Looking Back, Looking Ahead

Before we get too far, we want to give a shout out to Neta's cousin Pam Hagan King for the housewarming gifts she brought us just before the holidays, including this sign.  It was the first thing we hung up in the new house!

So true!

One year (and two days) ago, we blogged about Looking Ahead to 2016 and had a list of our Top Ten items that we wanted to accomplish.  They were:

1.  Finalize our house plans - Done
2.  Clean out both houses - Done
3.  Renovate the Cabin - Done
4.  Clean up/grade the yard around the cabin - Partially done
5.  Demolish the farm house - Done
6.  Build a new house - Done
7.  Buy a new tractor - Not done, though we did get the newer one running, but it now has a flat tire.
8.  Get the land ready for gardens in 2017 - Done, ahead of schedule as we had a garden in the spring/summer
     of 2016.
9.  Clear/Thin the Timber - Done/Done.
10.  Clear brush and small trees along the lane - Not done.

So we're 7 1/2 for 10.  Not bad.  I guess we get a C, though we're inclined to give ourselves a higher grade based on extra credit for knocking out the bigger and harder tasks.

We've come up with a new list for 2017 and in a year we'll look back and see how we did. The list for 2017 is:

1.  Buy a Tractor - Still on the list.  Along with the normal garden prep, we've also added clearing the debris from the timber operations.  We want to clean up some of those areas so we can plant (fruit and ornamental) trees around the farm.

It looks fun, but I need something flashier...with a front end loader.

2.  Finish grading the front yard of the cabin - While our builder smoothed out one load of dirt, we still need a bit more to fill in some low areas.  We'll also do some landscaping and plant some flowers and shrubs to "class up the joint".

3.  Clear brush and small trees along the lane - Even though it's officially a county road, we see it as our lane.  We want to clean it up and make it a bit nicer as you approach the house.

4.  Prune the grapevine and pull the vines from the catawba (catalpa) tree  - OK.  This isn't entirely fair, as we did this one today.  But it's been on our "unofficial list" for a while. The grape vine had been extremely overgrown for quite some time and was barely producing.  It had grown up into the catawba tree so badly it almost didn't look like a catawba tree anymore.  We cut every vine going into the tree and pulled almost all of them out, except for a few we couldn't reach.  (Clicking on each picture will enlarge it for better detail.)

BEFORE

AFTER

5.  Start our orchards - We have no idea how far we'll get this year, but we will at least get started.  We hope to eventually have apples, cherries, peaches, apricots, plums, persimmons and many other fruits.  We currently have two mango trees and one avocado tree that will need some help from item No. 8.

6.  Get our gliders refinished and on the front porch - We're going to see if a local body shop can sandblast them and give them a nice, long-lasting finish.  They'll make a nice addition to the front porch.  Perfect for evening relaxing.

Our two vintage gliders from a 2014 picture

7.  Build a farmhouse table for the dining room - If all goes well, it will be built with a combination of salvaged wood from the original house and some new wood where needed.

8.  Clean out the little barn, make it a workshop and add a greenhouse on the back - Big plans here!  There is a lot of work that we want to do to this building.  New posts on the overhang, new siding, new windows, new doors, electricity, add the greenhouse, etc.

9.  Plant a wildflower meadow - We did a small corner of one field last year as a test.  It worked!  This year we go bigger.  WAY BIGGER!!!

10.  Put up some bird and bat houses and bird/hummingbird feeders - With so many birds around, we want to do all we can to be good neighbors to them.  We have a nice purple martin house and we'll get more for other varieties as well.  We can't wait to see how many hummingbirds we can attract to our feeders.

This gives us something to shoot for.  We'll be happy with the same success rate as this past year, though if I don't get a tractor there will be a lot of sulking, pouting and...overgrowth.

