Summarizing the past year and a half

I haven't updated since September 2020, but I wanted to get back to using this blog for my own record-keeping. I moved into the new homestead on February 13, 2021, and I don't want to forget all the valuable lessons I've learned over the past year! (Half of them having to do with learning about the timing of the weather and the weed growth.)

But first, a moment of silence for the Great Chicken Massacre of 2020. I was so excited about setting up a huge new pen for them at the new property, with 2x2" fencing, 6' tall, an electric wire running along the outside to deter climbing predators, and buried hardware cloth at the bottom to prevent diggers. But a few months before the move, I woke up one morning to find 6 or 7 chickens missing or maimed. (I don't remember the number 100% at this point.) Based on the details of the attack, I'm guessing it was one or more raccoons. So shitty that I lived at the previous place for nearly 4 years without any predator attacks except for hawks taking just 2 hens, and now this just before I moved them to Chicken Ft Knox.

 

But on to happier news!

The 2.2 acre property was just bare land when I purchased it.

View from the start of the cul-de-sac, toward the north-west

View from the south-west corner, toward the north-east

There is now a happy yellow house with detached garage, a large fenced backyard, and a large pen for the chickens/orchard/garden. Inside the house, I have a whole craft room, guest bedroom, and many many houseplants.

Chipper yellow house!

View of the garage, which has a permanent puppy potty area

Some of my houseplants

Some more houseplants

More houseplants again

My very favorite chicken, the Black Australorp that was among the first 3 peepers I ever got, passed away last year at age 6. My current oldest is the Light Brahma, who will be turning 4 this year.

As of this writing, I have 1 rooster (Buff Orpington), 2 elderly hens who don't lay eggs anymore (Buff Orpington and Easter Egger, taken in from someone who was moving and couldn't keep them), 12 hens of laying age (Light Brahma, Ancona, Splash Hamburg, 2 Norwegian Jaerhons, 2 Easter Eggers, 2 Olive Eggers, Black Australorp, Gold Star, Barred Rock), and 9 2-week old chicks (Silver Laced Wyandotte, Gold Laced Wyandotte, Blue Laced Red Wyandotte, Cuckoo Maran, Welsummer, Barnevelder, Rhode Island Red, Blue Silkie, mystery chick who seems to be a Green Queen with Silkie mixed in). I am raising the chicks in a large tub with a welded wire cover in the backyard so that I can cuddle with them frequently. My goal is to finally have some chickens who like hanging out with me and maybe even being held - all my current ones will come over for food but then say "no touchie."

Most of the adult chickens enjoying food scraps

Current peeper pen by the back door

Cuddling with the Cuckoo Maran chick

Inside the run where the chickens live, I have a corridor for a backyard/hedgerow orchard of 15 fruit trees (5 nectarine/peach, 5 fig, 1 Fuji apple, 1 loquat, 1 Lapins cherry, 1 Fuyu persimmon, 1 sugar prune). I have 2 colorful raised beds (my mom did a lot of the painting for these boards). They aren't planted yet as the infrastructure and tree projects are higher priority, but I wanted to go ahead and set them out to help with planning spacing. Along the eastern fence, I plan to put another chicken-proof corridor for vining plants (tomatoes, peas, cucumbers). Later I'll add raspberry bushes - they'll be surrounded by a fence that will be accessible on all sides by the chickens, which will keep them in check.

Row of fruit trees with fencing to keep chickens out and partially attached weed fabric.

Raised beds with sheep manure and chicken bedding breaking down for compost

The backyard is 6,000 square feet, with 2 retaining walls, a concrete pad, and a french drain to move rainwater away the house. I need to rig up shade/rain cover for the dogs. I hope to install a permanent dog tub for cooling off (I currently have a plastic pool), and an outdoor shower for myself. I had originally planned to install irrigation sprinklers and a drought-tolerant lawn, but for the moment I'm just dealing with the existing plant life and it's not so bad, setting aside the occasional foxtail clump and the yellow star-thistle.

Phoenix in the backyard.

On the east side of the house, I've started planting a succulent garden with gifted agaves and aloes. It is currently totally overgrown with weeds - I let them get tall enough that the baby agaves disappeared, so string trimming would be disastrous. I am partway through trimming out a path and plant clearance with a small sickle.

Hoo boy is that overgrown.

 

The south side of the property has black walnut trees. They provide some nice privacy, but they're growing directly underneath electrical wires and somewhat block the view when driving out of the cul-de-sac. I plan to take them out and plant something different for privacy, farther from the road. Then I am going to replace the shoddy, barely-there fence along that side of the property. Add fencing and a gate along the cul-de-sac, and the property will be fully fenced so the dogs can roam!

Black walnut trees

 

I keep going back and forth on whether to get sheep for grazing down the weeds or a nice riding mower. There are pros and cons for each. Either way, it's a decision that doesn't really need to be made for a few years at least, and in the meantime one of my neighbors allows me to borrow his old, slow riding mower. I just prefer to have things all planned out ahead of time.

