Culture-shock!

As 2013 draws to a close and 2014 beckons, it seems appropriate to take some time to reflect, evaluate and plan.  Obviously 2013 has been an epic year of change for the Finley family and I’d like to think (perhaps rather arrogantly) that our experience has touched the people around us too.  If you have read our blog, dined in our barn, painted posts, shoveled concrete, drank in the Tiki hut or enjoyed farm fresh eggs for your breakfast, then you are part of Laurica Farm and you continue to motivate us to keep going.  Thank you for your ongoing and unwavering support and inspiration.

The farm has come a long way since July 24^th 2013 when we moved in.  What was 5 acres of serene land with chest high grass, a ramshackle barn and a small house has been successfully transformed into…wait, I’ve just looked out the window…into a muddy construction site with open trenches and half-finished projects!  So it’s not as serene and picturesque as it was six months ago but the fact that I now call it a farm is remarkable.  It wasn’t anything when we moved in and now it is a working farm with exciting new projects evolving before my eyes.  Even since my last post, things have changed.  A quick re-cap on this year’s projects:

• The Tiki Hut: the world’s most over-zealous fire pit.  What started as a vision of a ring of stones and some benches now looks like a gazebo on steroids.  What a fabulous asset to the farm and heart of the social scene here.  Thanks to the reclaim/reuse nature of this build and some charitable donations of roofing materials, the total cost was around $400.

• The Barn: The interior of the original barn has been stripped, insulated and walled.  No longer are there cattle feeders but a large open space with open, beamed ceilings and a wood burning stove waiting to be installed.  Venue of dinners and parties during the colder months.  The barn has an extension in the form of Ian’s workshop and feed store.  I love that we were able to painstakingly reuse some of the bevel siding from the original barn to make the extension fit seamlessly.

• Chickingham Palace and the Fruit cage: As you know the original coop did not meet the needs of our growing flock.  What was designed for 6 chucks quickly grew into a home for 41 chickens.  Over half of our birds are laying now giving us around 20 eggs a day in a beautiful array of colours and sizes.  The palace connects to the fruit cage allowing the birds to roam free in a 20,000ft netted area, protecting them from predators.  In return for their protection, the chickens are doing a fantastic job of fertilizing, turning over the soil and making compost ready for planting in the spring.  Although a few weaknesses were exposed with the recent snowfall, there is nothing a bit of remedial work can’t solve and we are pleased with the outcome.  We even have other homesteaders coming to view the concept!

  

  Chickens at work

  

• The Orchard: The area that is now referred to as the orchard has had all the existing trees ‘pruned’ Ian Finley style (no secateurs involved, just a chain saw!) and there are our first four apple trees planted and doing well.  Trees have been cut down around the area to allow more sunlight and what timber couldn’t be reused in our building projects has been chipped and turned into mulch for the new trees.  It also houses 2 tire swings for the kids.  Plans include a yurt for visitors and some sheep roaming through the orchard.

• The Duck Pond:  It’s finished and Jessica has already fallen into it – twice!  Another ‘bigger than expected’ project, made possible by the loan of an excavator in exchange for storage.  We will build a duck house and then find some new residents for it.  I will enjoy sitting in the hammock chair up there watching the baby ducklings.

  

  Note the boots stuck in the mud!

• The Tree House:  This is the thing that Ian boasted about.  Claiming he would have the base finished within a week of moving in.  Needless to say, other things took priority.  However the foundation posts are concreted in and we have some AMAZING reclaimed windows to go into it.

• Poly-tunnels: While we had the use of the excavator, Ian cleared a big plot of land and levelled it.  He has stated building raised beds in there and we will use our own compost as a base in these.  There is some talk of including an Aquaponics system here as well…we will see. (http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/guide-to-aquaponics/what-is-aquaponics/)

• The Pig/Goat house: The base is complete in the front paddock.  This project was put on-hold while we had the excavator so we could make the best use of the equipment we had on loan.

• The Asparagus Bed: A raised bed in front of Ian’s workshop that will get maximum exposure to sunlight and can be covered during the winter months.  Filled with our own homemade compost.

• The Trenches:  Not really a project as much but in taking advantage of the excavator.  We dug huge trenches across the land to sink additional power cables.  This property has a lot of power coming onto it but needs to be fed around to all the new buildings.  We’ve spent the last 2 days in the trenches, threading cables, gluing conduit, etc.

