our headboard will go, will be a whole wall of pallet boards like the photo to the right. We scored a really nice metal headboard and footboard at a flea market for $50.00 and all we need to do is paint it black. Can you see our bedroom starting to come together? :)

We also need to get new carpeting down stairs and a ceiling fan. The ceiling fan won’t have a light kit on it.

We still need to get one more night stand. I chose for our nightstands to use three drawer dressers. I have one already that we got from the flea market for $25.00 so I’m on the hunt for another one. They don’t have to match, but the new one must have as much personality as the one I already have. They’ll be painted the same color.

On each side of our bed will also be a reading light with an LED light bulb. Part of my commitment to being coming energy efficient is to not keep the TV on all night long. What? Who said that? LOL Yes, I’m making the switch. It won’t be easy since bad habits die hard. Instead of the TV, we’ll be hooking up light timers on our reading lights just in case we fall asleep without turning the light off. We’ll also be adding motion sensor night lights just in case I do get up sleep walking in the middle of the night.

On one of the walls in our room we’ll have multiple shelves (an industrial look) for books. We also have another personal commitment to purchasing (new or used) books about everything that can be of use to us. We don’t want digital downloads, we want the real deal. I don’t read quite as much as I’d like to because I have a bad habit of turning on the TV at night instead. With the TV gone, I’ll have plenty of opportunities to read up on a subject I’ve wanted to learn about.

For our bedding, Dom and I chose a stunning crewel design by Pottery Barn but when I checked today they were all sold out of the king size.  I was quite disheartened since it took me months to find something both he and I liked. There is one thing we do agree on however, and that’s the need (not want) for silk sheets. No, its not for sexy time, LOL, its for our health and overall well being. I’m not sure how many people realize that when you spend 8 hours per evening laying in bed sleeping or resting, your health can be compromised depending on how often you wash your sheets, the kind of bedding you use, and the comfort of your mattress. I’m highly allergic to different molds and dust mites that can populate the tiny crevices of cotton sheets, pillows, and mattresses, and while some in the southwest would say that mold and dust mites are not too much of an issue, explain that to my lungs please. :) Dust mites do not typically cause problems to allergy sufferers while alive. Its when the dust mite defecates, sheds its skin or dies that is the problem. Dust mites defecate, breed and die in our beds…this is a known fact, but if you don’t wash your sheets every other day, can you imagine how many exist in your sheets, pillows, and mattress? Taking simple precautions will help reduce the affects dust mites can have on us throughout the night. Ever wonder why you may have trouble sleeping, or why you sneeze all night and day, dry cough and so forth? Almost 90% of the dust in our bedrooms and around the house and in the air is made up our shedding skin flakes and on those skin flakes are the fecal matter and live and dead bodies of dust mites, as well as mold particles trying to break down the skin flakes. Now, out here in the desert we get sand that comes into the house everyday, so add outside dirt to that 90% equation. You can purchase mattress and pillow liners which will keep the dust mites out of your pillows and mattresses and you can also purchase a duvet cover that will act as a shield to your comforter to keep the dust mites out. Washing your sheets and blankets often and vacuuming the mattress is another way to cut down on the dust mite population. Silk sheets have been our goal for a long time, we just could never afford them.

Here are some of the benefits of using silk sheets:

  • Silk wicks moisture away from the body keeping you cool and comfortable.
  • Its mold and mildew resistant unlike cotton sheets
  • Silk is hypoallergenic
  • It provides an environment where dust mites can not survive.

 

Here is a video on dust mites. Even if you aren’t allergic to dust mites or even mold, its important to have a healthy sleeping environment. After this video, is another video on the incandescent bulb vs. LED and also an article on leaving the computer on.

Finally here’s an article written about computers. Another feature of my personal energy efficiency goal was to not only turn my computer off at night (not putting it to sleep) but to unplug it as well. Even when the computer is completely turned off, it is drawing power. I usually leave my computer in a sleep mode, but from now on it will be shut off completely and disconnected. It used to be that turning a computer and monitor off completely could ruin the computer, but that was a long time ago. We shouldn’t operate on misinformation. If your monitor is showing a picture of some sort (like a screen saver) its sucking a LOT of energy. Just turn the computer off and flip the switch on the surge protector and POOF! power has been saved. I want to be as prepared as I can for when we do happen to get alternative energy. Changing bad energy habits now will be important for when we have our own system hooked up. I would hate to have us run out of power in the middle of the night because the TV was on all night. ;)

Thanks for reading! I love comments and feedback so talk to me!

