Since Wolf and Spiral took over in July, 2013, and indeed, even prior to Beltaine of 2013, many improvements and repairs have been made, not the least of which has been the removal of about 18 cubic yards of trash that has been accumulating for years, and the land cleaned of over 95% of it. There's still some trash left to haul out, but the land is looking great. We also moved the old trucks, which were at the top of the road, to the bone yard. Vitor and others helped with many of these projects before they moved on.
Before Beltaine of 2013, we built a new temporary bridge across the ravine leading from the Upper Meadow to the Yoni Circle. Everyone was quite pleased to use it and Kindoor had a grin on his face as he was wheeled across it to the other side. Solar guidance lights are arrayed along the path across the dam. The stove and sink inn the upper meadow work once again. A new spring box was built above the pond, which has continued to trickle water and keep the tanks full well in to the drought (as of June '14) However, planting garden items has been cut back to preserve water.
During the spring, before we took over, we made many repairs to the Red House. The old wood stove was removed. It was so cracked that repairs were not able to be done without taking it to a welding shop. That still needs to be done, and any help in getting it repaired would be greatly appreciated, as its one of two of that model in existence. The area where it sat was cleaned and covered with matching tiles that were left by the previous caretakers (Thank you, very much!). In its place, a new propane wall heater was installed, which is quite efficient, using about 5 gallons of propane per month. The sheetrock that was behind the wood stove was repaired. It had softened due to heat from the stove. Fresh paint was added, as well as an electric refrigerator, cabinets in the kitchen, and trim around the windows. It's pretty homey, now.
The failing bridge across the ravine going to the Graveyard (Gwydion's resting place) was replaced with a beautiful new one, and stairs cut into the hill. We built a new 12' x 14' cabin half way between the Goat Lodge and the Caretakers' house. It fits nicely into the architectural style of the other main buildings, and is wired to code with lighting and plugs.
We constructed a new generator/solar electric shed/center where the old generator box sat. The generator shed now houses an 8,000 watt backup generator and a new 2,200 watt main generator, 2 battery chargers, 8 new deep cycle 12 volt batteries, 6 deep cycle 6 volt batteries and a 5,000 watt modified sine wave inverter. The solar panel structure on the shed is now much higher for better sun exposure. In addition to the 8 existing solar panels, 6 more have been added, with another 8 still to be built. Wolf is buying solar cells with minor defects and used window panes, making the panels for about 25% of the cost of a commercial panel.
Trail lighting was installed up the switchback trail to the meadow. Wow, what a difference that made! The trail is much safer at night now, with just about all of it lit up. We ran out of wire and funds, at the last minute, so there's still one or two lights that need to be installed. They run on a timer, plugged into the inverter. A new porch light was added to the Goat Lodge, also on a timer, but soon to be replaced by a motion detector.
In the Goat Lodge we walled in the shower area, soon to be a finished bathroom, with a vanity and hot and cold running water and sink and mirror – perhaps, even, a flush toilet in the Goat Lodge (especially important to the physically challenged.) The existing septic system is already hooked to the Goat Lodge plumbing, but has had almost no solid matter put into it over the years, so it may not even need a cleaning. This will be checked out, of course. The inside refrigerator wall of the Goat Lodge was opened up, making it more roomy feeling and accessible. The wiring has been upgraded to 110 Volts with new switches and plugs.