LAST CALL AT THE BARn

Fire, flood, drought, disease, debt and disaster. Sounds like the first line of a poem but is, in fact, a synopsis of my farming career. And it is time to call it a day.

Most of you will already know that we have had a disproportionate amount of things happen to us since we moved here in 2013. While it's normal to have challenges, we have had to fight for the survival of the farm following a major incident around 3-5 times a year. That's an exhausting way to live. It chips away at your resilience. It's time.

We haven't really been able to recover from the 2016 fire. Financially, we are still struggling to find a resolution with the big corporation whose device started the fire and have recently taken on HUGE personal debt (again) to keep going. The personal cost to us for uninsured loss has been catastrophic and there has also been an almost daily battle just to get the things we were entitled too. Emotionally, we are still struggling - mainly with the personal resource required that continually fighting and repeatedly having to relive the fire every time we call or email the people who should be making this right! I would like to live this year in a way that doesn't require medication to keep me going. And schedule...we are still rebuilding when we should be farming. It's time.

On top of that there have been additional and significant changes occur, all of which came together and totally disrupted our existing business plans. These events left us looking at a million different scenarios focused on both keeping the business going and folding it. Eventually we realized that all of the options were crappy! Getting out is now just as hard as keeping going as we have invested so much in new websites, business cards, t-shirts, equipment, seed, etc. We have sold CSA shares, event tickets, etc that will all need to be refunded. But going on is next to impossible too regardless of the plethora of ideas for change we have run. We find ourselves caught between a rock and a hard place. It's time.

When you realize there is no preferably way to proceed, that there is no sensible plan or easier path, it becomes quite liberating. It's at this point you can let go of thinking about the business and just focus on what is right for your family. I am not strong enough to do what needs to be done to rewrite the business model and find people to get on board with us at this point in the season. Ian is drained with the battle too. He is the strongest, most resilient and reliable man on the planet, he's my absolute rock, so to see him bruised, battered and battle weary hurts my heart. Our kids don't really care! Not because they are heartless human beings but because they have become emotionally self-sufficient  due to us being so removed by the trauma, toil and tragedy of the farm. That's not ok. It would be one thing to continue if I believed that things would get better, but I don't. I cannot knowingly continue to fail them at this crossroads in pursuit of farming. It's time.

I am not special or more entitled than any one of you reading this. I can only expect the same from life that everyone else gets. I am not a religious person, or particularly spiritual. My life is fairly black and white usually. But I do now believe that for whatever reason, this was not meant to be. This is a sudden decision in as much as we were talking to chefs and customers about the season just 48 hours ago. However, we knew this year was our 'do or die' year. The year we had to turn things around and here we are at the end of January with every last option snatched from our reach. And it's frustrating because it should have worked! Our business plan and financial forecast showed a strong year, but fate it beyond our control. It's time.

There are lessons to be spoken and commentary to be made. There are 'thank yous' to be said. But not now, we just have to reel for a little bit before we can collect our thoughts and strength and let all our farm supporters how much we have appreciated them. It's time.

The Summer of Evolution

In my last post, I lamented about the unsustainable lifestyle of a small farmer. In all fairness, I do this every year at the mid-season point. This year though is the first time we have the luxury of not only being able to do something about it but actually having the opportunity to reflect, talk and plan. Almost everything we have done so far has been reactive instead of proactive so this is certainly a change for us. Ian and I just had a three day road trip (for work purposes of course, not a vacation or anything crazy like that). We were effectively shut up in a small space together with the agreement that we would not finish the journey without a plan for next year.

We began the discussion from a common ground, that we were not going to operate next year as we have been doing. However, I soon realized that didn't really mean the same thing to Ian as it did to me. Ian still had the same vision of farming but somehow being more efficient, whereas I was envisioning a smaller scale farming operation and a more streamlined business model.

Our differences were the only thing to be established on the first leg of our journey. Fortunately for us, the first leg of the journey was a mere hours drive to Kw'o:kw'e:hala Eco Retreat in Hope, a place so shrouded in tranquility, it was impossible to continue our disagreement and all thoughts of pushing Ian out of the moving truck subsided.