Tagged as: bedroom health, dust mites, incandescent light bulbs, LED lights, mold, power down, saving energy, silk sheets for allergy sufferers

{ 1 comment }

An Extremely Productive Saturday

by Angela aka Farmer Jane on January 15, 2012 · 0 comments

“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.” Paul J. Meyer

Yesterday was a great day for getting things done. It started in the morning with Dom writing his list. My sweet amazingly sexy man starts his list like this:

Me: What are your plans for today?

Dom: (with pen ready to explode with great ideas) First I’m going in the back to pull apart the boards on the pallets to make the top bar bee hives.

Me: (looking bewildered) Huh? What does that have to do with getting the greenhouse built? *smirking*

Dom: Uh? *smiling at me* Nothing? Okay, scratch that off the list!

Me: *laughing*

Yes this can be a typical conversation at times from either him or me. We both tend to put things on our list of priorities that aren’t immediate priorities. While I know that we do need to have our top bar beehives built before the end of February, we really need to use his time off wisely in terms of getting the greenhouse foundation built.

Here’s a list of things we accomplished yesterday:

Vicki signed up for a 6-Part Gardening Workshop Series over at Jericho Nursery in Albuquerque. For more information:

6-Part Gardening Workshop Series
Two classes are available every other Saturday.
All 10:30 classes are at our Alameda location: (505) 899.7555
All 1:30 classes at our San Mateo location: (505) 349.0966.
Presented by, Jim Sais – New Mexico GardenTalk Radio
PRICE: $5.00 at the door…

Vicki learned about pruning trees and shrubs. I’m excited to see what she learned.

Over the last few days I was busy putting face plates back on all the electrical outlets and switches. It takes time to do that believe it or not, because when I pulled the paneling off the walls in 2010, I didn’t realize that some of the outlets were attached to the paneling itself. When I pulled the paneling off, I damaged some of the outlets. The metal needs to be bent back and some are beyond repair needing to be completely replaced.

We were also waiting on Pottery Barn to send us the drapery clips that go inside the drapes so we can hang them using cafe rings. The drapes are so heavy that regular clips wouldn’t work with them. Usually Pottery Barn will send a set of hardware with the drapes to fit into the top back, but one of the drapes didn’t have all the hardware. It finally came on Friday, and we got our curtains up properly. Mark it off the list! :)

As you can see in the photo, the trim is not up yet around the floor or doors. We were going to wait till all the Christmas decorations were taken down and then get back to work in the dining room, but we’re a little sidetracked by the greenhouse right now, so the dining room is being put back together little by little. The things left in the dining room to do are painting the trim and installing it, painting the hallway door, capping off the chandelier, and putting up industrial shelving near the fireplace. Yesterday I was able to sand down the new shelves, oil them and the corbels and install them for our cook books. I’ve updated my previous post about our dining room from December 24, 2011 and I’ll continue to update it until everything is scratched off the list.

Area in the dining room before the shelves were installed. At some point, we’ll be updating all the doors in the house and banishing the 70′s style flat door. Its just not a major priority at this point.

Everything was level with the corbels, but there were crowns in each plank of poplar wood which threw off my hard work to get everything level and now we have some wonky charm added to our bookshelves. Well, that’s what I’m calling it at least. After all the shelves were up and where I wanted them, I took everything down, sanded and oiled them with a Tung oil. I did the same thing to the coffee/cheese station in the kitchen.

Bottom shelf is mostly occupied by books that we purchased over the last year and a half. Intermingled are one or two books from freecycle and the top shelf is comprised completely of freecycle cookbooks. We still have more books in another room, but for the most part, these are the ones I wanted for our new shelves. I’ll probably add some sort of design features to the shelves, but for the most part, its complete as it is. Can you see the bow in the shelf? LOL I love it!


