Domino Effect

Tubby Tabby in front of empty food bowl. Don't buy into that pity party look. Today she has already had a half can of wet food, an ample saucer of fresh milked goat milk and out of the cameras eye is a good sized bowl of Taste of The Wild dry food which is never let to diminish past a certain level. It is feline drama at its finest.

The domino effect is in full force at the farm.  While there are still a considerable amount of  boxes in the garage aka shop quite a few have  been unpacked, broken down and are now currently waiting to be take to the transfer station for recycling. Apparently finishing one task around here is going to constitute the birth of another job. That is the domino effect.

Another example is the fence building is reviving up for the beginning it too comes in bits and pieces. First we had the fence guy come out estimates made and offered and accepted. Next he will come out and do a layout on the dirt with bright orange spray paint. Then the next time he comes he will have gotten 1/3 of his contracted fee with materials in hand and commence to sink some post. Then on his next day off from his full time job (that would be working for Cal Fire) he will continue on. After fire season is over , about the time the fat lady sings, he will be out on a more consistent schedule and hopeful it will be finished by end of October  or earlier.

That fencing most likely has the largest domino effect. When done the goat area will have increased in size exponentially meaning much happy goats but especially Pyrenees. They aren't suffering but it isn't their normal size and they don't get as much exercise as I would like to see.  Also it means the Ari and Callie can go off lead and have their own area with house access. Did I mention that we have a herd of cottontails here? Well we do and between them and the ground squirrels (altho not as numerous as on Ash Creek)   I can only imagine what a race would be on with them off lead.

Another domino effect. The weather has been warmer and with warmer weather plus winds the fire risk has risen. With a cooling trend on the way the risk will be lower and I can now with confidence and a long hose start string mowing the dry weeds from the last growth down. This will be helpful in the domino sequence with the fencing as getting those small dry weeds down will help in keeping the fire risk low during periods of welding on the fence.

Next consideration is in a few weeks I will leave midday and end up in Shasta county to pack the truck and part of the trailer with as much of what was on Dallas's trailer as possible. Get some sleep and the next morning loading up the boys and delivering them to yet another half way home but only an hour from the new home,

After dropping the boys off and heading home I find myself full circle on the Domino effect. As I unpack the trailer and add to the existing boxes to those from the latest pickup run.

Flame on the left a red sex link in the center and Mr. Paul Newman on the right.  All of them plus those out of camera are excited to hear that the "real" chicken coop may be breaking ground sooner than anticipated. And we all know  what that means. Get the coop up the chickens moved and the ply wood can come off the walls exposing the stall and with a bit of fencing for a run maybe Longfellow and Sundance may come home sooner then we thought. 

So put your left foot in and your right foot out and you might get the domino effect.

PS

Since everyone is very busy with wrapping up summer the drawing for our first month anniversary will be put on hold. So now y'all need to read the next installments so you won't miss out!

Where Am I ? Who Am I?

Hi over here it is me. I am here but the here in the here and now is somewhat different. The view above is from my front porch. Oh it gets better to be sure but this is for starters. Moving is like getting a "new starter" kit. But it is also similar to one of my favorite Mary Engelbreit quote's "wherever you go there you are."

So after a 7 hour drive looking like a gypsy caravan Walnetto Farm has landed. A dear friend of many years and her husband have been incredibly helpful before, during and after the move. Donna drove Geoffrey's vehicle loaded with 4 house cats and Tubby Tabby the barn cat in crates and anything else we could stuff in. Believe me that was a lot of stuff. I hauled my livestock trailer with 6 goats  and Sherman /Yarrow  (who really counted as 2 more goats) with them. The chickens including my beloved Flame had a shaded pen squished in between more stuff in the truck bed.

Did we forget anyone ? No. Ari the English setter and Calli the resident Border Collie Aussie were strategically placed with more stuff in the truck cab.  And when we pulled in we were all accounted for and alive except for one ginger hen. Even with the provisions that were made to shelter them from sun, wind and a very warm day she was dead upon our arrival. Last checked at the halfway fuel stop and she was fine. But sometimes transporting animals doesn't end well despite having crossed all one's T's and dotted one's I's.

This lovely doe made the trip without missing a beat or a milking. She is now giving a gallon once a day on a regular basis even with the move and has blossomed into a lovely two year old. You may remember her looking more like this. Even as a senior kid always on the run I knew Miss. Willa had potential.

A familiar chair with a familiar quilt gifted to me by Pamela my good friend adds home to the new living room. 

What is to be a summer kitchen or a winter BBQ area. With some modifications from my "things to do list" 

 Tubby Tabby the barn cat knows a good thing on a warm afternoon. 

