Attack of the Hawk

A few weekends ago, we witnessed a hawk take down a dove on our back patio at the rental cottage. A lot of feathers and squawking, but also a reminder of the predator/prey circle of life. Just two days ago, we experienced our first hawk air raid on the chickens. It was the early afternoon when we heard a commotion outside and we caught a glimpse of the chickens scurrying into the safety of their coop. Maya exclaimed "Hawk in the chicken coop!" and the sound of nearby panicking crows confirmed the danger. I ran outside still in my socks, clapping my hands to make as much noise as possible. By the time I got to the chicken run the chickens were all in their coop and clucking in alarm mode---no sign of the hawk, but two kinds of feathers scattered around. I counted the chickens (no easy feat when they are weaving around each other), then counted them two or three more times. 27 sounded like the right number but I asked Maya if she noticed any missing hens (she can identify them better than any of us). The feathers belonged to a random buff orpington survivor and to our lead Araucana rooster, Fluffy. Maya was shaken by the near-death experience but I reassured her that Fluffy was a hero, having protected his hens from the predator at the cost of a few feathers (which were then taped to a sheet of paper in honor of his courage). For several hours, the chickens stayed in their coop unless a human was nearby, and then we decided to add a barrier to the exposed top of the chicken run by stringing some twine back and forth like a loose web roof.



This won't stop a hawk, but it will hopefully serve as a deterrent to buy the chickens a few seconds to escape to safety should there be another attack. Despite our efforts to protect the chickens, we must accept natural attrition and predation if we intend to go fully free-range with these egg-layers in the future. One solution, I'm told, is to get goats mixed into the flock.

Some Kind of Houdini

Over the past week, one of our Araucanas (which 8-year-old Maya tells us is "Gloria") had figured out how to escape the 10-foot-tall fencing surrounding our chicken run. Fortunately, she doesn't go far, but it has been a problem since we're not quite ready to go completely free-range. Yesterday, we were able to observe Gloria in action making a completely vertical flight to the top of the fencing where Maya promptly pushed her back into the chicken run with the handle-end of a nearby shovel. My theory is that this hen is smaller and therefore lighter than the rest of the chickens. Maya's theory is that she is simply smarter. As it turns out, Gloria does seem to have some sort of motivation.



While bringing in some firewood, we noticed a small nest of three Araucana eggs behind the woodpile and Dionne had mentioned seeing her back there during one of her escapades. It appears that Gloria was trying to find a way to keep her eggs from their breakfast plate fate, and it also explains our recent fluctuating egg count. A for Effort, Gloria.

Get the Skinny

Here's a quick way to find out more about Columbus, NC, where we are building:

http://www.zipskinny.com

You can also punch in your own zip code (U.S. residents only) to get more information on your local schools, employment, household income, and other social and economic indicators.

Revising the Home Plans

The layout we decided upon is a modified version of the Field of Dreams home plan by Healthy Home Plans. As you can see, the exterior has a traditional farmhouse look which complements the land where we are building. There's just something awkward about a contemporary suburban stucco home out in the country. We met with our builder, Jessica Oakley of Oakley Custom Homes, and made revisions to the "off the shelf" plan including selection of windows, flooring, etc. (Did we mention that Jessica is part of our food co-op? We tried to barter a life-time supply of eggs in exchange for the new home, but she didn't go for it...) Before final pricing, an engineer needs to give the revisions a lookover. Grading of the property, however, can begin as soon as we sign the contract!

The Chickens Have Landed

We finally had time last weekend to complete the new Sugar Mountain Farm-inspired chicken coop and the egg-layers have been relocated to Rose Cottage. The whole set-up at the rental cottage is designed to be modular and temporary, yet sturdy enough to secure the chickens and withstand the weather (cold, wind, and rain). Click here to view the entire construction process from start to finish. The chickens went right to clearing out the vegetation in their new run, and hardly skipped a beat when it came to laying eggs (sometimes traumatic happenings such as a physical move can cause them to stop laying). We were able to move them over in a makeshift cage in the back of Danna's pickup truck, although it took two trips. The old chicken run on the Smith property will be recycled into a dog run for their two new farm dogs, Abbie and Axel. The real beauty of relocating the chickens is the sheer convenience of having our twice-daily chores right outside the door versus a mile away. The kids appreciate being able to sleep in a little, too.

Let It Snow

Forgive the cliché headline. My co-workers tell me "You're soooooo from Florida." I can't help it. I'm excited about the snowfall, and while we got an inch or two in Charlotte, the light rain that immediately followed turned the fluffy white landscape into slowly dissolving piles of ice. But out at Blue Harvest Farm, there was a bit more fun to be had and the kids woke to a potential day of snowball fights, identifying animal tracks, snow angels, and even some sledding.





