the buildings are almost finished.
In the photo below you can see the changes and additions made. Left to right, The barn was painted brown
and Roof repainted a lighter color, to reflect the light and cut down on the
rust. Recycled windows were put in
to give natural light. Electric
and second had Gymnasium lights were put in the barn to light it up in the dark
of winter. Doors were put on East and West ends. A new chicken coop was added to start pullets. The floor was cemented and divided
stalls were put in with doors to each area.
To the right of that is the Wood Shed. A former cement pad was used and extended, and metal was
recycled from the lean to storage areas next to the garage. These were all
repainted the brown to match the barn with a new light colored roof. Next there is the outdoor woodburner
which heats the greenhouse, a two story classroom/gallery including a kitchen, office, bedroom, bathroom
and Scott’s two-car garage. Gratefully
Scott likes to cut wood and we still own property full of hardwoods.
Continuing to the right is the 1000 Sq foot greenhouse, which is
more of a florida room. At this time only half of the greenhouse has plants and
the other has tables for workers to enjoy the warmth and natural light in the winter
while planning for our next season.
Attached to the Greenhouse, also wheelchair accessable is the two -story
classroom/gallery, and kitchen and bathroom. A space for a future walk in Freezer
and cooler. Upstairs is an Office,
lounge area and bedroom. Again we used as much second hand/ recycled appliances, windows
and doors as possible.
Scott has been enjoying the heated two -car garage this winter for
his cars and the pick up. He is
still debating putting some gym equipment in this area in the future as it has
a great view of the pond and an attached patio where the back up Generator is.
The final big addition is seen as basically a large concrete pad,
but in fact is a 23,000 gallon cistern collecting and filtering the rain water
from the roofs of all the buildings including the house. After the Derecho and Drought of 2012,
we felt this was a necessity, as we used at least 23,000 gallons of water one
month that year for the animals and to irrigate our plants.
I think I am most proud of being able to serve this Multi filtered
water to our guests, use it on our plants and to water our animals. Its
analysis is
·
Hardness 0.23 gpg (3.5 wastes SOAP, causes scales to clog
pipes and heaters); PH 7.1 (indicates slightly alkaline); Iron, Magnesium, Tannins: 0.00 ppm; Sodium Salts 39 calc ppm (over 250 ppm affects taste); Total Dissolved Solids 43 ppm (EPA suggests a 500ppm as
a maximum contaminant Level); Everything else: Turbidity, Color, Suspended Matters, Iron
Bacteria, Odor are all at 0.00 levels.
Final touches of lights in the classroom/gallery and kitchen are
to go up this week. Odds and ends
will be finished and we can move to continue to have classes.
Please mark your calendars for some up coming
activities.
·
March 20- Thursday ‘s, 10-12noon, Painting classes with
Jeff Risner $15 per Class.
Lunch will be available for a $10 fee usually including
a soup, salad and savory. Feel free to bring a bag lunch if you prefer. The green House is quite warm and balmy
at this momment and will be where we will have class during inclement weather. Park
in Front of Green House & Barn if you can.
·
Open House- Saturday April 26, 12-4 pm. Come see all
the babies! The lambs will be in the
barn by then. We are also getting
some new Bull Calves that are always adorable. Tours and hiking around the farm and pond encouraged. It will be a great time to get out and
hopefully enjoy some spring weather in the country. I will try to have my staff there to explain all that we
have done.
My goal for this year is by harvest season to have regular Classes
re: canning and Freezing vegetables and fruits. And by September go into some
craft classes and sewing classes to go back to the basics. When I was growing up Canning and Freezing
was a big part of my family experience. I also used to make all my own clothes
while in High School. I want to
start doing that again. I will
keep you all informed. I am also looking for people that would like to do some
teaching…crafts, cooking, basket weaving, woodworking, etc. With the current economy I want to
offer classes to people to save Money and be more self sufficient.
Gratefully we have survived the 12 snow storms of the winter. So far lamb count continues at 7, three
ewes and four rams. All Moms and
lambs are healthy and doing well. Last
year we lost at least two Moms and their babies just during lambing, it was
hard to deal with. Check out the following videos of the lambs and their energy.
This week we learned that Sheep like Humans can have lack of
protein affect their wool. The
wool was coming out in large clumps, similar to hair falling out. With all the
ewes either pregnant or lactating, the fields covered with snow, and continued
cold some of their wool is coming out in clumps. We are now giving them more grain to maintain their protein
levels as they continue to get through this winter.
We are down to three bales of hay from 2013, our freshest and most
nutritious that have been kept in the barn. I have a few bales from 2012 that the tarps have blown off
but we can still have the dry hay in the middle. Again this will be lower on
the nutrition scale and we will be continueing to give high protein grain to
supplement their needs.
We are still planting seedlings in the greenhouse for spring planting
and to sell at the Athens Farmers Market.
The Executive Committee there is still trying to make a decision to
where we will be moving to as of April 1.
There are some very hard decisions that must be made. I trust their judgement as this is not
an easy decision, and there are many pros and cons to each possible new site.
I am just looking forward to getting out to see all my customers
again after two months post knee replacement. It is going well but I do not seem to get my stamina back as
much as I did when I was younger.
We will have beef for sale again March 15 at the Athens Farmers Market. All Pasture fed here at the farm.
