Permaculture in Action

My first introduction to Permaculture was a permaculture and organic farm bike trip on Hawaii's Big Island. The trip was with a company called Common Circle Expeditions, which I would highly reccommend to anyone who wants an amazingly professional, fun, well-organized and highly informative bike trip.

I consider myself no expert on permaculture, but have been noticing principles of permaculture being done around the farm and have been wanting to do a post on it.

I will start with the definition of permaculture. Simply stated, permaculture is a theory of design and a way of doing things that make sustainable systems by modeling natural systems. It consists of three core values (care of Earth, care of people and setting limits to population and consumption) and twelve principles. I won't go into the principles here, but I will focus on a few, mostly produce no waste and use and value diversity.

Brewer's Barley in Fish Farm Bag (bag reused twice!)

This brewer's barley is from a brewery in Tofino, and is used as one food source of the cow. Bob showed me how to tell if a cow is full or not. It involves looking at the back left side of their back and seeing if the area by their stomach is concave or convex. If not used for cow food like this, the brewer's barley would not be used for anything. The white bag that it came in was used for fish food for fish farms on the West coast of Vanvouver Island. Pretty amazing that the bags get used a few times over. Sometimes Bob and Ann will use the bags for something else, like storing fire wood or storing other things.

Brewing Barley

Another way that no waste is created on the farm is by using the lard of the pigs to make pies and to feed the birds. Birds need fat in the winter, especially when it's cold, so the lard is a perfect feed for them. I bet they appreciate it a lot.

Pig lard, used to feed the birds.

Sawdust, from the mill across the street, used to put in the cow/horse stalls

There is a sawmill across the street from the farm, where this saw dust comes from. The saw dust is put in the cow stalls and horses stalls when they are cleaned. It smells amazing. Other than creating no waste, I'm not sure what permaculture principal it follows. It comes from as close as possible (300meters is as far as it travels).

The farm has many buckets placed so that they collect rain water. There is so much compost from the kitchen, and the gardens have much variety. Permaculture is seen many places on the farm.

More Spiles in the Big Leaf Maples

Drilling a hole in the maple tree

A few days ago Bob, Liz and I put about 15 more spiles in about 10 more bigleaf maple trees. Some trees have two spiles in them, with a connector attaching them to one tube that goes in the bucket. Drilling the hole in the tree is the first step. It is important to make sure the hole is NOT in a hole from previous years. The holes close up, and heal after some time and it's important to let that healing continue to happen by finding a new place for the new year's spile. The hole should be an inch and a half deep and you should make sure the hole doesn't have any wood shavings in it before hammering the spile in.

Liz, hammering in a spile

The spiles are 7/16th big and are made of plastic. The blue tubing seen in the photo are food-grade plastic and are 5/16th in size. The spile needs to be  hammered in quite well and the spile can be directed in the direction of the bucket. Finding a suitable place for the bucket (that allows for it to sit flat and stay in place) can prove to be difficult, as many of the bigleaf maples are on the hill.

The Spile

Once the spile is hammered in, the tubing can be attached by pulling it over the spile. Scissors or wire cutters can be used to cut the tubing to the right length. The spiles, the tubing and the connectors that connect two lines of tubing to make it go into one tube can be ordered online or bought from hardware stores.

The finished product, ready to collect sap when the weather is right



The sap will begin to run when the temperature goes up by a few degrees in a short amount of time. Although we tapped these trees a few days ago, the sap hasn't been running until today when the temperature increased by a few degrees. Bob told me the Alberni Valley tends to have the coldest weather in winter and warmest weather in summer of all of Vancouver Island.

There was quite a fierce wind storm last night. I arrived back from Nanaimo just in time. I was told that Cathedral Grove (with some of the biggest Old Growth trees in Canada) is not a good place to be driving through during a wind storm. The power was out when I arrived back at the farm, and so I was preparing for a job interview and reading by candle light. A friend commented that I'm becoming quite the farmer if I'm reading by candlelight. I'm really enjoying my time on the farm. Sammy the dog is waiting at my bedroom door every morning, eager and so excited to come with me to tend to the chickens and the ducks. Being around so many animals every day is really comforting and amazing.

Bob and Liz

View of the Somass River and Beaufort Mountans during a bike ride





A light dusting of snow

Thanks for reading my blog. There have been readers from all stretches of the Globe and it's amazing to see so many people interested in farming and growing food and raising animals for food.

-Haley

Tools and Tapping More Maples

Stone Tools

During a few days off from the farm (for a job interview) I met an archaeologist, which reminded me that I have been meaning to put a photo of these stone tools that were probably used by First Nations peoples of the area. If anyone knows the uses of these tools, please comment. I have looked into the uses of the tools very briefly, and I describe some of my findings, but I'm not an archaeologist, so please comment if you know some of the uses.

Stone Maul

It seems like this could be a stone maul, a versatile tool used for everything from wood working to food preparation. (Any tools nowadays that are that versatile?) It was used to split wood while making canoes, totem poles and houses. Another type of stone maul (in the photo below) might have been used to crush food and plants.

