Where we're headed

One problem I've had with setting up our new(ish) homestead is that it took awhile to get a handle on what layouts & functions made the most sense. On one hand I sometimes feel frustrated that we don't have more done.  Overall though, spending our time and energy dismantling and disposing of what we didn't want instead of forging ahead with the new seems to have worked out.  One of the benefits is that over time, the form and function of the house and six acres began to take shape.

The lines above represent fences of one kind or another, and their color represents whether they are built yet,  slated for far into the future, or somewhere in between. Black lines show completed fencing.  Those lines in purple are in progress, i.e. have some of the fencing installed, and/or some of the posts.  The light blue and light pink lines are browsing areas for the guys and gal goats respectively.  Not sure at this point what combination of panels, woven and electric will be used for those rotational grazing areas.  This project is slated to begin when the barnyards are finished.  The thicker, royal blue lines are the furthest out on the time line, and will be perimeter fencing, and fencing for the one area that may have limited public access. 
 
When the plan took shape some of us were dismayed to see how much fencing was involved.  It hurts, both the back and pocket book, and even my pride.  I've caught myself wincing at the thought that all these fences to no where leaves me looking like that crazy city gal who doesn't know a tree stump from a water pump!.  All I can say in my defense is expert after expert stresses rotational grazing is best by far for animal health, and even pasture management.  Not to mention we are on a highway, are far too lazy old to chase animals, and past experience has left me with (literal) scars.  I barely clear the five foot mark, and trying to separate two large fighting chows in an open space impressed upon me the importance of being able to corral and control animals.

Right now we only have a few of the zones up and running.  The dog zone in the front and side of the house, the chicken and goat zones to the east of the house, in front of the temporary goat barn.  I had wanted the chickens down in the garden, so they could help with weeding and bugs, but I was over ruled.  Their chicken tractor is a wee bit NE of the house, and there's been no problem at all with smell or insects.  The current focus is on the fencing projects, and in keeping those 2 lanes that run east to west between and behind the barns cleared out enough to work on the out buildings there.

One project that didn't make the master picture is the greenhouse, which is planned to sit on the south west side of the guys goat barn.    Since I made this diagram back in March/April, we've finished half of the garden -orchard- animal food block fencing, and have planted the green square behind the machine shed with apple, apricot, and fig trees, rhubarb, horse radish, and black berry bushes.  So many teeny tiny steps, but at the end of the day, we made movement towards the goals.

Laboring Days

Was working too hard as "machete momma", decided to get goats to lighten the work load. So we moved and re-stacked 4 cords of wood, found, hauled,  put up two tons of hay, emptied and cleaned a 12x24 room, built a barn door, 24' of wall, stalls, installed hardware cloth on windows and gaps, hauled and installed dozens of cattle panels- in two weeks- so we could buy 2 goats...so we wouldn't have to work so hard. . . Labor day has a whole new meaning to us! But, at least we got some cute 'nuff goats outta the deal!

Surviving the Summer!

Blue Mooooon

Besides searching for a spot dark enough to use our telescope, cursing (ever so kindly and without any real rancor) our business neighbor for his security lights, & seemingly single handedly supporting the local hospital/ dr.s/ pharmacies, we've managed to inch forward on our journey.

 As seems common, each step forward seemed to be followed with one or two back. 

On the plus side of the ledger, we got the smoke house down, and it and the dumpster are outta here!!

 
We also got the chicken tractor and run put together.  Yes, the tractor is from a kit.  CConly.com.  So far, so good.  We've repositioned it a handful of times, even once with the chickens inside.  No one warned me how darn cute a mad young rooster could be.

I lost, and they are about 50 feet from the house instead of down in the garden.    No complaints- from them or us, so far.  They have handled the brutal heat well, it seems, and are making new friends.  Here one of the girls is taking a gander at Bam Bam. 



 Judging from the similarity of their coloring, it is time for me to admit the obvious;  those are not my wished for Buff Orpingtons- no way, no how!
Spose they're Rhode Island Red or Red Stars but they are polite and friendly, whatever they are so I'm not too disappointed.

Other entries on the + side of the ledger include power washing and painting the garage.  It needs another coat, but that will wait until we get the door rebuilt.  Picked up the supplies today so.... hopefully it will be sooner rather than later.  We also got the clothesline up.  Will be hard to tell if it saves money/energy, though.  The electric company has estimated the bill for months, and has grossly under guessed, by my guesstimates anyway LOL.  So, they charge whatever they want, I pay whatever I want, and none of the figures have anything to do with reality.  Aint that America these days eh. ;). 

  Another thing keeping us busy was a week "up north" at the cabin.  Lake superior, and we were gifted a tiller!  The do-due list grows exponentially with every task that gets scratched off... but that's life on the Homestead eh!

Adding a year and subtracting a goal!

