Well, I guess this is where I expand on the "About Me" information.
You already know that I'm 40-something but what you may not know is that I live in the Kootenays (that's in BC, for those of you who don't know that) with my family on about 10 forested acres (plus my In Law's acreage across the road). We left the city about 12 years ago, to raise our family in the very place my husband grew up.
Though it's had its ups and downs, I keep on thanking my lucky stars that we made the leap.
Over the last 12 years, we've had experience with different livestock and I think have settled in with what works here - Nigerian Dwarf Goats (none for sale right now, sorry), chickens, muscovies, cats, dogs, and a bunny. We had a few years of Icelandic sheep and while I was so very sorry to see them (and their fleeces) go, life in a woodlot is not ideal for sheep. Goats, however, they've been just the right fit.
I also am a fibre artist and want to share my love of natural fibre and natural dyeing here. I wish I could say that is my only hobby but actually, I'm a bit of an addict. I like to try new things and I always default back to something fibre related when I need a quick craft fix. I'm learning bookbinding (which I also love). I have a wee (massive) obsession with natural and reused/reusable materials.
One of the reasons I most wanted to start this blog is my garden. I am literally gardening in a woodlot. More than once kindly people have suggested that we clear out some trees (and I have had moments of considering it, I confess). One of our neighbours is the most respected forester in this area (he horse logs - so cool!) and he said that the forest has just recovered from clearing to build. If I start clearing out more trees around the garden, I'll destabilize everything and we'll be back to more trees dying and falling over. No thanks. Also, I worry about our impact on the ecosystem as it is- I don't want to do more that creates problems. And, I wanted to live in a forest so my mission is to find out how to make it all work. I believe there has to be a way.
All of that being said, I'm also passionate about gardening and I'll tell you, there isn't a lot of information about gardening in a woodlot. Any search with with "forest" and "garden" and you get a bunch of food forest stuff which is cool but so not my reality. And the little bit I have seen has basically said "don't even bother trying". Well, I'm going to give you the other side of the story. You can have a successful garden in a woodlot. I will share all of my tips and tricks with you.
We garden at Zone 4 here, by the way. I think it's technically Zone 5 but every once in a while the temperature drops beyond what we're used to. I figure if I aim for Zone 4 most everything will work. Oh, I'm also on the side of a mountain so I have rocks. And more rocks. And then, just when I wish I would have something that's not rocks (or tree roots) Mother Nature kindly gives me clay. I have learned some serious tricks about that (spoiler alert: the first one is be patient). I also have a friend who gardened on sand - all sand. I'll try and share a bit about that too.
That's enough about me. Now your turn. You can say hello right here.
You already know that I'm 40-something but what you may not know is that I live in the Kootenays (that's in BC, for those of you who don't know that) with my family on about 10 forested acres (plus my In Law's acreage across the road). We left the city about 12 years ago, to raise our family in the very place my husband grew up.
Though it's had its ups and downs, I keep on thanking my lucky stars that we made the leap.
Over the last 12 years, we've had experience with different livestock and I think have settled in with what works here - Nigerian Dwarf Goats (none for sale right now, sorry), chickens, muscovies, cats, dogs, and a bunny. We had a few years of Icelandic sheep and while I was so very sorry to see them (and their fleeces) go, life in a woodlot is not ideal for sheep. Goats, however, they've been just the right fit.
I also am a fibre artist and want to share my love of natural fibre and natural dyeing here. I wish I could say that is my only hobby but actually, I'm a bit of an addict. I like to try new things and I always default back to something fibre related when I need a quick craft fix. I'm learning bookbinding (which I also love). I have a wee (massive) obsession with natural and reused/reusable materials.
One of the reasons I most wanted to start this blog is my garden. I am literally gardening in a woodlot. More than once kindly people have suggested that we clear out some trees (and I have had moments of considering it, I confess). One of our neighbours is the most respected forester in this area (he horse logs - so cool!) and he said that the forest has just recovered from clearing to build. If I start clearing out more trees around the garden, I'll destabilize everything and we'll be back to more trees dying and falling over. No thanks. Also, I worry about our impact on the ecosystem as it is- I don't want to do more that creates problems. And, I wanted to live in a forest so my mission is to find out how to make it all work. I believe there has to be a way.
All of that being said, I'm also passionate about gardening and I'll tell you, there isn't a lot of information about gardening in a woodlot. Any search with with "forest" and "garden" and you get a bunch of food forest stuff which is cool but so not my reality. And the little bit I have seen has basically said "don't even bother trying". Well, I'm going to give you the other side of the story. You can have a successful garden in a woodlot. I will share all of my tips and tricks with you.
We garden at Zone 4 here, by the way. I think it's technically Zone 5 but every once in a while the temperature drops beyond what we're used to. I figure if I aim for Zone 4 most everything will work. Oh, I'm also on the side of a mountain so I have rocks. And more rocks. And then, just when I wish I would have something that's not rocks (or tree roots) Mother Nature kindly gives me clay. I have learned some serious tricks about that (spoiler alert: the first one is be patient). I also have a friend who gardened on sand - all sand. I'll try and share a bit about that too.
That's enough about me. Now your turn. You can say hello right here.
These are the links to the way old sites:
http://flannelberryfarm.wordpress.com/
http://livesimplylife.wordpress.com/
http://flannelberryfarm.wordpress.com/
http://livesimplylife.wordpress.com/