These stones were found and dug up from underneath the mess of mulch dirt and grass that accumulated over the years. Repurposed for a fire pit foundation. Mulch sourced from a local tree serviceās free mulch yard. Sand sourced from a locally owned landscape material company.
#timelapse #stone #landscape #ecological #landscaping #mulch
Here is the process of the rain garden installation I did in this front yard before the winter rains started.
When I did the initial site visit, I noticed the gutter drained water right at the foundation of the house, so I knew this was the first project I needed to complete in this space.
I began by removing non-native succulents and digging a big hole with a sloped trench from the gutter outlet to the bottom of the basin.
I filled the bottom of the hole with biochar for higher water retention and habitat for beneficial microorganisms. All rocks placed in the rain garden basin were dug up and sifted out of the dirt from this yard. I planted native sedges, rushes, and irises.
Rain gardens are a fantastic way to passively collect water in the soil, reduce storm runoff, reduce water use in drier months, create habitat for wildlife, and add beauty to your landscape. šš¼š³āŗļø
During my California Native Plant class, we were walking around in the garden in the horticulture department when we stumbled upon this strawberry. There are greenhouses behind this tree where strawberries are grown. Any guesses how it got there? ššµš½āāļø
Here is a little peek at what I have been up to in the realm of ecological landscaping lately. Beautified the mailbox in the front of the yard with rocks and poppies I found in said yard.
#ecological #landscaping #nativeplants
In March of 2020, I was sitting in my car on a ferry headed for Vancouver Island to take a Permaculture Teacher Training at @ourecovillage with @judehobbs_ when I got the email that the course was cancelled because of Covid.
Four years and a global pandemic later, I get an email that the course is finally happening. So, off to Canada I went!
Here is a video of my final presentation describing Deep Time Economy, based on the loads of indigenous knowledge I have been soaking up over the years and inspired by discussions on @upstreampodcast
What an incredible week with a group of some of the most magical humans around. We are all so excited to take what we learned here out into this world.
Thank you šš¼šš¼šš¼
#permaculture #rightlivelihood #economy #ecology #sevengenerations #deeptime #tek #permacultureteachertraining #forestry #logging #damremoval
May not look like much to the untrained eye, but there is immense beauty unfolding here.
Yesterday I volunteered with the Amah Mutsun Land Trustās Native Plant Program.
This meadow, not long ago, looked like the overcrowded encroaching Douglas fir forest you see in the background. Within the past year or two, the AMLT has been working with the state to remove the trees and reintroduce natives to this meadow.
Woody material was burned in burn piles, where the scorched earth underneath left no seeds alive. This meant that new seeds could be chosen for cultivation in these plots.
Over 260 plots have been intentionally planted and cultivated with native plants such as redmaids, yarrow, and grasses.
We continued their tending yesterday by pulling invasive thistles in the plots and surrounding area.
From here, I can see the ridge on the land of the farm I lived on some years ago. Spending time over there, I often dreamed of a time when indigenous-led land tending could happen again there to liberate the meadows of these rolling hills from the densely growing Douglas firs. I wondered if it would ever happen and how it could even be done.
Now, here we are, blessing this land with ancient wisdom and healing hands. Grateful to be communing with my human and more-than-human family in this way.
Iām teaching the fire skill to my middle schoolers right now. On the first day, I let them fail. Failure is only so if you stop at the stage of frustration. We are learning to let frustration come visit us and be our teacher.
Finally posting some video of what Iāve been working on! Iām further along in the process now, but hereās a video of breaking ground on my first ever landscape design project for a client!
This is the design from my last post being brought into physical form by way of pushing around lots of dirt, rocks, and plants. Sure do eat well and get some good sleep after a work day like this.
My clients wanted to save the bird of paradise plant, so I dug her up and rehomed her in the corner of a raised planter.
This big hole I started here will transform into a beautiful rain gardenā¦that harvests rain water! It will also alleviate the issue of the rain gutter dumping all the water out at the corner of the foundation of the house.
