The Huldufolk are happy

Surrounding our home is enough grass to feed a small herd of sheep or goat. I aim to change this! I am determined to transform our property from suburban cookie cutter lawn to an edible landscape which incorporates millions of years worth of knowledge and trial and error. The end goal is to have a self sufficient (to the point of surplus) homestead on just under a quarter of an acre. This will entail many hours of work, exponentially more hours of planning, the help and cooperation of not only my friends and family but also of the environment itself. A million variables need to fall into place in order for us to succeed and I am armed with the knowledge needed to at least increase the odds in my favor. This blog is going to be (more than anything else) a way to hold myself accountable. If people are watching, I must continue work and cannot let myself be lazy or slip on planning.

  On to business! So far we have quite the stock built including over 1000 bricks and cinder blocks for various projects but also a slew of wood, skids, and pallets which will be turned into coops, hutch, raised beds, and retaining walls. We have been gifted with almost 100 organic strawberry plants, as well as mature raspberry canes which will become our edible border hedge. In addition to all that there are currently 80 different varieties of vegetables stored safely in seed packets waiting to be born back into the soil.

Already started are the compost bins

 The path for our first keyhole garden

 and a quarter of the strawberry transplants

In the coming months there will be many more posts, each as a record of our efforts as well as information helping me along the way. This endeavor is one of love. Not only for the love of nature and fostering a healthy relationship with the land which sustains us but also for my family, their health, and our Gods. Now it is here that I need to say that I am the only adult living Asatru in our household. My wife is Christian, but respectable about it. Neither of us try to convert one another (though I do call her a good heathen woman occasionally) and we respect the belief system of our spouse. That being said my limited time spent with this land has already proven to be spiritual. From listening to the birds as I turn the compost in the morning, hearing their tales and songs, to sitting out back and planning the garden and being hit with inspiration for powerfully efficient designs out of nowhere, I have come to realize that I am not alone in this journey. Nor am I doing this just for my family, but also for the animals, the Huldofolk, the Landvaettir, and the Wights of this land. It is my job to groom this space and, in so doing, create a haven and secure home for all of this place's inhabitants.