Water and wood

Since we got back from our little holiday, we have been working on the plumbing for the rain water tank. The soil was so dry and hard when we started, we hired a jackhammer to get the trench down to the required level for the electricity to run from the solar command centre to the chemical locker that we're using as a pump station. Of course, it rained after we installed the electricity. Good thing that it was finished, but a shame because some rain would have really helped with the digging. Can't have everything!

We are also taking this opportunity to re-do the plumbing from the roof guttering to the tank. It's been going strong for 3 years now, un-glued, only held up by poles in the ground, but it's time to finish it properly. Not long to go now.

We got a little distracted by this awesome pile of wood that Marty arranged to be delivered. Oh my, this wood is extreme! The knots, twists and tenacity, it was very challenging. We learned that you have to chop with the growth rings, and not against them (ie: you can't split this stuff!). Marty and I were happily breaking it down by axe, maul and wedge / sledge hammer combination, one wheelbarrow at a time, but we were offered help by a friend from in town, and we didn't say no! It was raining a little as the wood splitting machine made .. uh, not quite what you'd call "light work" of it, but certainly made life a lot easier for us! The whole pile was done in a few hours and they took off to start splitting a pile for another in need. We're very grateful for the help, but also a tiny bit sad that we'll miss out on any more wood splitting fun we had together. There's nothing quite like the feeling of using all your strength and power, axe in hand, the satisfaction of getting a chunk of wood to come off.

I think this wood pile will last at least 2 years, since it filled both the wood shed and a big old wood rack we got an a clearing sale years ago now.. so it'll be a little while before we get to do it again. Considering the wood only cost about $600, I think it was money well spent.

Winter Solstice 2016

The cooler weather has been nice, but it's the wet weather that is keeping us from doing too much exciting around here lately. The shed progress has halted, with tarp covering one of the frames, we'll wait for drier times to continue.

We went to the last Permie Day at Richard's place, and came home with an orphaned lemon tree. Poor little thing! There's one great thing about wet weather though - it's very easy to dig holes for trees. The tree is all tucked-in for the winter, and hopefully it recovers. There is a lot of compost in that soil, as well as a generous amount of worm juice and poultry manure (in pellet form from the bag, since we can't really collect our own chook manure the way they're set up now).

There's been a lot of sitting by the fire, keeping warm.

We keep any wood with holes in them for the garden, somewhere for the bugs, spiders and skinks to call home. Some make good garden edging, and others are huge and I'll garden around them. Gardening is a very slow process in Winter, which is a little frustrating, but I can't complain too much. Most everything is still alive, just hanging out for the warmer days. I've kept 3 jars of Kang Kong in the kitchen - with roots this year - just waiting for Spring, there's a sweet potato that sprouted too late last season, but might not live to see the Spring, and avocado seeds with toothpicks too.

We had trouble with the Red Legged Earth Mite again this year, and while I don't like chemicals, I did try a home made white oil recipe out - just kitchen oil, water, and a drop or two of dishwashing liquid. That worked well, but I waited too long to spray, and the silverbeet are still in recovery mode (which is taking a long time being Winter), so next time I'll be ready for them. That means no more silverbeet though, and other than a few herbs, there isn't much being harvested from the garden. Thankfully the farmer's market traders are better at this than I am, and we are eating excellent food anyway. :)

The fruit trees received a little love, we pruned the fig trees (just underneath them, taking out the suckers and dead stuff, not very dramatic this year), the almond trees got a very light prune, (just branches that were crossing over others and dead ones) and this year I've added mulch and some chicken manure around the bases. They didn't produce any almonds last year, so we're hoping they go crazy this year. Almonds are $36 per kilo at the moment! I don't imagine we'll get enough for our own needs, let alone selling them.

There are plenty of things on the to-do list, but there's no hurry. Often, the longer things take, the better they turn out. Plans have time to evolve, change and sometimes the things that seemed so important before are off the list entirely after some time. Some days we don't do anything at all, and that's perfectly ok with me. :)

From Water to Wood Storage

Our old water tank has a new lease on life as a wood shed.

It's very comforting to know that we're all set for wood to keep us warm this winter. The first half of the water tank was filled up with wood, most recently from a $35 bid at a clearing sale, and now we're cleaning up the area around the house so we've got a bit more to store. On goes the second half of the old water tank!

It's held up by star-posts driven into the ground and some fencing wire to keep it all up. Amazing that it works so well, really! :)

Pallets keep the wood from rotting on the ground, everything is quite airy, and so far, no snakes are interested in calling it home.