TO DO before Winter in the so-called “Ladies’ Garden”. Â clear weeds, brambles put in path from house to woodpile (to the right , not in picture) and stake make bed for strawberries transplant strawberries from front bed to here reinforce coop roof for snow load finishing touches to coop buck, split and stack more wood …
Category Archives: homestead
Elements!
Just for my own satisfaction (sanity?), a reckoning of the elements in place or about to be in place here at Robin Hill Gardens: Veg gardens, all grown from seed (reasonable harvests, gardener needs more experience) Hoop house (12’x20′) Solar PV array (5.1 Kw – supplies 100% of electricity) Medicinal herb garden (minimal, needs more …
One Element at a Time
Two elements in this image, actually. One of which we set in motion a couple of months ago, and one that I just strung. We had a clothesline until two winters ago, but the trees it was under leafed out so much it stopped being a very good spot: too much shade, too much stuff …
E-Scapes!
It all stacks up! It’s been hot here. Three days of high 90s in the shade. The animals who are outside are coping. The animals inside, that’s us, less so. The first day was bearable: 75 in/97 out (in shade). I stepped outside around midnight that night and it was still blasting heat, so I …
Hard Labor Happy Mama
What did you do on Mother’s Day? I split firewood. A cord and a half it it. Had some help from DH, of course. And we rented a log splitter. The maul you see there in the picture is just for show. Had we done this the old-fashioned way I’d be writing this from the …
Fun Designing
This for the bees. I’m going to make my own hive bodies (boxes, bottom board, inner and outer covers). I’ll buy the frames and foundation. This for the water catchment, on Craiglist, for $100. Just need to borrow someone’s truck to pick up two of them. But the majority of fun is being had with …
Cushions
The farmer in his field A while ago we finally took the step and enrolled in a year-long CSA, starting this Spring, at Siena Farms. We visited the farm in Fall and fell in love with the fields and the farmers. I loved especially the fact that the owner, Farmer Chris, puts effort and money …
First Wood’s In
We brought in a little more than 1/3 of a cord of well-dried wood today. We still have a good two and a half cords under cover in the back yard, which should get us through the Winter. The trees that came down this year and that we’re still bucking will make for good dry …
Goings On at the Homestead
Bought 15 pints of Local (Wayland Farmers Market) blueberries: Made it into 27 8oz jars of blueberry jam: Picked off 7 Tomato Hornworms: Harvested all 28 heads of garlic: Harvested and stored 16 lbs. of potatoes: Helping 10 flats of seedlings along (lettuce, spinach, chard, broccoli, collards, kale):
We’re a Can-Do Kind of People
Today I found a study in contrasts in the boot of my station wagon: a cello, a chain saw. Once home, we hooked a rope to the car, tied the other end around a log in the big pile, then I reversed to pull the trunk out so DH could cut it up. DH and I …