When feeling overwhelmed and thinking there is such a long way to go, I take the time to look at photos and reflect back on how far we have come.  The before and after photos always bring a smile and sense of relief that we are doing something beneficial for the health and balance of our environment.

Getting started with cleaning up the berry bushes and dried grass.  Determine spaces and pathways with redwood branch fencing and wood arbors.  Probably around 2006-2007:

Digging out a whole hillside to expand the chicken/turkey coop.  The fencing in the back to keep out deer was made from redwood branches propped up in half wine barrels full of gravel.  The best advice given: “Don’t make your fences permanent until you’ve lived on the property for a few years to determine flow.”

Thought I could do something with the blackberries, but turned out to be non-native berries that had to be removed.  Determining space around the garden before the black locust fence was built.

The hillside was overgrown with Scotch Broom which hid special heirloom apples, the Hauer Pippin and Yellow Bellflower.

Overtime, the redwood branch fence was replaced with pipe corral fencing once we adopted the horses and goats.  The hillside was terraced with river rocks which replaced rotten telephone poles and metal stakes.

A greenhouse and deck were built.

Greenhouse

Winter 2016, the garden was left to grow with weeds since we were going to redesign the whole thing.  The river rock planter beds were not working to keep out the gophers.

Rocks removed and weeds pulled.  Now, all the old gopher wire had to be removed.

The first two locust limb planter beds built.  It’s a start, and changes will be happening all summer and fall.