The Hopeful Farmer #5

   Okay, it looks like the farm will have to become its own blog - this does not seem very designer-ish to be talking of fields and trucks and tractors.
    But...speaking of tractors - after many nights trolling craigslist, the hubby went out and bought a tractor today.  It is a Ford 801 - which were built between 1957 and 1962.  It is big enough to do everything we need it for, and a few things we haven't even thought of yet.  It has a live pto and comes with chains, a 2 bottom plow and a back blade! To top it off, the gentleman who is selling it is going to deliver it - meaning we do not have to rent a trailer to transport it.  Here is what it looks like.

This is not actually her, I cannot get her photo to transfer.

When it arrives home, we will have to name her, but I have to drive her to get a better idea of what her name is.

The Hopeful Farmer #4

     We bought a farm!  Yesterday we FINALLY went to closing on the farm.  Now we do not have to ask permission to run up the hill.  I can pull cattails at will.  I can plant the largest garden I want to.  Or not.  Now that we KNOW the sale has gone through, we can really plan - before it was about being, well, hopeful.  Now it gets real.
     Today, after volunteering at the elementary school, my husband and I took a test drive in the tallest truck I have ever driven. If it did not have a handle built into the front of the door area, I would never be able to get into it.  If we buy it, I may have to stash a small step stool behind the seat! It is big, and has a utility cap with the little side cabinets on the outside, V-8 engine and some rust - a perfect farm truck because I would never worry about it if it got a ding or a scratch.
    When the gate is down, I am tall enough to throw feed bags in the back.  However, I do have to climb the back to close the door on the cap.  Ah, the disadvantages of being short!
    Now to coop building and chicken purchases!

The Hopeful Farmer #3

    It has been forever - or at least it feels that way - since we made the offer on the farm.  Okay, so it was a month and a half ago, but in the Spring, for me, losing half of April and all of May for planting trees and bushes is very difficult, and thus seems eternal.
    We have been jumping through every hoop Wells Fargo  put before us, as well as the realtor, the insurance companies - heck, the Universe in general.  Today we did the walk through, and would have closed if one of the attorneys had not been needed in court.  So, (as my Dad used to say) "God willing and the creek don't rise" we will be closing tomorrow afternoon.
    There are so many possibilities; it is very exciting - and scary - and daunting, but all possible.  We walked through the barn today with an eye for chicken coop placement.  Looked with a critical eye at the two ponds which have been silted in for some time and which we will try to reclaim - somehow!

 They are filled with cattails, so we have our own supply of free starch and protein (and you thought I did not really read all my Euell Gibbons books!) as well as some fabulous fiber possibilities from the fluff (is it possible to spin it?) and from retting the stalks.   Lately evenings have been spent on Craig's List looking at second hand pick up trucks, and tractors with bush hog attachments.
   We asked to visit the farm on Mother's Day, and the owner graciously allowed it, and we got some shots of the place in Spring.

one of the stone walls marking the border

    Hiking through the forested area, the kids were already planning  camping trips with their friends. There are lots of different types of wildlife  - deer, bears, turkeys, porcupines, and salamanders! The owner said there have been mountain lion sightings, but he himself has not seen any.

So much better than a computer screen!

We have a lot of very interesting trees on the property.

Apples or crabapples? I still do not know. 

The view from the area I have dubbed "Bald Mountain."

Looking down at the house and barn from the high pasture.

So, keep your fingers crossed that all goes well tomorrow! I'll keep you posted as well!
  

the Hopeful Farmer #2

   So there was good news this week.  We had been waiting to hear from a mortgage agent about whether or not they would take on the farm mortgage and we got the okay.  Our realtor had taken us to a bank he often uses, and we were accepted, but my husband felt like he was being railroaded a bit.  So we went to the folks who hold our home mortgage, and after many appraisals, they approved a mortgage 2 percentage points lower than the other guys were offering.  There are some issues because this is an agricultural piece of property, but  since we are in town and very close to the main drag through town, they made an exception.  Yeah!
    As if the news had spread, today the postman delivered two manuals I had sent for through the NY Farm Net: Harvesting Change:A Planning Workbook for Apple Growers, and The Farmer's Employment Workbook:Job Skills Development for Farmers.   It is getting more real daily.
    I cannot wait to close on the property and get planting. The first things that are going in are the apple trees and the blueberry bushes, followed closely by the chicken coop.   Spent a few minutes comparing chicken breeds as well.  After reading  how to "process" (read "slaughter") meat chickens last night, I think I will start with layers and wait to grow our own roasters. 

Tiny Tips for Healthier Living

   Here we are on Earth Day and I find myself thinking about all the small thing we can do to live a healthier life helping our planet as we do so.

