CHEZ POULET

getting started

I have never built anything in my life. So I called in for backup...my dad. We pulled out all the power tools we could cram into the pickup and got started on Chez Poulet. The chicken coop. I ordered the chickens to be delivered (pullets - laying hens about 4 months old) on 4/11 not taking into consideration dad's work schedule...needless to say - in three days we managed to get everything ready for the gurlz. Not only was it awesome to work with my dad as a real live grown-up, but I knew that I was learning a lot about power tools so I could get things moving on my own DIY projects. I'm fairly intimated by the circular saw. I have had visions of what going thumbless would really mean to me.


So - he did the cutting and I did manage to master the nail gun. There are two things that have always piqued my fancy - powertools and tractors. (oh, and men in uniform - but that doesn't really apply here). So we got to work. We are not quite done yet - but the girls have a safe place to stay until the outside is completed.

Learning how to use the saw was the best part - and hearing my dad say, "You know, T - I think you're ready to build things yourself."  Not bad comin' from ole' Dad.

We had to get it to where the girls would have a nice comfy place to stay.  I didn't have what I needed to build a roost, so I put a nice big branch in there that they could huddle around.  Hung the feed/water from the ceiling and put in two nexting boxes w/ those fake ceramic eggs that you can get online...

My 9 year old was ecstatic to let me know that we had THREE eggs the day that they arrived... well, those were the ceramic ones - kind of sad having to break that news to him.

the door and shiplap w/ the window

Opposite the door, to the right there will be a storage box and to the left is the chicken door. 

The next day, he came up to me and said, "I found something in the coop!" and handed me this little egg.  I thought it was one of the fake ones and he assured me it wasn't.  Can you believe it???  Two days after they arrived, we have one that is laying already.  I didn't get any eggs yesterday (probably due to the nail gun and the saw - but we got a second egg today.  The yolks are about the size of a penny, but nice and firm.  AND they taste GREAT!!

OY, my ACHIN' back!

(i.e.) shovel dirt, shovel sand, shovel peat, sigh and say, "this will all be worth it", repeat.

I never knew that putting in an orchard would be such painstaking work. Did you know that nearly everything revolving around planting an orchard involves a shovel of some sort? AND... I bet you didn't know that it also meant bending over, kneeling down and begging your children to help you.  Found out they'd rather climb trees.  I'D rather climb trees than plant them at this point.

So far we have 15 trees in. Trees is kind of overstating things a bit - they're more like twigs. I walk down to the "Orchard" w/ a sense of pride and accomplishment. I know that every piece of fruit that feeds my great grandchildren will be because of the work that the boys and I have done. Then I see the seven holes yet to be filled w/ a tree and swear silently to myself.  I'm sure the generations to come will love climbing in the branches of the orchard, picking apples, peaches, cherries, pears and plums like I did when I was growing up next to Harry and Pauline.  Maybe they will even get to walk into a house that smells like fresh baked apple pie.  I hope I'm around to see it - hell, I hope I'm making that pie.

Below is the near finished first round of the orchard.  I don't want to spend any more money before I figure out if I killed them while transplanting them.  I do have three Asian Pears that are waiting for me at the nursery.  I suppose I can plant a couple more.  Sigh.

So the thing that just gets me in the picture below is that the trees are SO DARN SMALL - you can't even see them.  Thank God for the tags on the trees or it would just look like an empty field.  HA!

You can't see it, but there are 17 trees planted.  I swear it.  If you squint you can see them.  

2'x2' holes were dug then I got to do the rest.  Thank you Johnny!  :)

Meet George and Gracie (Mr. & Mrs. Quackers)

So - Our ducks arrived....and they are growing so fast! This is so fun. I can't believe that we just moved in a month ago. I'll be posting more on the projects. Now George and Gracie move outside during the day (weather permitting, of course) and get to guzzle in the sunshine and start to get acclimated to the outdoors!

HOLY HOMESTEAD, BATMAN

-Well. We didn't get that little farmhouse at auction. I cried for a day then we loaded up the car w/ a cooler and the kids and headed out to find the next best thing. And find it, we did. Several months, a robbery in the rental, another stolen GPS out of Joe's truck and the top getting sliced off of my mini cooper for our third and final GPS system. All told, probably 100K worth of loss over the last year give or take a grand....and we are now in our little piece of heaven.

We drove up the driveway, Joe said "STOP! It has no trespassing signs everywhere!" - I looked at him and said "Well we have to turn around now don't we?" - the owner was in the driveway. He greeted us redfaced and with calloused hands. We quickly hit it off, did a FSBO on both sides and over the last few months, he and his wife have turned out to be two of the nicest, most amazing people we have ever met. Ironically, their last name is Greathouse. Which is what they built out of the old barn they bought 12 years ago.