We left there with a desire to recreate this blissful oasis. We were certain that we could do it. We could continue to run a working farm that fed the guests of the eco-retreat that we would establish. After all, Ian is building tiny homes on site at the moment so there's the solution to guest accommodation. As the plans evolved, they got ever more elaborate & more expensive to implement. Regardless, we blindly talked about funding, building, barn conversions and outdoor showers all the way to Golden, BC.

Day three of the road trip, on our way back to the farm with the 12 piglets we had gone to collect, and focus returned. I had another "what the hell are we thinking" moment. Why are we even talking about finding funding, new building projects, etc.? That's not making things easier, it's just another way to work ourselves to death and accrue debt! The process of stripping it back had to start again, holding on to the objective that we wanted to do less...employ less people, work less hours, less input, less change, all while holding onto the things we enjoy. We loved the idea of the eco-retreat but in reality, that's not achievable for next year. It can remain the long term vision, but we need to take smaller steps to get there.

And so our plan for 2017 was finally agreed. We are going to scale back the vegetable farming - that's the thing that requires the most amount of output for the least amount of return. We will continue to grow but on a scale that we can manage for the number of people doing the work and only to supply our primary focus which will be events. We will continue with the animal agriculture as our meat sales are good. Generally our meat sales subsidize the vegetable farming and we use the animals to help us maintain well fertilized land for the veggie production. But we will decrease the CSA program and we won't go to farmers markets or run the Saturday market at the farm next year.

Long table dinner

Under the new rules from the Agricultural Land Commission, we are permitted to hold events on the farm, with certain restrictions. We intend to take full advantage of that and will schedule regular agri-tourism and learning events including long table dinners and workshops. We are set-up for events, there's not really much work to do to make them a regular feature and showcase local talent and businesses on the farm. We will organize educational programs for children and adults around food and farming. And why not, we're good at that element, we enjoy it and the farm is the perfect venue. We also have the perfect opportunity to cement this new idea when we host Feast of Fields in a couple of weeks.

School tours and kids camps

Fermented Foods Workshop and dinner

Ian and I have finally found a common ground. He certainly feels some grief for the elements we are loosing and continues to harbour unrealistic expectations of what we can do, but Ian is an over-achiever, that's his personality and the thing that pushes us to be successful. We both recognize that we are giving too much and sacrificing our personal and family time. We have a shared confidence that we can make it work with an organized plan for events. Farming here has to sustain us at the level we want to work or not at all. And I am happy with the decision. I believe we can make it work and we will enjoy it more. There are many people farming but not many people promoting agriculture and local food in the way in which we will embrace it. It will give us a platform to advocate for the things we believe in. And heck, we might have a bit of fun (and even the occasional day off) along the way!

The bar!

After dinner warmth in the gazebo

Ian the soux chef...apparently

Laura and I co-hosting a fundraiser with our neighbours

Chef Sean Bone preparing a Cinco De Mayo dinner

A Laurica farm advocacy group downtown

As night falls, the fun factor goes up

Bands in the barn

No One Needs to Know

The word 'Adventure' has been overused, in my opinion. Adventure begins when everything goes wrong. Our fight for survival on this farm continues; physically, emotionally and financially, but out of this fight, great things emerge. I had become so entrenched with the battle that I overlooked to triumphs.

A couple of weeks ago I saw my friend, Lisa. Lisa and I worked together in Old Navy and that's where I saw her. Immediately after the usual greetings people share, she said "I follow the farm on Facebook, you have such a great life". She went on to talk cheerfully about the animals at the farm and all the events that have been happening. Lisa was smiling while she said this, while it was all I could do to hold back the tears.  I couldn't believe or process what Lisa was saying while we were drowning.  Just a few days earlier, Ian and I had sat under the trees in the sheep field, both of us sobbing, seriously (at that moment) saying we were selling up. We had just buried our fourth sheep of the summer and we had already lost too many animals during the summer. The well had dried up again, now tallying a bill of $60,000 in less than 12 months, and we are still without a full resolution to the myriad of problems the well has presented. Staffing has been a nightmare for the last part of the summer. My car was written off. My oven died. We've had damage from a storm and a power outage for a week. We've been without water for one reason or another for a big chunk of the summer growing season, to name just a few of the challenges. I've been covered in animal blood, snot and feces way too much and I had to learn how to insert a tube into a sheep stomach from a YouTube tutorial while 'in the field'. And yet, I was being presented with the fact that, to the outside world, it looked great, enviable even. There have been many, many times this summer when my old life as a normal person felt very appealing.