The chickens are safe from the elements inside the fourth stall with red heat lamp on and extra bedding for warmth. They have a tarp-covered area (originally intended for rainy days) in case they dare to venture into the chilly air. Frankly, I think they may prefer being cooped up for now!



They are predicting more snow on Saturday...and I'll be on the farm anxiously awaiting my turn to ride down the hills on the snow saucer.

Here Comes Winter (Like It or Not)

Being the Floridians that we are, we've been looking forward to some real winter weather since we moved up to the Carolinas in 2005. There was a dusting of snow last year, but we still felt kind of cheated out of the whole winter experience. Dionne's weather alert radio (every good survivalist should have one) went off this morning with the following report:

Statement as of 4:52 AM EST on January 16, 2008

...Winter weather will affect the region Wednesday night and
Thursday...

...Winter Storm Warning in effect from 7 PM this evening to 7 PM EST Thursday...Winter Storm Watch no longer in effect...

The National Weather Service in Greenville-Spartanburg has upgraded the Winter Storm Watch to a Winter Storm Warning...which is in effect from 7 PM this evening to 7 PM EST Thursday.

A band of moderate to heavy snow and sleet is forecast to move north over the mountains and foothills late this evening into the early morning hours of Thursday. This band will likely result in a quick accumulation of one to two inches of snow and sleet across eastern slopes of the mountains and adjacent foothills. A rapid transition to sleet and freezing rain will then follow during the early morning hours Thursday. An additional inch or two of snow is possible...mainly at higher elevations in and near the mountains. Freezing rain will then fall for much of the morning before temperatures warm to a few degrees above freezing. Where temperatures stay below freezing the longest...up to a quarter inch of ice accumulation is possible.

The timing of the wintry precipitation will likely lead to significant travel problems across the warned area Thursday morning. Ice accumulations around a quarter of an inch may result in some trees and power lines to fall...blocking roads and leading to scattered power outages.

A Winter Storm Warning means significant amounts of snow...sleet...and ice are expected or occurring. Strong winds are also possible. This will make travel very hazardous or impossible.

The rest of the day will be spent running around like ants before a rainstorm, making sure we've got supplies for both us and the animals in case there is a power outage and icy roads make travel (escape) too hazardous.

Splittin' Logs

Having grown up in Florida's warm climate, a fireplace was something of a novelty. Living in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, it's a necessity. A benefit of having a lot of wooded acreage is the constant supply of free firewood, however you still have to work for it. We are presently getting our wood from fallen trees on the east side of the property, where Harrison has already had them cut into 2-foot-long logs. We take Mema's truck down the path and then load up the wood to bring it back to their tool shed and the very cool gas-powered log-splitter. If the logs are longer than 2-foot sections, they won't fit on this splitter and they can be quite heavy.

The splitter uses a greased piston and hydraulic force to slowly ram the log onto an iron splitting wedge. I'm not sure of the pressure exerted but it's measured in tonnage, and it's awesome to hear the wood crack and split! Some logs require more than one split so they are a reasonable size for a fireplace. Also worth noting: You can't cut down a fresh tree and expect to the still damp wood to burn well...you must plan ahead and stockpile your logs allowing them plenty of time to dry out before tossing them into the fire and enjoying the warmth of carbonizing wood. Always remember to stand away from the splitting wood and wear eye protection!

Culling Out the Roosters

Warning! This blog post is not for the faint of heart as it contains gore and some adult content! Part of learning to be self-sustaining is getting back to the basics of raising animals for food and "processing" them yourself. Eggs are good, but A) we're an omnivorous family and B) we ended up with too many roosters (that's male chickens for you city folk). You see, the roosters aren't all that productive...it's the hens that are doing all the egg-laying while the males just strut around, lend an air of security to the flock, and rudely pluck feathers from the back of the females who are haplessly gang-banged chicken-style. They also get aggressive toward each other, and sometimes toward their keepers. Well, we'll have none of that on Blue Harvest Farm! Before culling out the roosters (not all of them), we did some online research on this site and this one. We tried two different methods of processing, the first of which was to tie the rooster upside-down by his feet to a horizontal bar, cut his head off with a knife, then skin him feathers and all by making strategic incisions and literally peeling everything off from feet to neck. This method avoids feather-plucking and the boiling method described later. As we thought this might be interesting to document, we took photos and some video as well. Well, let's just say that you need to make sure your knife is sharp. Dionne, bless her heart, volunteered to do the dirty deed but cutting through the neck bones proved more difficult than we anticipated. Dionne's mom (a slightly more experienced chicken-killer) had to finish the job for us while I recorded the incident on video. The evidence was subsequently erased when it was decided that our educational video was really more like a snuff film. Egads, it was an emotional trauma. The next attempt (for which I was not a witness) was more successful (and merciful) with the aid of a chopping block and sharp machete. This time, the headless chickens were boiled in a large pot for a few seconds which opens their pores enough to make plucking feathers a breeze. The skin remains on the chicken, but that doesn't bother us. After all the killing was done, three roosters remained: one for a partner of Daisy (Dionne's mom's pet hen), one to keep structure in the flock (his name is Fluffy Chick), and one who escaped detection by impersonating a hen (still not sure about its gender really).

