Ready, Set…Wait?
Sasha and I are both life-long suburb and apartment dwellers. Now we find ourselves out on five acres with a house and a shop. So…now what? Till rows of land to prepare for crops? Get a tractor? Buy a bunch of goats/pigs/sheep/chickens/cows?
Fortunately, we did some homework on this some time ago and the practical consensus isn’t nearly as exciting: settle in and take time to get to know the property.
“get to know the property?” What does that even mean? We’ve been here for a few months and I’m just now starting to understand.
For example, I can see where the sun rises and which parts of the property get the most sun on our south-facing slope. I can see where the shade is throughout the day where the sun finally falls. I can use this information to plan where the rows of vegetable crops and the orchard will go.
Before this hot drought weather kicked in, I could see where the rain would flow down the slopes of the hillside our property sits on.
Now that we’re in a drought, I can see what happens as everything dries out and identify future water needs for the summer months next year.
The point I’m trying to make is that if we had pulled the trigger on too many major projects immediately, not only would we have been overwhelmed, but we also may have wasted time and money by not optimizing the property’s best qualities. I can say that I am excited about the potential for rainwater collection, solar… even wind power! Every time I walk around outside, it doesn’t take much for my brain to chase tiny notions into huge dream projects. But for now…we wait and watch.
But that’s not to say we have just been sitting on the back deck drinking iced tea this entire time!
On the contrary – you may have noticed the animals on the current homepage photo. Yes, we do have 3 sheep, 1 cow, and 18 chickens. Did we maybe rush things a little in getting all of them? Perhaps, but there is a good reason for it! This property came with some decent fencing, a loafing barn, and a pile of hay bales. The main reason we got the animals was actually to keep the pasture maintained. Think of them as living lawnmowers. They get to eat unlimited grass and save us a lot of mowing time. It’s a win-win. (Plus, while no plans have been finalized at this time, they end up providing our family with high quality meat).
The chickens, on the other hand, are already providing us fertilizer (chicken poop), bug control, and soon we’ll be swimming in eggs. We got them as tiny little two-week-old chicks and knew it would be several months before egg production time.
Finally, we’ve taken this time to get settled into the house. Sasha has taken lead on decorating our home. Historically, we have always been extremely minimalist with décor (imagine a Grinch stole Christmas aesthetic). We rented for the first eight years of our relationship and in each place we lived the walls were nearly barren. Our budget was tight and our priorities were elsewhere. But she is doing a fantastic job of filling in the spaces and making everything feel warm and cozy. Did she maybe buy a few too many decorative pillows? That answer is probably up for debate. Regardless, it’s been fun to see an empty house transform into our home while we work to plan out the rest of the homestead.