Recently mowed front area

 

I brought home an English Shepherd puppy in November of 2020, from a wonderful breeder I'd been in contact with for two years. We're taking ongoing classes for agility and nose work. On my own, I'm slowly working on rally-free, traditional obedience exercises, herding foundation, and tricks. We've had a couple of herding adventures with sheep already, and I hope to do more (one of the potential pros of getting my own sheep).

8 weeks old, during the drive home

All grown up, 1.5 years old

Phoenix loves my dad!

With home ownership, especially in the country and having animals, and even more especially when you're still laying down infrastructure, one has a to-do list a mile long. It is particularly overwhelming during the winter with little sun and Seasonal Affective Disorder. I certainly couldn't do it without the help of my parents and friends and neighbors.

However it's definitely where I want to be and the lifestyle I want to be living, and I know that it will get better and better over time.

Plant Lady

Property purchase, rabbit update

Big news! Near the end of 2019, my dream of being a property owner finally came true! I purchased a 2.2 acre property in Vacaville. It is currently raw land, and we're in the early stages of permits, plan approvals, etc. I'll have a manufactured house put on the property, and the tentative completion date is next fall. I have big plans but right now it's all tentative. Once we're further along the process, I plan to look for a permaculture-minded consultant to help me plan everything out. I will definitely have a nice ultra-secure area for the chickens, lots of space for the dogs to run around, a small orchard and produce garden, and lots of decorative plantings.

I dispatched all my rabbits a few months back. In the end, the pros (healthy meat, good compost, fairly easy dispatch and very easy butchering) did not outweight the cons (not particularly tasty meat, pain to clean up after, not enjoyable to watch/hang out with like the chickens). I have a lot of intact rabbits in the freezer right now, so when the weather is nicer, I'll have to defrost them and do a butchering party.

One last adorable baby bunny photo.

2016 review, plans for 2017

2016 was eventful in terms of my hobbies and life plans. I met Rachel and Eli and we are looking for property to purchase together. We had hoped to find something before the end of this year, but it will certainly happen in 2017. I finally got a chance to butcher a chicken (my sick Ameraucana), and then dispatched 6 Silkie roosters! My parents got me an Instant Pot for my birthday and it's made cooking many dishes way more convenient, plus I use it to make yogurt. I learned how to spin, purchased a spinning wheel, and learned how to knit. I was indeed better at setting aside time to craft, which is my favorite way to decompress.

Goals I'd set that I didn't complete: sewing up the 3 patterns for which I already had fabric sitting in my closet (I only did 1). Sewing with rabbit hides (I did a little but not as much as I wanted). Watch 2 hours of my dog seminar DVDs each month (it was the first thing I would reschedule when I was short on time, plus my computer sucks at playing DVDs).

So here are my goals for 2017:

• Buy property! Set up the new house and land with an eye to permaculture principles, but also make the house as dog-friendly as possible. Set up for and purchase meat rabbits.
• Rebuild my business from scratch in the new service area. Work hardcore on marketing until I'm living on a comfortable income again.
• Take more photos of the dog(s) with my fancy camera.
• Continue to set aside time every week for crafting (sewing, crocheting, knitting, miscellaneous projects).
• Try hang gliding (it's on my bucket list).

Aaand... that's it! The first two will be taking up so much physical and mental energy that I won't have much time for other stuff. Can't wait!

Folding furniture

I heart IKEA and their folding furniture. I got rid of my standard dining table and replaced it with one that has two wings that fold out, and six deep drawers in the middle. Add four folding, bright red chairs.

Plus one outdoor chair.

Finally, a folding stepladder so that I can stop climbing onto my kitchen counters to reach the highest shelves.

Look at all that extra space now!

This will all be going with me to my future tiny house.

2015 goal review, plan for 2016

My goals for 2015 were set at a pretty low bar. I attained all of them except for visiting 2 alpaca farms, but I intentionally put those on the back burner. I'd still love to have alpacas on my future homestead, but 1) it's a much lower priority compared to raising produce, chickens, and rabbits, which are all much easier to get into, and 2) I want to live in the Tri-Valley, which is probably too hot in the summer for alpacas to be happy, so I might need to give up on that idea.

Let's set goals for 2016 which are attainable, but will force me to stretch a bit more:

• Implement a new marketing strategy for my dog training business each quarter. (This will be a challenge!)
• Watch at least 24 hours' worth of dog training DVDs from my stack. (2 hours each month - doable, right??)
• Observe or help with chicken slaughter, to gain hands on experience.
• Practice sewing/crafting with rabbit hides. I have a small stack of prepped hides but haven't done anything with them yet.
• Learn more about fiber. Hopefully take a spinning class AND see about volunteering on someone's farm on alpaca shearing day.
• Sew up the 3 pattern and fabric sets that have been sitting in my closet for a year. I just finished up a 3 day, intensive pants class at Stonemountain and want to make multiple pairs of pants from my new personalized pattern.
• Generally speaking, set aside larger chunks of time for myself, particularly for sewing.
• Continue cooking, gardening, crocheting.

Reusing fencing

Urban Ore regularly has old fencing and gates available.