Presenting Our New Logo

Every good farm needs a good name and a good logo to stand proudly by the entrance of the property. At this time, we don't really have an official entrance nor the need to advertise ourselves to passers-by, but since we're selling eggs, we thought it would be nice to develop a logo to cover the original labels on our recycled egg cartons that we use for distribution. A while back, Dionne and I discussed property names and wanted something that sounded "farmy" as well as something that expressed a personal aspect of our lives. Being the rabid Star Wars fan that I am, I wanted something that would let other hardcore fans know that we were here, and yet something subtle enough that the general public wouldn't be confused by a "Star Wars"-sounding name. The answer was Blue Harvest Farm. To make a long story short, "Blue Harvest" was the code-name used during film production of 1983's Return of the Jedi to mislead paparazzi and media. The Lucasfilm staff even went so far as to produce fake Blue Harvest hats and t-shirts for all the crew. The name works really well for us since the term "harvest" has the "farmy" feel we wanted, plus we are located near the Blue Ridge Mountains. Okay, so now that we've established the Star Wars connection, here's where the inspiration for the actual logo design came from...Lucasfilm's own logo:

C-I-L-L...My Landlord

Some would say that one of the benefits of being a renter versus a homeowner is that the landlord is responsible for things that need fixing. Tub won't drain? Call the landlord. Light fixture broken? Call the landlord. Missing window glass, broken dishwasher, foul sewer odor? Don't call our landlord. Granted, we jumped on the opportunity to get this rental cottage in Columbus without a thorough inspection, and we are only paying a very reasonable $625 per month, but what started as a pleasant, almost fatherly relationship with Mr. Phillips (where he even invited us to dinner), has turned sour due to his reluctance to admit to and rectify some serious issues with his rental property...plus he's gotten downright ornery as of late. I like to think we're reasonable people, but perhaps you should decide based upon this list of grievances:

Well Pump: Shortly after move-in, mechanism which draws well water blew a circuit resulting in no water for almost 2 days
Dishwasher: Noticed dishwasher wasn't getting water. Plumber determined this was not related to the broken well, but rather a mechanical issue with the motor. A dishwasher specialist came to fix the water line and motor, then we learned the hard way that it wasn't draining properly (suds all over the kitchen floor during a test-run with no soap). At this point, repairman advised new dishwasher, which took two months (and multiple measuring attempts) to source. Old dishwasher has not been removed from property and still sits under our carport lending wonderful curb appeal to the cottage.
Washing Machine: Hot water supply had a leak. Luckily dishwasher repairman was able to fix while attending other issue.
Sewer Line: There is an overwhelming stench of human waste near the downstairs air return that permeates the entire premises from time to time. After a month and a half of disbelief, landlord finally agrees to investigate the problem. To his surprise, we are not imagining the odor when it is revealed that a main sewer pipe from the upstairs bathroom has a hole literally drilled through it (presumably from a botched telephone line installation).

Raw sewage has been leaking into the wall for who knows how long and this could have ultimately led to considerable structural damage or health-related problems. We found a friend who was contracted to fix the problem. Not even a "thank you" from the landlord, just grief about having to invest more money into the property.
Sliding Glass Window: Perhaps the least of our problems, the upstairs master bedroom sliding glass door window is discovered (unbeknownst to the landlord) to have one side of the double-paned glass completely broken out from a previous tenant. As a result, condensation forms on the glass and the cottage's already-poor energy efficiency suffers. At this point, the glass door opening has been measured four times, and an incorrectly-sized replacement window (versus sliding door) was purchased from salvage and sits in our garage.

Aside from the above, we recently discovered that our landlord misled our neighbor (also a tenant in a smaller adjacent cottage) into thinking the property was sold, thereby forcing her to move. His motive remains unknown, but this certainly feels unscrupulous.

Special thanks to Tyrone Green for the headline of this post.

Eggs For Sale

Our Black Stars, Araucanas, and Buff Orpingtons are now producing about 20-something (non-certified) organic eggs per day. Even when they accidentally break an egg or two, we've got plenty to go around and they're selling well to our friends, who appreciate eggs from chickens raised on non-soy organic feed. The Black Stars lay the light brown eggs, the Buff Orpingtons lay the dark brown, and the Araucanas lay those wonderful Easter Egg hues that Martha Stewart loves so much. Each morning and afternoon, the kids love to see what the hens have left for us. As long as the eggs are collected in this fashion, there isn't any concern for spoilage. One time, Maya and I witnessed a hen running around with an egg sticking out of her behind! Now, that's farm fresh! More about how we collect and package the eggs later...

