December 2017

December brought potlucks, Christmas parties, and more of day hikes between AM & PM chores.

Linc continued working on the tiny house on wheels, upgrading the solar electric system with more panels, more batteries, circuit breakers and fuses, modifying the chimney to get the stove drawing better, bought a used storage shed to go with it, had it moved in and started renovating that too.

The photos are a little washed out due to some cloudy weather, but we had some nice hikes.  One to Green Mountain overlooking the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, one down to Morrow Point Reservoir on the Hermits Rest Trail, also in the Black Canyon National Park, and another snowy day hike to the hammock at high point on the Paonia Jumbo Mountain hiking/mountain biking trails.

View from Inspiration Point, Black Canyon NP

Hermits Rest Trail, overlooking Morrow Point Reservoir

Morrow Point Reservoir, Black Canyon NP

Jeanne in the Hammock on Jumbo Mountain, overlooking Paonia

And that wraps up our year.  Kind of a mostly work year, but with some spectacular adventures on occasion, ending with a sense of being slightly better off financially, even if we'd still be considered poverty level for income.  We have everything we need, live in a beautiful spot in a great community, enjoy some great friendships, and have lots of freedom (except for chores twice/day, but we love our animal and bird friends so it's nice to spend time with them and acknowledge how thankful we are for the gifts they provide us).  The longer we do it, the more we like and appreciate this homesteading lifestyle.

In closing, I'll list a few numbers from the garden harvest totals, plus goat dairy and poultry.  It was definitely not our best garden year due to the June frost, July hailstorm, and general neglect due to our other obligations this year, but it is still a serious endeavor that enables us to manage without working "normal" jobs.  This isn't comprehensive:

Goats milk - 514 gallons

Chicken, duck and turkey eggs - 236 dozen
Asparagus - 26 lbs

 Cabbage - 67 lbs

Broccoli - 34 lbs

Corn - 165 ears

Garlic - 350 bulbs

Cooking greens - 160 lbs

Salad greens - 90 lbs

Onions and leeks - 101 lbs

Melons - 38 lbs

Parsnips - 155 lbs

Potatoes - 410 lbs

Pumpkins - 121 lbs

Winter squash - 335 lbs

Tomatoes - 285 lbs (something like 151 lbs of them "green", but about half of those did ripen on the shelf)

Zucchini - 65 lbs

Total value of food from farm - $16,971

Time to start planning this year's garden!