First Week of Hobby Farming
My journal from July, 2012
Day One
The morning began early: 5:30 or so, when I woke in a hotel room in northern Wisconsin. I looked out the window to verify that the truck was where I had left it and hadn’t been messed with during the night. We’d asked for a room overlooking the truck parking in the back of the hotel, but since they gave us a room facing the street and the front parking lot, I had moved the truck to the front and parked it in six or seven spaces (with the other two vehicles in the two spaces in front of the cab, so I’d be sure to be able to get out), We began the breakfast/quick packing/sneak-the-cats-out routine we’d mastered over the course of the trip, excited that this would be our last hotel stay.
We still had several hours to drive to reach our destination, and we arrived at the farm about lunchtime. The grass had been mown, and the lot looked tidy and well-kept. The trees had filled in nicely (when I’d been out in May, the oaks were still flowering and hadn’t really leafed out yet), and the house was well-sheltered from the dirt road in front. I called Steve the realtor to tell him we’d arrived early, and he said he’d come out immediately to do the walk-through with us rather than wait until 2:00 (everybody is incredibly nice here).
Steve came out, we walked through the house, and he let us leave the cats in the garage, which was a big relief. Freddy had cried pretty much the whole way from New Hampshire, and although she didn’t complain a lot, Meowie had been carsick several times.
We went to town, since the way we’d arrived went through the woods, and I wanted to show the family how close we were to town and to show off the town; and stopped at the food coop. We got some lunch and joined the coop (the first of many coops we’d be joining in the coming days). Then we went back to the farm. The kids were thrilled with the old swing-set and the huge yard, and just happy to be out of the car. So we threw a couple of blankets down under the trees and left them (with big sister Sofie) to play when we headed down to the closing.
The closing went fine. We came back and opened the house up. Although we were tired, we couldn’t help but start unpacking the truck. Did that for a couple of hours, during which Steve the realtor stopped by with four take and bake pizzas! So we had our first meal and sat on the back porch watching the hummingbirds dart around the feeder. For a moment, it seemed like “hummingbird habitat” might be a better name than Gardenagerie for the hobby farm.
We got the mattresses out of the truck, and threw them on the appropriate floors. As the sun set we turned off the air and opened the windows. It’s quiet here. If you listen very hard, you can hear a road in the distance. Sometimes trains. But these are faint sounds and are easily drowned out by the beating of finches’ wings or the buzz of hummingbirds.
Day two began at about 6:30 AM, when I woke on the bed on the floor of my new bedroom. Outside the windows, tree branches waved in a gentle breeze in front of an overcast sky. It had been light for what seemed like hours, and I vaguely remembered waking once or twice before and deciding it was too early to get up.
There was no coffee, so I had a glass of cold water. There was no food to speak of, so I had a fig newton. I figured we’d go out to breakfast when everyone was awake, and I’d get my dose of caffeine soon enough.
In the meantime, there was still half a truck to unload. We’d made a good start on it the evening before, but the stuff toward the front was heavier (books!), and it was stacked floor to ceiling. Luckily I had the dolly, so I moved piles of boxes at a time, down the ramp and into the garage. Steph and Sofie helped with the remaining furniture, and by 9:00 we had just about everything out. The final heavy pieces were the kitchen table and the sofa, which had to go around to the back of the house and enter by the sliding door on the deck.
So by nine the truck was empty, except for the six four-by-four posts with concrete footings that I had salvaged from the kids’ play-house I’d built in Keene. These were beasts due to the big concrete feet on each of them, but the wood was valuable, and I like the idea that I’m going to build the chicken house with some lumber that the kids painted and played on when they were littler. I used the dolly to take these one by one to the barn. Then it was time to shower and get some breakfast.
We went to the bakery Steph and I had noticed the day before on the way to the closing. There were a dozen or more old people at a long table in front, eating breakfast. We got a table and ordered — Steph asked for a “cake” donut along with her meal and was very happy when she didn’t have to explain what that meant. It’s like being back home!
We dropped the kids back at home, where the little ones played on the “playground” (the old swing-set in the backyard the previous owner left behind) and Sofie watched a DVD movie on her computer. First stop was the local U-Haul, where we dropped off the 26-foot truck we had just emptied. I’d already made a couple of calls earlier in the morning — joined the electric coop and learned that because of the storm last week, it would be ten days before the telecom coop could connect our internet. We went in and filled out their paperwork (you have to give everybody your social security number and sign a W-9 when you join these coops, because they actually pay their members dividends if they make a profit — what a concept!), and then we got a library card and did our first grocery shopping. The dreaded stock-up the new house shopping trip, which we managed to get done for just a little less than I expected.