I was midway through a post on  having met another of our goals for the year when I realized I'd never actually made, nor shared, this years goals.  One of my broader goals in moving to a homesteading mentality and life style was to develop a tighter structure to my life.  To date, I've been blessed to be able to live that bohemian, "artiste's" swing shift life pattern.  I enjoyed the freedom of 36 hr days when the muse called, 2am client crisis calls,  dinner at sunrise, etc, but now I'm looking forward to the demands and structure that a bottle baby goat will provide!

Anyway

And Another one bites the dust!

 Turns out, I was right;  this project got scratched off just in time for spring.  March 1st.   I was probably the only person in the state who was happy for one last cold cold spell.  It gave us the opportunity to do the burn off, and take the stove out for it's first test drive.
 So far so good.  The house is about 500 sf larger than the stove claims to be sized for, but it distributed heat throughout. 
 I hope to put in patio doors somewhere on that north wall, and the other O.F.s have plans to rebuild that brick clad wall into a properly spec'ed non combustible surface.  Thus the obvious indifference to purty-fying the area.  Um that's my story anyway, and I'm sticking to it.  Until I forget it, at least ; ).

The stove is a PROGRESS Hybrid (http://www.woodstove.com/) and we chose it because it had the highest output and efficiency of stove's tested by the epa, and the lowest gm/hr emissions.  Having wood heat was on my must have list, and we were fortunate enough to have enough pennies in the start up fund to get the stove & chimney early on.
 We were happy with our choice, and with the company.  I was a total novice with burning wood anywhere other than a campfire, so the learning curve for the catalytic system  was not steep for me.  For those who might need some guidance, I suggest Leigh's post on the subject:
 http://www.5acresandadream.com/2015/02/how-to-get-heat-from-soapstone-woodstove.html

Been down in the dumps lately...

...And that's a GOOD thing!!

One thing led to another and we ended up getting a roll off.  The outbuildings weren't too bad, trash wise, but we managed to fill the first dumpster in a day.

Now we're working on ridding ourselves of a trash pile in the top pasture, and an old smoke house that no one thought could be saved.

The other farts thought that the trash could be buried, and the land still used.  Perhaps they're right, but I wasn't convinced.  Any one know which of us is right?

Anyway, that ended up being our spring break, hope everyone else found a few days of good weather
and got lots of their do-dues crossed off!

A holiday or two behind or "Every day is Halloween Horror" when house hunting

...at least, when you're doing so with a Pluto transit conjuncting your moon/m.c.conjunction... and opposing  your venus/ 4th house cusp.

Firstly, apologies to the constant readers (should I ever acquire such a thing) whom have little knowledge & even less interest in what that might mean. I include it only for memory's sake & future reference.

It's common to encounter plutonian type elements in the back story when searching the real estate market.  Death, drugs, divorce, all are  causes for a home making it to the market.

What I experienced during the transit portion of my looongg search for the homestead was different, though.  In the first situation, we ruled out a home because a sweet local woman had been abducted from her home, murdered, burnt & buried by another local farmer.  The home we had been interested in was next to the man who'd solicited that death.  Um, not the location for me.

Another temptation was ultimately ruled out because of a tie in to another local unsolved murder/kidnapping of an infant.  This connection involved something referred to as "juggalo lifestyles" and  again, not a good fit for an empathic person to set up shop!

One acreage I was advocating for was finally scratched off the list when a "simple" murder occurred down the street...involving a nephew, his uncle & alcohol.

One property had really captured our interest due to its rugged land, and converted storefront on site. 
Not long after I began seriously examining its' fit for our needs, a wooden box with a dead female was discovered 100' behind the barn.  That poor soul was ultimately discovered to be a transient who'd OD'ed & was discarded there by other drug using transients due to the very rugged remoteness that had previously piqued my interest.

The property we ultimately chose also has it's ties to death, though in these three cases, the deaths, although poignant, don't have the same shadowy underbelly of depravity that one senses when Pluto is present.  (MHO of course).  Here, the neighbors' grandson was a victim of murder 2, with the trial and sentencing coming up.  Thus the themes here seem more on the grieving & healing aspects of Pluto than the actual journey through the hell of the underworld.  The two deaths that are most closely related to this property are from the early 1950s, when two of the four children of the grandfather (original builder of this house) died in a house fire that completely destroyed the home, according to the newspaper reports of the time. 

The farm was 100s of acres then, so I will have to do further research to see if that home was on the piece of property we bought.  I know one of the surviving children's name and the year of the fire are etched into my concrete stairs, so that tragedy's tears undoubtedly water this small bit of ground.

But that is another story for another day.

Any one else love poking around in the past (& present!) to try to discern the story you've become part of?

Anyways.  Hope you all enjoyed your Halloweens, & I'm looking fwd to getting caught up with the holidays, so I can tackle that big topic of the new year, what I want from it and how I will try to get it.

More pieces of the homesteading puzzle in place!

I'm not certain which is the biggest achievement:  snagging 6 I.B.C. totes, or biting the bullet & taking our maiden voyage with craig's list in order to do so.  

