Courage to Continue .....

The last few of days have been a bit of a downer.  Starting on Friday we tried to bale our grass which we cut over a week ago.  Since our tractor hydraulics were not working properly we were not able to bale when it was dry.  We got a window of opportunity and Tom was able fix the tractor.  It seemed all was right on the farm.  The baler was hooked up and we were ready to put this project to bed, or so we thought.  It seems the baler was not going to cooperate and we couldn't get it to tie the bales properly. Which means when you spit them out the back they fall apart like a jenga game !!  With heat and humidity beating down on us we tried again and again and again to get this thing right.  NOTHING. Tom pulled hay into that baler tried to tie and we would just eat up the string.  Then it would get jammed and we had to clean it out again and again.  It was after 5 in the evening when we gave up.

This is Kentucky so nothing happens on the weekend.  The place where we purchased the equipment was closed by the time we stopped.  So a plan was made to handle it on Monday and hope no measurable rain happened.

Well measurable rain happened !!!!

The brown lines is the grass that needs to be picked up and baled.  
It rained Sunday and  last night so it's soaked !!

The bales we did get rolled but not tied.  A little tree trimming in foreground. 

Hay bales rolled but not tied.  Look pretty sad !!!

With the weekend upon us we did some chores, met some neighbors and looked through Craigslist for stuff we might need.  I found a closet organizer in Nashville so we headed down there on Sunday afternoon.  Didn't turn out to work for us so we opted for Sushi dinner and headed home.  The ride home is about 90 minutes and about 10 miles from home we see a deer on the drivers side of the road. This is a big doe !! She looked like she was going to run in front of the truck.  Then she turned away but then in a split second she ran right into the driver's side bumper !!  I am screaming don't hit the deer. Tom is doing his best not to kill us on this country road.  We hear the loud bang, the airbag didn't deploy but something happened to it inside the engine.  The hazard lights came on automatically, the seat belts stopped working and locked us in.  Our bumper was rubbing on the tire.  Safe to say all this happened in about 5 seconds or less.  

We drove home slow and asked some people behind us to follow us just in case something happened to the tire.  After making it home we surveyed the damage and found the bumper smashed in, the airbags needing to be serviced and some damage under the frame.  

My heart aches for the deer.  I wish it has just stayed where it was.  Such an emotional experience to hit and kill an animal on the road.  With only one car right now we had to get the vehicle to the nearest city and then rent a car until repairs can be made.  

 Which brings us to today Tuesday.  

We are waiting on a few pieces of furniture we bought a couple of weeks ago so we can stay in the little house on the property.  There is some major remodeling that needs to be done to the place but that will come in time.  I see potential to do some positive things.  Our goal is to live in it a year before we make major changes in order to see what we want to do.

This is the small living room we'll be expanding at some point.
Yes those fixtures on the ceiling will be replaced SOON.
We already purchased can lights for that !!

Hopefully life will go a little more smoothly now.  Makes us appreciate the boring days...or so my brother tells me.  We'll just take one day at a time make the best of every situation.  I am just happy to be in a beautiful place with a husband and animals I love with all my heart.

Just call him TRACTOR MAN....

We purchased a new tractor to get our grass cut and rolled.  Needless to say we were both excited.

Tom spent a good portion of the day cutting grass with his John Deere cutter.  We raked it and got it ready to bale only to have the baler not work properly.  

After many hours of trying, phone calls to the tractor company, the equipment company, internet searching we found that the hydraulics were installed improperly.  Tom, being the mechanic he is was able to fix it and onto baling the hay we went.  Well come to find the old baler we purchased which was new when I was in Jr High...Just sayin... does not work properly either.  It won't tie and does not bale !!!  GRRRR it's the weekend so the place is closed and have to wait till Monday to take it in !!

So the grass sits out waiting to be put in it's neat little rolls.  

AND WE WAIT .............................

On a funny note we found a mole or I should say Sam found a mole which we have now saved for our grandson Ashton to inspect upon his visit here on a couple of weeks.  When he saw this picture he was very excited !!  

Coffee has decided it is her job to find all the mice and moles in the field.  Our barn kitty Beebe likes hanging out waiting for the mice to run from the hole.  She then grabs it and does what all good kitties do to mice.  I guess it's a tag team effort.  

“Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.” 
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Baby steps at the Organic Farm

The work has been tough for this city girl.  There is no more manicure, pedicures or shopping at Whole Foods on a whim here.  The closest Costco or Whole Foods is 65 miles away.  So we make every trip count.  I love this life.  No more sirens running all night in the city, fighting for a parking space on the street, sitting in traffic on the 405 at 4:05... Nope I don't miss it what so ever !!!

Our chicks are growing by leaps and bounds.  They will be free ranging here soon.

This is a Barred Rock chick hanging on the roosting perch.  