#slowspreadsink #raingarden #permaculture #landscape #landscaping #ecological #regenerative #nativeplants #garden #gardening
Cymbre being SUCH a good livestock guardian!! @brianwoodcapobianchi showed up while I was at work to help finish building my yurt deck and platform and this is how Cymbre protected her piggies. I am so in love. š„°š
#lgd #livestockguardiandog #puppy #kunekunepigs #kunekune #pig #farm #homestead
Today was Cymbreās first full day off leash in a fenced-in area with the piggies. They did amazing. What a relief.
The gilts pushed their way through into the boar and barrowās area while I was working on restringing the electric fencing. I let them enjoy a moment of enjoying some alfalfa together before separating them again. Cymbre kept watch over them and responded well when I scolded her for trying to play with them. Itās dangerous for an LGD (livestock guardian dog) to learn that their stock are playmates. She settled for playing with toys, sticks, and moss instead. It is also not recommended to start with two LGD puppies without an adult dog for them to learn from, which is why I am starting with training Cymbre alone for at least the first year.
I fed her some raw chicken in addition to her regular feed today. Iām so proud of how she stayed with her piggies today. She didnāt even challenge the fence or whine about it. What a great dog.
Oh, Cymbre.
This sweet, rambunctious, determined, cute little puppy has completely dominated my life for the past couple weeks.
If Iām being completely real with you, she has absolutely pushed me to the brink on multiple occasions and I have even attempted to rehome her.
Puppies are a lot. Raising a livestock guardian dog puppy on land with 4 other dogs who are pets is next-level. She continually manages to break though enclosures to go hang out with them instead of the pigs.
The torrential downpours that didnāt let up for the first two+ weeks of her living with us didnāt help either. I donāt know about you, but that amount of rain had me feeling like my whole life was falling apart and I just wanted to give up completely and leave for āhigher ground.ā
But, hereās the thing: homesteading is hard work. Living with family on land is incredibly challenging. Unlearning lifetimes of unhealthy ways of relating to self, other, and the Earth is seemingly impossible. Getting everything right the first time, every time actually IS impossible.
Struggling is a sign of strength, not weakness. It means I am trying something that is difficult. It means I am growing. It means I am learning.
I donāt always need to be strong either. I can be soft, weak, sad, hopeless, tender, sensitive. I can forgive myself. Admit when Iām wrong. Put love on those places that are hurting. I can throw in the towel sometimes. I can even try to give up, then change my mind.
Life isnāt a highlight reel. It has depth, darkness, and mistakes. Thatās okay. Really. Itās really okay.
Iām here now. Iām trying. Sometimes Iām struggling. Sometimes Iām thriving. Sometimes Iām both at the same time. Anyway, Iām here. And as long as Iām here, Iām going to keep trying and Iām going to keep failing and trying again and forgiving myself the whole way through.
I hope you can too.
For now, Cymbre and I are working through this together. I have a feeling we h
I harvested these cattail seed pods from a local pond. They looked so magical blowing on the wind as I spread them in our pond, hoping for these incredible plant beings to make their home here, I thought they deserved their own video. The audio is a little freestyle/jam my high school friend Esteban and I made together sometime last year.
Look how stinkin cute these sweet boys are in their new space in the woods. I gotta say, it is a lot of work being a pig farmerā¦and I am enjoying every minute of it.
š·š©š½āš¾š
Weāre closing the loops here at Little Earth. š The pigs eat and drink. The pigs poop and pee. The straw in their shelter gets soiled, removed, and piled into a heap to make compost. The compost feeds food grown for humans and pigs. The pigs eat and drink. š· The trees grow. The trees get thinned, burned, and turned into biochar, the biochar is put under the pigās straw in their shelter. The inoculated biochar gets thrown in with the compost. The compost is used to feed trees. The trees grow. š³