I never thought that I would find someplace where both Joe and I could be so happy. It satisfies both of our want list down to a perfect T. We are in a little town in Northwestern PA. There is a little store about .25 miles down from us that has everything from eyebolts to homemade macaroni salad and onion sets. We often hear the horse shoes from the amish buggies driving by the house. The best part it - the kids are sleeping better than they ever have. I think it's all the oxygen out here. They run so hard all day - then crash. Which is nice for their father and I at the end of a long day. It is truly amazing.

I kept saying, "But you're the Department of Agriculture."

Going to auction on October 29th on this place. Fingers crossed. It is pretty much in the middle of Nowhere, PA in fact - if I didn't know better, I might be convinced that this house is right off of the road Robert Frost was referring to.

I've been reading and re-reading all of my books by Joel Salatin. I'm working on getting all the financing put together to make sure that IF (I hope I hope I hope I hope) we get this place that all the financing will run smoothly. No apple trees, or grapes, which is a bit of a bummer. But it does have rhubarb that is about five feet tall, 100 year old peonies and six blueberry bushes that look to be about 20 years old. There's a peach tree in the back yard. There is quite a bit of acreage, more than we were looking for initially - but that means PO-TEN-TIAL to do all sorts of pastured farming down the road. I'm thinking pastured beef followed by pastured poultry & eggs. Maybe a little.... well - that will come in time I guess.

It is REALLY hard not to get excited. We've been out to the farm about three times and finally saw the inside of the house today. It is everything you'd expect from a 100 year old farmhouse...perks and quirks galore. Two weeks until the auction. If we don't get it - I'm sure something else will come along so I'm not going to sit in the corner and hurumph my way through the winter. ...Well, actually I will.

Found out something really interesting today though - The USDA has a loan service called USDA Loan Service and it (according to the website) provides loans for Rural Development that don't require any money down, in fact - they will even roll the closing costs into the loan! USDA...Loan... Department of Agriculture... Rural Development Loan. One would think that this is a loan for Small Farmers, right? For agricultural land development of a small farm? I was shocked to find that is not the case at all. The USDA Loan is for people to get when they are specifically NOT going to generate any revenue from agriculture. According to the man on the phone, the loan is actually to pay people NOT to farm!! You would use this loan if you want to buy land and build more houses on it... NOT be a farmer. Even the guy on the phone was laughing about this...until I asked who I should talk to about agricultural mortgages. That was when he transferred me into a general mailbox where I couldn't even leave a message at the sound of the tone. Pretty sad if you ask me. I kept saying, "But you're the Department of Agriculture." He would say, "I know".

Hello Officer.

Here we are in our rental - one step away from my own personal heaven. I've spent hours and hours convincing Joe that this will be great for the boys, better values, small town feel - away from the lights and crime of the big citAY...and our car is broken into. Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice. After the officer (who seemed to be VERY inconvenienced) left, Joe just said, "well...he was in a great mood wasn't he?". UGH - the definition of hell is being one step away from your own personal heaven.

OK, We're here...now what?

I went to the Meadville Market House - Second Saturday event this last weekend and was greeted by what I believe to be a veritable cornicopia of Kindred Spirits. Alice is the Market Master and she had been kind enough to open the "store" for me early one day earlier in the week so I could buy some farm fresh eggs. I walked around in awe and amazement at all of the local produce, handmade crafts and pottery from local artisans. It was amazing. I introduced myself to her and let her know that I grew up here and had recently moved back to the area. We finally made the break, fled the rat race and were hoping to find a farm within the year.

She (who hears this type of thing daily I would think) asked what kind of farm and I told her that I hoped one day it would become an educational farm where we were dedicated to the preservation of heritage breeds. I let her know we were still working in other jobs - but...we had a dream. Her eyes lit up - she let me know I should come to Second Saturday, it was the last event of the season - and she would introduce me to some of my fellow "unconventional farmers". As I walked from booth to booth (links in my Links to Live By)- I talked to these business people that had never met me yet every one offered "anything they could do to help"... a strong pair of arms, mechanical assistance on broken down tractors, invitiations to come out to their farms anytime just to walk around and ask questions. It was amazing. And I don't even have a FARM YET!!!

Alice came up and handed me a bag of Organic Meyers Lemons from a friend of hers that had a farm here in NWstrnPA and moved to California where she has a lemon farm now. My eyes then lit up.

It should be less than a year before we find what we are looking for and are able to make the move. I have tickets for the upcoming Mother Earth News Fair in Seven Springs, PA at the end of this month where I may get to meet and ask Joel Salatin to actually sign one of the books that he's written. I'm thinking "You Can Farm" will be the one I take (since I've read seven of his books lol) - that is the one that really changed things for me.

Half of me can't believe we are here in PA. The other half of me can't believe we are here in PA. So close...yet so far.