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.

Friday, June 19, 2009

6.19.09

It's 2:22 am , i hadn't seen any of that in a while but then the day before yesterday it was 5:55 when i got my coffee and yesterday it was 4:44 when i sat down to take a break.

It's been pretty hot all week, the humidity was terrible for a few days but better the last two days.

The goat girls have graduated to not having to be locked in the chicken pen at night. They're big enough and Herc is brave enough that they can be free to come and go from their goat house to the paddock. We worked all week on preparing and hanging a new door to secure between the chicken pen and the goat house and then cut a smallish doorway from the goat house to the paddock.

The day we went to pick up Herc we found a throw away screen door, I reinforced it, covered it with chicken wire, added a board across the bottom and that's the new goat house door.

The doorway I cut from the goat house to the paddock is kind of a mangled thing. By the time I got to it I was already very tired and my arms were shaky. I broke the saw blade off the stick saw but had almost finished the last cut so that Nik was able to kick it out. It didn't get cut very straight and the break is funky but it's just temporary. Soon I'll cut it properly and add a door there as well.

We also did some work on junipers hutch cutting out places for ventilation and for the poop to drop down in a bucket. She's such a sweet and loving Bun. I can't wait to have a greenhouse for so many reason but having a large place for her to live more freely is at the top of the list.

I'm gathering materials as i can to start work on getting the larger goat pen fenced in. We need to have it done by fall. I also need to get a better goat house built with birth stall and small milking room. Eventually I would love to have a stanchion but to start a good strong pallet and a bucket of feed will do.

The garden is looking great, we've been eating lettuces since March and now the first banana peppers too. I miss the strawberries but we've found berries growing at the edge of the forest which will ripen soon. I've been able to harvest quite a bit of mugwort and lemon balm already and have drying in the house, the lemon balm hanging and the mugwort on the rack along side romaine lettuce for Juniper. We've gotten some squash blossoms as well and hoping for our first watermelon soon.

Sadly the forest has become a much less safe place to be over the last two years. two neighbors, one on each side of the ravine, shoot often at things down into the forest and our path leads right between the two. they could likely not see us there at all and we would not know they were there until it was to late. We only venture down a little ways these days and cannot reach our secret blackberry patch.

One of the wild cats, Casper, was about 60 feet up a huge oak tree for 3 days and through at least two very bad storms. We tried many things and ways to reach him but to no avail. On the 4th day he was able to come down about 20 feet and a neighbor came the same day with a 30 foot ladder and went up and stuffed him into a duffle bag and brought hi to safety. Aside from being weak and terrified he was otherwise fine. He's very cross eyed and can't see well and even tho he has lynx point Siamese marking and beautiful blue eyes, no one wants the lad and he has never been adopted. But that's ok because we're lucky to have him.

Blueberry, of the Berry kittens got a home last week, now if we can just get homes for Blackberry and Raspberry.

2 comments:

JoyceAnn said...

It's been hot & muggy here too. I'm sure the goats will enjoy their new freedom.
Sorry to hear you can't get to your favorite blackberry patch , ours are just starting to turn , picked a pint yesterday.

Hoo-ray for Blueberry , hope the other 2 find homes soon.

~ Blessings ~

julieann said...

to bad about your neighbors.....its sad how others activities can mess with others pleasures.it is my dream to live as far away from civilization as i can get!i truely love your site and find we have so much in common.look forward to your posts!
julieann