Super Quick Update

I know everyone is waiting to hear how the closing went. It went well!! We officially own Sweet Peeps Farm as of yesterday at 1600. Yay!! When we walked up to the farm it looked so great! Tom and Kelly (the previous owners) had really done a ton of work in a serious time crunch. We popped a couple of beers and started on our list of things-to-do. We also had some really great help from our awesome friends Aaron and Heather who not only rolled up their sleeves but also provided music, dinner, and great company.

Here is the schedule Bryce provided us if we want to move in on Friday. As of last night at 10:30 (when we left the farm) we were already a little behind. This list by no means encompasses ALL that we have to do, this is just to get us in the house.

Mon:

Morning- 0800 J B walk-through, 0800 M S Lowes for stuff, 1100 C B morning magic, 1030 B M Close, 

Afternoon- 1300 all start cleaning downstairs all rooms (start with living, kithc, hall, kidsroom, sunroom, mudroom)

Evening- 1800 Clean upstairs, 1730 Blue soccer

Night- Sleep if we have time

Tues:

Morn- 0800 Paint downstair ceilings, prime downstairs

After- Paint upstair ceiling, prime upstairs

Even- Color pickout at lowes, Cat BBall 1800

Wed:

Morn- Paint downstairs 

After- Paint upstairs, Kids camp 1-4

Even- Start thinking about fencing and animal security

Thur:

Morn- Pack up 295 Powell, start move to Peep

After- Start unpack and moving

Even- sleep

Fri:

Morn- Pack, wait for fridge

After- Prep for Fri getdown

Even- Fri Getdown

 

Hope this gives you a taste of what we're up to here in the happy life. We're off to the farm for more fun!!

Singing in the Rain

Stuck inside on a rainy day? Why not start your first business?! That's exactly what we did. By the end of a very rainy day we had completed a pretty impressive list of things-to-do including getting our tax number, filing for a fictitious name, opening a small business bank account, signing our partnership and co-owner agreements, buying a new fridge (it's so pretty that we have all agreed that instead of putting it in the little hole it's meant to fit in, we'll put it in the center of our living room so we can all love on it appropriately), publishing our website, and last but certainly not least buying the boys new gum boots. My favorite part by far was the signing of papers and such. I'm not gonna lie, it sorta felt like we were all getting married...to what I'm not sure. Maybe to our unique family or to a beautiful idea. Or maybe it was because Marissa and I held the pen together. Who knows. What I do know is that I have never had a rainy day when so much got done!

Chase the Chickens and Laugh

Today went something like this:

Take the chicks out to their little play pen. Water and feed the chicks. Feed the goats (this is done out of bottles during which time they bow down and wag their cute little tails like crazy, clearly enjoying themselves). Chase the chicks around because they've managed to escape. Giggle a lot. Learn how to trim baby goat hooves. Snuggle the baby goats and let them suck your fingers. Shave half of the dog (yes, I do plan on finishing the job...maybe tomorrow) while Cat tells him the sweetest stories to keep him company. Run around the yard with the dogs and goats and kids. Laugh a lot at how cute all of the above are. Work out while trying not to hit any curious animals. Do a burpee in something wet, most likely fresh goat pee. Find this pretty darn funny. Eat breakfast of fresh farm eggs...literally laid yesterday by our happy chickens. Work on our awesome Sweet Peeps logo (Marissa is so creative!!). Go to Sweet Peeps Farm and make fun little houses for the chicks and of course, feed and water them. Chase the chicks around. Rearrange all the chicks houses. Visit our friends at their farm and get all kinds of great ideas from them, along with an incubator and some turkey and duck eggs. Go back to Sweet Peeps Farm and realize that our new chick houses aren't so great for cold, stormy nights and re-rearrange all the chicks houses. Chase the chicks around. Giggle a lot. Come home to a bunch of rouge chickies and you guessed it, chase them around for a while too. Eat a delicious home-made dinner by Gaga (Grandma Lynne). Sit on the porch, catching up, making plans, watching the animals do silly animal things, and just enjoying good company. What a great day!!!

There was one point today when Marissa and I, each with our entire upper bodies squeezed through the chicken door in the coop, surrounded by chicken poop and tiny peeping chicks, still sticky from our workout and probably covered in a fair amount of chicken poop ourselves, looked at each other and cracking up decided we could officially call ourselves farmers.

Today's Vocab Words (a.k.a. I, as a new farmer pretty much just figured these out...seriously!)

Clutch: a bunch of eggs in a nest. These are the ones that might hatch.

Flake of Hay: a slice of a bale of hay. 

