One of the fun things about owning a bit of land is you start giving places names.
Humans have probably been doing this forever. It came very naturally, and we’ve been doing it since the beginning. It just took us a little while to realise we were doing it.
We own the equivalent of about 6 or 7 city blocks. Naming parts of it help us communicate what and where we’re talking about. Today I thought I’d introduce you to some of the names we have for places about The Outpost
Paddocks
Our paddocks are unimaginitively called Paddock 1 (the paddock we live in), Paddock 2 (the next one along), Paddock 3, Paddock 4, and Paddock 5.
I plan to reforest Paddocks 4 and 5 entirely. I just believe they should be native forest, and that they’re entirely unsuitable for grazing cows. If you know about permaculture, they’re our ‘Zone 5’ – wild and ultimately, very low maintenance.
At the top of the hill between Paddocks 3 and 4, I’d like to create some kind of camping space to double as grazing and a fire break. A bit of a ‘Zone 3’.
The Wetland in Paddock 3 will be restored, then we plan to reforest that too. That project also takes up a little bit of Paddock 2. In permaculture-speak, this is our ‘Zone 4-5’.
Paddock 2 contains space for things that need visiting less often – Zones 2 and 3. There’s plans for an orchard (though we haven’t quite decided what to plant), and a road that leads through to the top of Paddock 1. We’ll keep some pasture here to run a few sheep.
Paddock 1 is where we’ll build a house and sheds and things. Our Zones 0, 1, 2, and 3. It will eventually contain a lot of edible trees and plants. There’s plans for water storage, a food forest, and roads..
Possum Poo Rock
There is a rock in the bush that Richard and I both know as Possum Poo Rock. Richard found it first. He told me about a rock he found that always had a possum poo on it.
I didn’t take much notice of it until I was wondering in the bush by myself and came across the rock. It’s a really nice rock. Sure enough, it had a possum poo on it.
When we got our bush cam, we had to set it up at Possum Poo Rock to see what the heck was going on. It appears to be kind of a ‘news post’ for the local possums. A few of them might visit it over the course of a week.
We took a few possums out of the area, and it has been mostly poo-free since, but it will forever have that name. It’s helpful because we can use it to help describe places within the bush (“I was walking on the path that goes to Possum Poo Rock…”).
Gravity Hill
The first place we named on the property was Gravity Hill. It’s basically our driveway. Walking up to open the gate kind of sucks because there’s something about it that just makes you really feel the effects of gravity.
Even if you’re walking down the hill, gravity pushes down on you in a really noticeable way. It’s hard to explain, but everyone feels it. It’s just a particularly nasty slope.
Mt Weather
It’s almost a shame we named Mt Weather because my plans for the next 12 months include knocking it down. Mt Weather is yes, named after the place from The 100, but also where our weather monitor sits.
Mt Weather is one of the dogs’ favourite place to play. It’s a pile of soil left over from putting in the driveway. When we purchased the place, it seemed like the best place for the weather monitor. I still haven’t quite come up with a better one.
The future-plans for Mt Weather are to re-distribute it and the second pile of soil up the hill into one long hump along the boundary, hopefully 800mm-1 meter tall. Then I’ll plant the hump to grow a windbreak and hopefully create a nicer environment for our citrus to go into on our side of the fence.
The Bush Block / The Bush Pond / The Clearing
The Bush Pond is situated next to The Clearing within The Bush Block.
We have a separate title to a block of bush. There’s some bush on our main title (which is where Possum Poo Rock is), but The Bush Block is an entirely different place.
Very few visitors have made it this far – the necessary walk up Gravity Hill usually puts them off.
But once you get up Gravity Hill, the walk out to The Clearing and The Bush Pond is actually quite nice and I’d rate it as fairly easy.
Nearby places in The Bush Block include Pig Spa (a muddy wallow where you nearly always see evidence of pigs mud bathing), Nikau Ocean, and Queen of the Bush – a particularly large and stunning puriri tree.
The Secret Garden
I’ve wanted a secret garden since I read The Secret Garden as a child. As I grew older, I decided my secret garden would be entirely filled with medicinal plants and trees.
I want a little hideaway in my Secret Garden. Perhaps with a pull-out sofa, a desk, and solar power.
There is a hidden place where I think I’ve found just the spot. It’s still many years away, but it doesn’t have to be in it’s final form before it earns its name. We have to plant to hide it first, but the place itself is quite wonderful – a north-facing suntrap currently covered by the carcasses of gorse bushes.
But it’s a secret, so I shan’t be showing you where it is.
