What is going on???

I've been giving some thought to the overall goals of this blog.  Originally I thought it would be fairly instructional - on topics such as living off grid and homesteading.  I've recently realized that I barely have any idea what I'm doing!!!  Really, most of my blog posts have been more along the lines of what NOT to do rather than the proper way to do things!  And you know what?  That's okay!  One thing I'd decided that I really wanted to be above all else is authentic.  If I were to provide all kinds of instructional information to you, without feeling like I knew what I was doing, it'd all be a lie.  So really I feel that the blog is going in a more memoir-ish direction.  A learn from my mistakes direction. A learn as I go direction.  And if I really know how to do something, I'll show you how to do it.  And of course there will be food!  And hopefully farm animals!  And if there’s anything you want to hear about, let me know!  I just might go that way, too!

Just Awesome

It's a wee bit hoary out there. Was 8 degrees this morning, and now we have warmed up to a balmy 12 degrees. Woohoo!

Oh, the travesty!!!

So during our little 3 day wind storm, my greenhouse blew over.  Up and rolled over. Caught wind like a sail and made way. 

I did not appreciate it and may have had one of my multiple breakdowns of the week.  Maybe. 

But, as usual, Woody to the rescue!  He carefully rolled that sucker back over and decided to install a floor, so that all of the plants and etc that I put in it will give the building added weight.  And overall, not too bad of damage to the structure!  Little baby miracle.  

I saved the few plants that had been placed in it already - the citrus - and they moved inside for a few days.  After the floor was installed, I placed many, many, many pounds of paving stones, dirt and water inside, along with the plants.  Fingers crossed that our efforts will pay off!

Upright, with new floor!

Happy Birthday to me!

I'm calling this my birthday present - even though it is a pioneering necessity. Love love love it! Need to do a lot more to make it more winter-able, but its a great start & I've already thrown plants in it. Yay!

Challenges

We will have challenges when we finally settle up at the Broken Badger in Bickleton.  We plan to try to produce the majority of our own food, but our weather is extremely unpredictable.  I've looked into the history of the weather in Bickleton and there is a possiblity of freezing temperatures at any time during the year.  Yes, it can freeze even in July and August!  January or July?? While that is a rare event (the average lows for summer are in the 50's), since we are going to be self-sufficient we need to plan for the worst case scenario, if we can.  A lost harvest means a winter with less food than we should have.  Right now if my garden fails, I can run to the grocery store.  Up there it will mean stone soup and pine needle tea.  Yikes!  Dinner? I need a greenhouse.  I need a greenhouse with a footprint the size of Texas.  I may need multiple greenhouses.  I actually love the earthy smell and ambient warmth of a greenhouse, so this really doesn't hurt my feelings much.  But then there's the other challenge... the wind.  Part of what we love so much about the area is the fact we will be able to generate power from the wind.  Part of my challenge is the wind loves to destroy poly film structures.  I'm worried that polycarbonate sheets will be too lightweight as well.  (We can get some serious gusts up there!) This design will stand up to the wind I think good ole fashion glass will be the way to go.  I suspect they will mostly look like these: Awesome design from... Whatever it takes... So cute! Tomatoes, peppers, melons... all these warm weather crops will need to be protected from chilly nights, but also need to kept from frying during the heat of the day in the greenhouse.  It will be a delicate balancing act.  My goal is to have a system to open the greenhouse during the day, moving air through, then to close back up at night.  I have not come up with an actual design yet.  But this one comes close... I like that upper row of windows, so easy to crack open, release the risen heat and create a low to high air flow. Really liking this concept For some of the 'medium' crops (not really needing the warmth, but not happy with a freeze either) I will most likely use some type of cold frame.  Something that can be closed at night to keep warmth in and cold at bay, yet fully opened during the day as long as it stays above freezing!! Faaaancy cold frames :-) Of course, we'll also have to build an orangerie to house our tender citrus trees.  It will problably look something like this: I wish!!!  But seriously, I'm hoping to keep some more tender trees and plants from dying in the winter. What are your thoughts on the challenges ahead?  Any interesting building materials or structures for the garden?  Scary experiences with wind destroying all your hard work?

Weather at the farm

7-Day Forecast for Latitude 45.99°N and Longitude 120.44°W (Elev. 3838 ft)

So why "The Broken Badger?"

When we first bought our property in Bickleton, we went exploring.  We had fallen in love so instantly with the property when we first saw it, that we bought it before we explored it much (shoot, 3 years later there are still areas I've never seen....)  We travelled all the roads and walked some of the property lines.  Traversed the fields and crossed the draws.  Wait... what is that?  We found 3 large holes.  Two in the forested draws and one ontop of a mound in the field.  They were burrow like and about 8-10 inches across.  I have no idea how deep they were, as there was no way I was getting close enough to find out!!  Who knows what could be down there.  Well, after some research and talking to the locals, we have come to the conclusion that it must be badgers.  Badgers are mean.  I mean, they are just trying to get along, just like the rest of us, but they happen to do it in a rather fiesty way.  Which is exactly why we will try to give them a wide berth.  Luckily, they tend to have a very wide range and will go from burrow to burrow as they range.  Unless this guy spend winter in one of the burrows on our property, s/he will probably only be with us a few times a year.  Our biggest badger concern revolves around the dog.  As fate would have it, we have a dachshund.  They were originally bred to go after badgers.  Great.  Of course, our little baby is a mini-dachshund, so she is much smaller than the standard 20 plus pound dog that is the true badger dog.  But don't tell her that!  She thinks she is a 300 pound guard dog - and a hunter.  She will stick her nose into any little hole in the yard trying to get ahold of whatever rodent may have been in there.  It's her job, it's in her blood, it's what she does.  On to the name "Broken Badger."  Since badgers are always on our minds when we are at the property, it should come as no surprise that I would start naming things after them.  We have been periodically working on a cabin up there for the last couple years.  One of the times that Woody was diligently banging away on the cabin, I went a'wandering.  When I looked back at the cabin, it just struck me - its name is The Broken Badger.  (Yes - I often have these random "this is how it is" thoughts.)  I began to have images of our friends from town saying, "Hey, let's go see Shae and Woody up at the Broken Badger!"  Okay, that might be pushing it, but still, the cabin has a name! The Broken Badger