Yesterday was a bright fall day and we found ourselves outside for a good part of it. Preparing our yard and it's inhabitants for the cooler days to come and whittling away at the wood pile, so as to help prepare ourselves as well.
We both had our coffee outside with us as we worked on various tasks after breakfast and I couldn't resist taking the photo of Mike working in the background with his "Boss" mug perched up on the fence post. It was his grandfather's mug and after he passed away Mike requested it. It is almost always the one he chooses.
At first I just thought it was kind of a cute picture, but then as I placed my own mug on a tree stump while I was shoveling mulch, I laughed as I noticed that it too had something to say. "Mother". And so Mike snapped a similar shot of me working with my mug in the foreground.
Neither of us said whether or not we really thought one or the other was the boss.
I dreamed a little about turning this outbuilding into a larger and fabulous chicken coop. Adding to our flock. Maybe adding a duck. Or two. Probably two. I suppose you can't just get one. But I know nothing of ducks so that's just a guess.
The girls explored the yard a bit while Wolife was inside. I'd love to have them roaming the yard freely all the time. But I also like them alive. So there's that to consider as well.
Mike added an entrance-reducer to the beehive to help keep any unwanted intruders out. We suspected that they may have been getting robbed a bit. Perhaps. Mostly we are just novice beekeepers trying our best to keep our bees healthy and stack the odds in their favor as we head into winter.
mmmmmmmmm. raspberries. We planted a dozen this year and eight or so are thriving so we hope to have a nice established bed next year. We also planted a few dozen strawberries that have spread nicely and will be split to fill an additional bed, two heirloom apple trees that are doing well, and two (small) fig trees. We hope to get several blueberry bushes into the ground before it gets too cold. Our yard is small. But if things go our way it will be small and fruity. And maybe even bread/pizza oven-y. Maybe.
That's kinda far down on the list though. Priorities and all.
We planted our garlic, choosing the best of our own bulbs and some from a friend's farm~
I sat by the peas and told them how well I thought they were doing and that they should really keep it up.
Today I stopped by a farmer's market/nursery in town looking for some kale starts and came away with seeds instead. I sowed a flat of kale, spinach and arugula, watered it in, brought it inside and crossed my fingers. I've never started seeds this late, but we are planning a small hoop-house for one of our beds so they just might make it. I'd be quite pleased to be eating fresh greens from the back yard all winter.
*here are some references shared with me by a local bread baker (farmandsparrow.com) for building back yard bread/pizza ovens:
The Pompei Oven- http://www.fornobravo.com/pompeii_oven/pompeii_oven.html
I've never tried this but it looks interesting. Based on Mediterranean bread ovens.
The Alan Scott Oven Book (my old teacher) - http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Builders-Hearth-Loaves-Masonry/dp/1890132055/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320007971&sr=8-1
This is the most common brick oven design, scaled for backyard pizza and bread baking.
The Cob Oven- http://www.amazon.com/Build-Your-Own-Earth-Oven/dp/096798467X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1320008014&sr=1-1
This one is the easiest to build but least durable
Looking glorious! I have similar dreams with our little yard too, though you are much further along. Fruit trees, blackberry bushes, some raised beds, and bees. My husband even entertains the thought of building a bread oven too. Oh how dreamy that would be.
ReplyDeleteYou have a beautiful little homestead.
Well Nichole, you DID just move in to your new place, didn't you? It certainly takes some time to get these dreams of ours going~ Though I know how it is to move and start adding to the list right away and hoping certain things don't get buried by others. (we've been here almost 2 years and still have a cement floor and plaster mud in the mudroom) ha- MUDroom.
ReplyDeleteI got some good references for building bread ovens from my favorite local bread guy. I think we will give it a go in the spring. (hopefully)
hope you are well!
PLEASE share the bread oven info! This is on my list as well. We are 6 weeks away from being farmers...or at least being on a farm. I suppose we are a lifetime away from being farmers. I can't wait to plot my garden when we arrive...and all the other things. Do you have any idea when we'd want to start seeds in the greenhouse? I've done a lot of seed starting indoors with marginal success because I was resistant to investing too much in grow lights and all that. I am thinking that late January is really not too early. Because we get frosts in the mountains until late April, I guess the main thing will be to make sure there is space for the plants to be pretty big before we transfer them outside. I am totally rambling. See, I have no clue what I'm doing!!
ReplyDeleteDanielle, I added the references to the end of the post above~ I find that's one of the best things about keeping a blog~ I can keep things like that (and recipes, project notes, etc...) all in one place where they are fairly easy to find when I need them! I'm excited for you and your move. Oh, to have land to spread out on.... I'd love that one day! Late January would certainly give your plants plenty of time to get well on their way before planting. A lot of gardening books have handy charts in them for when to seed, whether it's direct seeding or sowing in flats. Check out Territorial Seed Company, too- they are a pacific northwest based seed company, so their website would probably be loads of help for you~ Good luck!!
ReplyDeleteyay! thanks for the resources.
ReplyDelete