Ella moved in with us today coming from Lake Marcel where she didn't get along with her siblings.
​She is a very cuddly cat and very alert. Her job will be to keep our rodent population in the garage in check and also entertain Moonshiners and visitors.

Needed a new well pump after we ran the old (from 1995) hot with a busted hose. Our well is 168 feet deep and has water at about 30 feet. Thanks to Cameron and Jeff we had water running again after being dry for 3 days.

We talked about painted boulders or planters at the edge of the road, in order to make it easier to see and more welcoming. Placement will be key so it's easy for traffic to navigate the driveway. Wouldn't want boulders to interfere with that or post office trucks. I love my planted daffodils at the end of my driveway. They don't last all year but they sure are easy! I love the cheerful words on your gate. They set the tone for a visit :).

The humanure bin is overbuilt for what's actually needed. Let it get moist, sprinkle it with a few gallons from a pee bucket, and the oldest batch should be ready for active duty after a brief breakdown in the spring. I aim for spreading the compost one year after the last fresh poop addition. Pee is fine to add any time. I have definitely used humane younger than that, but in a location where it's not very visible, or we can put wood chips or leaves over it. Spreading humanure during the growing season is best, so plants can really soak up the nutrients right away. I do like having trees near the humanure pile so they can grab nutrients. When we've cut down alder trees growing near a compost pile, you can see in the sudden widening of the tree rings when we started the compost pile. Poop into firewood, how cool!

As soon as you can, build another humanure pile that is in contact with the ground. It will break down much faster. The earth is medicine! Even 4 pallets tied together with baling twine together would be fine. The hardware cloth lining may not be necessary. Rats can happily get into any pile we've ever built. Gross, but true. If you build a new one soon, then you'll be able to start dispersing your current piles all the sooner. It might be too delicate a thing to bring up, but I jumped when I saw what looked like dead mice in my humanure compost. Then I realized it was the nylon skeletons of tampons. Everyone has to make their own hygiene decisions, but I have had an "all-cotton, please" conversation with a few housemates.

Your garden seems to be doing okay but will surely benefit from additional fertility as the growing season gets underway. I like building compost piles right in the garden, where I want beds to be. Then even when I spread the resulting compost, the bed underneath it is nicely fertilized too. Chicken or duck manure are a little rich and gross to put directly on plants, but sometimes putting them nearby a big rambling plant like a squash vine can be great. I use fresh horse manure between my corn rows (another benefit from boarding animals). Some veggies can handle this and some can't. I don't like to fertilize tomatoes with much manure at all, for instance, because if they get so much nitrogen they will just get leafy rather than produce fruit. In your garden planning, think about which fruits and veggies are likely to give you the most food and nutrition you enjoy for the least amount of work. Usually herbs and leafy greens are in this category. Leafy greens are nice because they can grow in more shade than fruits can.

Potatoes give the most calories per square foot, but are also fairly cheap to buy. The nice thing about potatoes around here is that you can plant them in the spring and harvest in summer without needing irrigation if you hill them properly. So I put them in places that are hard to water. They are also not as attractive to rabbits and deer, so I plant them without fencing--though your local critters might have a different idea!  I'm happy to share seeds and starts from my collection as spring gets closer. Some plants like cabbage and corn take up a lot of space and might not be worth it with your small garden. 

I honestly would not expect great results from starting plants now in your greenhouse. Especially refined veggies like broccoli and cauliflower need to be babied every step of the way, and being crowded at any stage of their growth might not yield a big harvest. I get more results from a less-refined plant like kale, and there are great winter-hardy varieties like Red Russian or Dazzling Blue. I will start my first kale plants in March. We are still eating from the ones I planted last March. We do put a lot of time and TLC into our cabbages (which can be a finicky plant to grow) but Daniel is a hard-core sauerkraut maker. 

We talked a bit about possibilities of homestead money-making opportunities. I just saw a good summary of a homestead business plan in this article from homestead.org.
My experience is that animals are not big money-makers in our ecosystem, once we factor in labor. But it is possible to offset costs. In years when my goats produce a lot of good-looking female kids, I make money. In years when they produce just a few males (like last year) I lose money. Producing your own feed in some way is helpful. As the saying goes: "If an animal is eating off the landscape, she's working for you. If she's eating out of a bag, you're working for her."

The rabbits are great--most especially since you enjoy them! I think you are right to capitalize on their cuteness and test the rent-a-bunny idea. If there are any parent facebook groups or other potential customers you can ask about what would make them sign up for such a thing, that might help streamline your options. For instance, would they want a cage and food as part of the deal? Central location pick-up and drop-off? How much would you have to charge to make it feel worthwhile for you? And you saw with our reluctant breeders that timing just-weaned baby rabbits for Easter might not be as easy as it sounds. 

