I’ve been a little behind on updates – the weather has been stunning, if not a bit too hot, and the pressure of summer ticking away has pushed me towards focusing on anything but writing. As I work, I’ve been thinking about how well-suited this property is to my goals; how unbelievably lucky I am that it all worked out!
This is the first of my weekly updates to follow a new structure that documents in accordance with my goals for Farm 96.
Food Production
I had previously assembled three garden beds to eventually be used for strawberries, asparagus, and garlic. I liberated volunteer strawberries from my family’s garden for immediate transplant, but garlic won’t be planted until October and asparagus will wait until spring so that I can choose from a better selection.
In the meantime, rather than let my new growing space sit empty, I planted peas, carrots, and yellow squash for a fall harvest. I also used t-posts and chickenwire as temporary fencing to discourage the rabbits, of which I estimate there are 2,000 on the property.
Resource Acquisition & Preparedness
We finally had a rainy-enough afternoon to allow me to spend some time in the basement. The previous owners left some shelving units that had been previously loved by mice and spiders alike, so I cleaned and rearranged them as a starting point for food storage. I’ve only ever had very damp basements in the past, so I’m pleased that my basement here is cool, dark, and dry (with a dehumidifier to ensure it); it will be perfectly acceptable for food storage, as long as everything is stored with mouse-proofing in mind.
There is much more work to be done down here: I need to haul out some old junk, bring in additional shelving and containers, and organize the workshop area. It’s hard to justify these tasks while the weather is nice; this is sufficient in the meantime, and the rest will get done over the winter.
Aesthetic Utility
It started as a simple task: hang a hook in the entryway for my keys.
Okay, it’s not just any hook; it’s a piece of cast iron in the shape of a bull’s head that I thrifted years ago for my dad. (There’s a story about a pair of real life mounted bull horns that my dad pulled from a trash pile that I’ll save for another time – my mom was horrified, but I think that was part of the fun. Those horns are hanging in my barn now.)
I keep losing my keys on various surfaces throughout the house, so I figured it was time to hang the bull – a quick and easy task to get off of my neverending to-do list. It occurred to me that I should paint the walls first – they are currently the previous owner’s peach-colored neutral, which won’t match the green-tinted beige that will soon coat the kitchen. But if I’m going to paint the walls, shouldn’t I also scrape the popcorn ceiling?
And thus, a ten minute task became a four-day-long journey in patience and drywall dust. I’m pleased with the results, although the differences are almost indiscernible through photos. If that’s not representative of farm life so far, I don’t know what is.
There were other exciting developments that happened in these weeks as well: I purchased two oriental rugs from a rug gallery (a very adult purchase, if you ask me). Since these will be permanent fixtures for decades to come, I wanted my living room and bedroom rugs to be beautiful and high quality, and I got exactly that – two vintage rugs that had just the right series of colors, and just enough fixable damage to be within my price range.
Energy Independence
I have my dad’s old Stihl gas-powered chainsaw, which he loved but often needed to tinker with at length before use – and he knew what he was doing with two-stroke engines, unlike me. I will get it up and running someday, but in the meantime I followed an impulse and purchased an Ego 18″ bar electric chainsaw.
Let me tell you – it is AWESOME. Just slip the battery in and it starts right up! It chucked downed logs with ease. The battery life won’t stand up to several hours of use in a row, but my use-case (and attention span) is unlikely to require that.
I used some scrap wood, screws left from the previous owner, and my dad’s tools to put together a quick firewood rack – the first thing I’ve ever built, far too small to hold enough wood but large enough to give me the confidence to tackle a larger rack with the rest of the lumber.
While I have a long way to go, it feels really good to start stacking firewood for the winter. What does not feel good is the severe case of poison ivy that I contracted while playing with my chainsaw in the woods, nor the resulting round of prednisone and subsequent sleepless nights. Don’t worry, I learned my lesson – long pants are a must.
Moving Forward
I won’t use this space to “set intentions” for Week 7 because, between you and me, Week 7 has already happened. While it’s hard to believe that it’s only been 7 weeks, it’s also hard to believe that it’s almost time for me to go back to my day job as a biology teacher – even as the homestead to-do list gets continuously longer!
This has been the most rewarding summer of my life.
Talk soon,
KC