Life is a work in progress, and mine has been no exception these last few weeks. There are many projects we are in the middle of around the homestead, and while waiting for one to be completed that I could write a post about, I realized I haven’t been writing any posts. Since everything is always a work in progress anyway, I decided to go ahead and show off some of my works in progress. The most showy of them all is the glass window greenhouse. We started on it last March, and have been picking away ever since. It still needs benches, a small raised bed, a brick floor and a few cracks shimmed. I am looking forward to getting early spring greens going and starting all our seedlings in a proper locale this year.
We did some major limbing and took out a couple problem trees this fall, and pretty much just left the piles sitting there in our yard. We have slowly started burning piles of limbs and setting aside a pile for wood chipping. There are also logs to cut up for firewood and save for a cordwood structure, so that will be many weekends of work ahead of us. The good news is, we now have a lot more light and less worry when big windstorms come through.
Here is more of the tree work ahead of us. Most of what we took down is cedar and redwood, which we plan to build a little cordwood shelter out of right at the top of this little hill where the green chairs are sitting. It will make a fine hangout spot to rest in when we’re done with all this work at the end of the day!
Here we have a section of fence we need to take out with a T-post puller, and repurpose to another part of our property. I’m hoping to get some wild roses and elderberries planted on the hillside where the fence was for backyard wildcrafting.
We started pruning the fruit trees and are about halfway done with them. Once they’re finished, we can move on to the grapes, raspberries, blueberries and marionberries. Pruning is one of those projects that is cyclical by nature, where getting it “done” only lasts for a year.
And, those grapes…
This strawberry bed is going to be moved and a new chicken coop built in it’s place. Our chicken coop situation is proving to be just too far from the house, and too close to the edge of the woods. It’s a long ways to go in the dark to put them in at night, and we can’t really keep a good eye on them, which has resulted in the loss of a few chickens recently.
The really exciting part of this chicken coop involves taking out our crooked garden fence and replacing it with a chicken moat around the perimeter of the garden. If you are wondering what the heck a chicken moat is, you can read about them here: Construct a Chicken Moat for Effective Garden Pest Control. There will also be a door going out the fence around the yard so the chickens can still free range along the driveway when they aren’t eating bugs around the garden.
Among other projects in the works is the mud pit outside our back door that is going to become a brick patio around the campfire pit. My grandpa saved all the bricks from a hearth and chimney demo in one of the houses they lived in, chipped the mortar off of every single brick and hauled them with him when they moved. Before he passed away last winter, I told him I would take his bricks home and use them in a project, so we brought them back from Washington and will soon put them to good use.
I will call this final work in progress “Where the Sidewalk Ends” in honor of Shel Silverstein and the unending nature of homestead projects. I saved an old wooden ladder that we are going to make into the top of an arbor here for a wisteria. Little by little I am trying to get my flower gardens going, but it takes a backseat to growing things we can eat.
So there you have it; the good, the bad, and the ugly. Hopefully I will have some finished projects to write about soon, but in the meantime, you know what I’ll be up to…for the rest of my life!
oh, what fun! the greenhouse is looking fantastic- i love the stained glass near the top- so cool. chicken moats, grandpa bricks and shel silverstein, what a great combo. it's fun to see the works in progress, they work every bit as well as inspiration as finished projects, in my opinion. glad you shared!
Thank you and I'm happy you appreciated the unfinished works of my homestead! I was inspired by a friend who wrote up a list of things she didn't finish or accomplish in 2015 and invited others to share. It got me thinking about appreciating the process as much as much as the end goal! Here's to works in progress!
That greenhouse is so neat!!
Thanks! It's been a long time dream in the making!
I LOVE your greenhouse. Could you at some point provide more detailed instructions on how you mapped out your shape, secured windows together? I think they look so whimsical & I really like them. I would like one for our urban garden but wont have time until next winter.
Thank you and yes, I will be doing a more detailed post when it's finished. We winged it to some extent and are doing a lot of shimming to fill in gaps, but I understand all-glass greenhouses can use extra ventilation so they don't become too hot.
Love your window-greenhouse. I have been collecting old windows for a while and the plan is to build a greenhouse. Life is truly work in progress, but how dull it would be, if there was nothing going on atall. Take care and I wish you a lovely week ahead. Pam in Norway
Thank you Pam and you as well! I collected windows for almost three years before we finally started building this, and even got more donated from a friend in the middle that changed the whole design. Life would certainly be dull without these works in progress!
Aaaahhhh! I just circled back to this post and still LOVE this greenhouse.
Me too! This is a project I can't wait to finish!