We Bought the Farm

It's been a long time coming, both buying a farm and posting about it. Last month we closed on a spectacular place west of Power, Montana, close to where both of us grew up (45 miles north of Jacob's hometown and 20 miles south of Courtney's). The house is a well-maintained and beautiful 2-story home built in 1911.

1911 farm house.

 The outbuildings are incredible, with a barn, 4 animal sheds, 2 garages, 2 chicken coops, a quonset, and a cinderblock building that was once a butcher shop (watch out, turkeys!).

The Farm from the road.

The place even came with 2 mouser cats, 4 laying hens, and a halfpipe ramp in the quonset. I unfortunately had to dismantle the ramp since it took up almost the entire space. I also had to remove any temptation to take a skateboard down it just once, knowing it would be that just once that puts me in the hospital.

An invitation to break a bone or two.

Even though there is nothing empty or "clean" about the farm, it's like a blank slate. It's a place to make plans and decisions, knowing we'll be living with them for a long, long time. So, we can plant trees and bushes, fix up a building, build a deer fence, all knowing that in 2 or 3 years, we don't have to abandon it.

We're already making plans to put in an orchard, working with an extension agent as part of a larger orchard research project across the state.

Our high tunnel will be moved (for the first and last time) and we'll finally be able to build a permanent greenhouse.

We've been very busy this past month, moving, planning, preparing for next spring. I determined where the veggies would go, and Willa helped me mark the field for breaking up with a plow, to allow the sod to break down over the winter.

Willa, her red wagon, and flags to mark the field.

With a borrowed tractor from a very supportive friend and a borrowed plow/disk combo from a very friendly, just newly-met neighbor, Clyde (the indispensably-helpful-from-day-one father-in-law) broke ground. We'll plant garlic in the next few days, as our first crop on the new place.

Breaking ground.

It's all been a bit heady and surreal around here, but it'll soon settle down and we'll find our groove and routines and the place will simply be home to us.