It was such a beautiful day last Saturday – chilly and foggy but the sun broke through for a beautiful afternoon. We are watching the trees and shrubs all start to bud out already. It feels so much more temperate here than we are used to. Up on the mountain we were always a couple of weeks behind. Its only the end of January but feels like spring and we aren’t getting the rain that is promised in the forecasts. This is worrisome because we really need some socked in rainy days. I know we are lucky to live on the West Coast where it is mild but after the drought we had last summer, we are already figuring out ways to store water for the gardens.
We decided to work on the compost bins because we need to make a ton of it to dig into the gardens and use as mulch. We are also planning on creating a new garden area and orchard so the sooner we speed up the process the better. We will also start a new compost pile closer to the new garden this summer.
These compost bins have been here for quite a while and the previous owners did an excellent job of creating compost from leaves, kitchen waste, garden waste and horse manure from the horses that used to be stabled here. We plan on using the stables for sheep. The posts and boards holding these bins together probably look worse then they are, so as long as we don’t knock anything down with the tractor we will just keep this in place for now.
The tractor just fits in the stalls, which was planned I am sure.
Since September I have been using the most complete compost in and around all the plants I have put in the ground. We decided to move half the middle bin to the last bin and keep adding greens, waste and leaves. You can see there is already old straw breaking down but these do need some heat so we will be adding more manure and alfalfa pellets to get it going. We are also covering the last bin with a heavy tarp to keep it warm.
How exciting is this? Only to me probably. This all needs to be screened but it is pretty nice stuff to use up. The horrible pile of tarp and plastic in the background is from the log cabin that was beside the stables. It was built to store all the bedding for the stalls. You can barely see this building in the photo below. I can’t find any photos of this structure, which is a shame because it was a beauty. The PO used driftwood logs from the nearby beach, telephone poles and railway ties then stuffed the walls with every used plastic feed bag they ever had.
Oh, this looks awful, doesn’t it? The logs were attached to the bank and at the top of the cliff with rebar. Apparently the shavings were delivered and dumped over the edge in the building. There were old tarps covering it and it was listing badly when we moved here. Keith took it down one day in October. I didn’t know he was planning to until I went outside and of course, we didn’t get any photos of the process. Apparently it didn’t take long.
So now we have a really ugly corner by the garden that the deer have discovered. We had to build that stunningly inventive barrier out of sheet metal and old gates (that were also part of the building) to keep them from going around the back of the stable and into the yard. And they figured out how to climb up the cliff so we dug out the side so it is really steep and have installed barbed wire at the top. I was on deer poop patrol for a couple of weeks in the yard, but I think they have given up, thank god.
Yes, an easy answer is to install deer fencing across from the end of the stable over to the perimeter fencing, which is only about 20 or 30 feet. But someone doesn’t think it is worth the trouble.
So now the worst job is going to be how to pick up all the little, disintegrating bits of plastic that have been dragged around this area. Horrible stuff because it breaks apart as you touch it. All the tarps and carpet will be going to the dump. This area is going to house a water tank so we can use the water coming off the roof of the shed and stable. We are going to have to be very careful in this area making sure the bank doesn’t collapse. It needs vegetation and roots to keep it stable.
I am trying to talk Keith into reusing as many of the logs as possible, even though most of them are rotted and have enormous nails in them. Pretty sure we are going to have a huge bonfire one of these days. At least the roses will appreciate the ashes.
As I said, there is lovely light as the days get longer. I feel very lucky to be here.