Driving home after seeing Lisa, a song came on the radio. The artist sings "No one needs to know, no one needs to know right now. Take a deep breath in and don't let them break you down". Something resonated with me. I knew I could not make decisions about the farm in the middle of the farming season, while everything appeared so crappy. I had to suck it up, ride it out to the end of the season and then take the time to reflect.

So here we are, at the end of the season, and it's time to reflect and decide. It's easy to remember what went wrong, but what went well? I'll tell you what went amazingly. Last year was our first growing season and we started the delivery route to take fresh produce from the farm direct to our customers. This year we  built on that and added a CSA scheme, farmers markets, restaurant supply, and farm gate sales. This time last year, we had four pigs on the farm. Right now there are 22 pigs and 22 more coming in the next month (although 7 will be 'leaving'). We have our own breeding program for heritage hogs that supports breed conservation. Those pigs are used to support the farms activities and our environmental stance. The pigs get no commercially made grain, ever. We divert around 5 tonnes of organic food waste away from landfill every single week! And then we either reuse, re-purpose or recycle the packaging that goes with it.  The pigs turn the food waste into fertilizer and bacon! They till our fields while they are at it which reduces the amount of heavy machinery use on the farm, builds the soils and means we don't have to bring in compost. We watched Cowspiracy recently which does not look favorably on any type of animal agriculture, even 'sustainable' models. We agreed with most of the content of the documentary but felt that it wasn't representative of what happens here at Laurica Farm. We could answer the concerns about water and land usage. And that is something to be proud of. We have found a different way, our own way.

The pigs rolling in organic melons as part of our food waste program

There are now 103 laying hens, we've done our first batch of meat chickens and we have a permanent flock of sheep on route to the farm, primarily pregnant ewes. All of this is managed on just 5 acres through a process of pasture management and permaculture design.

We have also launched events at the farm. Two awesome events have led to numerous inquiries about weddings and other events for next year.

Farm Jam

There are more buildings on the farm this year. The poly tunnel has doubled in size, it has a concrete floor with a sustainable heating system underway. There is another salad tunnel for summer growing. Last year, we grew in two fields, this year we filled three fields. There's a new chicken coop, another pig pen, new fencing, 35 more fruit trees, trellis along fences for growing, a new outdoor washroom and another bathroom almost complete that is totally off-grid.  And on top of all that happening on the farm, we have been nominated for a 2015 Business Excellence Award in the Environmental Leadership category.

Two years! That's what it's taken to turn an empty piece of land into a fully functioning, sustainable farm. It's nearly broken us emotionally, physically and financially, and it still might. But it hasn't broken us yet. I'm not sure if I should say despite the challenges we've made it work or in spite of the challenges, but you can bet you're bottom dollar I'm not giving up now. If I leave this farm, I'll be doing it bankrupt or dead, because sensible not, the decision has been made. We're all in! Let the adventure continue.

Heirloom tomatoes

Piglets born here at the farm

Our ducks, Simon and Garfunkel, catching insects in the fruit cage

Some of our market produce

Night time events at the farm

Lamper, the kale thief

An open letter to Mother Nature

Forgive me, Mother Nature, for I have sinned. I have had traitorous thoughts about abandoning my eco-hippy lifestyle and reverting back to the dark days of luxury and convenience. I'm sorry, Mother Nature, I know it's wrong but Irony and Fate have had a part to play in my flirtatious feelings towards modern life. I know you are pushing back against the human race and the way it has taken advantage of your genourous disposition for so long and so recklessly, but do you, Irony and Fate need to push me so hard? Because I've been saying sorry for a long time. We've personally sacrificed to heal some of your scars and give something back. We've even pissed off most of our friends by advocating so vehemently for you. So why us, again? Is there any chance you could ask Irony and Fate to just back off for a year or so? Please? Pretty pretty please with an organically grown from non GMO seed, heirloom cherry on top?

