Photos of the progress.

Over worked and under paid.Everyone loves Lia.Ahhhhhh.Beautiful urbanite raised beds and herb spiral.Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, I have them all and I think it means I'm going to a fair.

My blogging is almost as infrequent as my letter writing.

Sorry it has been sooooo long since my last entry.  I had photos to post and spent the day trying to figure out how to do that.  My garden is progressing wonderfully.  The more I see the more I appreciate what Jacob and Lia have brought into my life.  I know now that the Alpaca poo the cardboard and all the good compost (thanks to Lia's family is bringing my soil to life.  The first time I see a worm it will be a time to rejoyce!. 
We had a huge yard that no one used and did not draw you into.  Now we have this amazing space that already compels you to investigate.  It takes up to 3 years for a permaculture garden to really come to life.  I can already see what is in my futute.
I have to mention a local nursery and the owner Janice who has given so freely of her time and knowlegde.  "Bunyards Barnyard" in Roseburg.  She has a passion and years of gardening experience.  I love her nursery and the great plants she has. 
Tomorrow most of our fall plants will go into the ground.  We will have Blueberries and lots of native berries.  We are planting a fig tree and you should see my herb spiral. 
Jacob and Lia have truly had the vision and the blood, sweat and tears for this project.  I will never be able to thank them enough.
I am a great fan of HGTV and the designers always say, it is their job to make a space beyond what the owner could ever imagine.
Belive me, I could never imagine what is taking place in my back yard.
Photos to follow when I figure at the technology.
Speaking of technology, I can't find the spell check.  I will post this as is. 

Another Swale Day!!!

So much hard work and now I have ditches, holes and a mountain of poo.  I have several photos of Jacob and Bryan hard at work but I must mention Lia.  She is a machine.  Saturday she and Jacob were up early hand digging the original swale.  In the late afternoon they went for the third load of Alpaca poo.  It was almost dark when they arrived back home.  She was right in the bed of the pick-up unloading the poo with a shovel until after dark.  Sunday morning I opened my bedroom window to find her out in the swale with a huge pick, swinging it like crazy.  They did take the afternoon off and joined Joyce and I for a trip to Eugene.  We did visit a Permaculture Nursery outside of Cottage Grove.  The Fern Hill Nursery specializes in edible, medicinal and native plants for the Pacific Northwest. http://www.fernhillnursery.com/.  I got to visit with my Dead Dog Sistas and Jacob and Lia got some well deserved rest. 
Above photos:  1. No hand digging swales for Bryan; technology is a wonderful thing.  2. Ancient technology is great too.  Bryan showing Jacob how to use a water level.  3.  Lia and our disagreeable cat George. He loves her.  3.  Rudy loves our fish.  He does not understand that they live in different world than he does.  I just pray he doesn't decide to join them.

TIMBERRRrrrrrrrrrr. . .

I just got home from work.  There has been a huge flurry of activity in the last 2 days while I was at work, (Thanks goodness I had to "work").  The Silver Maple was felled by Bryan and his 12" electric chain saw.  He climbed up the tree and took it out from the top down.  Not the recommended method.  Jacob and lovely Lia have gone and gotten 2 large loads of Alpaca Poo;  natures miracle excrement and dogs favorite snack.  Contour lines have been marked to indicate the flow of rain water and the first swale has been dug.  Also Lia brought me worms!.  Not just any worms, these are amazing worms that produce casting that will enrich our soil.  It's all about the soil!  There are great UTube Videos that explain "Permaculture".   There are several segments and they are "The Global Garden" series by Bill Mollison, the father of the permaculture philosophy.  I will post photos tomorrow.

Free range dogs, Jacob and the Urbanite, and our lovely lawn.

First photos.  Lia arrived today with her worms.  We ordered mushroom plugs and will start cultivating Shiitakes.

In the beginning . . . .

Day One:
Jacob arrived a few days ago.  We've been making basic plans and gathering the first resources that we will need to start the project.  Lia doesn't arrive until tomorrow and we don't want to plan too much without her input.  I am already learning new things.  First: Jacob told me of the beautiful herb spiral that we will build.  We will use the rare and precious stone "Urbanite".  I have been wondering where we would have to go to obtain this beautiful rock and hoping that the cost was less than the granite we just installed in the kitchen. 
Today my yard is full of Urbanite and I have a grateful neighbor that doesn't have to worry about hauling away the concrete slab laying out in his field.  Hopefully I will have to USB cable to the camera in the next day or so and photos will be posted.