Farm Dogs

Since moving to the farm we've had to figure out what to do with the dogs for recreation and potty breaks.  We've been walking them every 3-4 hours.  Neta would walk them in the morning before she left for work and I walked them most of the rest of the time, including right before bed.  We also created a (cheap, simple) fenced area in the backyard for when we just want to give them some fresh air for a longer period of time.  At our last rental house, both dogs managed to find a way out.  Sammie seemed confused and was looking for a way back in.  Lulu Belle ran...and ran...and ran...until she got tired and then came back.

One is looking for freedom.  The other is happy at home.

After moving here the fence worked well for the first couple of weeks.  Eventually Lulu figured out that she could dig a hole, then use her head to lift the fence enough to squeeze out.  She's obviously part rat...or convict...take your pick.  She usually comes back when she's too tired for any more shenanigans.  Sammie knows how good she's got it and stays put, relaxing, watching birds, barking at squirrels and threatening their lives with complete and total evisceration.

It's wasn't much, but it let them run off-leash. Now it sits empty, like Alcatraz - minus tourists.

We'd thought about having a fence built (at some point in the future) to encompass the entire yard directly behind the house all the way to the pine trees, but figured we'd put the dogs to the test and see if they could be trusted running free.  We've got 50 acres so they've got room to roam and explore.  The folks who run the quail farm down the road told us that it wouldn't bother them as there was nothing for the dogs to get into as the quail are contained in houses.  Knowing there was little they could bother of our neighbors, we let them go on a test run.  Lulu took off like a shot, while Sammie hung around for a bit, not really sure about this "freedom" thing.  Eventually she ran off too.

They were both gone for about 10-15 minutes then Sammie came back first ("Are you sure I'm okay to run away like this?").  Lulu came back a few minutes later...in a full out gallop. She may be old (the vet estimates between 8 - 12), but the old girl can still run...like an Olympic sprinter.  Both dogs ran around us, tails wagging for a minute or two, then off Lulu ran again.  This time towards the big pond.  Sammie gave her a good head start, but soon caught up to her.  They were gone for a about 20 mins when Sammie appeared.  Walking slowly, out of breath and finally stopping and laying down.  Freedom will require some getting used to...and building up some stamina.  Lulu eventually came back.  She was wet and dirty, but not smelly.  After drying her off with an old towel she was fine.  First test went well.

Two exhausted dogs!

Last Monday, we tried them again.  Once again, Lulu took off like the dog catcher was chasing her, though this time Sammie did too.  In about 20 mins or so, here comes Lulu, dripping wet from head to tail.  Luckily the ponds aren't stagnant or stinky, just wet and cold.  Sammie came back dry as a bone.  Both dogs were happy, so we let them run around for a while longer.  Eventually Lulu dried off and they again came in and collapsed...dog-tired.

Tuesday, while I was the only one home and working, I let them go again.  This time both dogs came back wet and happy.  Sammie's really starting to get the hang of enjoying "farm life".

Yesterday I let them out around the middle of the afternoon while I continued working.  I would see them run by the window of my office from time to time, Lulu even stopped to look in a couple of times and after about 15-20 mins, she was done and ready to come in.  I brushed the dirt off her and she came in and laid down, her tongue almost dragging the ground.  A few minutes later I saw Sammie when I looked outside...keeping an eye on me.

Keeping an eye on the house.

While we still walk them in the morning and at night, both dogs seem to be getting used to the farm and their freedom.  They don't seem to stray too far, though the quail farm is a favored destination, as I'm sure it's tantalizing for Lulu's instincts as a bird dog.  Once the spring comes I'm sure we'll worry about them encountering critters that could do them harm (snakes, gators, hateful mockingbirds, etc.), but hopefully they'll gain a pretty good sense of danger vs. fun.  We don't worry too much about Lulu as she was a stray that ended up on the farm.  If you remember we found her, living as a "squatter", in this house while it was still under construction.  Sammie was also a stray (abandoned house in NC with her litter of puppies), but we have no idea what environment she grew up in.  Either way, they both seem to be adapting to life as farm dogs and ending the day like this:

Too tired to even eat dinner!
That's her throne - an old fold-up futon in front of my office desk.

We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!