Wild Moon Cottage is a small working homestead in the pristine Ozark Mountains. We have dairy goats, poultry, organic herb and vegetable gardens, a start of a tiny fruit orchard, several black walnut trees, wild berries and fields of wildcrafting goodness. We raise our own milk, our own eggs, much of our own medicine and food. I do laundry by hand, make my own vinegar, candles, soap, bread, cheese ........ For a living I am an artist and herbalist. My goal for myself and our homestead is to be as self sufficient and self sustaining as possible.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

7.30.08

It's 3am and I'm already planning second breakfast. For us, second breakfast is equal to most peoples only breakfast but, we're often up so early that we usually eat a small first breakfast and then a large second breakfast a few hours later.

So today's second breakfast will be, fresh blueberries and shortcakes with milk and iced cappuccino. It's very quick and simple and we love shortcakes for all kinds of things.

Today's plans are ...

to paint more, we paint at least an hour a day and usually two. Yes we're slow but it's getting there.

work more on the henhouse, my idea has changed but I'm not sure I can get this second one done soon enough. The first idea was to simply add on to the old henhouse but the old house is in the chicken pen and adding on would make the pen smaller. So, I'm going to try and build a second larger house and then take down the old house to use elsewhere.

The old house is about 3x3x6 and comfortably held up to 10 hens plus floor space for a batch of chicks, the new house will be 4x8x7 and needs to comfortably house 34 hens plus floor space. I think I'm going to be able to get a couple of 3x3 pallets that I'm going to use for the floor frame and then just basically rebuild the Llama house and add two doors, 2 windows and some divided nesting ledges.

We'll be using the wood from the Llama house we built a few years ago and then dismantled when we found Kuzco a home. The Llama house didn't have a front or floor at all tho, just two side walls, a back wall and a roof. I have all the wood from the Llama house plus some other we get here and there when we can and I think there should be plenty. Plus I can reuse parts of the current henhouse once the new one is usable.

I plan to build it just outside the chicken pen with the pen attached directly to the house which will leave more room in the pen. The chickens are freerange by day but there are times when they have to stay in all day and sometimes for several days in a row so they need as much pen space as possible.

I'll reuse their current door for the chicken door and one of the storm doors we got from freecycle for the side door. The main door will be inside the pen and the side door will be so we can get eggs and store feed without going into the pen if needed. That's the plan for now anyway :)

Aside from that all I need to get done before winter is build the greenhouse, enclose the front porch, cut up and stack two cords of free firewood, finish painting the house, rebuild the dog run and I think that's it ! I'm sure I've forgotten something tho.

Wonderful day everyone :)

2 comments:

Peggy said...

Gosh I just got up a couple hours ago and reading your post I am already tired and ready for bed. LOL Have a great day Juli!!

Phill said...

Oh, Jules. If I only lived closer - I have about 35 old full sized wood frame windows that I thought would make a terrific greenhouse. Happy breakfasts!!