They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
One of the most common suggestions we get from people who see our homestead is "You should rent a... [insert piece of heavy equipment here.]" Whether it is a backhoe, or a skid steer, or whatever, there is some truth in it. A lot of the projects we have done on the farm could have… Continue reading Because it is relaxing. Sometimes…
One of my strongest pieces of advice to anyone looking to get into gardening is to start without a plan. Seriously, just put some seeds in the ground, and see what happens. This should be a relatively small piece of ground. Or a pot. In one growing season you will have opportunity to learn a… Continue reading Re-routing the Garden Fence
Halloween fell on a Friday this year, and Daddy had the day off work. Since we were planning on going up to Enumclaw around lunch time, Daddy decided to get to the farm early and get in a few hours of work before that. So after feeding the animals, I got right to work in… Continue reading Subdividing the South Pasture: One more Fence Anchor
Lots of people (myself included) watch homesteaders on Youtube, and that show about early Victorian farms, and read John Seymour's "Self-Sufficient Life" and get all fired up about living the more simple life. Some even buy or rent or borrow some land and make a start at homesteading. But there is a dark side of… Continue reading Subdividing the South Pasture: First two Fence Anchors
As we mentioned a few weeks ago, Edmund contracted to dig the hole for the first fence post for the south pasture. Schedules have been hectic, so we were not able to get together to put the post in, and also, we didn't have the 16 foot gate to measure the post location with. We… Continue reading Subdividing the South Pasture: Setting the First Post
Edmund has another contract. This time for $40, For one post hole, minimum 42" deep, big enough to set a railroad tie exactly 16 feet from both corner posts at the gate to the chicken-yard and south pasture. This is the beginning of the next phase of pasture development, step one of dividing up the… Continue reading Subdividing the South Pasture, Part 1: Learning
This post is long overdue, we did all this on May 12 and 13, the two days before Mommy and Daddy went to Ireland for our anniversary. But we didn't get around to posting this because Mommy and Daddy went to Ireland for our anniversary. But here we are, better late than never. You are… Continue reading Subdividing the North Pasture: Final Anchor in the North Pasture, Part 2.
Last Thursday Seppi and Winnie and Daddy built another fence anchor. Since we were trying to have a family day, we decided to see how fast we could build it. First step, run the straight line. Then download the tools. Third, measure exactly 12 feet for the gate. Fourth, mark the sod under the straight… Continue reading Subdividing the Pasture: Third Fence Anchor, building for time.
One of the most laborious tasks of the rotational grazing on the two main pastures at the farm is running of the long center line fence. This takes a full morning or afternoon to move every time we need to move from the North to the South Pasture, or vice versa. The long bundles are… Continue reading Dividing the Pasture: First gate
Little Farm in the Big City 