Phew!  Even typing all that has made me tired.  Of course, ‘the projects’ are just part of the story.  There’s always work going on behind the scenes.  But the biggest growth has been in us, the people.  Rarely can you measure human development in a tangible manner but I invite you to just come and see us here.  You will find a once reluctant teenager who has embraced the change, she’s the one driving the tractor.  You’ll laugh at a little girl who was always meant for the outdoors and has been released into her natural environment.  You will find a hardworking man who lights up when he returns to the homestead and gives everything to make it work. And somewhere in the chaos, you’ll find me, probably talking to my chickens, maybe blogging about the whole thing, occasionally applying my new carpentry skills but always making it fun.

As 2014 approaches, it’s time for some real farming.  Up until now, most of the work has been building and prep, but now we must plant, grow and keep animals.  We have not taken this looming challenge lightly and we have learned and researched as much as we can.  The biggest and cruelest thing I have learned, having just embraced a life of farming, is that agriculture is not sustainable.  That’s right, the very thing we came here to do conflicts with our core values.  Bummer, eh?!  But it’s ok, we’re learning about new approaches and ideas; we’re even playing with some of our own theories.  Permaculture is our way forward.  It combines three key aspects that are important to us:

1. an ethical framework

2. understandings of how nature works, and

3. a design approach

The word 'permaculture' comes from 'permanent agriculture' and 'permanent culture' - it is about living lightly on the planet, and making sure that we can sustain human activities for many generations to come, in harmony with nature. Permanence is not about everything staying the same. It’s about stability, about deepening soils and cleaner water, thriving communities in self-reliant regions, bio diverse agriculture and social justice, peace and abundance.  One thing is for sure, it’s a fascinating subject with many aspects, and it’s still evolving.  We have the advantage to working from a blank canvas and we’re looking forward to applying an ecologically sound and ethical concept to our future and our children’s. (http://www.permaculture.org.uk/)

As we learn more about farming, we learn more about ourselves, which changes our ideas, thoughts and feelings.  It’s clear to me now that we are part of a cycle of growth and learning.  We rely on our growing knowledge base to get the best from the farm and in return give ourselves the best.  How exciting to start a new year with this opportunity and responsibility.

Growth and Loss

It’s been a while since my last post, sorry about that but things have been quite busy around here.  Ian and I have had to assume the roles of farmers, builders, animal rescuers and undertakers, and social butterflies.  We’ve also finally had a well-deserved break, taking 4 days in Whistler.  The theme ‘growth and loss’ runs through the elements that I want to talk about…farm, animals and people.

Let’s start with farm.  Growth has come in the form of the fruit cage and the barn.  When Ian proposed his plans for a fruit cage, I envisaged something about twice the size of the average garden greenhouse.  Once again I underestimated the scale of Ian’s plans.  The frame of the fruit cage is now up, painted and concreted into the ground – what a day of hard work concreting was.  We drafted in our good friend Kyle to help, I’d like to say he volunteered but it was more like he was voluntold to get up here.  We wouldn’t have managed without him.  Thanks Kyle.  All that’s left to do to the fruit cage structure is netting the sides and top.  We’ve managed to acquire some netting from a construction yard for $300.  The frame interconnects with the chicken coop so the chickens can roam free in the cage, foraging and fertilizing as they go.  This should keep them busy for a while as the finished size of the cage is 160ft long x 100ft wide x 16ft tall!

The ‘loss’ is in our schedule.  The building of the cage has taken so much time and resource that we have missed our window of opportunity to plant a winter cover crop.  We’re just not ready to do this and, once again, are running out of money to plant this huge area.  We’ve been back to the drawing board.  We’ve found someone who wants rid of horse manure so we will use that and maple leaves from one of our big trees to create a natural compost that can be tilled into the ground.  Everything will be ready for planting in the spring.  Although, I found four apple trees on the sale table at a local nursery that can be planted fairly soon.  The weather here is surprisingly mild at the moment so we’ll get them in soon and then use wood chips from the tree we cut down last week to cover the roots and protect them from frost.  Although this veers away from our original plans, I am pleased with how it meets our values to reuse as much as we can and reduce waste.

The other farm achievement is the barn.  This is a very literal growth with a big extension on the side.  This fully insulated addition will serve as Ian’s workshop.  He has done a fabulous job of removing the original bevel cladding from the inside of the original barn and reusing it to clad the new addition.  It blends in perfectly; we’re really pleased with how it’s turned out.

