The author began their mapping process of their 13+ acre property by visiting the town hall and speaking with the building inspector and assessor's office. They were provided maps of the property lines and measurements. The author then created a large base map of the entire property by taping together sheets of paper and using string to accurately map out the angles and perimeter. The author observed the landscape to identify zones for plants and animals and future placement of structures. They found the old septic system needs testing and will remove the existing farmhouse from the map. The author believes the land can be designed following permaculture principles and they are motivated to understand nature's patterns and share the space.

1. Base Mapping
5/29/2015
Patricia Blanchette

2. Mapping Process
I began my mapping process by visiting the town
hall. I spoke with both the building inspector and
the assessors office. The building inspectors
assistant provided me with a printout of my property
from Google Earth which included the property lines
highlighted. After speaking with her about my plans
for the property she went on to tell me that it was a
family horse farm which was handed down through
the generations until a disreputable nephew
inherited and then subsequently lost it. The family
offered riding clinics and lessons to the local
community. It was wonderful to gather this bit of
information and I hope to meet other locals who
may remember the family and the farm.

3. Next I visited the assessors office and requested copies of the assessors
map and the current deed to the property. These were extremely
useful tools as they listed the actual measurements of the property and
the locations of the boundary markers. With this information I started
to sketch out the perimeter of my map.

4. My property has 13+ acres and it took 4
sheets of poster board paper cut up and
taped together to fit the entire space. I
don’t initially plan to utilize all of my
available space, but thought it would be
beneficial to have it all mapped out so
that I can break down different sections
when planning for future uses. The
hardest part was figuring out the angles
and getting them to line up over such a
large area. I tried to sketch it all out
with no success. I decided to cut pieces
of string to the appropriate lengths
taped down the straight edges then
moved around the angles to meet up.
After tracing and checking my
measurements I believe that I have a
fairly accurate rendering.

5. • I then worked on learning the language of design by just spending some time
observing the area and watching where the sun comes up and down. It was nice
trying to visualize different zones and sectors for all of the different plants and
animals. This will also help me to determine the exact placement of the house in
connection to the barns and coops already on the property.
• I also walked the land paying attention to the different microenvironments. The
grass and wildflowers are about waste high right now and I was a bit startled to
see a coyote scurry thankfully away from me. The grass made walking around and
measuring a bit cumbersome, but it also brought a peacefulness to me as the
wind blew in different directions.
• While walking around I found the location of the old septic which was literally just
a dug out hole in the ground with no leach field. It looked to be all dried up but
that tells me I will need to do some soil testing to determine the quality or
contamination of the soil.
• The existing farmhouse on the property is not included in my base map as it will
be torn down shortly. With it omitted from the map it lets me visualize how I
want to set up my homestead as a productive yet visually beautiful space.

7. Base Map

8. In general I feel that my land can be set up to follow all permaculture
principles. I am extremely fortunate that I have a clean pallet to work
with and have a passion to understand the patterns of nature. I am
motivated to learn and share that knowledge and farming space with
others!