Spring is in the Air

Since moving into March we've enjoyed warm weather here on the farm. The snow is gone and in its place are puddles and lots of mud from the installation of water lines to the barn last fall. It's a mess! It's fun to watch the ducks playing in the puddles though and the chickens are venturing further from the coop foraging for whatever falls prey in their path. Seeing them at the outskirts of the farm yard makes me nervous and I keep a close eye out. It's reassuring to know that Rooster is out with his hens keeping watch. I have to chuckle as he prances from one group of hens to the next in all is studly splendor.

The girls have just a few more months before their crias (baby alpacas) are born. Soon they'll be heading into the big pasture and we'll be keeping vigil for the signs of our first born alpaca here on the farm. It's an exciting time!

The Ancona ducklings I ordered in January have been shipped and I'm anxiously awaiting their arrival in the next day or two. I can't imagine starting life out in a box and being juggled around to boot. The brooder is ready with warming lights, electrolyte water and food and we're ready with lots of love and care. It will be fun to watch them grow and have their first experiences. Swimming, of course, is at the top of the list. And their first days outside enveloped in protective fencing for the first few months. I wonder what our resident ducks will think of the new additions?

The window and pantry renovations are nearing completion and I'm looking forward to the porch and stair additions at the front of the house. The new front door was installed last fall and once the weather is consistently warm, I'm going to paint it red. I ran other colors by Brian, but he's stuck on red. Sometimes we just have to appease the men in our life - especially when they rarely have an opinion.

I saw two Robins in the back yard this morning. So now it's a waiting game . . . for the ground to dry and warm under the careful watch of the sun. Spring has sprung.

The Pantry

We've been undergoing several renovations of our farmhouse, most notably new windows. There are other things that need to be taken care of and we're looking at plans for a sunroom/stair renovation to be undertaken in the not to distant future. There is always something with an old house and we take those things in stride. