Been building, not blogging

If anyone wonders about the lack of activity on this blog, rest assured I'm still here. I've been working on summer projects, like a playhouse for the human girls, and a hen house for the feathered girls (next year). It helps to get some things done before the snow flies. I'd like to have pictures, but LR dropped the camera in a mug of tea a few weeks ago.
We harvested about 25 pounds of honey last month, too. Thanks, bees!

Is it spring yet? Never mind summer.

Another week of typical confused Michigan weather: days in the 70s, then 50s (same day), and almost 2 inches of rain after a couple very dry weeks. We dodged a frost by 2 degrees last night, and the next few nights could be touchy. Right now, I'm very thankful for living on a slope. Our cold air tends to slide right across the road to the neighbor's. A friend thinks it's going to be a cool spring, good for brassicas and spinach. I guess I can live with that.

The rain brought the pond back up after it had dried to mud. It's only about as big as a bedroom, but last year we had frog and toad cacophonies, I mean choruses, for weeks. So far this year, it's been spring peepers and a couple nights have been warm enough for gray tree frogs. The ducks are happy again. They don't seem interested in nesting, but they love to scarf up seed from under the bird feeders.

The garden is pretty much in; it's still too cold to put out the basil and peppers. We went permaculture this year, following the keyhole garden strategy outlined in Gaia's Garden. While digging one of the circles, my spade hit something hard. (Damn!) After several more hits, we got curious. Turned out to be an old septic tank! That explains the chunks of black plastic pipe I kept digging up. No sign of water, so I'm assuming it's an old tank.

In homesteading, I've come to realize that everything you have is an asset! The lead pellets and blocks and wheel balancing weights I found are actually trade items for a muzzleloader hunter. The old doors covered with lead paint can be sliced up into covers for a cold frame. Maybe I should paint over the lead first. Still working on what to do with the 2 dryers left behind in the pole barn. Any ideas? The motors ought to be good for something.

In keeping with this philosophy, the newly discovered septic tank became an in-ground cistern for collecting rainwater! All I need to do is lift the lid, clean it out, run a couple downspouts into it, drill a hole in the lid and fit it with a hand pump from Lehman's catalog, and we'll be all set to water the garden all through those dry Julys. Add some filters and we could drink it! That all sounds soooo easy.

A glimpse into my world

So here I am, digital world. Just a few clicks for me, but a giant leap away from Amish-kind. In my careful consideration of the impact of technology on life, we'll see how this goes. This blog may disappear if it starts sucking up too much of my time. Still, I am driven by a desire (?) to share thoughts and stuff I find with those who surf late at night and stumble across this site. I am under no illusions that I will hand down great wisdom, but maybe something will be useful to someone.

If you're willing to read my rants and such, so much the better. I'll try to offer something worth reading. As a disclaimer, those with minds like steel traps (i.e. rusted shut) should click the back button right now. We all need to stretch our minds with some intellectual yoga now and then. If you're unwilling to do so, well, you already know everything you need to know.

Snowy Hollow is a small acreage in northwestern lower Michigan, on a north-facing gentle slope, just down from one of the highest spots in the county. We moved here a year ago, almost to the day, with the dream of growing some of our own food and raising our kids where they can get dirty in a good way. Most of the place is wooded, but some of that was thinned heavily and sloppily. Several trees were "barked up" in the logging operation. Our habitats include mature maple, some middle-aged bigtooth aspen, a power line swath, and a bit of grassy front yard.

Our big adventure here is raising a family and nurturing a relationship with this piece of Mother Earth. In so many places, the spirit of the land has been driven into hiding, or it has abandon hope and deserted us. Perhaps, over the course of a lifetime, I can create or restore a place where that spirit would feel welcome. For me, that presence makes the difference between occupying a plce and really living there.