The Turkey eggs began hatching night before last so I spent most of the night up being a mid-wife to these little stinkers.  They were so cute.  We started off with 5 eggs ready to hatch.  At one point 4 hatched and we were waiting for number 5 when on an hourly check we found one chick had passed away leaving 3 and the one in the egg couldn't get out and died as well.  

                                    We now have 3 and are happy with them.  

This is how they will look when fully grown.  

After many calls and lots of internet searching I was able to locate a Non GMO, no soy, no corn chicken feed custom mixed by an Amish farm.  I am over the moon having found this.  With my corn allergy this means I can eat eggs without getting sick !!!  

Tom and I are having a great time on this journey.  

Another week

We have had another week working on the farm.  So many projects I can't even count.

Tom and his friend Tom went to Idaho and retrieved our truck with all of our belongings in it.  They drove it here in 54 hours.  I think they both thought they were 25 again.  Great to have our stuff back but we had water damage again in the truck.  Thought we fixed the crack but apparently we did not.  Lots of items got soaked.  On top of that we had rain the last two days and all the items we had in boxes we put in the barn for unpacking.  Well we set them on the floor on top of some plywood, not a great plan.  A river of water ran through the barn with the downpours we had.  The bottom boxes had 3 inches of water soaking them.  Very disappointing.  Something else that needs to be addressed.

Tom and Tom making me nesting boxes for the baby chicks. 

Baby chicks... Australorps and Barred Rocks.  These babies will lay brown colored eggs. 

                                              

                                                    

My wonderful friend from Texas sent me these Turkey eggs.  Hope a couple hatch !!  They are in a incubator now.  I turn them daily like a good mother hen.

                        

This is the second story to the bee colony.  Now the bees have an upstairs to get away from the 

queen if they so choose.  I put a queen restricter in.  This way they go up and make their honey and the queen does her thing on bottom floor.

                            

I have more photos to post but first I have to go check on chicks and eggs.  More to come....

New Chicks.

We have so many projects I can't even begin to list them all.  Tom is on his way from Idaho with his friend Tom bringing our possessions which were parked there for the last 4 years.  

Bebe walks with us like she's a dog in the morning.

She finds the pond for the first time.

I had to pick up some chicks locally.  There are 6 Rhode Island Reds and 4 Ameraucanas 

They are getting acquainted with each other.

More chicks to come.  I have my eye on some rare breeds.  When I decide which ones I'll post.

The First Few Days.

We have arrived and been exploring our new homestead.  Sam and Coffee love the pond.  We walk every morning rain or shine.  The first place they go is to the pond to check if there are any ducks. 

A beautiful still morning....

Really can't beat this view.

These are my bees.  I plan on having several hives.  Gotta start somewhere.

Some of you may remember Anastasia (renamed Bebe) because she responds when I say come on baby!  She was the cat at the Organic Farm in Texas.  Well we stopped to say hi and she jumped in my arms.  She wouldn't leave me and hung on with her claws dug into my shoulder.  She made the trip from Texas to Kentucky like princess.  Now she is our farm kitty.  She is in charge of ridding the property of all mice.  From of the looks of things she is taking her job seriously.  

This is our new Hay rake.  We'll be gathering the grass for use later for our sheep, goats and cows.  When we get them.

Stayed tuned for this transformation.  This will turn into our Chicken Mobile.  Which we will move around the farm so the chickens have fresh grass and bugs to feast on.

Had to put in a mailbox.  This place has never had one.  I guess it's real.

Navigating a New Path

The time has come to transition to a new path.  

Our plan when starting this adventure in the RV over 3 years ago was to find someplace to retire, just what we were going to do in retirement was still a little fuzzy.  During our adventure we saw many beautiful places, met some wonderful people and ate some darn good food.  So much so we both need to eat grass for a few months to lose some of this extra baggage.  Anyway, on the road my food allergies flared and I found some information about farm raised seafood I didn't know.  Like they feed seafood a pellet made out of mostly corn.  I found this out when eating seafood on the Gulf Coast and got a raging migraine for 3 days.  Tom finally realized this whole allergy thing was truly for real and our discussions about Organic Farming began.  That is how we came to find the land we now call our own.

We will start with feeding ourselves and work into doing Farmers Markets, possibly a farm store and becoming an organic producer for local restaurants and co op markets if possible.  

The new focus of this blog will be toward the building of our farm and new life.  Becoming self sustainable, practicing organic farming, and making most of our own goods.  Tom will do the planning of buildings, fencing and all things mechanical. We will both do the animals, planting, and picking.  I will do the recipes, canning and soap making.  This will be more than a full time job I know but really what else is there to do but enjoy this beautiful earth.  We hope to give back to our community and be an asset to our neighbors.  

So the adventure begins....

We hope you'll follow us in this new chapter of our lives.  Maybe we can all learn a little something along the way.