Don't have all the numbers penciled out, but figure we can put two  on house for orchard, & the rest on the barn above the garden, to supply both the garden & the critters.  Putting animals above a water source screams all kinda warnings, but I'm hoping we'll find a system that works for the location.  

Either way, I'm pretty tickled to have made a start in the goal of  partial water self sufficiency.

Eight Months In *or* Where I've been

Reaching the bottom of the pile of today's do-dues meant I found the calendar... & realized we ole farts have been farm owners for *8* months!  I guess it's fair to say we're right on track with this project, but only because we have no time table or track laid out.  A technical distinction, but if it gives us a gold
star in the progressing right on schedule column, I will make it.

Though no project is fully checked off, there has been some movement towards completions.

• Septic field is in, paid for, & wearing the county's seal of approval.  None of that was strictly necessary, I suppose, as we're the one's who instigated the inspections and upgrades, but I wanted to invest now and get ahead of any EPA power grabs.  This project remains on the incomplete list as we're still in process of draining and filling in the old lagoon.
  
• Had the H vac fella out to toy with the furnace & A.C. systems (yes plural, 2 of each).  He seems to think it best to wait to replace them, so he did the routine maintenance, we filled the propane tank, chose our favorite wood stove, & put a tentative check  beside the heating & cooling column.  He still needs to come back with his software and calculate loads and such, but I feel that with propane, wood, electric & kerosene options, I can feel good about getting through the winter.   One nice discovery is that the house stayed cool enough without the AC on.  Thanks, Trees!  
• Craft  & guest rooms had the craptastic paneling & ancient carpet removed, surfaces repaired, painted, & trim bulked up. 
  
  
  
  
  These during & during photos are of the craft room.  I fully intended to create a modern, bright room with purple lines,  modern flowers and yet some how soft colors showed up on the walls & antique roses bloomed on the fabrics.  Weird ;).
• The living room's north wall was torn out, the chimney caulked, insulation beefed up, and a new wall put up.  
• The master was originally too big.  (bet that is first. time. ever. anyone said that!) So we walled off an area 16x10 for the  office.  That's been built, insulated, wired, ceiling patched, dry walled, primed & painted.
• The bedrooms have been patched, primed, painted & borders applied.  
• Baseboards are up in all rooms we're replacing  floors in.
• Floors are  chosen, and we're awaiting installation.
• Wood stove & installers chosen & project initiated.  Should be wrapped up by spring LOL.
• Canning Jars all found a home in an existing  closet under the stairs.  Inventory taken and actually up to date!
• Painting  basement in process.
• Caught & overcame the EV-D68 once or twice per person, as well as a stray infection here and there.

Gosh, I'm glad I wrote that down, it makes it look like something has really  been finished.
I'm sure I've forgotten odds & ends, like meeting, falling for, & bringing red Betty home with us, but it'll keep.

Hope every ANY one else reading this had a truly productive season! 

First Find

http://www.lovelygreens.com/2014/04/handmade-daffodil-soap-recipe.html

  looks interesting.  Think I'll have to add it to the do due list.

The first 30 days.

It seemed a good time to take a look at the lessons & achievements of the first thirty days.

Probably the main reason I write is that blogging seems to be the 21st century's answer to yesteryear's home movies & vacation slides.  An added bonus is that we don't have to tidy the parlor or prepare scrumptious goodies before boring you. :).

I also write because there are so many people with similar dreams. Many are poking around cyber space looking for information, inspiration & encouragement.  Now that I have my toe in the water, I want to assure folks that if it can happen for we ole fools farts, anything is possible.

So, the first month in review: 

Achievements:

• Closed!  One of the OF's works nights, and took out a loan for the property.  They used quicken loans and the process seemed smooth as butter.  We've all read the horror stories, so this seemed worth noting.
• 1800sf of carpeting & accouterments removed.
• Two bedrooms ready for the first coat of mudd.

Still working towards the septic update.  Like much of the country we've received extra feet of snow so little progress made.  We knew it was a crap shoot (pun intended <G>), so we're just shrugging off the delay .

Lessons:

• Got to buy propane during the great propane-shortage-snow storm of '14.  Part of  this was we didn't know how many  gallons we'd likely burn.  Next time we'll pay more attention to that detail. 
• What's going in across the  road?  You don't know?  Neither do I lol.  I thought i did my due diligence.  I snooped around the parcel info of our neighbors, looking for notorious family names and land usages.  The neighbors on 3 sides have 100s plus acres each, so I felt confident I'd have a nice cushion of space.  Much of that fourth side is also part of a large acreage, presumably used for hay or livestock.  For whatever reason the small parcel with the drive way didn't garner a red flag for me, but after closing, notice that there's a permit for a large ag building.  Time will  tell, and it's no big  deal, probably.  Just one of those lil details you might wish  to  work out prior  to  purchasing your own piece of the dream.