A table, a sunset & slowing down.

I blame the heat. Well, that and funds...we have a lot of projects planned, but needed to take a break on spending all our extra earnings on farm-related items. Like breathing, we're exhaling right now.

But, this offers us an opportunity to truly appreciate the free-er side of farming. Like, magnificent sunsets across the open field.

And beautiful tables made by talented friends/contributors who are really good at building things with your suggestions in mind...

Have something you want to contribute/help with? well...we've picked some dates to have anyone who's interested come & join in the fun. Come Saturday evening, the 25th for some camping, or just come on Sunday the 26th for some 'farm' playing around. Contact us if you're interested!

SORRY: September is the month. So, Sept 25th & 26th.

New Coop Coming & more

Chickens: With our first coop we were thinking easy, mobile & simple. It has worked great & we've liked many things about it--namely being built on a wheel barrow base for easy transport.

old.

Well, Drew got it in his head to switch things up & there's never a way for me to convince him that what's working is working. So, he came up with a plan & used me only for re-thinking measurements & such.

He started on Friday & it's almost done. We'll save the big reveal for after she's painted, but it's pretty exciting to see a new home for the birds...I think they'll approve.

sneak peak.

Bees: We've found a gentleman who is willing to let the bees sit on his property while we're in transition. Some folks are terrified of bees & the thought someone might now buy our house because they're out back has crossed our minds, so they'll be visiting a friend for a while...

Also, Drew is reading this book (per my request). He's read much of it outloud to me (it is, afterall, a grouping of speeches). Rudolf Steiner is the founder of Waldorf style education, what we're loosely basing our Homeschooling on. He's an extreme naturalist & his vision of bees is fascinating. It has really opened our minds ideas outside modern science, which leaves a lot of holes in bee-understanding that Steiner is filling. If you're a beekeeper you should take a peek. Even if you're not, Steiner's theories are real mind benders.

Bees

On the garden front: things are really coming along. Asparagus is shooting out like crazy, peas are making their grand entrance & other seeds--namely spinach & lettuce, have been planted & are beginning to sprout. As for the seedlings, well. Not much great to say there, but I think we've learned that our issue was having our light too high, it sounds like 2 inches would be a better height, and possibly a system that can be raised as they grow. Thinking...

I (lacey) have not given up. I intend to try some heirloom variety tomato seedlings. Drew is going with the farmer's market plants. I think this is how it goes down every year.

We got some great mulch from this local mulch yard for the pathways & our front landscaping. Things are looking fresh & bright & we're enjoying it until the battle of the weeds begins. Soon we'll mow & that will REALLY put us in summer-mode.

On the home-front: We're still looking. We took a major hit a week or so ago. We suddenly were hopeful that we'd be able to purchase this property. Well, as soon as we called & started discussing details it was under contract. Huge disappointment, but we're trying to push forward. We have the distraction of Passover this week & are really trying to take advantage of the cleaning-out spirit to keep the house in a sellable state. We will list it via MLS this week.

One Hundred and Four Acres and a Prayer

 

After the virtual recon that we had done of the 97acres we knew there would be a gate to get into the property. What we weren't expecting to find was a logging company there. Once we got past the logging company, the road wasn't so bad, something a few steps down from a dirt road but a smidgen up from just a trail. Our trusty guide and head recon man Mr. Watkins gave us a tour of the property, which consisted of about a 1 mile trip down the road--the easement to the actual property; then a short hike down a four wheeler trail to the stream through some extremely beautiful land that made me realize why our an ancestors fell in love with this area. Once we made it to the property there was a spot that had been cleared out, probably for the logging company to stage the trees. There lay a huge pile of dead trees; this was to be one of many places we would find nearly identical on the property. At one point I'm pretty sure i heard a voice coming from the woods saying in an old tree herder voice, "some of these trees were my friends".  The views were beautiful, the land has nice rolling hills with a stream at one end and plenty of nice level areas to build houses and such. As we stood there looking out over the six year old growth we could see the future farm with all the saplings and underbrush cut away, the green pasture rolling down the hill to the stream bed. The animals living a healthy God intended life. The simple yet ever so important life of being stewards of the land was under our feet and yet it seems so unattainable. The property is over grown and rugged there is no real road, no kind of buildings and no kind of pasture, we would be starting from scratch which is really exciting and really intimidating. There are many things we have to figure out and accomplish before something like this could be undertaken. This specimen has opened our eyes to the reality of what is out there & what we are up against.