In the afternoon, we made another trip out and joined the farm coop, where we got the things we’ll need for the first batch of chicks, and some grass seed and hoses. This is a real farmer’s coop — and I filled out another W-9 to join! The prices were reasonable and the guys were knowledgeable and helpful. The manager came out of his office and gave the kids little coloring books and crayons. They had 50 foot extra-heavy duty hoses on sale for $19.99. The last hose I bought at the fake coop in Keene (Agway) was a 50-footer too, but it cost me $54!
So we came home and I found some old lumber in the barn to use for the chick brooder. Then I threw down the grass seed I’d bought (I knew I should have bought the 25# bag — I always underestimate grass seed!) and watered. I think they seeded when they finished the septic system, but the ground was bone dry. I wonder when the last decent rain was here?
We had our first home-cooked meal in the new house: bison meatballs and organic (jarred) red sauce over linguine. When I said it would be ready in five minutes, Vivi asked, “Where are we eating tonight?” It’s been a while since we sat down to a home-cooked meal. But slowly we’re getting back to normal.
Day three began about six, with hot coffee in the french press — I guess that means we’re home! I unpacked the tools and sorted the garage a bit, then I put together the little brooder for the chicks. Called the post office to ask how they handle chicks, and the lady said, “Our trucks usually come in between 7 PM and 3 AM and I’ll call you when the chicks come. But some people don’t like to be called after midnight,” she continued, “So I can wait until morning too.” I said no, please call as soon as they arrive and I’ll come get them. Can you believe it though? They call in the middle of the night when chicks arrive! We keep being surprised how nice people are here!
Steph got an old-fashioned school desk from a lady on craigslist, for our youngest. And when we went to the Depot for paint, she got paint to customize it per our daughter’s instructions: gloss black with red, orange and yellow flames! We also got three shades of yellow and a light green, for the first round of painting, and Steph painted the wall in the living room that had been red. I took inventory of the barn and found a couple of sheets of old paneling and chipboard that I can use to build nesting boxes for the henhouse. I also got a 100 foot tape measure, so I could measure off the gardens. There’s enough space between the side-door of the barn and the animal pen in back, for a 40 or 45 foot run. So the 36 foot hoophouse will fit behind the henhouse, as planned.
I dragged some heavy fence panels onto the grass, but they weren’t in great shape and they weren’t the right lengths. So I hauled them back into the barn and stashed them out of the way. I bought the 25# bag of grass-seed from the co-op today, so I’ve been throwing that down and watering it. The co-op guy remembered my name, and said he’d tried two more distributors, but couldn’t find a source for the Cedarific cat litter Steph had been using in NH. But I’m going to try the pine shavings we’ll be using for chick bedding — they cost a lot less and I could compost it.
In the afternoon we visited a farm about 45 minutes away, to look at puppies. They’re an accidental litter from a German Shepard/Great Dane cross, born about six weeks ago. Cuter than hell. We went for one, but decided to get two. Met both parent dogs, and they were both nice animals. Such a difference from the puppy-farm people from whom we had bought our New Hampshire dog..
Day four began at about 2:30 AM, when I decided I really wasn’t going to get anymore sleep. I was hoping to get a call from the Post Office at 3-ish, with news of the baby chicks’ arrival. But that didn’t come. Turns out they weren’t shipped, because the hatch was less than expected. So we’ll be getting them next week.
As I was laying awake, I started going over my plans for the henhouse in my mind. I had been thinking of building it 12 x 18 feet, but that would have meant the roof pieces would need to be over 8 feet long. That would mean buying more suntuf panels, cutting and overlapping them. It would also mean that the roof would have to be reinforced where the overlaps were, which sort-of defeats the purpose of buying translucent panels.
At 5:16 I noticed the eastern sky was getting a little light behind the trees. I was sitting at the kitchen table, looking through the sliding glass door. A car went by outside. Happens a few times a day. What a change from 24x7 traffic in Keene and sirens at all hours of the night and day!