Boarding animals has worked well for me, but thanks to finding a friend who is willing to pay well for having her animals here. There are certain things about boarding, like having someone paying attention to the animals every day, and the client being able to visit any time, to think about. Horse boarding is in short supply in the area and I've know more than one person looking for a simple place to let their beloved old horses retire. You would need more infrastructure to have horse habitat, but it's possible. Renting to humans and horses both have their pros and cons!

Hipcamp has been a good platform to use, covering the modest property taxes on our forest parcel as well as the supplies used to build a covered yurt, outhouse etc. We charge $67 a night, then Hipcamp takes 10% and King County Department of Revenue takes 8.4% of the gross revenue. But overall it still feels worth it, as we have relatively few visitors but still make some money. It's not a sole income stream. It really helps that 4 acres of forest are in a conservation plan with the county to drastically reduce the property taxes. This also drastically reduces the property value, but I would rather conserve the forest.

Hosting community events sounds nourishing for you.  Go for it! I love hearing about what you are doing there, and that does build a good feeling on the land even as it's a lot to hold. You've come a long way there since you started. Weaving together people and land is not necessarily easy--you might feel sometimes that you are reinventing the wheel--but it is necessary cultural repair work even when there are bumps along the way. Sure looks like you are creating good habitat!

Keep me posted if you need rabbit rebreeding or want to buy one of the young bucks (born in November) who will be ready to breed in spring. There are also loads of cure rabbits for sale on Craigslist etc. Just make sure whoever you get is equipped to breed. I once had a young buck tear off one of his testicles when he jumped up and his testicle had gotten caught in the cage wire. Ouch! Sorry, buddy!

Hope everyone is staying warm enough--this is a tough little bottleneck we are going through to get back to our usual warm-ish rain. All the best to you and Moonshine Creek!

Chirp,

​We talked about painted boulders or planters at the edge of the road, in order to make it easier to see and more welcoming. Placement will be key so it's easy for traffic to navigate the driveway. Wouldn't want boulders to interfere with that or post office truck. I love my planted daffodils at the end of my driveway. They don't last all year but they sure are easy! I love the cheerful words on your gate. They set the tone for a visit :).

The humanure bin is overbuilt for what's actually needed. Let it get moist, sprinkle it with a few gallons from a pee bucket, and the oldest batch should be ready for active duty after a brief breakdown in the spring. I aim for spreading the compost one year after the last fresh poop addition. Pee is fine to add any time. I have definitely used humane younger than that, but in a location where it's not very visible, or we can put wood chips or leaves over it. Spreading humanure during the growing season is best, so plants can really soak up the nutrients right away. I do like having trees near the humanure pile so they can grab nutrients. When we've cut down alder trees growing near a compost pile, you can see in the sudden widening of the tree rings when we started the compost pile. Poop into firewood, how cool!

As soon as you can, build another humanure pile that is in contact with the ground. It will break down much faster. The earth is medicine! Even 4 pallets tied together with baling twine together would be fine. The hardware cloth lining may not be necessary. Rats can happily get into any pile we've ever built. Gross, but true. If you build a new one soon, then you'll be able to start dispersing your current piles all the sooner. 

It might be too delicate a thing to bring up, but I jumped when I saw what looked like dead mice in my humanure compost. Then I realized it was the nylon skeletons of tampons. Everyone has to make their own hygiene decisions, but I have had an "all-cotton, please" conversation with a few housemates.

Your garden seems to be doing okay but will surely benefit from additional fertility as the growing season gets underway. I like building compost piles right in the garden, where I want beds to be. Then even when I spread the resulting compost, the bed underneath it is nicely fertilized too. Chicken or duck manure are a little rich and gross to put directly on plants, but sometimes putting them nearby a big rambling plant like a squash vine can be great. I use fresh horse manure between my corn rows (another benefit from boarding animals). Some veggies can can handle this and some can't. I don't like to fertilize tomatoes with much manure at all, for instance, because if they get so much nitrogen they will just get leafy rather than produce fruit. In your garden planning, think about which fruits and veggies are likely to give you the most food and nutrition you enjoy for the least amount of work. Usually herbs and leafy greens are in this category. Leafy greens are nice because they can grow in more shade than fruits can.

Potatoes give the most calories per square foot, but are also fairly cheap to buy. The nice thing about potatoes around here is that you can plant them in the spring and harvest in summer without needing irrigation if you hill them properly. So I put them in places that are hard to water. They are also not as attractive to rabbits and deer, so I plant them without fencing--though your local critters might have a different idea!  I'm happy to share seeds and starts from my collection as spring gets closer. Some plants like cabbage and corn take up a lot of space and might not be worth it with your small garden. 