You see, we have no water on the farm again and you need to understand what that has done to me. Remember Wellgate of 2014? The thing I said I'd never speak of again on this blog? The incident that cost us around $50,000? Well, the brand new Rolls Royce of wells has no water. Responsibility for the lack of water partially lies with you, Mother Nature. You sent no snow over the winter and no snow melt means the resovoires are not replenished. And don't make me bring up the lack of rain for the last 10 weeks. I'm pretty sure you're in cahoots with Fate over this well business but in case you're not, here's a brief outline of what Fate has been up to. He hid an underground lake! Extreme, right? I mean, the well drilling company have never seen anything like this in 3 decades of business. It appears that when we drilled the new well last summer, we hit that hidden underground lake instead of a running water stream. After a year of irrigation and you withholding water, we've emptied it. Now we have to drill down again to try and find another source of water. But it's ok, it's not like we've blown every cent and borrowed unmentionable amounts to build a permaculture farm to protect you, Mother Nature, from destructive Big Ag......oh wait, that's exactly what we've done. And Fate has put a roadblock in front of every single thing we've done/purchased/built. He's really been a big part of my bank managers stern looks and raised eyebrows. There's literally nothing in our home or on the farm that Fate hasn't touched and that guy breaks everything! Also, today Fate invited his buddy Irony to the party. You sent rain, torrential rain, and Irony kindly sheltered us from it. It got with 1/4 mile of the farm, but Irony kept us nice and dry.

I rebelled today. Guess what kind of unforgivable sins I have committed today? I'll confess. I went to my friends house after she offered to let me shower and do some laundry. I put two washing machines on at the same time! I selected 'hot wash', negating my responsibility to opt for the environmentally friendly cold wash. I didn't even care about using detergent instead of laundry seeds. In fact, it felt good and it smelt good.  I'm a laundry whore! And do you know what else? I put the washing in a tumble dryer to dry. That's right, no washing line. Ha! Rebellion! Then, while the two washing machines and tumble dryers were running, I took a shower. Not my usual navy shower, I left hot water running for the entire duration I was in there. Oh the frivolity! I then scrubbed myself clean with shower gel out of a plastic bottle, not the usual homemade bar of lavender soap. And do you know something? I LIKED IT! My frivolous ways did not end there. I drove around the corner to the shop after my shower. I could have walked within 2 minutes but what's a little extra pollution between friends? I was a little perturbed that the healthiest food I could buy for a snack was white bread and deli ham but whatever, I was living dangerously today anyway. Do you know what my kids said when I handed them the unknown pig parts from an anonymous pig between two slices of white, GMO bread? Yum! They said yum! They liked it. And my eye only twitched for a moment thinking about the pig I hadn't raised. Your barrage enabled me to step away from my values, it's so exhausting being self-righteous.

I'm only telling you this because I'm worried about you. Because Irony and Fate have been relentless in their assault of our resolve, we're asking some serious questions about the future of our dreams. Here's the thing. I'm not asking if we CAN make this work. It's crappy at the moment, but we'll somehow, maybe, probably find a way. The question we're asking is SHOULD we fight this battle? From a business perspective, yes, business is immense and exciting. From a personal perspective, I'm not sure. Even if we could figure out a way to finance drilling a deeper well without increasing monthly payments, we would still be accruing even more personal debt. And for what? For Ian to stay in a job he hates for another decade? For us to have no quality of life outside the farm into our 50's? To not be able to afford to help our kids if they decide post-secondary is important to them? To work so tirelessly that we get less time together as a family? That conflicts with all the reasons we did this. I knew it would be like that short term, but dealing with that as a long term reality is kinda tough.

