Building Projects, Fairs, and Worms

Time sure flies when you are having fun, or in our case working hard.  Rick and I have been very busy this past month and do not see any relief for some time. 
  

First, we have been busy rebuilding the well house and goat shelter.  The goat shelter still has some work to be done but at least the goats can get out of the rain when necessary.  Rick used what he could of the old shelter but mostly the materials are new.  This new shelter is also well anchored.  The old shelter was attached to the ground but after what happened to the last shelter it became clear we need to build everything for the worst storm possible.  Rick also made some adjustments over the old shelter, one being too off center the doors to help prevent rain from entering the shelter during storms.

    

Facing East

Facing South

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Old Well House in upside down and
behind the new well house.

As for the well house, we decided to have a little fun.  We could have saved money by buying cheap plywood, but when I spotted the camouflage plywood clearly meant for building deer blinds, I wanted it.  My only other request was to make the well house big enough to function in.  The fact is from time to time wells break.  It may be as simple as an ant sort circuiting the electrical system or a part could break.  The old well house was so small we could barely move around in it.  Also it was so short that we had no choice but to crawl on our hands and knees (a painful activity) to get inside.   Our new well house is much bigger and more expensive than necessary, but it is much nicer to look at and will be more pleasant to have to go inside to fix the well.

   

We had loaned the welder out but it has now been returned, which is good as we still have some fence repair to do.  The fence was knocked over in the storm.  We fixed most of the fence but the gate and supporting posts need to be re-cemented and welded again.  Hopefully next week Rick will be able to get that job done too.

    

September 29 Rick and I traveled to Fredericksburg to attend the annual Renewable Roundup and Green Living Fair.  We were able to attend and listen to a number of excellent and several not-so-good speakers.   Two speakers did stand out.

   
Marjory Wildcraft spoke on “How to Grow Your OwnGroceries”.  Marjory, in the space of most people’s yards, grows most of what she and her family eat.  She gave us lots of helpful information and renewed hope that even though this land is made up of very rocky soil, we can grow a lot of the food we and the future residents will need.  Marjory energized us to start preparing for next year’s garden.  For those who are interested, Marjory advised us to purchase the book, How To Grow More Vegetables, by John Jeavons.  She claims that this is the best book on the subject and is invaluable.  I have purchased but not read the book, yet.
  

Kindra Welch spoke on Natural Building.  I was familiar with many of the natural building technologies she shared with us but this was all new to Rick.  He was very surprised to learn how beautiful these buildings are, in addition to how fire resistant and energy efficient they are.  After arriving home I emailed Kindra and asked about caliche as a building material.  Both Cob and Adobe use clay as one of the ingredients.  Kindra wrote back that caliche is one of her favorite clay materials to use, which is good news because caliche is plentiful around here.

      

Rick and I are now studying the different natural building techniques and preparing for the future.  But there is still one building project that must be completed before we can get started on anything new.  When I purchased the property there was a partial foundation built but not being used.  Materials have already been purchased to utilize that foundation by building a shed on top of it.  We need a place to store the many power tools we have purchased, along with other items and this shed will be perfect. 

     

Rick drilled holes in the bottom allowing
worm juice to seep out into the blue bucket.

Another project we have started is a worm compost.  Looking for a quicker way to compost and Rick likes to fish.  Composting with worms just seemed to make since.  We almost purchased a worm composter but one person wrote a review complaining that during a hot spell all his worms died.  So we looked for a different method and found a YouTube video that provided for hopefully a perfect worm composter for out hot climate.
      

Finally, we had company in September.  Friends came out for a couple days to help repair the cabin/kitty condo's roof and take a mini vacation.  Now the roof will not leak during storms.  This couple has been going through marital issues and not only did they help us but we were able to minister to them too.

   

There is plenty of work to be done, so much in fact that we welcome anyone coming out here who would like to spend a few days volunteering and enjoying the countryside.  Just let us know if this would interest you.