Hay: dried grasses that include the grains and seeds. Food for animals. (OK, I knew what hay was but     did not know what it was in relation to straw)

Straw: hay minus the grains and seeds. The stuff for animals to snuggle into. 

Peep: baby chicks, newly hatched (and super cute). Not just the yummy Easter candies...who knew!?

Pullet: a young domestic hen, usually less than a year old. 

Broiler: type of chicken raised for meat (the ones you probably don't want to name).

Layer: type of chicken raised for laying eggs (the pretty ones you get to name).

The Dirty Life

“I was fundamentally happier, I found, with my focus on the ground," she writes. "For the first time, I could clearly see the connection between my actions and their consequences. I knew why I was doing what I was doing, and I believed in it. I felt the gap between who I thought I was and how I behaved begin to close, growing slowly closer to authentic…I was beginning to learn something about the peace you can find inside an infinite challenge.”

-Kristin Kimball, The Dirty Life

I just finished one of the best books, The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball. It's the true story of a city girl who falls in love with a farmer and then farming (or it might be the other way around) and her transition from city life to the life of a true organic farmer on a not-so-small farm. She is funny and genuine and pretty much tells it like it is.

 

I have heard the quote many times "you reap what you sow" but Kristen Kimball tells it like it really is. She says; “Because you don’t reap what you sow. That’s a lie. You reap what you sow, hill, cultivate, fertilize, harvest, and store.”

All I have left to say is READ THIS BOOK!!!! Such a fabulous, fun, feel good read.

Inventory Goddess

Recently, I was appointed as the tribe's Gett-er of all Things awesome. I have taken this new assignment very seriously and immediately set to work on building spring inventory for the farm. This might be an overwhelming responsibility but luckily, I have two in-house consultants who advise me on all important decisions. Typically, their recommendation goes something like this, "Definately!" and "Get more, Momma". Here's what we have as of this week.

1. Twenty five "layers" which are now 1 week old and doing great. They have gone from fluffy puffs 7 days ago to now about palm of your hand size sweeties. They arrived in a peeping box at the post office labled "Rainbow Pullets". There are 5 varieties (we think) based on the variation of colors. Rainbow speaks to the color of the eggshells that they will produce and not the color of their feathers. (Sorry, N. Blue. ) Anyways, hopefully we'll all be just as delighted when we're collecting the easter eggs in blue/green, light brown and chocolate brown by the dozens to share.

2. Fifteen "broilers" due to arrive Friday. Broilers means these guys will be dinner. Aka...No naming them Catalina and Stephie! This is a small order due to the fact that it'll be our first go at raising and "processing" this type of bird. Luckily, we have the best farming mentor this side of the route 33 helping us along the way. Tom, current/soon to be former owner of Sweet Dog Farm is doing an incredible job walking us through the whole process start to finish.

These birds will be ready for dinner in 8 weeks. Making them an excellent warm up for the whole tribe to learn about poultry and even better than that...A prospect for celebratory dinner after we close on the farm!

3. Thirty more broilers due on April 1st which will be ready for sale May 28th hopefully these will be our first dollar earned.

4. A slew of started herbs and veggies that will be ready to plant in the ground on May 1st at the farm. At this point, the plants are someplace between just germinated seed and 3 inches tall. Varieties include, Tendergreen burpless cucumber, red cherry tomato, german striped tomatos, red peppers, rosemary, parsley, basil, cilantro, sweet banana peppers, cayenne peppers and garden green beans.

So now, here we are, my house smells like fresh soil and there are 40 chickens in my basement. What's left to do? Oh ya, aquire 3 little piggies. Love!

Farmer D TEDx Talk

Check this guy out! Farmer D is full of really awesome information. He's clearly well educated and really experienced...not to mention pretty cute. He has basically put into words a lot of what our tribe has been thinking about, talking about, and educating ourselves about these past few months. I love that he so eloquently melded what should be our shared concerns of our modern day society. I can't wait to hear what you guys think of all this fabulous information. Lets educate ourselves and bring ourselves closer to our food sources!! Enjoy!!

Ideas Anyone?

I'm feeling the need to write a followup to my previous post. I talked about the naysayers but seem to have left out a really important part...the many many people who HAVE been excited and supportive. One of the coolest parts of this experience so far is all the fabulous, sometimes very creative ideas that people have shared with us. Suggestions have included everything from how to build various things to business ideas, to what boots are the best. One of my personal favorites is to "always wear a skirt when working in the garden because you'll get a nice breeze on your tushy". Brilliant!! We love hearing everyone's ideas and experiences. Please share more!!

 

I also didn't mention all the people who have offered to help in various ways once we have actually purchased our farm. I can't wait to put all of these willing hands to work. Before we know it we'll be comparing calluses...and they wont be from pullups for once!!