Hand Maul

This cylindrical hand maul was thought to be used as a hammer of sorts, or as a mortar and pestle to crush plants for food or medicines. I found a website that has some really interesting photos of hand mauls. Check it out here if you want: http://ancestral.nativeaccess.com/mauls1.html 



Grinding Pestle

This one, and the one below it might be a grinding pestle or a rolling pin pestle.

Grinding pestle?

The end of an axe?

Imagine this one on the end of a stick. Could it have been an axe of sorts?

The end of an axe as well?

I'm not sure what type of rock this one is, but it's quite pretty. It's in a triangular shape and quite sharp, so maybe it was also attached to a stick and used as an axe.

Another Hand Maul

Petrified Wood

This one is pretty neat looking, and in texture to feel. It is petrified wood, that is wood turned to stone from sediment building up on it and a lack of oxygen. No idea what its practical purpose might have been.

Today was supposed to get warmer and so we were expecting to tap the trees. Instead it kind of hovered around freezing all day and was slushy, icy and wet. The power was out for part of the day. Bob, Liz and myself tapped many more Bigleaf Maples. I'll post pics tomorrow. Thanks for reading my blog, and please comment if you know uses of any of the tools :) Read tomorrow for bigleaf maple tapping. -Haley

Check back tomorrow for more Bigleaf Maple Tapping Photos

Liz putting a spile into a Bigleaf Maple

A Friend Apprentice and Muskovy Ducks

Eagle Nest Beside the Somass River

On a very exciting note, yesterday the other farm apprentice has arrived back at the farm. Her name is Liz, and she is kind, calm, beautiful, smart and wonderfully adventurous. I am so happy to have met her and to be living and working with her. The eagles nests are from a morning walk and the bottom two photos are from an afternoon drive and short hike.

Today's post will be a bird theme and will start with a closer look at the eagle's nest that sits high atop a tree at the end of the field. It has apparently been used for generations of eagles and would probably weigh a few hundred pounds.

Morning Look at the Riverside Eagle's Nest

I will continue this bird-oriented post by discussing the ducks on the farm. The ducks are Muskovy ducks, which are native to Mexico, Central America and South America. In the wild, they eat fish, reptiles, insects, crustaceans, and millipedes. Here on the farm they eat pellet food that is made of who-knows-what.

Muskovy Duck

The ducks are on the farm as meat birds. Apparently their meat is different than other bird meat in that it is more like veal than poultry. Less greasy than other bird meat as well. Maybe I will compare this meat to the duck meat I ate in Nepal. It can't be worse than my Nepali host-father saying "you're eating the duck's head right now."

Muskovy Duck Eggs, covered by Momma duck's chest feathers

One of the ducks has made a nest in a protected corner of the barn. She has plucked her front feathers to keep the eggs warm. If her down feathers are anything like the ones in my sleeping bag, these eggs will be toasty warm. She proudly prances around the barn, obviously very pleased with her eggs.

Beautiful river that flows into Sprout Lake, on a walk today

 

Marshmellow the dog washing her paws in Sproat Lake

Thanks for reading, everyone and hope you are all well.

What Is Natural Horsemanship?

 Meet Ripley, one of the seven horses here at the farm

Today's post features the horses. I will discuss the horses here at the farm and do my best to explain to you an approach to horse training called 'Natural Horsemanship.' This is totally new to and AC is teaching me a lot about it.

Put simply, natural horsemanship is a way of training horses that involves using knowledge of the natural instincts of horses to train a horse. Natural horsemanship involves understanding what motivates horses and knowing how horses learn. It does not use punishment or force. Very simply stated, it is training a horse by "thinking like a horse."

Jessie is a Belgium that AC trained from being born

Natural horsemanship training is understanding that horses are prey animals. It is thought that humans hunted horses before we rode them. The fact that horses have eyes on the side of their head further proves that they are prey animals. Predators (like humans, birds of prey, and canines) have eyes on the front of our faces. Horses can see peripherally better than we can, to better survive. Along with a wider field of vision, horses have better hearing and better localization of sound in order to better survive.

Prey animals (like Dixie shown here) have eyes on the side of their head for better peripheral vision

AC trains all of her horses and trains them using natural horsemanship rather than the more traditional way of "breaking in a horse." AC sees this as "breaking their spirit." Today we took Dixie, the youngest horse in the barn out for a walk as a part of her training. The purpose of this walk is to: 

-Introduce the young horse to new things (ice, noises, new objects)

-Let them comfortable being on a lead P

-Promote the trainer (AC in this case) as the leader

-revent that horse from being "herde bound," that is, unable to be away from the other horses

-Helps the young horse gain independence.  

Taking Dixie for a walk

As I mentioned, natural horsemanship means thinking like a horse. Part of this is understanding that horses are social, herd animals. Horses find comfort and safety in their herd and (much like companies, towns, countries and our human-constructed social systems) have a hiearchy of horses with an Alpha leader being at the top. When training a horse, it is important that the trainer asserts themself as the leader. This means that they exercise their dominance over a horse, but not with force or punishment. It is by doing things like putting a bubble of space around you and the horse, and by teaching the horse to move away from pressure. For example, if you put light pressure on their side they should move sideways a few steps and if you put light pressure on their pectoral muscles (on their front) they should move backwards a step or two.