The original barn has a new career!  When we moved here, it was very dilapidated and neglected.  It had been built as a cattle shed but had not been functional for a number of years.  Much to Ian’s annoyance, I had arranged a thanksgiving dinner in the barn…for 25 people!  In my mind this entailed cleaning out the junk and sweeping the floors in preparation.  Once again I underestimated the vision that Ian harboured.  On the Friday before thanksgiving, we started work.  The barn was emptied, striped of all internal walls and cattle feeders,cleaned, insulated and internal walls re-installed.  By thanksgiving on the Monday, 25 people sat down to an epic feast in a beautifully decorated barn that was warm and light.  It was a real success that we felt really proud of.

Moving onto animals, I nearly lost a chicken.  Although they have a sizable coop, the objective is to have them free-range.  Until the cage is netted, it’s not safe to let them roam free; I was reminded of this 2 weeks ago.  When I’m out on the farm, I let them out and they generally follow me around.  I was painting fence posts (again) and they were foraging about 10ft away.  All of a sudden I heard a frantic flapping; I looked up in time to see a red tailed hawk swooping down.  I jumped to their rescue but unfortunately was wedged between fence posts causing a complete wipe out.  Thankfully this commotion was enough to get the hawk to retreat to the top of a fence post of the fruit cage and give me time to herd the chickens back into the coop.  But there was another loss.  The skin from the front of my shin and my dignity from face planting into the dirt during my rescue attempt.  If hawks can laugh, that bird was laughing at me.  He did not see my fumbling, clumsy, bloodied self as a threat and so he waited there looking down at me with disdain as I shouted at him and waved my arms in a fruitless attempt to frighten him away.  In fact, he totally ignored me until I walked away, at which point he saw fit to try and take the dog.  More by luck than judgment he failed and Baxter lay quivering on the floor.  As I consoled the poor dog and wondered aloud if canines can suffer from PTSD, the hawk landed on the guinea pigs outdoor cage and started pecking at the mesh to get in!  This bird was relentless.  It’s a jungle out there!

The final animal loss came yesterday.  We had just returned from Whistler and had put the pigs into their outside run as the weather was glorious.  I looked at the g-pigs and stupidly thought Enzo was sleeping.  They do sometimes lie on their sides and snore, but Enzo was twitching.  Stupid me, I thought he was dreaming, kind of like a dog does!  To be fair, even Ian looked at him and we laughed at how he was sleeping.  Of course, when we went to get them in that evening, Enzo was cold and stiff and Elmo was crouching in the corner shedding little guinea pig tears.  Ok, that last bit about Elmo crying is not true, he was grazing around his dead buddy, but that sounds so cold.  So here we are, faced with coping with an animal death.  We decided not to tell Jessica until this morning and I spent all night worrying about how she would take it and questioning whether we were really tough enough to send animals off to slaughter in the future.  When Jess awoke this morning, we gently broke the news.  Before I started talking to her, I looked into her little face and I welled up.  Here I was, about to break my little girls heart.  But apparently I have raised cold-hearted children because all she said is “Yes! Now I only have to look after one of the little buggers”.  I overlooked the use of choice words in this circumstance and all of a sudden, as Jess and I hugged, I realized that I was not consoling her, she was consoling me.  She rubbed my back and hugged me and reassured me that we would be ok.  Guess it’s just me that has to toughen up!

RIP Enzo

And so onto people.  Mainly Lauren.  Ian and I have been musing on how she has blossomed.  Lauren has a calmness and air of contentment about her that we haven’t seen before.  She’s obviously still wearing her teenage stropiness like a badge of honour, but she’s mucking in and helping on the farm.  She’s looking after Jess when we’re super busy, she’s bringing us tea and cakes while we work and she’s showing her true colours again of being a kind, helpful, considerate and funny young person.  Whatever we grow on the farm, nothing will be as rewarding as that growth.

As I read this post back to myself, it makes me surprised that we have any time to farm as we’re are far too busy building fire pits and renovating barns into dining rooms.  It also has made Ian and I talk about the future.  Obviously the plan is to farm but there’s also a social element that I don’t want to overlook.  We are good at bringing people together, even if I do say so myself.  We enjoy it and work well under pressure and we're finding that people want to be here.  It would be a shame not to utilize that.  It has brought forward a plethora of ideas about hosting wedding, buying yurts as accommodation, providing education farming holidays, building a farm kitchen and café……  The list goes on.  But what I really love is that the ideas are happening organically.  Like everything on this farm.  Whatever happens will evolve because it feels right.  Having no set plans worried me at first, but now I find it liberating.  It feels like our plans ebb and flow with the land and with our own personal growth.  I can’t tell you what the next project will be, but I’m damn sure you’ll enjoy it when you visit.