So, in any case, I’ve got a new design for a slightly smaller (10 x 15 feet) henhouse, and detailed drawings of how I think it’s going to go together. And a step-by-step plan (Step 1: posts and braces, Step 2: sides, Step 3: back, etc) and bill of materials. It should be a little cheaper at this size, and I don’t think we’re sacrificing too much in the way of living space. This will be a spot for laying hens, anyway — meat birds will probably end up living somewhere else.
I should be able to build this without buying any new tools. So I can put off a table-saw purchase for a while. I might splurge and get myself a nice post-hole digger, since I’ll be doing more of that soon, when I get around to fencing the front and putting up a gate. The garden/chicken fence is going to be electronet to start. Especially since it won’t be much of a garden until I get the hoophouse put up. Then in the spiring I may have to think about a fence — or we may use the garden fence that’s already up, if the goats can clear the wreckage from that area.
I took an hour nap, and made it through the rest of the day. Went to the Depot and got a load of lumber, and to Acme Tools for a chainsaw. Took down a dead pine in the front yard. It was a workout! I’m going to be able to get in shape just by working on this land!
Day five: When I woke this morning, the sun was already clearing the trees. Had breakfast and visited a little with the in-laws, who drove out for a visit, then the women went to see art in the park, Roger watched the kids hit golf balls, and I worked some more on the pine tree I took down yesterday. Lots of branches on a pine, so there were a lot of small sticks and twigs to cut or break and then stack. The goal was, to make the site look like there hadn’t been a big tree taken down and disassembled on it. I haven’t moved the stacks yet, because I’m not sure exactly where I want to put them (they’ll probably end up in the woodshed once I take a harder look at that and get it a bit organized), but it looks pretty good.
Then I took down three dead birches, that were already starting to rot from the bottoms. There were shelf mushrooms of some type on the lower parts of the trunk, but the wood above seemed sound enough to burn.
Went up on the roof in the AM, too. The sixteen foot ladder I picked up yesterday was more than enough to get up onto the garage, and from there you can hop up onto the main roof. My fear of heights didn’t have much chance to kick in, and I was able to trim off all the remaining seedpods from the lilac bushes. I even got several that were leftover from prior years.
We went out to dinner in the evening, which will probably end up being a fairly rare thing for us.
Day six: Brought in all my boxes of books from the garage this morning, and put about 1/3 of them on the shelves in the study — which is Sofie’s bedroom until she goes off to college in three and a half weeks. After she goes, I’ll paint the gray and white paneling and set up my desk. I put out only the books I think I need for my immediate projects. More books will fit on the shelves, but I’ll probably be able to cull a few, too.
Played a little horseshoes with Sofie & Steph and watched the kids play for a bit. This afternoon I’m trying to bake a loaf of bread.
I’ve sort-of designated Sundays as a day to think and plan, but not to work on any large projects. So I didn’t cut any wood today. Didn’t start digging on the henhouse. But maybe the post-holes on that project will happen at the same time as the fencepost holes in the front yard, and maybe I’ll get somebody to dig them or rent a power tool. Have to think more on that.
Day seven was day one of chicken coop building. Not a lot of building today, really. Digging. In spite of being in the upper midwest, our new place is a little hilly. The ground isn’t completely level where I want to put the chickens and additional gardens, so I decided to make a level pad for the henhouse. It’s going to have a dirt floor and deep bedding (with a hardware cloth predator barrier), but even so, I don’t want it to look like a falling-down shack as soon as I build it!
We also got internet and phone service today from the telecom coop. Nearly a week before we expected to, because the lady we signed up with took the trouble to check for cancellations and squeeze us onto the schedule. And an insurance guy came to inspect the place for our homeowner’s policy. We chatted about chickens (he’s been keeping layers and raising meat birds for over 20 years up here), and also about trees. I asked him who he might recommend to take down a few trees that are either too big or leaning in strange ways or too close to the house, and he said “If you can wait until the weather cools down a bit, I’ll do it.” (Have I mentioned people are just NICE here?)
The digging was strenuous, but the Mantis made it a lot easier. And it was definitely not as tough as it would have been in New England. The ground here is sandy loam, and since it was once farmland, it’s pretty free of stones. There were a few, but nowhere near the number there would have been in New Hampshire. Tomorrow I’ll start digging the footings and maybe place the posts. The weather was a little cooler today — it was warm in the sun, but not the 100 degrees we’ve been having every day since we arrived!