As we wait for the calendar to flip from February to March, an important milestone is fast approaching. We will have owned our property for 1 year. That first year was a blur, and was what I consider to be the 'Year of the House'. In an effort to make the house livable, we hauled out loads of old carpeting, appliances, and cabinets; patched numerous nailholes; and started putting things back together. We made progress. But many weekends I did not make it much past the driveway, spending most of my time in the house covered in some type of dust - drywall dust, sawdust, dust from old adhesive.
As we enter Year Two, we still have a lot of rehabbing to do. However, my personal goal is to spend more time outside the house and enjoying the property. We are not ready for crops or animals yet, so I am dubbing this the "Year of the Land". We have some great projects and plans that should allow us to avoid some of that indoor dust and start to get some use out of the larger property:
This weekend, we are kicking off the first of these projects by tapping six maple trees, in an attempt to make maple syrup.
In March, we will be visited by a WDNR forester for a free property walkabout, to learn more about our land and how we can implement our plans in a sustainable manner.
In April, we will be inoculating oak logs from last year's fallen tree for Shiitake mushrooms.
In May, we will take to the woods for a more systematic search for morel mushrooms.
In October, I hope to harvest some apples to make hard cider, continuing last year's Perry (pear cider) experiment.
I also hope to squeeze in a little fishing. Taking the rabbit butchery class at Driftless Folk School, if they offer it again, is also on the list. Most of these projects will have little to no cost, and yet will provide us with consumable goods, which is the start of sustainable.
This can also be the start of setting up some annual cycles. We can gather some of the smaller oak logs from last year to serve as firewood for next year's maple syrup boil. We will see if the pruning I performed on one of the apple trees this winter produces better yield and quality and determine whether it is worth trimming the other trees next winter. Before we know it, it will be Year Three, and another round of plans - probably the 'Year of the Perennial'. But for now, one month at a time.
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