Building my Oasis

Goals for the Future

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The 300ish square foot house is far from finished, but comfortable enough to begin focussing on other aspects like building a workshop and barn. As things fall into place it’ll be easier to finish the house happily and hopefully with a little finesse (hopefully).

Before coming here I did tons of research and had many ideas and plans. Too many. With 50 acres to play with and a wild imagination, the possibilities are endless. I knew the property had unique challenges. There is a lot of snow and the water source is at the bottom. I also knew the property was very treed, steep, and rocky. How to work with and not against those challenges was still to be seen.

Now that I’ve spent a few seasons here the real dreaming and planning can start.

Doing It Ourselves

Part of the goal is to be as low-impact and self-reliant as possible, so keeping things within our skillset and ability is important. We take a lot of pride in creating with our own 4 hands, understanding how it’s put together and knowing how to fix it. It takes a lot longer and is hard work, but worth it in our eyes.

Though it’s far from perfect I get immense pride out of knowing that every piece of wood has been milled by us on site. We use ‘standing dead’ trees that have already died and begun to dry. When I count their rings I find that the trees are often over 200 years old. I love seeing them become part of my house, giving them a second life in my future oasis.

Being Methodical

The growing season is short and winter might bring deep snow, but summer can be truly harsh. Hail storms in the spring give early plants a run for their money. Following the hail summers are very hot and dry. Setting up greenhouses and gardens will need to be done strategically and with the likelihood of a very dry summer in mind.

One mistake that we made and learned from has been that we built the shed on the ground. Though it’s fairly normal practice to have a dirt floor shed, the dirt beneath stays surprisingly wet considering that it’s on a hillside. It’s so wet, that mushrooms and mold grow inside, and the ceiling drips.

We’ve discovered that somewhere uphill there’s a spring. Water runs down the mountain under the soil, irrigating water-loving plants that usually couldn’t live on a dry south-facing slope. I have yet to find it, but it’s there somewhere. The cottonwoods and elderberries say so. It’s one of the many mysteries still to explore on this mountain and though it was the demise of the shed, it’s wildly exciting!

Very Technical Diagram

The Dream

Working with the unique challenges of this property I’m inspired by an Austrian high-altitude farmer named Sepp Holzer. He works with the land to generate food passively and sustainably, going as far as creating microclimates which can support warm-weather plants. Utilizing the land similarly to him, a big part of my dream is to grow varieties of food all around and as low maintenance as possible.

Starting with the Yard

Now that I’m comfortable in my little house, more focus can go into the yard and farmyard. I hope to make it easier to accomplish our goals with a peaceful place to lay our heads after beautiful productive days.

The Pond - When time permits, we’ve been gradually digging the pond. Its design will be something like a ‘nature pool’. We plan to have it deep enough to swim in the centre and be shallow along the edges to house aquatic plants. We will be putting fish in it, to keep the bugs at bay. The plants should work to clean the water and provide oxygen for the fish. It will likely need a pump to provide more aeration, but we shall see.
Only 50 feet from the house, the pond will be a nice reprieve in the summer, a quaint fishing hole and possibly a place to skate in the winter.

The Workshop - Long overdue is an actual workshop. Somewhere out of the elements to fix vehicles, woodwork, process meat - anything that doesn’t need to happen in my tiny house. It’ll be large. Minimum 2 car bays, but I’m thinking double that. Once it’s built we’ll be able to tinker throughout winter.
Who knows what sort of wild Toyota might emerge after a winter in the shop?!

Fruit and Veg Gardens - Next to the house is a fenced area that’s prime for beginning a small orchard. I’m thinking cold-hardy apples, pears and plums. In the towns below, deer and bear are a problem for fruit trees. With the first orchard so close to the house we can monitor our trees. I use biodegradable soaps, and the grey water from showering gravity feeds to that area which will water the trees. I also plan to plant edible companions under the fruit trees - making the most of the water and space.

Barn - The animals do fine with their separate houses, but a barn that they can all share would be ideal. I'd like a small barn with space to keep their feed dry and a couple of stalls to keep critters separate as well as one to milk in. I don’t think that I’ll ever want to have larger livestock, but something for the goats, chickens, bunnies and maybe in the future - sheep?

Making Moves

As the snow deepens lots of projects will be put on hold until next season. We tore down the mouldy shed, setting aside the tin for future projects (maybe the barn?). The pond is about half dug and there is currently a tent we work in where the shop will be. The orchard space is ready to be planted and the goats are working to clear the space for a barn.

Doing it ourselves takes time and patience. The dreams and plans constantly change as new challenges and opportunities present themselves. I’ve fallen head over heels for this mountain and look forward to seeing the next phase in the coming years.