JoJo -- Permaculture check in

It's nearly a year since we started the project.
Today I was trying to remember the "permaculture principles" and could only remember "redundancy," so I though it was about time for a permaculture check in.

Surprisingly, I couldn't find them in Bill Mollison's book, so I got them off of this random guy's web site. I'm paraphrasing his definitions below:

Conservation: Use only what you need

Check in: Hmm. I'm not sure how I'm doing on this. In some ways I think I'm using less than I'm supposed to -- not using fertilizer, and not watering as much as Moe tells me I should.
I'm sure I'm over using in other ways -- probably most egregiously in the energy, fossil fuels, and processed foods departments (she said, and then took a swig of black cherry soda).

Stacking functions: Get many yields from one function

Check in:
Moe stacks pretty well: Storyteller, dancing buddy, friend, dog toy, angst bearer, garden weeder.
Crimson clover: living mulch, dirt loosener, nitrogen fixer, weed suppressor, robin magnet (you'd think it was robin crack), and I'm told, a good tea.
I have bunches of bushes that provide: hillside retention, fall leaf litter, bird cover and feed, beauty, and some variety of insect support.

I also have an elaborate, expensive fantasy plan for structure that would be a kiwi vine, grape arbor, herb garden, tool shed, solar panel support green house, hoop house, hot tub. Do elaborate, expensive fantasy structures count?

Redundancy: Meet every need in multiple ways

Check in: We have the need for berries met in spades.
We also have multiple nitrogen fixers, wildlife feeding and sheltering plants, mulch sources, and water sources. There's tons more we could do though.

Reciprocity: Use the yields of each element to meet the needs of other elements in the system

I guess using the pine cones for blueberry bush mulch counts. Probably the n-fixing plants and nutrient accumulators (yarrow) count too. I'm looking forward to when I can use pine needles to mulch strawberries.

Appropriate scale: Design what can be done with the available time, skills, and money.

Check in: I was calling this being lazy and having no gardening skills, but now I will call it "appropriate scale."

Diversity: Create resilience by utilizing many elements

Check in: I'm trying. I've done my best to add a diversity of native plants to the hill that create multiple layers of vegetation. I've been very careful about getting beneficial insect attractors and multi-functional plants.
The progress on the rest of the yard is going more slowly because of "appropriate scale."

Abundance: Share abundance rather than hoarding it

Check in: Last year we gave away some plum sauce and blueberries. We'll see how the beans do this year.

*
Just as the soft rains fill the streams,
pour into the rivers and join together in the oceans,
so may the power of every moment of your goodness
flow forth to awaken and heal all beings,
Those here now, those gone before, those yet to come.
- Buddhist blessing