What’s changed in the first half of Year 4?

Food Production – The Food Forest is started.  We have pears, plums, peaches, apples, blueberries, raspberries, all that common stuff.  We also added juju berries, paw paws (in addition to the multiple wild paw-paws that are growing on the property), satsuma citrus (like mandarine oranges, cherries – one dead so far).  The Chayata squash died.  The Muscadine Grapes are doing okay. The avocado produces and then loses its fruit. (Bought special organic citrus fertilizer for that.)

We fought with the Monster Bunny for the strawberries – it was a tie.  We fought with the rabbits for the sweet potatoes.  We won thanks to the electric fence!

Livestock – We bred our four dwarf goats and got 8 kids, which all sold through Craigslist.

Cheerio, the American Guinea Hog, had 6 piglets that she promptly killed.  We culled the female and started over with Sweetie, who should have piglets in Aug (’17) and Rachel.  The hogs  eat primarily rice and potatoes and raw eggs, with other food scraps added.

Our two Resident Interns moved to Stage Two of the Independent Living Program.  They are both working off-campus for now until we establish the fam-events program (Spring ’18).

Construction work is at that ‘once-in-awhile-as needed’ stage.  We built a Basic Platform for the new Air Conditioning Unit at the Tilly.  And put up the Shade tent on the rear porch of the Main House.

Oak & Acorn – Basic remod done to the hall in the Main House.  We anticipate an inter-generational change in the fall as we gain a new elder resident.  That puts four generations on the Farm!

Storytelling is off to a great start with the first book in the Coop & Mattie Mystery Series: ‘Diamond Mine’  and two stories for Lily’s Animal Tales Collection.  

 

Happy Homesteading,
T.