So, Mother Nature, over to you. Can you get Fate and Irony in line? For us? We might be done here if you don't. And then what happens to this 5 acres of you, Mother Nature? A blueberry farm? I know everyone loves blueberries but that cash crop won't protect your soil. A developer? Do we need another 10 bedroom mansion with green lawns and a pony in the yard? 

Listen, this may sound arrogant, Mother Nature, but I know what we're doing here is a good thing. From a selfish perspective, I don't know how to live without the farm any more. I can't 'city'. What would I eat? Although I fell off the wagon today, I really wouldn't know what to do without our farm food. And the business. I just can't say goodbye yet. If I was an investor looking in from the outside, I'd want to be involved with Laurica Farm. It's an exciting time. How can I walk away? But then how can I not? Mother Nature, you've lead us on this path, tell us now what we should do.

Yours faithfully,

Desperate Farmer.

What is Permaculture?

Frequently I am asked to explain what permaculture is.  Good question!  Explaining permaculture succinctly is like trying to explain Buddhism.  Both are 'kinda philosophies' to live by.  Neither can be surmised with one sentence.

Permaculture literally means "permanent agriculture". When you type "What is permaculture" into google, you get a lot of complicated and very wordy phrases which collectively make you more confused.  Here's some examples:

"Combining the best of natural landscaping and edible landscaping, permaculture aims for a site that sustains itself and the gardener. The ultimate purpose of permaculture is to develop a site until it meets all the needs of its inhabitants, including food, shelter, fuel, and entertainment".

"Permaculture is an innovative framework for creating sustainable ways of living.  It is a practical method of developing ecologically harmonious, efficient and productive systems that can be used by anyone, anywhere."

Errrr, what?  The easiest single quote I found to grapple with is this:

"Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labour; and of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single product system".  - Bill Mollison.

Maybe some history will help explain a bit.  In the early 1900's Dr. King, former chief of the Soil Division of the US Department of Agriculture, went to Asia to find out how farmers in China could farm the same fields for thousands of years without applying artificial fertilizer.  He learned about how they used the principles of permaculture such as building soils, sharing the abundance and waste reduction to maximise their farming and lifestyle.  King then brought these ideas back to North America.

But even with all those quotes and information; how do you do it? Here's some examples of what it looks like on a practical level on Laurica Farm. 

Some plants promote growth of other plants or repel bugs/diseases.  It seems logical then to plant these 'friends' together to aid growth and as an alternative to artificial fertilizers or insecticides.  An example of this companion planting was something we read about First Nations people doing.  They planted corn, peas and squash together.  The corn provides a structure for the peas to grow up.  The peas put nitrates into the soil that benefits the other plants, and the squash crowds out the weeds.  Seems sensible, right?

Things like salad like shade.  Again, we embrace logic and the resources we have here.  Instead of planting them in straight lines and prescribed beds, plant them near trees.  You get fertile soil under trees as the leaves fall on it all Autumn and decay all winter into a natural compost.  No human effort required.  Once you have observed the land for a while, you can plant your shade loving produce in the appropriate place under the canopy.

We're planning a food forest.  I won't try and describe this in detail, here's a self explantory diagram:

The herb spiral here is another practical example of permaculture practice.  The spiral has it's history rooted in Mayan culture.  The design also creates microclimates allowing you to plant a diverse range of herbs in a variety of positions(sunny, sheltered and shady). In a typical garden bed or pot, all plants are grown on the one level, so the growing conditions are the same. This design offers you multiple options in a compact space.

I talked in an earlier post about agriculture not being sustainable.  As an example, the idea of using fertilizers that have been made elsewhere and transported to our farm seems a ridiculous resource-laden practice. And using fuel & time to plough a field in a tractor seems silly when it can be done by a couple of pigs for less money and you get free, organic fertilizer and bacon as bi-product.  Generally, you can only till a patch of land for 7 years before you have 'killed' it and need to add resources.  So why do it?