Tiki happiness

Goodness, I’m tired.  And I’ve managed to aggravate a shoulder injury.  But don’t turn away now; this is not a whiny ‘I’m working so hard’ post because I FEEL GOOD.  Something has happened for all of us this week to dispel fears and enthuse us.  I’ll try and encapsulate some of those things but for those of you expecting a high-integrity, agriculture related write-up, call back in a couple of weeks…maybe.

Firstly, let’s talk about aesthetics of the farm.  Remember the adult swing set I talked about that we’ve poured blood, sweat and tears into?  Well, that is almost finished and it’s evolved. Not only does it look amazing but it’s a real triumph to our recycle, reduce, reuse lifestyle.  It can no longer be referred to as an adult swing set though.  When Ian made the benches that were intended to swing, he made them so sturdy that they were too heavy to swing from the frame.  His solution….to roof the frame.  But then another issue;  the benches would hang over behind the frame if they were swinging and Ian’s OCD senses started tingling.  The benches will now be fixed to sit flush with the frame.  We had prepared 6 benches for the octagonal frame leaving 2 sides to hang hammock chairs from, but with the roof the whole thing started to look more like a Tiki hut, and so it obviously needs a bar.  That very week, the fridge at Ian’s office died a death.  Ian reclaimed it of course.  It’s currently lying on its back, raised off the floor being clad in wood.  We will fill it with ice and people can put their drinks inside.

Some of you might have an idea of a Homesteader in your mind and think that a Tiki bar is not an essential part of the lifestyle.  So let me explain why I am pleased with it.  I am happy because it’s a nod towards our intention to enjoy this land.  If you’re working hard then there has to be some rewards.  This Tiki hut is an enabler for relaxation, reward and social gatherings.  I feel it’s an achievement because it looks awesome.  When you drive along the road, it’s the Tiki hut that grabs your attention.  But it’s not intrusive, we chose to paint it and kind of bark colour as it sits next to the trees and the roof is clad in cedar coloured shingles.  It complements the landscape.  But here’s the real homesteading achievement.  The structure is approx. 18ft wide and 15ft tall.  I estimate the total cost of building it to be around $400.  Not bad for something that size!  Had we purchased new materials we think it would have cost around $5000.  Not only that but we have had the experience of bartering and utilizing volunteers.  I will post some photos next week when it’s completely finished.

The next thing that has made me feel good is a conversation with my friend Kirstin.  She asked me how I was dealing with the bugs and animals as I talked about snakes, spiders, frogs, coyotes and alike.  How have I come to terms with these things?  Well, it’s been like an extreme desensitization program.  What can you do when you’ve invested everything into a home?  I can’t walk away and move in to a condo downtown because there’s too much wildlife.  I still let out an involuntary squeal when I see a snake but you just have to plough on (no pun intended).  It’s become more of an annoyance than a fear and that happened real quickly because it had to.

The final thing on my quest for happiness this week came courtesy of the tractor.  Up until now I have found it difficult to tell people "I’m a farmer".  I feel like such a fraud and opt for less intimidating alternatives, like “oh, I’m just a Homemaker”.  This week I completed an unquestionably farm related activity.  I tilled the back field for the fruit bushes and created a huge compost heap.  Even as I was doing it I felt embarrassed every time our neighbours (real bona fide farmers) were in the field.  I imagined them sitting around laughing about us as they wondered what the heck we were doing.  Anyway, we tilled the patch of land once, and then I moved the entire top layer of grass and soil to a neat compost heap that will eventually go back on the same patch of land.  Then I tilled 3 more times, and you know what, it looks great.  I’d even go as far as to say it looks professional!  And so now I’m over it.  I have something to show that I can farm.  I have a patch of tilled land and some chickens, in a coop.  We also have plans now for the veggies, the orchard,  the poly tunnels and the duck pond. Not much, but a start.  I even have a Tiki bar to show that I can enjoy farming too.  Bet our farming neighbours don’t have a Tiki bar.

So to conclude this post, confidence is growing, friendships with new neighbours are developing, epic social gatherings are taking place, volunteers have been fed, food has been preserved, we're having fun, and non-invasive, environmentally sensitive, organic architecture is happening.  Sounds to me like we are rocking this gig.