 

pictures from today's journey... (to see the actual land, close your eyes--think "mess", there you go!)

the journey begins here

We don't yet have a farm but if we did it would be RoundHouse Farms (tagline: "interactive agriculture"). Here's the journey that has led us to where we are with our urban farm life. Follow along as we get closer to some acreage!

In our second year of marriage we lived in Asheville, NC--800 square feet & a porch & a container garden.We grew some (nasty pear)tomatoes & dill & a few other tasty herbs that we tossed in every meal--at the dismay of our palletes. We learned what worked. Inspired by the 'Ashvillian Culture & Cuisine' we knew we had to have a less portable garden. We moved to Greensboro. Up & coming & with lower prices on real estate it seemed the perfect spot to persue the imagined utopia. First we rented a small townhome with a little (bit bigger & with some sunshine) concrete deck--our pots felt right at home.

The fall garden consisted of sweet peas in a window box with strands of old yarn nailed into the privacy fence, they climbed & were delicious. Fresh peas right off the vine consistently reinforce our craving to share homegrown goodness. 1 month in our first farmhand was born. 6 months in we moved. On an income under 20k a year we were fortunate to be looking at the peak of the housing market boom. Basing half our decision on the yard & it's exposure to sun, we found the perfect fixer-upper for us. In a long list of necessary renovations, garden beds were #2. It all started as a 10'x10' bed & the overgrown bush we were told was an apple tree. Our urban farm began. This back yard garden has taken on a life of its' own & is our "Harley Dr. Homestead". A trial that has created addicts.

Today in the same yard after 5 years of play & exploration, of garden trials & tribulations we have maxed out what this yard/farm can give us. We have 5 chickens in a chicken tractor, three beehives, and raised bed gardens.

We have 375sqft of garden that supply most of our vegetables for the spring through early fall. we also have blackberry bushes, blueberry bushes, asparagus, a strawberry patch, & an apple tree. In good years we get fruit from every one; in bad years, not so much.

The chickens are the latest addition, giving us an average of about 4 eggs/day & hours of both entertainment and frustration. We knew chickens were dumb-- give them a bowl of water and within a few minutes they have pooped in it and knocked it over. Their feeder is useful as a perch from which to poop in fresh feed. For awhile they were allowed to roam/ destroy the yard. From a greeting at the bathroom window every morningorning--both creepy and entertaining; 5 hens peering with their sideways glances while you relieve yourself first thing in the morning is a little unsettling. Over all I have to say that they have been good fun and produce eggs that make it hard to eat anything but fresh & integrity raised. Everyone should have a few backyard birds.

We started with two beehives 2 years ago. There really is not too much to bees, mainly learning to relax or go with the flow (no pun intended). Bees want to make honey with no interruption. As a new beekeeper I would open the hive weekly the first year--I ended up with a lot of stings. Our garden & apple tree were a bounty of produce our first year with the bees; record numbers of apples--so many that the tree split, & we got about five gallons of honey. We were so excited to share that we gave away about 4.5 gallons (now those folks are hooked!). That winter one hive died and needed to be restocked in the spring. This past summer we got another 5 gallons of honey & we're up to 3 hives going into spring '10 as we split one hive this fall. Bees are rewarding, even before their pollination and honey services; they are simple, natural, semi-unpredictable, & something any yard could benefit from.

last year's expansion.

So, with all of this going on in our urban farm we are ready to give something a little bigger a try. Goats to be exact--lacey's dream from our time in Asheville. We want to raise them for both meat and dairy, along with eventually sheep for wool, and cows for both milk and meat, more chickens, turkeys, ducks if we have a pond...we want crafts, gatherings, potlucks, big bonfires, dancing, music, community.

Our entitlement to "family" land is non-existent--we feel like we're on our own version of the Oregon Trail--pioneering our way through small cash reserves & a troubled real estate market to find a place we can build Round House Farms. We don't have trust funds or 401k's to cash out, just hope & a dream, exactly what we had when we bought what has become our urban homestead. It may not be a fast journey--but we have embarked. Faith & optimism. Faith & optimism. Faith & optimism...

Oh, & books like "You Can Farm", and movies like Food, Inc. make us feel our quest justified. RoundHouse Farm's blog is going to chronicle the events, the failures, and the eventual sucess that will bring us to our farm. We envision this blog to be both motivation for those on a similar journey & a means of accountability for us in continuing on until our goal is reached--no matter what discouragement we face. We hope that you'll join in this "community" & maybe one day we'll together sing Kumbaya around the firepit on Round House Farm.

Please join us as we continue to blog away toward our ever nearing farm (& plan to join us there, too!).