Work continues…slowly but surely. Below is the back of the smoker storage area.
And here’s the front. The smoker sits well in this area, and once we get electricity wired up, will be very convenient.
And work on the second mosaic has started. This one features wildflowers in the meadow, and a pond. There’ll be a tractor in there, and we’ll have Van Gogh style swirlies in the sky once it’s all done.
As I look around the property, I see lots of stuff that still needs to be done. But looking back, I realize we’ve enjoyed many things on the 6.66 acres that is our Livin’ The 10 Farnch.
First, the sunrises and sunsets here are absolutely fantastic. You can see them all in the God’s Canvas posts.
The kids got sick right around Easter last year, and we didn’t make it to church. We still wanted to have a family celebration, so we had an Easter Egg “Hunt” here on the farnch. Melissa and I took plastic eggs, filled them with treats, then strung them on branches in the woods in the back yard. Eryk, Iain and Macy then got to go “on the hunt” for eggs…with their BB guns.
When June rolled around, it got hot. We needed a way to cool down. Our temporary solution was a cheap easy set pool. The kids loved it, and even we adults enjoyed relaxing in the cool water. In fact, one hot-but-breeze evening, I soaked in the pool for a while. When I got out, I sat in my rocking chair on the porch to dry off. The evaporative effect of the breeze against the water actually gave me a slight chill…on a 100+ degree day.
Having lived in the city most of our lives, we knew we would need to acquire some common farm-type implements. Mom and Dad’s housewarming gift to us was a commercial-grace Snapper Zero-Turn mower, and, man, has it been a blessing. We used it to cut pathways and walking trails through the front and back pastures, and to generally keep the rest of the place neat and tidy.
When we sold our home, we used some of the proceeds to get a truck, Rocky. Rocky has pulled our animal trailer to bring home Chocolate, Vanilla, Turtle and Bryan; Mocha and Chip; and Beau and Mercy. Rocky has also hauled (literally) tons of stuff for our building projects, especially the outdoor kitchen. In addition to being really useful around the farnch, I have to admit, I just like driving a big truck.
Of course, no farnch is complete without a tractor. In late October, we visited the local Kubota dealership, Ewald Kubota, to get smart on tractors. They were having a sale, with some good incentives and financing, and we were able to get everything we wanted – front-end loader, brush-hog, box blade, and grapple – for a good price.
One of the things we haven’t had to do a lot of is infrastructure. That was one of the things that was very attractive about this particular property. It was already fenced and cross-fenced. There were already several irrigation spigots throughout the property, making it pretty easy to get water to the animals. And there were several shelters already on the property – a carport, garage, loafing shed with tack room and chicken coop, and a front barn. There’s more to do…there always is on a farnch. But having a lot of the infrastructure already in place enabled us to “get farnching” a lot faster than if we’d had to build all that stuff along the way.
We’ve built a quite a few things around the farnch this past year. One of the first projects was a duck house that Eryk, Iain and I built out of a repurposed pallet and crate – plus some chicken wire and (wait for it) duck tape.
On the gardening front, perusing SlapSale.com yielded six well-used hospital laundry bins. We’re using them as raised beds in the back side yard.
In the fall, we bought a tractor.
A pond is one of the things we’ve started with it. The ducks (and the kids) absolutely love playing in “the pond” (which is about 9″ deep so far).
Of course, the tractor needed a place to sleep, so we bought a metal carport tractor-port.
Adding animals to our menagerie has required reworking some of the fencing. We elected to go the cattle-panel-and-zip-tie route for a couple of reasons. One, it’s quick. Two, it’s easy to un-do.
We’ve had our share of “not-so-fun” moments as well. Like when the water main coming into the property sprung a leak.
Our most ambitious (and still ongoing) project from this past year is the outdoor kitchen.
In the outdoor kitchen, we’re building custom cabinets, and using the exposed backs of the cabinets as a showcase for mosaics.
To me, our farmchitecture projects are very rewarding, and something I simply could not do in the city.
In another Craigslist find, we found this armoire at a dentist’s office and decided that it would make a great addition to our kitchen.
It’s loaded with all kinds of storage…and it even has a fold-down desk area that’s perfect for the kids as a work surface.
Melissa and the kids maneuvered and loaded the unit all by themselves…and, man, was it heavy. The kids were rightfully proud of themselves, and decided to enjoy an afternoon snack on the desk.
Continuing work on the outdoor kitchen. Today, Melissa and I built the landing transition step between the front porch and the outdoor kitchen. All things considered, it was a fairly straightforward 4-foot-by-8-foot platform placed on 10-inch-by-10-inch concrete pier footings. Altogether, it was a little over $100 in materials, and was actually a fun project to do together.
After we had the landing finished, we hung some old ceiling fans in the outdoor kitchen. These are fans that we replaced with remote control fans in the inside kitchen and dining room. Haven’t hooked up electricity yet, but they look good nonetheless.
Melissa and the kids finished up the tiles on the first of three mosaics adorning the outside of the cabinets on our outdoor kitchen. Still needs grout and sealer, but the puzzle work on the roughly 3′ high by 5′ wide mosaic is done!
This one is “Sunrise,” and it’s taken from an amalgamation of several of the beautiful sunrises we’ve experienced here on the property. “Sunrise” features the sun creeping over the misty, dew-covered ground, casting deep and light tones across the sky as the crescent moon is setting. Look closely, and you’ll see some stars in the sky…and Chocolate the donkey taking a stroll in the morning dew.
