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Kirsten Slade

Austin TX is where this rolling stone intends on gathering moss.

If I could describe myself in one sentence, there would be no need for all this blather.

Interests: dumpster-diving, ping pong, navel gazing, nutella and banana sandwiches, thrifting, photography, hiking, urban exploring, public libraries, knitting, scrabble, good food that's good for you, tattoos, history, permaculture, unschooling

Recent Activity

I have 12 yards of mulch to distribute about the place, so naturally, I'm drawn to the glow of my computer. I killed so many ants yesterday. Remember this post where I waxed rhapsodic about the leafcutter ants - oh, they're so fascinating, I could watch them for hours, blah,... Continue reading

Posted Mar 7, 2013 at Living Small in Austin TX

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Look at this!!! I think I'm as proud of it as I've ever been...of anything! We've finally lived somewhere long enough to have seen a compost pile through to its mature stage. Here's our current set-up. The black bins are both currently accepting greens and browns. The buckets belong to... Continue reading

Posted Feb 26, 2013 at Living Small in Austin TX

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Bricks and chicken tricks...

This pile of bricks sat in my side yard for longer than I care to admit. Remember some drunkard drove into our porch earlier this year? This is what remains of our original brick porch columns, dumped by my contractor because I couldn't bear the thought of just chucking them... Continue reading

Posted Feb 16, 2013 at Living Small in Austin TX

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Chicken Coop 2.0

See the ugly shed to the right of the coop in the photo just above this one? It's going to be our chicken coop/green house, but it needs a lot of work. Not only is it ugly, but whatever the exterior is sheathed in, it's crumbling. And a big tree... Continue reading

Posted Jun 27, 2012 at Living Small in Austin TX

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Burclover and my "un"compost pile

Burclover. Does it have any redeeming qualities? My chickens won't eat it. I know what I don't like about burclover. You ever step on one of the burs? It stays stuck in you and if you try to pull it out, it pulls your skin up into a little baby... Continue reading

Posted Apr 2, 2012 at Living Small in Austin TX

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I need a new fence...

A few weeks ago, a drunk driver hit my neighbor's car, plowed through our fence, clipped a pecan tree in our front yard, and landed on our front porch. Thankfully, the porch is concrete, and a brick column (apparently not load bearing) took the brunt of the impact. The chain... Continue reading

Posted Mar 13, 2012 at Living Small in Austin TX

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A few months into this, and I totally get why most...

A few months into this, and I totally get why most working farms are not pretty. Okay, I should clarify. I think most farms are gorgeous, soul restorative places, but inevitably there are piles of broken down machinery, plastic feed buckets splattered with mud or pigshit or, most likely, both,... Continue reading

Posted Mar 11, 2012 at Living Small in Austin TX

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Chickens are cheaper than therapy.

How is it that I haven't posted a single photo of my beloved little backyard flock yet? Thanks, facebook. I knew I wanted chickens, but I had no idea how much I needed chickens. Mornings, one of the first things I do is let them out of the coop, see... Continue reading

Posted Feb 1, 2012 at Living Small in Austin TX

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Chickens are gateway fauna. Once you've got the...

Chickens are gateway fauna. Once you've got the care of a flock of backyard chickens under your belt, it seems like nothing at all to take in a friend's pair of ducklings she can no longer keep. And then one day, you open an email from someone selling Dwarf Nigerian... Continue reading

Posted Jan 27, 2012 at Living Small in Austin TX

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Repurposing some ugly stuff I found around the micro-farm.

Who thought planter boxes were a good idea in Central Texas? A couple of these were kicking around our yard when we moved in, and I'll admit, my first thought was to...you know...stick a plant in them, but then it got to be about a zillion degrees. You'd need to... Continue reading

Posted Jan 11, 2012 at Living Small in Austin TX

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Remember that duck deficiency I was rappin' about...

Okay, maybe not actually rappin' and I honestly don't expect you to remember something I wrote...shit...four months ago??? Anyway, I've been meaning to share that we got us some chickens and those leaf cutter ants? Mmmm, mmmm, chickies love themselves some tasty little ants! Unfortunately, there's a massive hawk who... Continue reading

Posted Dec 13, 2011 at Living Small in Austin TX

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For some reason, I got it into my head that this was some non-woody stemmed variety of hibiscus, but now I am really not so sure. Here's another photo, that will probably be of no help whatsoever, but if it is, then help a girl out with an ID, please.... Continue reading

Posted Aug 14, 2011 at Living Small in Austin TX

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Not me, the trees. To be more specific, my crepe myrtles are being denuded by an extremely diligent colony of leafcutter ants. I didn't even know we had leafcutter ants! I thought leafcutter ants lived in...I don't know...Borneo, or somewhere equally remote and/or exotic. See that green trail all along... Continue reading

Posted Aug 13, 2011 at Living Small in Austin TX

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There *really* aren't enough hours in the day.