I honestly would not expect great results from starting plants now in your greenhouse. Especially refined veggies like broccoli and cauliflower need to be babied every step of the way, and being crowded at any stage of their growth might not yield a big harvest. I get more results from a less-refined plant like kale, and there are great winter-hardy varieties like Red Russian or Dazzling Blue. I will start my first kale plants in March. We are still eating from the ones I planted last March. We do put a lot of time and TLC into our cabbages (which can be a finicky plant to grow) but Daniel is a hard-core sauerkraut maker. 

We talked a bit about possibilities of homestead money-making opportunities. I just saw a good summary of a homestead business plan in this article from homestead.org.
My experience is that animals are not big money-makers in our ecosystem, once we factor in labor. But it is possible to offset costs. In years when my goats produce a lot of good-looking female kids, I make money. In years when they produce just a few males (like last year) I lose money. Producing your own feed in some way is helpful. As the saying goes: "If an animal is eating off the landscape, she's working for you. If she's eating out of a bag, you're working for her."

The rabbits are great--most especially since you enjoy them! I think you are right to capitalize on their cuteness and test the rent-a-bunny idea. If there are any parent facebook groups or other potential customers you can ask about what would make them sign up for such a thing, that might help streamline your options. For instance, would they want a cage and food as part of the deal? Central location pick-up and drop-off? How much would you have to charge to make it feel worthwhile for you? And you saw with our reluctant breeders that timing just-weaned baby rabbits for Easter might not be as easy as it sounds. 

Boarding animals has worked well for me, but thanks to finding a friend who is willing to pay well for having her animals here. There are certain things about boarding, like having someone paying attention to the animals every day, and the client being able to visit any time, to think about. Horse boarding is in short supply in the area and I've know more than one person looking for a simple place to let their beloved old horses retire. You would need more infrastructure to have horse habitat, but it's possible. Renting to humans and horses both have their pros and cons!

Hipcamp has been a good platform to use, covering the modest property taxes on our forest parcel as well as the supplies used to build a covered yurt, outhouse etc. We charge $67 a night, then Hipcamp takes 10% and King County Department of Revenue takes 8.4% of the gross revenue. But overall it still feels worth it, as we have relatively few visitors but still make some money. It's not a sole income stream. It really helps that 4 acres of forest are in a conservation plan with the county to drastically reduce the property taxes. This also drastically reduces the property value, but I would rather conserve the forest.

Hosting community events sounds nourishing for you.  Go for it! I love hearing about what you are doing there, and that does build a good feeling on the land even as it's a lot to hold. You've come a long way there since you started. Weaving together people and land is not necessarily easy--you might feel sometimes that you are reinventing the wheel--but it is necessary cultural repair work even when there are bumps along the way. Sure looks like you are creating good habitat!

Keep me posted if you need rabbit rebreeding or want to buy one of the young bucks (born in November) who will be ready to breed in spring. There are also loads of cure rabbits for sale on Craigslist etc. Just make sure whoever you get is equipped to breed. I once had a young buck tear off one of his testicles when he jumped up and his testicle had gotten caught in the cage wire. Ouch! Sorry, buddy!

Hope everyone is staying warm enough--this is a tough little bottleneck we are going through to get back to our usual warm-ish rain. All the best to you and Moonshine Creek!

Chirp,

I will try to keep up with all the great ideas you had--love that full clipboard!--and of course feel free to reach out with any questions or additional thoughts.

We talked about painted boulders or planters at the edge of the road, in order to make it easier to see and more welcoming. Placement will be key so it's easy for traffic to get navigate the driveway. Wouldn't want boulders to interfere with that or post office truck. I love my planted daffodils at the end of my driveway. They don't last all year but they sure are easy! I love the cheerful words on your gate. They set the tone for a visit :).

The humanure bin is overbuilt for what's actually needed. Let it get moist, sprinkle it with a few gallons from a pee bucket, and the oldest batch should be ready for active duty after a brief breakdown in the spring. I aim for spreading the compost one year after the last fresh poop addition. Pee is fine to add any time. I have definitely used humane younger than that, but in a location where it's not very visible, or we can put wood chips or leaves over it. Spreading humanure during the growing season is best, so plants can really soak up the nutrients right away. I do like having trees near the humanure pile so they can grab nutrients. When we've cut down alder trees growing near a compost pile, you can see in the sudden widening of the tree rings when we started the compost pile. Poop into firewood, how cool!

As soon as you can, build another humanure pile that is in contact with the ground. It will break down much faster. The earth is medicine! Even 4 pallets tied together with baling twine together would be fine. The hardware cloth lining may not be necessary. Rats can happily get into any pile we've ever built. Gross, but true. If you build a new one soon, then you'll be able to start dispersing your current piles all the sooner. 

It might be too delicate a thing to bring up, but I jumped when I saw what looked like dead mice in my humanure compost. Then I realized it was the nylon skeletons of tampons. Everyone has to make their own hygiene decisions, but I have had an "all-cotton, please" conversation with a few housemates.