• Grow your own vegetables - good for you and good for the planet as it reduces our carbon footprint.  Transporting the food means walking from your garden plot, as opposed to shipping from other parts of the country or the world.
• Grow organically - a few chewed leaves should not deter you from keeping pesticides out of the garden and thus out of your body.  The Earth (and her honeybees) will thank you. 
• If growing your own food is not an option, shop your local farmers' markets, again lowering the carbon footprint, as well as helping your neighbors. 
• Eat seasonally.  I may long for fresh strawberries in February, but they are not coming from anywhere near where I live.  Get creative with apples and other fruits in storage, or use fruits you put up the previous season. 
• Hang your laundry on a line to dry.  Energy from the sun is free to us all and we have sweeter smelling clothing.  Line drying also causes less wear and tear on your garments. 
• Remember to turn off the lights as you leave a room. I can still here my mother's voice echoing out from my childhood, "Turn off the light/radio/television (pick one) - we are not supporting Connecticut Light and Power single handedly!" (Thanks Mommy)  This will also help your budget!

There are books about all this and more, but how many of us can go totally off-grid?   Try one or two things that you have not been doing and add them to this year's promise to help sustain our earth.

And now some earth facts.  I particularly like #16.

Happy Earth Day

Suddenly spring - or not

  Friday we were at 73 degrees,  so lovely.  Friday night a torrential rain storm hit with wind and tornado conditions in someplaces.  Yesterday it was 40 degrees, last night it went down to 20 here at the GS camp.  Brrr.
    Still, May is rapidly approaching so Spring tasks must happen.  Last year my bee hives became infested with wax moths - YUCK!  They are disgusting and leave a webby mess in the comb.  So before my two packages of bees arrive in May I need to clean out the hive, add new foundation to most of the frames, and figure out how to heat the plasticell foundation enough to kill the eggs that might be there and not melt the plastic.  This is one task I am NOT looking forward to. 
     My husband and I are going over the merits of various apple types as we look through all the catalogues.  He prefers some of the modern hybrids; I am all all about the older varieties.  Compromise may come with him having the hybrid apples and me eventually getting a few rare/heritage breed sheep. I have had my eye on Leicester Longwools and Navajo-Churros, but I also love the look of Jacobs and feel of Icelandic wool, so - who knows.  The planning is half the fun!
   

Tales of a hopeful farmer

     There is a part of me that has always wanted land.  A chunk of forest, a piece of the prairie; not fussy, I just want land.  Perhaps it is the genes from my Iowa farming ancestors, but I love the idea of land that is mine - to use or not, to hold intrust for my children and future generations, to be able to go to when I want to be somewhere not developed to within an inch of its life.
     After much consideration and too many hours of internet searching, as well as a fruitless day driving around with a realtor, my husband and I think we have finally found a spot.  The trick was this - find a place that is not too far away so we can get to it at least twice daily to feed any livestock we might have on it.  On our street there is a small farm with horses on it which has been for sale, on and off, for a couple of years.  It was back on the market, and we went to look at it and made an offer. We are now in the (un)enviable place of signing a million papers, waiting for appraisals and inspections. Waiting for this before we can do that.  Waiting.
    It is a small farm with a small house on it and a small barn.  Once a dairy farm, the classic large, red barn collapsed some years ago and the owner built a small 6 stall barn for his horses.  There are about 64 acres, and the layout is very narrow and long.  The property is about 2 - 2 1/2 acres wide and very long. There is pasture with hills and some flat, and then forest with a stream that goes straight up hill to the crest of Franklin Mountain. All in all, it is about a mile deep.
    The waiting is killer at this time of year.  While we do not think we are going to get our sheep just yet (a few classes are in order first) we do want to get some of the fruit trees planted before it is too warm.  I am itching to order the trees, but my husband  (always the reasonable soul) thinks it might be prudent to wait until we have signed the final papers, so we are not buying a dozen fruit trees and possibly ending up with no farm to put them on. We are researching plans for chicken coops and milking parlors.  Deciding the merits of a truck over a tractor. Discussing small ruminants - sheep, definitely; goats - debating. Do we move the bees there?  Maybe - but there is a fair amount of bear activity. Should we get a guard animal for the flock (once we start it)? If so, what - a llama? A donkey? A dog?  So many things to decide, but so much that we have to wait on.

    This new adventure will also make us landlords (Auntie Lynne and Uncle Dave - I am thinking of you!).  The house on the property is too small for our family, and already has tenants in it who want to stay, so, voila! Landlords and farmers all in one. 

View from upper pasture looking down at the house(rt) and barn (left)

The View from the big hill - upper pasture

Pasture is fenced all around, only needing small repairs

Anything that has all three children holding hands is worth the money

Walking down the mountain in the stream bed

The gate at the bottom of the upper pasture

Drew by one of the amazing trees

Such great texture!

Looking down at the barn

One section of pond - somewhat overgrown

I LOVE THIS TREE!

Our view

The stream bordering the forest and the pasture