Have I mentioned that the new house has a dedicated arts and crafts workspace? It is truly awesome not to have to spend the precious little time I actually have to be creative setting a project up and then cleaning it all up just so we have somewhere to eat... Continue reading

Posted Aug 12, 2011 at Living Small in Austin TX

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Adventures in Greywater! Part 1 of...a series that hopefully won't drag on for years.

Our current greywater system: a five gallon bucket and a watering can. There's also a dishpan sporadically involved. It's a slipshod effort, but it waters the few edibles we've got in the ground twice a day. It's not going to make a dent once we ramp up food production out... Continue reading

Posted Aug 11, 2011 at Living Small in Austin TX

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Got to start somewhere...

I took a bunch of "before" photos the other day. At 107 degrees, it's really too hot to get started on the "afters". Actually, that didn't stop Nate from planting a few beans. They were doing alright, until he left for a business trip the day after transplanting them into... Continue reading

Posted Aug 5, 2011 at Living Small in Austin TX

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Dustin' off the virtual cobwebs...and building a potting table

Blogging took a bit of a backseat to moving. The dust still hasn't quite settled here - full boxes sit untouched, artwork stacked against walls instead of hanging on them, daily chores abandoned in favor of unpacking, moving furniture about until it feels like it's in the right place, but... Continue reading

Posted Jul 23, 2011 at Living Small in Austin TX

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Summertime and the livin' is easy...

Here I was going to throw the stupid drought a bone and give thanks for the relative lack of mosquitos in our yard recently. After all, yesterday morning I sat outside for a good 45 minutes (ooh, can I get a witness?!?!?) before those nasty little blood suckers tracked me... Continue reading

Posted Jun 16, 2011 at Living Small in Austin TX

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Govalle. Swedish for "good grazing land".

I've been a little busy lately... but now I get to spill the beans that we are moving mid-summer. All my hand wringin', circuititious windshield drivin' tours around neighborhoods all over town, endless late night sessions stalking houses online and a continual urban/rural pro vs. con tally playing out in... Continue reading

Posted May 24, 2011 at Living Small in Austin TX

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How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I'm guessing this is just the first in a series of posts about why I love living here in Austin. Music. Everywhere. I can be sitting on my couch, folding laundry, and hear a man strolling up my block strumming a banjo. This morning, it was a harmonica, heard long... Continue reading

Posted May 11, 2011 at Living Small in Austin TX

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I kind of feel the need to apologize for the people who keep finding this blog when they are searching for instructions on how to install a clothesline. On the other hand, it's a clothesline, people! Back in the day your great-great granny just used to drape her laundry over... Continue reading

Posted May 5, 2011 at Living Small in Austin TX

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It's time to bottle my kombucha. I know there are numerous sources, both local and online to purchase empty swing top bottles. Really? You gonna pay good money for empty bottles? You crazy. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some kick back and relaxin' with a cold one to... Continue reading

Posted May 3, 2011 at Living Small in Austin TX

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The Texas Nature Challenge!

While I'm not generally a fan of "educational scavenger hunts", this looks like a lot of fun, so we signed up as a family. It's a nice complilation of places we already want to go. There are so many beautiful natural spots here in Central Texas, and I can't believe... Continue reading

Posted May 3, 2011 at Living Small in Austin TX

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Gardens grow more than just food...

Our lease is up at the end of the summer, so the beginning of May seems like a good time to start house hunting in earnest. While we've gone back and forth on many characteristics we'd like in our home of our own, a very large and sunny yard has... Continue reading

Posted May 2, 2011 at Living Small in Austin TX

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What am I doing for Earth Day?

This year, I got us a family membership to Design, Build, Live, because I love what they do and hit their free presentations almost every month! I signed my man up for a Using Reclaimed Materials Carpentry Workshop, presented by the aforementioned Design,Build, Live. I signed myself up for a... Continue reading

Posted Apr 22, 2011 at Living Small in Austin TX

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