Permaculture teaches you landscape design and management that promotes building and protecting the soil for us and for future generations.  We'll manage the grazing of the animals here and plant winter cover crops that we can mulch into the land as opposed to sourcing it off-site.  The chickens are great assets in composting.  Our compost bin is in their run.  I empty compost into it.  They scratch through it everyday, eating what interests them but turning it over everyday.  Saves us the effort.

These are just a few examples, but the focus is on putting less in and getting more out.  By getting more out we are also able to share the abundance.  We do this by selling some of our produce at reasonable prices but also by supporting the food bank.

Recently, I had to explain permaculture to a group of children.  I did this by turning the language into child-friendly wording.  I'm glad I did, it really helped me too.  Put simply, the ethics read like this:

• Earth Care

• Fair share

• People Care

Easy!  When I took the complexity out of the principles, they seemed quite manageable.  They don't embrace everything that permaculture stands for but were easier to grasp:

• Build thing up - give something back to the earth and to people

• Look after things; protect agricultural land for future generations

• Save some for later

• Plan - mistakes are ok but better on paper

• Observe and interact - let nature lead you

• Turn problems upside down; find solutions

• There is a lot to share!

• Small changes have a big effect

• Include a bit of everything

• Produce no waste, use what you have
  

Permaculture is not just about how we farm, it's about how we choose to live.  For me, it's about making farming easier.  If you change your perspective and let your environment guide you have instead of pre-determining what you want to grow, nature will do the job for you.  It's also very much about sustainability, intuitive approaches, building communities, embracing tradition and protecting the future. 

Has that cleared anything up for you?  At least next time someone asks you what permaculture is, you'll might have a couple of quotes on hand!

Finding our way

I have a few things to talk about in this post; a bit of farm action, a sprinkling of homesteading insight and just a dash of personal awareness.  But let’s get the farm stuff out the way first.

I’ve been going on about the end of construction and the beginning of farming since the start of the year. Well, guess what?  We’re still building stuff BUT we have placed a seed order….Hurrah!  However, some of the projects that we’ve completed have made me really proud.  Not least of all, the poly tunnel (you can find pictures of the build in the last post). 

You may find it hard to understand why I appear delighted to have a huge plastic cylinder constantly in my vision.  There are many reasons; firstly the opportunities it offers to have year round supply of fresh produce, and not just veggies, but fish too.  Ian is attending an Aquaponics course at the local university with a view to installing an Aquaponics system in the middle of the tunnel.  Basically this is a giant fish tank, usually stocked with tilapia or prawns.  Then there are various types of veggies growing either on top or alongside.  It’s a kind of symbiotic process; the fish waste is transformed by bacteria to provide vital food and nutrients to the produce which in turn provides oxygen, etc. to help the fish thrive.  It’s a newish concept (although it’s origins are from Mayan agriculture) that really fits with our permaculture values.  It’s really exciting to find interesting initiatives to aid us in a journey to self-sufficiency and that underpin our ethics.  (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaponics for more info on Aquaponics).

Another permaculture value is about building communities and so the second reason that the poly-tunnel project made me proud was the community driven building process.  As usual, most of the materials are salvaged and reclaimed.  The building took a lot of blood sweat and tears, but nothing in comparison to the day we put the poly on the damn thing.  The day was miserable, wet, cold and windy, not ideal conditions for manipulating giant swaths of poly!  However, my heart had plenty of opportunities to swell.  Our friends and neighbours turning up and enduring these conditions to help us wrestle to wrong-sized, fly-away poly rendered me speechless.  Also, although I am usually loathed to publicly credit Ian with anything, watching my brilliant husband problem solve and lead the troops was awesome.  After we started pulling the poly over the frame, we realized that we’d been given the 20ft wide poly instead of the 30ft we needed.  But what can you do when you’ve unrolled it and got it covered in mud and there’s volunteers there waiting to help?  Nothing, you have to make it work.  Anyway, as we discovered the problem I turned to one of our friends and said “Wait for it, Ian will think of something in the next 30 seconds” and I saw his brain whirring into action.  I counted down from 30 and by the time I got to 6 Ian started “Maybe we could….”.  Of course, he made it work and I was so proud.  I normally resent it when people say “Good job Ian” every time we complete a building because I’m there too working through the cold and the dark, but he can have credit for the poly tunnel, he made it a triumph.