I’m not sure if you can see it, but on the top shelf Dom added some metal L brackets to the wall to prevent books on the top shelf from spilling over and hitting someone in the head. Also added were anchors (they’re behind the books) to keep the shelves from shifting. I’m a little concerned that one of us (most likely me since I’m accident prone) will swipe the shelf while walking past and knock every book off, damaging their body and the books. Okay, so I’m more worried about the books, but hey, a girl has to have standards right? LOL


After the shelves were finished, Vicki returned home from her class and we all headed outside to start breaking ground on building the foundation for the greenhouse. The original area we were going to build the greenhouse was just past the furthest opening in gate. Unfortunately after looking at where our septic system and leach field is, we needed to have an in depth discussion on where else we could put the greenhouse. I never even thought to move it just 20′ west of the original location, so Dom and I walked all around the property looking for a better location for the greenhouse. Finally, it dawned on us to just move it a little west and everything would be right in our world again. ;) You see, I had already drawn up the garden plans along with all the new trees, bushes, flowers and berry bushes that would go into that area. I was very reluctant to move the greenhouse design to another location because that would mean more hours drawing up a brand new plan. I’m glad it was as easy as a simple shift!  Anyway, Dom removed the large gate which will be relocated to the eastern side of our property in the back. A new driveway will go back there to get to our leach field and septic tank. The way our land used to be laid out, trucks could just pull right up to the septic tank without a problem. But with the ducks, grass and a pond going in, along with new fences and a front formal garden, I do NOT want trucks piling through.


Dom and Noah measuring, staking and marking the area.


Getting everything square.


Checking diagonal measurements.


Using a water level to measure how deep the foundation would need to be dug to make the foundation completely level.


My son’s unique fashion sense. Ya gotta love his look.


Vicki, Noah and Dom officially break ground on our greenhouse! Woot Woot!

Today Dom will be finishing off the foundation to make sure its completely level and ready for the sand, stone and concrete pavers. We had plans to go up to Albuquerque to pick up a free fridge, a concrete mixer and a camera, but we decided to wait till this coming Thursday due to the fact that it would cost well over $200 to rent a truck to pick up those items. He’ll be looking at getting a trailer to hitch to the back of our truck instead.

On the list of things we’ll be doing today:

  • Finish leveling foundation
  • Measure, stake and string new formal garden area and walkways, area for duck fencing.
  • Pull boards off of pallets to prepare for making top bar beehives. Boards are also being used in our new bedroom downstairs. Yes, I want a whole wall of pallet wood where the head of my bed will go! heehee :)

And finally, Dom opened another jar of pickles I made this past fall from the cucumbers we had growing in the garden. He said it was delicious. I didn’t get a chance to taste it since it was completely gone in a matter of minutes! I turned around and POOF! All eaten. I’m glad he enjoyed it!

Thanks for reading! I love comments and feedback so talk to me!

Tagged as: building a greenhouse, cookbook shelves, digging a foundation, eating home-canned pickles, hanging curtains, hanging new shelves, Jericho Nursery, making a completely level foundation, Pottery Barn curtains, putting face plates on electrical outlets, top bar beehive, water level

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The 2012 Photography Challenge

by Angela aka Farmer Jane on January 13, 2012 · 2 comments

Over at Sky Minded and Ever Growing and An Offering of Love they have officially kicked off their 2012 Photography Challenge.

I want in! :)

I have been wanting to do more creative work with my camera and maybe kick it up a notch and get an old fashioned (I mean OLD) 35 mm. I love my digital, but I want to experiment with a Hasselblad 500 (not 35mm but medium format photography) if I can get my hands on one that isn’t too expensive. Anyway, This is such a great opportunity for me to focus on something that I’ve been wanting to do for well over a year!

I had been hoping for the opportunity to spread my wings personally and do something for myself that makes me very satisfied inside. My goal was to have one weekend a month that belongs to only me. A weekend where I can drop all the roles I play in life, be silent (my favorite past time) and reflect on what I’m looking at. I try to do that each day, but the demands of motherhood, of being a wife, homesteader, daughter, are often overwhelming and I lose sight of me. Yeah, me. I forget at times who that person is when I’m overwhelmed with things I’m supposed to be doing.

I take this photography challenge to heart because it gives me the platform I’ve been looking for to express inner thoughts without speaking. I love capturing my world but I love even more when I’ve been fully present in it.

I’ve copy and pasted the 2012 Photography Challenge:

This challenge is a bit broader conceptually and will leave some room for your artistic exploration.  The themes for the months are:

  • January:  You / self-portraits / home
  • February:  Black & white photography
  • March:  5 senses
  • April:  Flowers / leaves
  • May: 1 thing from different perspectives / points-of-view
  • June:  Water or liquid
  • July: City landmarks / street photography
  • August:  Macro photography
  • September:  Lines or shapes
  • October:  Doors and windows
  • November: Silhouettes or mirrors or shadows
  • December:  Glass or metal

 

 

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Tagged as: photography challenge 2012

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