Wild Hope Homestead

It’s a new year and so it’s time for new plans. Hastily-made New Year’s resolutions don’t mean much to me so I’ve taken a bit more time to think about some ambitious but achievable, productive yet not oppressively specific, tempting-to-go-on-forever but I-gotta-stop-somewhere, goals for Twiglet Homestead for the 2018 year. There is a lot of stuff here. And there are going to be some intense projects.

The biggest multi-faceted project that I’ve thought up involves a new firewood storage space elsewhere and a new chicken coop, allowing for removal of the current woodshed, chicken coop and brown fence that runs between the main coop and the old fort shelter in the Cedar Pen. Yup. This is because the fence and woodshed are decaying faster than I’m comfortable with and the coop is proving to be difficult to keep free of mites. There are too many gaps, cracks and non-flat surfaces in it. I know, it hasn’t been around for that long. I knew it was a high-mite risk build and not a long-term plan, but it was the best I could do at the time and it has served its purpose as the flock increased. I am really looking forward to getting stuck into this project, as it will make the space so much better out there. And you know, I’m bound to think of a million other things I want us to do during the year as well. Yup, it’s going to be an interesting and nutty year.

Garden/Outdoors

• Base vege crop planning more strictly on considerations of what crops do well here, what we use a lot of, what is expensive to buy and how much time and effort is required to grow them.
• Build a double-barrel tumbling composter.
• Build a 3-bay compost bin in the Orchard Pen.
• Build another bay for the compost bin in the Cedar Pen.
• Dismantle the back carport.
• Build the Raspberry Bed alongside the back carport.
• Build the little corner vege bed next to the Raspberry Bed.
• Re-locate blueberry bush and acquire more blueberry plants.
• Build a raised bed for olive trees along east (paddock) fence of Vege Garden.
• Prune all fruit trees.
• Build a smaller roofed shelter in front of the garage.
• Organise and tidy the garage. (The most ambitious plan ever!)
• Prep and pave the patio beside the deck.
• Install roofing over patio area.
• Build mini greenhouse near house.
• Improve systems for rainwater collection and use.
• Begin work on parking areas out front.
• Build/install fence and big wooden gate across side of house. And small pedestrian gate for path.
• Build wood racks for firewood closer to house.
• Demolish old woodshed.
• Demolish wooden fence that backs onto current coop and woodshed, but keeping low fence around cedar tree.
• Demolish raised garden in Cedar Pen in front of that fence.
• Move or re-purpose old fort shelter.

Let’s grow more stuff!

The Cedar Pen compost bin just ain’t big enough for the eager chickens. “More!” says Frodo.

The garage is a certifiable mess. Let’s do something about that.

Chickens

• Buy or build new chicken coop that is less mite friendly and easier to access.
• Dismantle current chicken coop.
• Reconfigure fencing and gates once above outdoor work has been done and new coop has been sited.
• Build up a small flock of purebred Australorps to breed from and be able to sell some.
• Keep enough hens renewing to be self-sufficient in eggs and able to sell eggs too.
• Acquire a small incubator.

Food

• Make multiple kinds of chutney again.
• Make lots of tomato soup plus tomato paste.
• Pickle gherkins.
• Get better at preserving produce, by freezer, dehydrator or other methods.
• Dry more herbs.
• Make more gluten-free baking recipes, especially things that can be frozen.
• Get back to making more of our own things like almond milk, coconut milk, mayo and peanut butter.
• Make some pumpkin food entries for The Great Pumpkin Carnival, in addition to entering pumpkins.
• Organise the recipe book so that it doesn’t explode in a fit of paper pieces.

House

• Build a spice shelf.
• Paint and install the new front door.
• Replace the laundry door with a better one.
• Get all household lighting installed by an electrician.
• Unscrew old wooden window flyscreen frames from all house windows and sort out window stays.
• The Storage Improvement Plan: improve storage systems throughout house, especially in kitchen and bedrooms.
• Finish restoring four dining chairs that are languishing in garage.

Somebody paint me!

The Storage Improvement Plan has already begun and I’m rather excited about having things stored tidily. The potatoes, well, at least the Agrias, are now in a potato bin instead of a cardboard box. There’s a long way to go, though.

Crafts

• Finish knitting my Christmas stocking.
• Make some Christmas tree decorations.
• Knit a cardigan for myself.
• Fix holes in my slipper and The Little Fulla’s sock.
• Sew a cover for a breakfast pillow for our bed.
• Knit some arm/wrist warmers for myself.
• Knit some boot cuffs for myself.
• Get back to knitting the log cabin rug.

So, that’s it! Can you feel the excitement? Or the insanity? Work has already begun on a number of these things.