keljonma's Front Porch - Settling in and adjusting

[punkin]

Kel, just wishing you lots of peace and joy right now.

I know you have been very stressed.

Everything will be alright, and prayers to you.

 

[keljonma]

In this morning's mail, we got our new copy of the Free Press. We found this ad from a farm up the road from ours.

For Sale - 70 laying hens - mixed and pure breeds, $3 each.

I'm guessing they are year old hens. But it seemed a strange ad for us to see this morning.

The washer and dryer have been picked up. We went to the farmers market in Jefferson this afternoon, and bought some 6 months old aged locally produced gouda (from grass fed cows), a Brandywine tomato from a local farm, and a quart of Red Haven peaches from Mr Smith of Geneva. We have some bread, greens and onion, so we'll be having salad for lunch.

***

We have had our freezer goods in dry ice for 2 days now. We have decided to donate what I didn't give to my sister C, to church for Christian Cafe meals; mostly pork and beef. So we will be taking them to church tonight.

 

[keljonma]

Barn in a box - pictures of most of the belongings of the Ladies and Sam. What you can't see under all the straw -
2 full feed bins, a nest box (our broody box), a couple milk crates, a roost droppings board, some rooster sticks, and feed & water bowls. The blue pool was used as a brooder and the flock uses for dust bathing. The folding ladder on the back wall is the main roost we used in the hen house. We were hoping to take more of the nest boxes, but we couldn't get them off the walls.

Perfect for moving

The inside

The inside

Sam got upset when we started putting the Ladies in the uhaul, and attacked my dh. So Sam rode in the kitty carrier while the Ladies rode free. DH rode in the back with the Ladies and all seemed to do well. He said they just hunkered down in the straw and chatted some, but mostly rested. No one seemed panicked. The last 15 minutes of the trip were the worst, DH said it suddenly became too warm in the van, so when we stopped in town to tell QA we had arrived, we opened the uhaul to get air. We had electrolytes in the water and feed in the feeder for the trip down, and thankfully, the day was not a hot one.

We carried the Ladies and Sam from the uhaul to the house/pen that QA had set up for them. Just like QA showed E carrying Eleanor. Then the Ladies got yogurt, fresh water and more fresh feed, grit and oyster shell.

If I ever had to do it over, I would rent a horse trailer, so the flock would have better ventilation. Unfortunately, the only one I could find for rent was 3x more than I could afford to pay.

Titan was pretty upset with us - we took his flock and left him at home. He was sitting on the front porch waiting for us, when we pulled in the farm gate.

Today we have stayed pretty much at home with Titan. We had our talk and I think he is okay, and not as mad as he was last night.

One of the places we saw today is a duplex - but it is a 2nd floor duplex. We lived in a 2nd story apartment for a year before we moved back to Ohio, and Titan is not a good dog for living above people. He dances too much at 4 am.

Well, I better get going. We still have stuff to do.

 

[keljonma]

Today I got a letter from the county common pleas court. I have been selected for jury duty in September! I have sent a letter to the presiding judge stating my reasons for being excused. I hope they accept them....I am not planning on showing up.

DH is back to work today and tomorrow - third shift. Then he is off Monday and works the rest of the week. I haven't looked at his schedule to see what shift yet.

Last night we were taking the frozen food to church for Christian Caf. We passed our friend Shawn's place. Shawn is one of the volunteers at Christian Caf. He raises chickens and rabbits for food. They have 1 acre, and their front yard is their vegetable garden. Anyway, we thought he and his family (elderly mom, disabled brother) would be a better choice for the food. So we stopped by.

In exchange for the food, Mary, Shawn's mom, gave us 3 tips on places for rent. Good Trade! So far, we have heard back about one of them - it is already rented. We are waiting to hear from the other two places.

We saw 15 wild turkeys in the harvested wheat field to the south of us today. The entire flock was there, including 6 poults! They sure were getting soaked in the rainstorm!

County Fair starts on the 11th, and one of our friends has her honey and mead wine in the competition this year. Because of the move, we did not volunteer to help at the Beek Association booth this year. We really enjoyed it last year... but there is always next year. We got a postcard from the president that our annual membership dues are up for renewal. Our county Beek Assoc charges $5 for a couple or $3 for an individual membership.

The neighbor down the road is blasting away. I think the 8 adult and 7 puppy feral dogs we saw yesterday afternoon in the field south of us might be getting targeted. Feral dogs are a huge problem in our area. I heard one of the colts down the road has been missing. It was in the pasture day before yesterday and not seen since.

 

[Dace]

Wow Kel, things are really winding down aren't they? Change is tough.

We ourselves went and looked a t a place today. It was quite nice, the house needs some updating, but it had a lovely pool, large grassy area, a big old tree with a tree swing, a half pipe (skatboard ramp) and a very nice 3 horse barn complete with sink, lighting office etc and a nice ring as well. Too bad we don't have horses

You and I will both find the perfect place, we just need some patience!

 

[keljonma]

Dace, this place originally was a huge multi-acre family/dairy cow farm. After that is was sold off in parcels. The 2 acres this place is on used to be a "horse farm". The last three owners before us had horses.

We used the stall corner feed bins for nest boxes, scrubbed, cut and moved the stall mats into the area of the barn we wanted to use for the hen house, and built the hen house around the stall mats.

The people moving in are changing the barn back for horse keeping.

I have read of others who converted each horse stall into housing for separate poultry breeds........ just a thought here....

 

[Dace]

Oh trust me I could 'make due' with a nicely upgraded barn! Pigs, goats, chickens ...you name it ,we'd get it! Trouble is that 1) horses are expensive to keep and 2) the cost of this 'equestrian property' is driven up by the features that I don't need. Want? sure. Need? no.

We all loved the property but for the price, not really a deal!

 

[keljonma]

I understand. In our area, some of the homes are too over-built for where the market is in reality. A number of them have been on the market for over a year now. Who knows how long it will take for the owners to get the money they put into the place out of it when they sell.

I am sure when you are at the place God wants you, you will know it and everything will fall into place.

While we were with QA and her dh, we went to look at a house, in Scio (pronounced sigh-oh), Ohio, because it never hurts to look, and you never know what you may find.

I know God has the plan and I am trying to be patiently waiting with open mind.

 

[keljonma]

Rained almost all night, with 20 mph winds out of the south, the house was cool and great for sleeping.

DH got home about 8:30 this morning and went straight to bed. We had people come pick up some furniture they purchased, so I didnt go to church this morning.

It is hot and humid - really sticky today. I finished up cleaning out the barn this morning, and have some items to take to recycling center and put out for free at the end of the farm drive.

The temp is 88 and thunderstorms are in the forecast. The wind is coming from the west/southwest at 13 mph, but we have the fewest windows facing that direction, so not much breeze coming into the house. But there is a great breeze blowing on me now as I sit here at the computer. The temperature in the house is 70, and the temperature in the pantry is 59. DH was kidding we should find a way to sit in the pantry today!

There is a community garage sale at the end of the month, and we have decided to rent a spot - 12 x 15 - for $15. The proceeds for the spot rentals go to the Depot Restoration & Preservation fund in the village. I want to get rid of some more stuff. Every time we move, we downsize not only our home space, but our possessions as well; but it was too hard to do a yard sale here, since the flock had the run of the place, so this is a good option for us.

 

[BeccaOH]

Still praying that you find the right place to move.