Tomorrow...I want to make ghee

Made a lot of progress on my Sepp Holzer style raised bed this evening. I did not dig down a full meter as he suggests, but I did get down at least 2 feet, possibly farther. Filled the resulting deep trench with logs, brush, rotten wood, wood scraps, etc, threw a little of the subsoil (I tried to keep the types of soil separate as I dug) in, and some bracken ferns that I cut down from the "island" in the center of our driveway (it is the kind that loops back onto itself so you never have to back out) because I cannot tell if a stranger is at our place until I am pulled right in, and I don't like that, so I cut them down for full visibility. The scythe I have now is a slightly different shape and type than the one I used to use, but surprisingly, it's about the same technique and feel. Anyway. Piled all this stuff in the hole. Had to go look for more. Saw that some animal, presumably a predator type, had been getting into my bags of wool skirting which are literally full of crap, so put most of the bag they'd tried to haul away onto the pile as well (good nitrogen source), added more soil, rotted straw, dead plant material, more ferns....then a blanket of sod, turned grass side down, and put most of the rest of the soil that is not topsoil onto it so that all the wood and brush is covered up. I wasn't ready to plant it tonight, so did not finish the bed, as it should be planted right away after being finished so the good topsoil doesn't erode. I would like to put manure on it, too if I can locate some.

I am uneasy about the number of people who seem to have been dropping by our place while I am gone. I don't have much to steal. Mostly, I am afraid of a male attacker, a human, as opposed to any animal. The idea that such a person might come by and notice that a single woman with kids lives there makes me uneasy. What if he sensed prey and came back? I am not particularly large or physically able to defend myself. And then it occurred to me: are there external, visual cues that this is the case? The furnishings, etc are not noticeably feminine. My rubber barn boots could be men's, my Carharrtt jacket and work boots, as well. They would belong to a smallish man.... My bedspread is just a wool utility quilt, not anything girly. The books in the windowsill are also gender neutral. As long as my feminine shoes are tucked under the bed and there are no thongs left laying on the floor or that sort of thing, the tools and projects outside could just as easily be interpreted as "single dad with kids" or even better, "couple with kids". I say better, because even if people see me driving in or out of there once or twice, they cannot be certain that I am single and alone. The truck, also, parked visibly at the end of the drive, looks like a guy's rig more than a girl's. And of course, there are the dogs. Having a very large dog who looks like he is part German Shepherd (which he is) is also helpful. He is sweet and gentle, but I would not risk taking on a dog that size if he belonged to someone else.