I wish I had a friend with enough space to let me stockpile building materials until I get my homestead.

Urban Farm Tours in Hayward

The Institute of Urban Homesteading branched out the popular Urban Farm Tours to Hayward this fall. This was my first time attending a tour. I wanted to see how different people made use of small spaces (though some of the properties were multiple acres), and how the techniques I'd read about really looked when put into practice. Here are pictures of some of the things I wanted to remember for my future homestead:

Homemade greenhouse - wooden frame and plastic walls, plus a real glass door.

Tiny greenhouse made by stretching clear plastic over an existing frame. On the left, a raised bed delineated by extra cinder blocks.

This raised bed took advantage of old bricks.

And this one simply used stones.

Vegetables planted straight into rotting hay (had been left out in rain).

Tarp/plastic making a planter out of a shopping cart. Makes it easy to harvest tubers, and keeps highly invasive plants contained.

Using a shade cloth to grow leafy greens that can't tolerate full California sun.

C-shaped bed maximizes planting area while keeping everything within easy reach (like a keyhole bed).

Another c-shaped bed.

Failed experiment at using old rain gutters as strawberry beds. Cool idea for vertical gardening, but the high surface area allows the soil to dry out too quickly in a dry climate.

Successful trellising of tromboncino squash. These things were HUGE.

There's nothing to show scale here, but these bamboo shoots were at least 10 feet tall. Bamboo tends to be highly invasive, but it does create a great visual barrier, shade, and construction material.

This passionflower vine was growing onto a rope extending across the yard, and starting to make a living curtain. Great visual.

Fences don't have to be expensive, if you use scrap materials.

Sheer height is what's needed for keeping deer out.

A pop of color makes everything look great.

Gates can also be made from bamboo or scrap materials.

Reused outdoor sink.

Composting: top bin for depositing fresh stuff, middle bin for the hot pile in process, and bottom bin for finished black gold.

How cute is this?!

By later afternoon it was chilly and we were surprised by a drizzle. This fire felt SO nice. Even though the Trivalley is in triple digits in the summer, I get cold easily, and an outdoor fire pit would be a nice play to sit by during winters on my future homestead.

Clarifying

Last month I went on a vacation to Maui for a week with my family. Yes, the vacation was relaxing, and Maui is of course beautiful. I really enjoyed snorkeling and seeing the lovely landscapes. But I got something else out of this vacation that I hadn't been expecting, and that was a renewed sense of purpose and eagerness to return home and get back to work.

I'm already on my way toward my dream life: my dog training business is doing well, my own dog is progressing toward a successful competition career, I have chickens laying plenty of eggs, and a little garden to supplement my diet. I'm in the process of learning about meat rabbits and practicing skinning rabbits, cooking the meat, and working the hides. These are all steps along the way to my dream life. Here is what I want to do:

- Buy land - I want to buy so that I can implement long term land use strategies that will improve soil health and allow me to select for plant and animal genetics that are well suited to the micro-climate of the place I'm in. I would prefer to find land that is close to the Trivalley, but I would be willing to relocate to another area as long as I'm close to a large enough city to rebuild and sustain my business.

- Live in a tiny house - They're adorable, they encourage a simple life and time spent outdoors, they're easier to maintain than a larger home, and are easier to customize. I like the tiny houses on wheels but a small cottage on foundation would be fine, too.

- Train dogs on my own property - I could do "board and train" as well as private lessons and classes. I want to build up my reputation as a sport dog trainer, in particular. In an ideal situation, I'd have a fancy training building large enough to host small events, but in a pinch, a simple barn would do to give us a controlled training area for privates.

- Large fenced dog run - For my own dogs to run around in, and to rent out as a private dog park.

- Grow as much of my own produce as is practical.

- Raise more chickens for eggs and meat. If I have clients coming to the property, they're an easy market for extra eggs!

- Raise rabbits for meat and fur. I have plans for the fur.
- Alpacas - possibly, lower priority, but I'm considering getting alpacas for their excellent fiber. Maybe not if I end up in agricultural zone 9b.

The big thing holding me back from achieving all this? Money, of course. I feel like once I had land, all of my ideas are achievable. Not easy, of course, but achievable. So I'm doubling down on building my business and taking on clients. In the meantime, I'm researching topics like fruit and nut tree care, water catchment, soil health, rabbit care, and permaculture principles and associated techniques. And I'm putting what I can into practice.

One other aspect to consider is that it makes more sense to buy more land and pay less per acre, as the extra land can be utilized in multiple ways:

- lease land to other homesteaders and/or tiny house owners, or farmers who will take care of the land according to my principles

- private campground for rental

- use for other types of livestock (either my own or lease out pasture)

- grow extra produce and do "u pick"

- plant lumber trees for future harvest

- tree nursery

- cultivate nice area and rent out for events, weddings, parties, kids' camp, classes

- agritourism

So with this update completed, let's get back to work!

Farm name

I've finally decided what to call my tiny farmlet:

Little Spaniels Farm

 

In honor of the dogs that live here, amongst my fruits, vegetables, and chickens!