Your garden seems to be doing okay but will surely benefit from additional fertility as the growing season gets underway. I like building compost piles right in the garden, where I want beds to be. Then even when I spread the resulting compost, the bed underneath it is nicely fertilized too. Chicken or duck manure are a little rich and gross to put directly on plants, but sometimes putting them nearby a big rambling plant like a squash vine can be great. I use fresh horse manure between my corn rows (another benefit from boarding animals). Some veggies can can handle this and some can't. I don't like to fertilize tomatoes with much manure at all, for instance, because if they get so much nitrogen they will just get leafy rather than produce fruit. In your garden planning, think about which fruits and veggies are likely to give you the most food and nutrition you enjoy for the least amount of work. Usually herbs and leafy greens are in this category. Leafy greens are nice because they can grow in more shade than fruits can.

Potatoes give the most calories per square foot, but are also fairly cheap to buy. The nice thing about potatoes around here is that you can plant them in the spring and harvest in summer without needing irrigation if you hill them properly. So I put them in places that are hard to water. They are also not as attractive to rabbits and deer, so I plant them without fencing--though your local critters might have a different idea!  I'm happy to share seeds and starts from my collection as spring gets closer. Some plants like cabbage and corn take up a lot of space and might not be worth it with your small garden. 

I honestly would not expect great results from starting plants now in your greenhouse. Especially refined veggies like broccoli and cauliflower need to be babied every step of the way, and being crowded at any stage of their growth might not yield a big harvest. I get more results from a less-refined plant like kale, and there are great winter-hardy varieties like Red Russian or Dazzling Blue. I will start my first kale plants in March. We are still eating from the ones I planted last March. We do put a lot of time and TLC into our cabbages (which can be a finicky plant to grow) but Daniel is a hard-core sauerkraut maker. 

We talked a bit about possibilities of homestead money-making opportunities. I just saw a good summary of a homestead business plan in this article from homestead.org.
My experience is that animals are not big money-makers in our ecosystem, once we factor in labor. But it is possible to offset costs. In years when my goats produce a lot of good-looking female kids, I make money. In years when they produce just a few males (like last year) I lose money. Producing your own feed in some way is helpful. As the saying goes: "If an animal is eating off the landscape, she's working for you. If she's eating out of a bag, you're working for her."

The rabbits are great--most especially since you enjoy them! I think you are right to capitalize on their cuteness and test the rent-a-bunny idea. If there are any parent facebook groups or other potential customers you can ask about what would make them sign up for such a thing, that might help streamline your options. For instance, would they want a cage and food as part of the deal? Central location pick-up and drop-off? How much would you have to charge to make it feel worthwhile for you? And you saw with our reluctant breeders that timing just-weaned baby rabbits for Easter might not be as easy as it sounds. 

Boarding animals has worked well for me, but thanks to finding a friend who is willing to pay well for having her animals here. There are certain things about boarding, like having someone paying attention to the animals every day, and the client being able to visit any time, to think about. Horse boarding is in short supply in the area and I've know more than one person looking for a simple place to let their beloved old horses retire. You would need more infrastructure to have horse habitat, but it's possible. Renting to humans and horses both have their pros and cons!

Hipcamp has been a good platform to use, covering the modest property taxes on our forest parcel as well as the supplies used to build a covered yurt, outhouse etc. We charge $67 a night, then Hipcamp takes 10% and King County Department of Revenue takes 8.4% of the gross revenue. But overall it still feels worth it, as we have relatively few visitors but still make some money. It's not a sole income stream. It really helps that 4 acres of forest are in a conservation plan with the county to drastically reduce the property taxes. This also drastically reduces the property value, but I would rather conserve the forest.

Hosting community events sounds nourishing for you.  Go for it! I love hearing about what you are doing there, and that does build a good feeling on the land even as it's a lot to hold. You've come a long way there since you started. Weaving together people and land is not necessarily easy--you might feel sometimes that you are reinventing the wheel--but it is necessary cultural repair work even when there are bumps along the way. Sure looks like you are creating good habitat!

Keep me posted if you need rabbit rebreeding or want to buy one of the young bucks (born in November) who will be ready to breed in spring. There are also loads of cure rabbits for sale on Craigslist etc. Just make sure whoever you get is equipped to breed. I once had a young buck tear off one of his testicles when he jumped up and his testicle had gotten caught in the cage wire. Ouch! Sorry, buddy!

Hope everyone is staying warm enough--this is a tough little bottleneck we are going through to get back to our usual warm-ish rain. All the best to you and Moonshine Creek!

Chirp,
Alexia

​Alexia Allen of Hawthorn Farm (she/her)
"Hawthorn Heals the Heart"
www.HawthornFarm.org