Now that the beaver dams are taken care of, we are ready to move on to other things. Our landlord is planning to replant the bluff, so in preparation I will be pulling up as much Scotch broom as humanly possible before the end of 2013. Scotch broom, as you probably know, is an aggressively invasive plant which loves to spring up in disturbed areas, so a clear cut bluff is pretty much ideal habitat.
I will also see if I can fix the greenhouse roof. It's made of clear corrugated plastic panels, some of which are broken. No clue how that is done, though, so I may have to admit defeat and leave it to a professional.
Meanwhile, we are continuing to adjust to life off the grid. Wood stove heat is relatively cheap, but time-consuming as one has to collect and process wood. We, of course, have many piles of logging debris on the bluff, as well as acres of forest whose floors are covered in the usual dead branches, and even some whole dead trees killed when the creek flooded. The raw materials are there, and we are gamely attempting to get on top of it. But I now understand why people have gigantic woodsheds filled to the brim with logs year-round: you need to stock up. But I figure if we gather everyday, and buy from others, we will be okay. This is yet another body of knowledge we will have to acquire: how to cut down trees, how to know which to cut down, how to maintain a forest so that it provides us with firewood without just cutting it all down at once, and so on. This is all stuff to know if you want to homestead, and I'm glad I'm getting some experience now before we actually own a place.
For the chicken enthusiasts: the ladies love their new coop. Also, they are so big now! The three young ones are now what's known as pullets. Not a chick, not yet a hen, as Britney Spears might say. They won't begin to lay until they are at least six months old, and the two older hens will be laying less since it's winter (hens need lots of sunlight to lay at peak efficiency) so for now they are just all running around eating things and being cute. Pictures!
I actually managed to get all five laaaadiez in one shot! From left to right: Mistress Kiki, Minerva, Pearl, Beatrice, and Gwen.