Chicken Coop Progress (and Delays)

After getting off to a good start, I came down with a cold and I wasn't in any condition to be working outdoors on the chicken coop. When I got to feeling better, we had other errands and chores to do and our weekends quickly slipped by. Then I got a muscle cold in my neck this past weekend so no progress was made, although Dionne did order the "foil bubble foil" insulation and we have a giant roll ready to cut and apply to our wire frame. The arches are hand-bent rebar inserted into some spare PVC pipe for vertical support. The whole thing is held together with a few nails and lots of zip ties. The 2x4 wood frame makes it portable. Next we need to cut the end walls and door, then put some layers of tarp, old sheets and foil-bubble-foil insulation over it all to keep the chickens warm in the cold days ahead (ironically it's like 78 degrees Fahrenheit as I type this). It won't be anything like this one, but we're still novice coop-builders. More pics of our construction can be found here.

Moving the Chickens

Dionne and the kids have been doing daily chicken feeding duties at the Collinsville Road property to ease the burden from Danna and Harrison (mom and step-dad). They've got enough chores as it is. However, packing up the kids and driving those few minutes every day---twice a day---is a bit of a pain. The solution? Relocate those 30-something chickens to our rental property for at least 6 months. Fortunately, the landlord is cool with it...perhaps its the bribe of free fresh eggs! So this will be our weekend project, and it's not the first time we've built a chicken coop (never thought I'd be saying that). By the way, we've got some buyers for the eggs now too. Not a lot of money, but it's good to be able to make a few dollars back on these feathered freeloaders!

*sigh* Goodbye New Urbanist

Very, very disappointing but we have not yet heard back from New Urbanist regarding our updated home plans. A while back, we agreed to a partial payment for the plans when they started work (for which they have not yet billed us), but now we're considering sending them a cancellation notice since we've been left hanging without any sort of communication. We're so frustrated with not being able to move forward on our home! Tomorrow, we'll send them a certified letter to let them know we're canceling the order and hopefully this won't end up in court should they decide to bill us anyway.

New Home Rental in Columbus

Still no final plans from New Urbanist...very disappointing and frankly it's rattling our faith in them. After revisiting the idea of a yurt and looking at some other nearby rental property, we came across a great little 2 bedroom/1.5 bath that's about 5 minutes away from our Collinsville property. For $625/month we get a private road, wood-burning fireplace, lots of room, carport with workshop, and horses right outside our front door (not our horses, but who cares?!). It sounded great on the phone so we took the 1.5-hour drive just to see the property and hand over a check. We begin moving immediately, so Dionne and the kids will begin laying down more roots in the area. Google Maps doesn't like the address for some reason, so here's the closest map we can provide at this time.

A Cabin Costs How Much?!!

The rough estimate came back from August Construction (at least they were quick about it) and the 14' x 24' cabin would be approximately $125.00 per square foot. Unfortunately, we were thinking of allocating about $16-$18K for the cabin, not $42,000! There's still the yurt idea...

Anxious to Get Out There!

We are waiting for Thomas at New Urbanist to send us back revisions to the plan he provided a few weeks ago. In the meantime, we are wondering just how long we can afford to wait? What if the plan ends up blowing our budget anyway? How long should we continue to spend $1320/month for our apartment in Charlotte instead of putting that money towards a cabin or garage apartment actually ON our Landrum property?

We contacted August Construction to get a quote on a cabin. Even if it means cutting back on the main house structure (laundry room, garage, deck), we're starting to think it might be worth it to just GET LIVING on the property. Our chickens and horse are waiting! Click here to see a cabin plan we're considering, and click here for a link to the plans.

House Plans....Almost!

This just in from our designer at NU:

I have been working away on the plans I have made some substantial progress. I should have something to show you by tomorrow afternoon. I will keep you updated. The only challenge that I have run into so far is the location of the office/ bedroom at the lower level. My challenge is getting an egress window into the space so that it can be labeled guest bedroom/ office. The challenge will be more identifiable when I send the drawings to you tomorrow.

No garage cottage, but possible cabin instead

A few days ago we discussed with our builder, Jessica, two options to get us out on the property quicker. The first would be constructing the garage with a loft, the second would be constructing a small 14x24 cabin that could later be used as guest house. The construction of the garage, which would have to be done on a separate schedule, would actually slow down the construction of our house since it would be breaking the job down into two phases. Due to this factor we've decided to look closer into a small cabin.

This is the small cabin we are looking to build http://www.countryplans.com/nash.html

Maya actually loves the idea and thinks of it as being able to live like Laura in the book "Little House on the Prairie" (but with modern conveniences). As soon as we hear back from our builder regarding pricing, we'll know if it's a go... I'm sure we'll have some very interesting post of our experience if all works out!