more worms

We decided we didn't have enough worms in our bin to eat the amount of waste we have, so we ordered another 1000. We'll see where that gets us. We may still need more since most of our food waste can now go in here...

Here's the bucket moments before we started adding more worms. It has all kinds of funky mushrooms growing in there. As it's a learning experience for us, we are assuming that they are ok since they help in the breakdown process... The mix is really hot and the worms that were already in there seem to have multiplied and gotten fatter in the last couple weeks...

Since India missed out on putting the first worms in, she was ready to put the second batch of worms in. We ordered these from Uncle Jim's Worm Farm after doing some research on the web, I discovered that even with shipping it was cheaper to order them than to go buy them locally. They are supposed to multiply really fast, so assuming that we've got things right, we won't have to buy more and we'll be over run with worms.

What does one do with too many worms? Put them outside and share them with friends who also want to make black gold in their kitchens...

mmmm worms... eat my garbage.

India helping them get settled into the compost...

the chicken coop

For weeks now I have been contemplating how I wanted our chicken coop to look and what size to make it. I wanted it to be big enough that if we are successful with eggs and we want more chickens we could easily fit more in, but small enough that it wouldn't cost a fortune to build or take up a lot of space in the yard. Then, there was finding a suitable coop to build for our climate and the plans. We went back and forth between a "house" type coop or an A-frame coop and do we put a floor in it, or do we use wire. We ended up designing our own coop based on a few pictures of coops I found on backyard chickens. I decided I wanted it to be up off the ground to help reduce the amount of rodents that might get in there and so that the chickens can hang out under the house in the summer for good shade. The front of the house will be open with chicken wire and the back side of the house will be covered and have doors to access the eggs and to clean it out. The front door will open down to provide a way for the chickens to get in and out, but close at night to keep the wildlife around here from eating our hens (hopefully). The space is 6ft by 8 ft by 4ft tall. Suitable for about 8 hens and up to 12 hens if they spend most of their time outside. We decided to also go with a wire floor so that their litter will fall out to the ground (at least some of it will) and to help in the summers to keep them cooler. I don't think our winters are going to be too bad on them, we'll just cover the front of the coop with a tarp when that time comes. India is excited because she will be able to get up in the coop with the chickens (it's big enough), but I don't think she will want to get in there when the hens are in there. We are planning on ordering 8 baby chicks once the house is built. From what I have read, we can plan on losing a few, but I wanted the space to be big enough in case we don't. We will be working on this project when we are unable to work on the garden due to the ground being too wet. One more step towards our goals for the year!

15 beds

As of 6:00 last night we have built 15 raised beds. Based on our estimations, we've got at least 10 more to go. A few of the beds are going to be horizontal to help slow down the water as it comes down the hill, so they will be twice the length of the vertical beds. We got a rhythm with it now so we can bust them out pretty quickly and we have to take the dirt from the long paths to build up an area, so there is still plenty of work to do, but progress is progress!

digging in the dirt...

So, the work has continued... On Sunday we moved dirt all day - literally. I crashed out at 8:30 exhausted - I was asleep before Kalib, but the work was worth it. We had 8 raised beds by the end of the day... 1/4 of the way there...Getting started (I remembered Sunscreen)The first 2 beds. Soil looks really good.

Aloha! from the gold digger state.

Will the sun ever set?

Celebration time, come on!

we've been plowed and tilled

On Saturday, Jason's grandfather came over and plowed our garden spot saving us a tremendous amount of work. After he plowed it, he went home and got his tractor with the tiller and then tilled it for us too. What a great gift! We spent the day reveling in our fresh dirt and happy that it is actually topsoil and not clay. And India and Kalib spent the day running around barefoot rolling in the dirt. What a perfect day. There are few things in this world more rewarding to me than a day ended where both kids are just filthy. So here, are some pictures of our day...

moments before the plow hit the dirt.

very first pass

notice how deep they are (we could not have dug this deep without Gobby.)

almost done plowing...

now onto tilling...

Good soil! YEAH!!!!

All done for the day!

hands, fingers, knees and toes

Kalib has been into drawing faces on all his digits and making up games with them. It's been pretty entertaining... Thought some of you might like to see what his hand families look like...

we started tilling

And it sucked. No, seriously, I don't so much mind it, but our space is pretty big and there's a lot of grass, so we spent most of the day working on 3 beds and Jason tilled around the tree stumps. Who knows what's going to get planted there. We decided we would hold out for plowing a little longer rather than trying to till it all up ourselves.

Bed #1

Bed #2 (an hour later)

This woman is not afraid to get in behind a tiller. I kind of like pushing it. Makes me feel like all the working out I do is worth it. Makes me feel strong (and be sure to check out my very swank orange boots)

Last of the tilling for the day. 3 beds and 10 more to go if we measured correctly. While standing in the dirt, we realized just how much food we will actually be growing and we hadn't started enough seeds, so Jason started more last night!

spa...anyone?

On Saturday, a group of us Athens girls went up to JeJu Sauna in Atlanta it was amazing! The day was gifted to me from Holly as my Christmas present! We spent a long time bathing in the whirlpools and washing and scrubbing and got in the wet sauna which was HOT and filled with Chamomile infused. Calming to say the least and toxin drawing out too. Then we went over to the dry saunas and continued the cleansing process. By the end of the day (we were there a little over 4 hours) I felt like all the nasty dead skin cells had been scrubbed off, all the toxins (well most of them) had come out of my pores in the form of sweat, and I was years younger. You can get massage and body scrubs and foot massages and all sorts of extras, but we just stuck to the do it yourself stuff and it was still everything you think going to the spa would be like. I'm so thankful to have been able to share this day with many of the women who are nearest and dearest to me. I can't wait to go back and do it all again. What a treat! My skin is super soft and my body feels clean and my head feels clear. Thank you Holly for being such a good friend and taking me to a day at the spa. Be sure to check out the website to see what the place looks like and it is only $25 to go there and do what we did. It is money well spent and there is NO time limit and they are open 24 hours a day.