The old saying goes something like this: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Every now and then, you find a like-minded, generous soul on Craigslist, and you feel like you’ve stumbled into a treasure trove…at rock bottom prices.
This week was such a week for us. First, we found a very-well used, but very well mechanically maintained, early 1990’s model 8-hp Echo Chipper Shredder SH-8000…for $250. I don’t know much about chipper shredders, but I do know that’s a fantastic deal.
Later that day, we came across a guy who was selling some used T-posts. When we arrived to pick them up, he was impressed with Eryk, Iain, and Macy’s work ethic, helping us load the T-posts. He asked where we lived, and we told him our story. When he heard what we were doing, he offered several other useful items at a very good price.
As we were leaving, he showed us a bunch of used 3/4″ Schedule 40 PVC that he used for sprinkler systems around his garden. We hadn’t thought about all the possible uses for it, so we passed on it. Then, on the way home, we called back and said we’d take it. When Melissa and the kids went back a couple of days later, they once again loaded us up with sawhorses, planter boxes, fencing, hardware cloth, and several odds-and-ends.
Well used, but still very useful!
These pots and makeshift stakes will come in handy for starting the spring garden.
When we remodeled the kitchen at our last house, we took out the tiny excuse for a pantry, and instead turned it into an alcove for the refrigerator. Except that the refrigerator was about an inch too wide to fit. So we took out the wall, turned the studs sideways, and slapped a sheet of plywood over it. Then, to cover the plywood, Melissa added a beautiful sunflower mosaic, made from leftover tiles and broken plates from Dollar Tree.
When we started the outdoor kitchen here at Livin’ The 10, we knew we wanted something unique. We also needed something weather-resistant on the back of the cabinets. We talked about several options, but quickly settled on doing a set of mosaics. Today, we started in on the first one.
Below, Melissa is buttering the outline for Chocolate the Donkey, who will be appearing in our Sunrise mosaic.
Eryk and Macy helped break up the tiles for Chocolate’s body from some scraps we had leftover from the top. Below, they’re showing off their handiwork.
Once Chocolate was set, we were off to the sunrise. If you’ve seen any of the sunrise photos from the blog, you know we have the most beautiful sunrises here at Livin’ The 10. Here’s Eryk setting some of the turquoise band…
And Iain helping out, too.
Iain looks just like me, but he acts just like Melissa. This photo makes me think of that television scene in Forest Gump….
Macy did her share as well.
It’s neat to watch your kids put together what amounts to a jigsaw puzzle without being able to see the final picture, and having to literally make up the pieces as you go along. They did a great job!
We have been working to try to build an herb spiral for several weeks, but it took us quite a while for us to actually get it finished. The concept inspired me, herbs where you are more likely to use them than if they are situated in a garden that requires shoes to get to. (Because let’s face it, sometimes I’d rather just leave the basil out than have to stop cooking and put my shoes on to retrieve it. Nothing beats the flavor of fresh herbs, except sometimes my laziness.) The elevation of the spiral makes harvesting easier, and utilizes a smaller footprint in the garden for more plants. For us, another bonus is that it is off the level of the land, which makes it more dog proof. Charlie loves to dig to find cool dirt to lay in in the summer time. I can’t tell you how many times he dug up my mint after I watered last year, and then lay on top of the poor upturned plants. I tried everything to keep him out of the gardens, but no luck. So I am anxious to see if he leaves this alone. So far, so good!
We seeded the spiral with basil, dill, and cilantro. We’ll post some pictures once it gets going so you can see the end results. If it works well, I may put several of them around the front porch, where we aren’t growing a lot of grass.
This year – Christmas 2016 – was the first year for us on our farnch (half farm, half ranch, hence “farnch”). Each of the kids has adjusted well to life at Livin’ the 10 – for the most part. They recognize that things are different out in the country, and we’re helping them to understand the value in self-reliance that you need when you’re out here.
farnch
both a farm and a ranch
Speaking of self-reliance, the value in self-reliance was driven home a few days before Christmas…when the water main running to our house sprung a leak out near the road. We (Melissa and the kids, mostly) dug through muck and mud for three days before we found the leak. It’s a lot of hard work being self-reliant. But the good news is that our kids have a newfound appreciation for plumbers. Iain’s even thinking about taking the odd plumbing job…as long as he gets to play in the mud a bit while on the job.
While we were digging, our first order of Livin’ the 10 ZubieWear T-Shirts and sweatshirts arrived. Oscar Zubiate has been a friend for a while, and he and the team at Zubie Wear did an excellent job on the apparel. As we were groaning and moaning through the muck and mire, we laughed to ourselves that while our overall experience on our property has been a 10, today might be a 9.5.
The roughly one-foot section that we replaced
It could have been much worse, though. It wasn’t a massive leak, so we were able to turn the water on for 15 minutes and run everyone through the shower, flush and refill the toilets, etc. Plus, we saw first-hand the benefits of some of our self-sufficiency-minded “preps.” First, we have a commercial ice maker (I love ice) which holds about 25# of ice. Even though it didn’t produce ice during these three days, we still had ice. Second, because we have many gallons of drinking water stored, we were able to cook and brew coffee and tea, etc. Thinking ahead and having a little extra on hand limited the second- and third-order effects, and turned this into an endurable experience.
