The Whimsy Dome

Yesterday was a fun day of foraging and picked up some new plants!  Ozzy loves our new Ginkgo Biloba tree! We found a nice sunny spot for her! We picked up a few mixed planters from Corey & co Landscaping in Oconto Falls! They had a small purple elephant ear and we just couldnt resist!  we picked up our 1/4 cow this weekend and already have soup bones in the crock pot working on our first batch of bone broth! Our freezer is stocked up full of meat! Add a few deer this fall and we will be set for the winter! Today Sean is working on  building a foot bridge to cross the aquaduct in the garden!  Sean and I were jogging a lap around the property and stopped us in our tracks when we saw the chicken of the woods on a big ole oak tree!!  We harvested half and left the other half for nature. We dropped off a few bags with friends and family and prepped the rest for us! We pan fried a bunch up for our breakf...

 Here's a bit of the most recent activity inside the greenhouse at The Whimsy Dome. June 23rd June 27th, 2021 August 1st, 2021 Sago Palm was one of our souvenirs from our family trip down to South Carolina over my Birthday! Sean planting the new Bromeliad from South Carolina as well.  Ozzy loves to Kayak with us! May 29th May 29th, 2021 Aug with an unknown vine June 27th, 2021 We used the side by side to haul this beautiful blue pot over the ridge to the green house August 7th from the lower level looking up. deep water culture & ferris wheel planter on the left This first year at The Whimsy Dome surely brought a wealth of learning along with it. This year we had the buckshot method in the Greenhouse & garden. We wanted to try a little bit of everything and see what went well with little to no maintenance. I am loving the tropical & jungle vibe in the greenhouse and plan to haul most of the planters into the green room or eagles nest in our house, for the winter. I...

 Hey everyone! It's Camille, from The Whimsy Dome! We live in a dome home in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan so there is a lot of wildlife around us. WAY more than I thought there would be! We even have a bald eagle's nest on the tree that sits across on the island that is in front of our house on the river. We've had the coolest sightings & experiences already! I wanted to share them with you! One day when working in the Shine room downstairs I was facing away from the double glass doors and thought, hmm why am I facing the wall when I could face out the windows, just as I turn to look out the window I lock eyes on a bald eagle flying between the hemlock trees and landing on a tree within 100 yards of the house. What a perfect moment to turn around and witness time move in slow motion as the wingspan on the eagle carved between the hemlock trees. They move with such elegance and grace that time nearly slows down. Every time I see an Eagle on this property or get to e...

The beds need to be de-sodded, tilled and filled, but that's a project for another day!! Update: we discovered the beds have drain tile in them so we won't be tilling this year. Sean weed whipped the grass and filled the dirt on top! We shall see how the plants grow! You can't learn if you never try. He also got the plants in the ground that we started from seed back in March and had in the greenhouse.  Here's what we've been up to lately. Hydrate coco coir for our hydroponics & deep water culture. We are filling our net cups with this to act as our medium in place of dirt so our sprayers and pumps stay clean.  We assembled our sprayer hydroponics set up. Pro tip, dipping the green tubing in hot water before attaching to sprayer.  We brought the first round of cold temp plants out to the greenhouse mid April, some did better than others and we're still learning their water needs in the greenhouse. Some were ove...

Spring has Sprung at The Whimsy Dome! As you know, springtime for a homesteader is a busy time of year. This year is especially busy for us as well as it is our first Spring in the home! We moved in July 28th so the plants and flowers that bloomed before are all a wonderful treasure waiting to be discovered! This property has many fruiting & flowering trees & plants that we know of already!  These beautiful purple flowers are right outside our summer bedroom door! ☀️ These little yellow guys were some of the very first to show up! 4-7-21 This purple one PUSHED its way through the leaves!  Tiny white flowers cover the Forrest floor. The moss begins to awaken with the frequent rainfall. Dafodils pop up next to the pirgola  Absolutely brilliant! There is nothing prettier than a flowering 

 Here at the Whimsy Dome, we have busy hands. Since pretty much day one, Sean and I have been hopping from project to project taking only momentary breaks in between.  This weekends plans were pretty wide open so on Friday after work we decided to head to Norway, MI to go and pick up three free lights from a car dealership that was upgrading their lighting.  We looked it up and these puppies can be $300-800/piece! SCORE! Saturday Saturday morning I woke up early at 6:30 to head to work by 7 for my 7:30 AM personal training client. I took this video right on our way out of the house to head to the gym. Before we made it in the car Ozzy took off and was gone for nearly 30 minutes on one of the coldest mornings. Luckily he returned unscathed by one of the many dangers that lurk in our woods. (Owls, bald eagles, hawks, coyotes just to name a few) This was an easy lesson to learn and from now he will be a leash-dog! I'm grateful nothing happened, it was a blessing. After about...