I’ve been forced to think about my place and approach as a homesteader.  This occurred when I had an accidental meeting with two inspiring women.  The ladies in question are two sisters, each one a homesteader with a family.  They live in different places in the North of BC.  Immediately this evoked admiration.  Homesteading is hard work and takes commitment, but doing it in the north with extreme weather and Kodiak Bears rendered me awe-struck.  So when they asked if they could come and see our little homestead, I was both honoured and struck by inferiority complex at the same time.

Watching these two ladies walk around Laurica Farm admiring the projects and bickering about the ‘right way’ to homestead was fascinating and hilarious.  One of the ladies’ approach to homesteading is to make EVERYTHING from scratch.  She literally spends all her time making everything from bread (including grinding her own flour) to candles, deodorant, and household furniture.  She even artificially inseminates her own cow…!  The other sister claimed that this was fools work.  She informed me that while her sister worked her fingers to the bone, she was sitting in the warmth of her kitchen cutting out coupons.  Of course this means that she has to run 3 chest freezers and might have to eat pizza for weeks at a time but she’s happy that she’s never broken a sweat on her homestead.

This exhausting visit, which seemed to involve me doing a lot of mediation between the two sisters in their 70’s, made me think about my place in the homesteading community.  I had never thought about my individual approach to the lifestyle.  I feel like I’m at a happy medium between these two women.  I make all our food from scratch but will look for deals on my deodorant.  And I’m ok staying along that middle-road.  It may not be as cost efficient as the ladies’ lifestyles but it’s not as time consuming either, nor do I have to face a freezer full of processed foods just to save a few dollars.  I think we’re doing ok at it to.  We’ve significantly reduced our grocery shopping bill to $75 - $100 a week for a family of four; that’s pretty good.

 

The next part of this blog is a personal observation.  Some of you might not like it because I’m at risk of sounding a bit preachy.  I apoligise in advance but this blog was always meant to document the transition from our urban lifestyle so here goes.

The final reflection, sparked partly by the sisters, relates to how mass consumerism and societal pressure makes us believe we need certain things & that we must live in a prescribed and generic way.  As our family has stripped luxuries from our life to reinvest in the basics, I come to realize what a load of corporate BS it is.  I looked at the sisters, both in their 70’s, and saw two healthy, fit, astute and empowered women who have always enjoyed a stress free life (the one thing they did agree on).  I thought about the things I imagined I would miss about our old lifestyle.  For example, I used to indulge in the occasional pedicure but view it as a necessity.  I haven’t done this since we moved, not due to some grandiose hippy gesture, purely due to lack of time and money.  But hey, I managed to keep my toenails painted all by myself.  I haven’t developed scales or dry skin on heels.  The only weirdness about my feet is my freaky tiny toes, and that’s genetic.  My hair is not freshly cut or coloured, but my husband hasn’t left me, no one has de-friended me and I haven’t been asked to leave any respectable restaurants due to my offensive roots.  I haven’t shopped for crap from Home Sense and people still visit my house.  There are no new shoes from Aldo in my closet or new clothes from whatever the trendiest shop is at the moment, but no one says a word when I go out in my farm footwear.  I haven’t set foot inside the new Cactus Club restaurant to dine from their generic, franchised menu and I haven’t been cast out of society, nor am I starving to death.

The things that seemed important to me before (all of which cost money)  have been undermined by my new outlook and that fact that nothing bad has happened to me by going without them, in fact, I feel more relaxed, more liberated and less pressure. 

I’ve realized that there is not a set homesteading model that I have to aspire to, meeting these two ladies and 7 month out of suburbia has encouraged me to forge my own path down the long and windy homesteading road.  Let’s just hope I don’t trip on my uncut hair on the way!

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.