Got the tact area in the barn aka Mare   Doe Motel cleaned up and organized yesterday.

Some of the does who reside in the area . A copious amount of fencing is being planned and contracted as I type. Since Geoffrey passed I have to find good local help to do what he used to do that I can't.

This is the delightful garden area with a fire pit , gates on either side , a Hibiscus tree and lavender. More herbs to come in time. Plus a brick pathway perhaps next year? 

We have been here for almost three weeks. Donna stayed the first ten days with us and helped a lot. I will pop up on your blogs or here  with more frequency but still have copious amounts of boxes and appointments coming up .  Seeing family of one sort or another on a weekly basis which makes my heart sing. 

If you want to be included in a drawing to celebrate our first month here please submit your contact with your comment. Will post photo of prize on Friday the 23rd. Drawing will be on the 30th our one month anniversary. I will ship anywhere in the USA .

When Did Three Weeks Come To Constitute A Lifetime?

 The view from the gate in mid June and up still. The three bows were hand made by the young woman below.Yikes did I use the word woman as descriptive  in a sentence about my second oldest grandgirl?  Where did the time go as she is 20 years of age now. Em posing below with the reptile at a crafts store in Chico, Ca.

Em as so many of my sweet family have done since Geoffrey's passing in November has made several trips up and is always very helpful. We had a great three days and got a lot done. Currently she is at home after taking her entrance test for the police academy (yikes) near her home. I love that both my oldest girls have chosen public service jobs as a potential career.

Veggie photos got a few squash but mostly Sunbrust Tomatoes and lemon cukes. Some terrific radishes before it became too hot and they bolted. Blue Berries and Strawberries still coming on.

But the real deal here is that in twelve days I will be in this sweet homestead.

 Over three hundred miles from the current one. But only one sixth of the time to both of the kiddos and my sister. Smaller by 37 acres, no rocks and gentle rolling to mostly flat terrain. I think it is a deal. And since all the inspections coming and going have been done, the financial end organized and approved plus several rooms already packed up and utilities plus internet plus phone plus trash pick up are in place I think it is just a cat hair shy of  a done deal.

Moving on Up

Well we apparently are" approaching speed Captain ."

Remember two short weeks ago when my house went online? Well this Sunday report brings this news. My house is in escrow with a 45 day ride (or less ) if I can manage. And my offer on the sweet little log home was accepted. Yikes beam me up Scotty!

More to come. 

I Shaved My Legs For This?

Tada ! First showing under my belt. Now mind you I am not a novice to this house selling and showing rodeo. So when I got a call from my realtor during dinner and the latest episode of Barnwood Builders ( one of few shows on real TV I watch) I almost swallowed my plate whole. We had a showing scheduled within an hour or two of the whole thing going live as it is now called on the internet. https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/25550-Ash-Creek-Rd_Anderson_CA_96007_M29335-44960

Just in case you have been dying to know what my place looks like - NOT!

At any rate after having sold a house in the great reality disaster of 2006 I sorta kinda know my stuff and the drill. To be technical that house went on the market in 2008 as some of you may know of one needs to wait two years after the purchase to market it as to avoid the capital gains taxes. And then it sat and it sat and it sat. Not selling until 2011 with a huge hit to our pocket book. Because no we didn't get even close to what we paid for it. Sigh, let us not talk of that now.

Marketing a house is something close to living in purgatory even with a good realtor.  One's whole life revolves around showing and keeping it clean to show. So if we include my current journey I will have danced this dance 3 times in 12 years since we sold the Fresno farm to current. I WILL NOT HAVE TO DANCE THIS DANCE AGAIN EVER. Just wanted to make that clear as I was cleaning bathrooms prior to my shower at 9:30 PM . And setting my internal alarm to wake prior to even when the recycle truck rumba's down our street pre 5 AM. So I could do touch ups after regular chores and let myself breath.

So interested buyers arrived twenty minutes early thank God I planned for some down time so I was ready when my 16 paws alert went off.  They were here for thirty minutes. It will be interesting to see what comes of this.The real estate folks know all this stuff to a T. Short visit are likely to garner little to none, long visits may but may also just be looky lues or folks who aren't even in the market they were just bored that day. Or "Gee Fred I have never seen a totally off grid home let's go check it out!" If they only know what a responsible home owner drags themselves through to make sure their home is ready to really shine. If you don't believe me ask the goats whose barn cleaning (and I mean close to having the health department show up) has been delayed either from rain, getting the initial pre marketing stuff done or as in today losing a barn day to make sure all is at the ready.

