Hi

Hi there. I am a pretty new homeowner with perhaps the worst 5 acres in California to call my own. Hahaha, not really but it's not great.

The modular house I live in is falling apart around me. The property is South facing and COLD. I have a pretty steep slope that recently has experienced a large slump and a significant mudflow. I have a pad that is hardpan clay subsoil so hard that it took all day with a tractor to peel up a 25x25ft area to start putting in some organic matter. I have an acre or two of "diggins" (the results of hydraulic mining) which is baren land except for all the dead manzanita...

But I love it all. Nice neighbors and none that I can see. Bears, coyotes, bobcats and fox all over the place. A road so bad that we never get unexpected visitors! If this wasn't California I might mistake it for heaven.

Well I just thought I should say hi to everybody since I have been reading a lot of the posts here. I've always been a fan of hugelkulture but I never realized it had a name until I found this place. Or that could be so involved. Fun stuff. I've got some big projects in mind and am enjoying looking at all of your successes with yours.

Happy New Year,

Dan

Welcome aboard, Dan!  Love the positive attitude re what sounds like a really challenging property!  Those are the best kind to put permaculture to the test.

Hope you find time to participate in the forums, and post some pictures of your projects!  We love seeing the good, the bad, and the ugly - something to learn from every experiment, whether it works or not.

Thanks Artie, Will do!