Horses are social, herd animals

Horses learn differently than people. They learn by repetition and drills. Their brains differ greatly than humans and more than just in size relative to body weight. Human brains have a larger cerebrum-the area that controls thoughts, memory, and communication. Horses have more cerebellum, which controls gross muscle coordination, balance and body functions. Body language is of utmost importance when training a horse. This is your method of communication with the horse, and so you must be able to do it well.

You must be the Alpha leader for your horse

Natural horsemanship is especially interesting to me, because the book series I'm totally into right now has a lot of information about this method of training and about the history of horses and humans' relationships. The series is Jean M. Auel's Earth Children series. My Mom introduced me to the first book for my birthday last year, and since then I have devoured book after book in the series with only a few books in between books of the series. The series takes placein Prehistoric Europe and follows one woman's journey through life and based on historical and scientific data proposes the Cro-Magnon and Neandrathal relationship. Ayla raises a horse from a very young age and is the first fictional character to ride a horse (and train it using natural horsemanship). Whether you are a horse fan or not, the series is amazing. I especially like it because I have never read a book based in this time period. Highly reccomended.

The Earth Children series presumes human and horses first relationships

 One last note about natural horsemanship before I end this post: training horses, like training dogs (and raising children?) demands great consistency. Being as consistent as possible lets the horse know what they can and can't do and lets them keep you as their Alpha leader and someone who deserves to be their leader.

Horses have different brain structure and so learn differently than humans

I'm really enjoying learning about natural horsemanship. It is teaching me a lot about aimals and humans and our place in the world of animals. It's making me consider things I have never considered and challenging me to look at animals totally differently. Feel free to comment, and by all means correct my data if it is incorrect. These are my learnings about natural horsemanship and if anyone who has experience with it has comments, I would love to hear them.

Thanks for reading and check tomorrow for some photos of some very cute duck eggs covered in Momma duck's down feathers.



Tomorrow's post will feature the ducks and Momma duck and her nest



The Freedom of The Hills

Hues of Blue while tending to the birds this morning

My day off was spent exploring the mountains that I have spent much time gazing out to since arriving on the farm. As it turns out, Mount Arrowsmith is a mountaineer's playground, with dozens of different routes and trails to explore. A wonderful local couple (Tawney and Craig) took me up the Saddle today (between Mount Arrowsmith and Mount Cokley) for a half day adventure. Their dog Kara came with us and is quite the mountain climber herself! Craig just made the first acent of a peak near Tofino (called Canoe Peak I think) and has a very informative website giving routes and information for dozens of hikes on Vancouver Island. His website can be found at islandhikes.com

View of the Alberni Valley from the start of the trail

The trail was quite icy, and so we wore crampons and carried ice axes. We hiked alongside a creek until we arrived at a col that we took up to the Saddle. I can't figure out how a place that is biting cold, windy, and loud with wind can be incredibly peaceful. It just is.

Tawney and Kara

If the view hadn't been obstructed by cloud we would have seen Mount Arrowsmith on our right and Mt. Cokley on our left. 

Frozen Waterfall en route

Among the hardiest of trees on The Saddle

Kara and her precious ice beard



Mount Arrowsmith

Photo Credit: Islandhikes.com

An amazing day off, with amazing people. I will include farm related information in tomorrow's post and thanks for reading! 

Herding Chickens and Pumpkin Curry

Today marks the first snow since arriving on the farm. The snow comes down in big, fluffy flakes and is much wetter than the snow I grew up with in Ontario. I am beginning to get into a good routine of feeding and giving water to the ducks and chickens each morning. This routine includes Sammy the dog (a Jack Russel) accompanying me. Every morning he positions himself under the chicken house and barks very loudly. This morning, for some reason, Sammy wasn't with me and when I opened the door and entered the chicken house, I didn't shut the door, thinking the wood step would be too high for the chickens to get out. Turns out it isn't too high, and five chickens made an escape. Feeling foolish and immediately realizing Sammy's barking prevented this from happening in the past, I realized I had to do something. I refined my chicken herding skills and managed to get all the escapees back into their home.

Chickens and rooster safely back in their house

Chickens lay about an egg a day, and they lay these in a separate spot in the house than they eat and poop. The chickens very much live by the daylight and go into their house by the time it is dark. I come down each evening and let them in. The eggs need to be washed very well before being put into cartons, as they have poop and wood shavings on them. 

Eggs that are ready to be washed and sold



Andrea, the gardener extraordinaire mentioned in the post a few days ago, came by today and shared her expertise in another area with me-cooking. We made pumpkin curry (delicious!) for lunch and buns for market day tomorrow. The buns have molasses in them and are amazing in taste and texture. I look forward to learning more cooking tips from Andrea in the future.

Locally milled flour used to make the buns

Pumpkin about to be made into curry (and roasted seeds!)

Tomorrow I will transform from farm helper to mountaineer for a day and climb up to the saddle (between Mount Arrowsmith and Mount Cokley) with friends of friends who live here and are avid mountaineers.

Thanks for reading, and I'll post some snowy mountain photos tomorrow.