Then there is all the home showing etiquette. Owners are basically expected to greet at door and then exit away from showing as not to intimidate potential buyers. Today is a good example of that when I mentioned I had a blind cat and would they please be mindful not to let the cat out the wife asked wide eyed "you have cats?" To with I replied with a smile "I am a vet tech I have just about one of everything. But I do have 3 house cats."  Eyes still wide " I am allergic to cats really bad." Ok I was good I didn't reply with something like " And it never once entered your mind you may encounter cats while visiting potential homes?" I smiled and simply said " Well they are all hiding out and I cleaned as if it was the second coming just for you." OK I didn't say quite that but you get the idea.

They did appear to be nice folks and if this home tickles their fancy I hope they know I plan to hire a team of professional cleaners on my dime to make their new home safe for them. 

Too Good To Be True?

When one lives in a home they love it is difficult to think of living elsewhere. I love my Real Log Home . I love it so much that if I had more time, more money and were a tad younger I would be tempted to take it with me on this last move of the journey. But I don't and believe me when I say  I have seen more houses in the last 6 weeks (online of course) and only one has made the cut. And only because she is easy to love. She is on almost 4 acres, has complete fencing including cross fencing, has a mare motel in place , a workshop , garden space , a spot that can be converted into a chicken coop and run. On a private well, has an outdoor kitchen and in the living room a Vermont stove. She is 38 years old was "born" in Montana and then shipped to California.

In the foothills of central California and as I told my family "the only thing wrong with her is she is too good to be true." So a posse was organized and a visit was made. The posse only came up with a few items to be added or subtracted or reorganized. So soon I will be going to see this potential home and all the possibilities it holds.

When time comes to share more I shall. For now I am finishing up the small details of getting this "42 Acres of Paradise" polished up for the debut online . I am feeling really good about both the potential home and finding someone to step in on this end in fairly short order. I would very much appreciate prayers and energy from you all. I am prepared for the worst but hope for the best. We will know soon.  Until then I will go back to gardening and sprucing up.

The divine Ms. Emily was up for a visit last week to help me out . We found time for some crafty fun!

If God Got The Chosen People To The Promised Land Certainly He Can Get Me To Fresno County

 

This is my Lilac bush. Actually it is the third I have started but the only one I managed to see through a winter. And considering that this winter offered up 100 year floods for our area and unprecedented snowfall I would say we have a bell ringer. Why Lilac? Because in the house I grew up in from 1955 until I finally left for the last time in 1967 had Lilac bushes that were my Mama's pride and joy. Interestingly enough when my youngest sister and I came together and forged a new relationship as adults in 2015 when our Daddy passed , I noted she too had a Lilac bush in her yard.

So here is the thing. I am a now single woman living on 42 acres (that outnumbers me right there) and I have livestock, I have the usual assortment of canine and feline companions and working dogs. I have chickens. I am now at the tender age of 70 years old ( not young for I have forged ahead and earned each one thank you!) the captain of this ship. I now can hand split wood by hand to keep warm, weed whack, string mow , run a two inverters multi solar panel off grid unit that has its own barn, birth kids ok I cheated I have um multiple years of practice on that one. Keep everyone warm, fed, healthy and pump 1,320. gallons of water from under my house on my new gas run pump. I am also exhausted more often than not (and fire season isn't here yet) I am understaffed and over worked . No not under paid as purrs, crazy kids jumping on my lap and dog kisses are high scale pay you know. And I am without a support group closer than the 5 and one half hours it takes for a sister, kiddos or grand girls to get here.

So the heartbreaking ( I won't lie here) choice was made to , a gasp from the crowd, sell my beloved "42 Acres of Paradise". I am figuring if the worst thing in my life is moving back to the central California area then perhaps I am doing alright. I am looking for a smaller, much smaller place in the foothills of Fresno county. I will be no more than an hour from my family. I will take every critter with me as I am responsible for 90% of them being on this earth to begin with and the rest through choice. I will continue to as life permits pursue the life of sustainability I love. I will have goats but they will more likely than not be glorified lawn ornaments only, chickens will come too . What would I do without my Flame? Of course Sherman and Yarrow will be needed to keep everyone safe from those wiley  coyotes . Ari and Calli need to keep me in line and the cats too.

I will miss my land , my fiber friends, the amazing events which have forged who I am today. But on the flip side I will have easy access sister time on a regular basis, enjoying my son and daughter. And the grandgirls? Oh yes that is part of the plan. "Aubrey and Emily you two are the oldest could you come and stay at Gammie's for a week in October to feed while I go to Idaho to visit friends?"

What could possibly go wrong???!  😉