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, May 27, 2009

5.27.09

It's kind of a gray day and is supposed to rain again but maybe it won't. I love the rain but we have a lot to do that needs a few dry days to get done.

This morning Nik got half the chicken pen raked into a mountain. It will go the compost pile and be joined with at least one more mountain from the same pen.

we still have the goathouse, henhouse, dog houses and dog pen to muck out.

While Nik worked in the chicken pen i worked with Herc, Ruby and Matilda. They're doing very well and it only being Herc's second day here, he's doing wonderfully. He's very kind and gentle and extremely intelligent. He learns quickly and wants to do the right thing. Ruby and Matilda are also doing wonderfully having a strange dog in their pen with them. They're wary of him but not terrified and have even sniffed noses.

Speaking of the goat girls, they got out last week, because I forgot to latch the bottom of the gate fence, and just meandered around the yard eating things. When i went out to get them I walked right up to them, petted Matilda and then walked to their house and got some feed. before i even had the feed out they were right beside me :)

We've been taking them out on a leash to browse as well. I actually only put Matilda on the leash and Ruby stays right with her. I have a 15 foot training leash which works perfectly. Sometime this week i'm going to be picking up some more fencing from freecycle to go toward the larger goat pen. I'll be so glad when that is finished and they can have a lot more room and a lot more browse. I plan to divide it with a gate so that i can let the wild stuff grow while they browse the other half and eventually I'll seed something else for them and millet or something for the chickens. Our place is tiny but if everything does at least two jobs it doubles the size :)

I'm soooo tired. We both are really. we haven't been sleeping well for some reason.

I've started working on writing my memoirs. I can't imagine ever finishing, the thought is overwhelming. There's no way to tell everything and even half. So much happened, there's so much to tell. But things will be as they will.

I had two big orders recently fall through. One for teas and one for soaps. I was so thankfully for them and I'm not sure what happened tho i know finances are tough for everyone. I hoping to get a monthly contract on soaps and maybe on teas to a little local tea shop as well. If both go through it would help so much.

A very good thing, two of my paintings were juried in to an Oregon art show :) The Country House and The Coven. I need to get them sent out today.

The Country House
The Coven


The second set of this years kittens are almost ready for homes. It has helped so much that our neighbor and her daughters are helping us find homes this year by taking them to a large farmers market when they're ready. The Bobs all 3 found homes in one day. I'm hoping the same for the Berries.

Blueberry, Raspberry & Blackberry


Yesterday I thought we had been visited by Dean Koontz when i tripped over a bodiless squirrel head in the yard *~* I love the ferals but that's one reason I keep our cats inside. they're very destructive to the natural fauna. They don't mean to be, that is, they don't intend to wipe out native species or imbalance the delicate balance of local life. but they do, like humans they do great damage without ever meaning to.





I finally got the rest of the vegetable side of the garden tilled. I need to finish planting but the tilling is a big part. Also the Line people finally made it out and marked the phone and utility lines so that we can expand the garden. I try to expand it a little each year.






The Fire Lilies have bloomed and are so beautiful ! The Japanese Lanterns have a few lanterns already :) and every few days I gather enough strawberries to make something wonderful.






7 comments:

Peggy said...

You and Nik sure are having a busy but happy life. Glad the sweet puppy has settled in with the goaties.

JoyceAnn said...

Great news about the Oregon art show , the paintings are wonderful , especially " The Coven ".
Love the kitten's names , hope they find wonderful homes.

~~ Many Blessings ~~
JoyceAnn

Unknown said...

wow. i bet your memoirs would be quite fascinating.

all the best on getting those contracts. opportunities for consistent income from your work/creative skills and knowledge is always a beautiful thing.

MyMaracas said...

Congrats on the art show, and good luck on getting the contracts. I'm glad the babies are finding homes. That Hercules looks like a perfectly wonderful dog. You picked just the right name for him too.

You're always so productive and busy. I love popping in to see what you're up to.

Silja Erg said...

The kittens are so cute there:) I know, it's hard to find good homes for animals - but at the end, you always will.


Oh and the butterfly cursor! Yay :D

ch said...

Very nice paintings! Congratulations on the art show!

Good luck with your big order!

I just noticed there's a butterfly on my screen:)

Cindy

missknits said...

omg i cant imagine stumbling across a bodyless squirell head! ack!

but on another note - the kitties are so cute and i love their names! so fun!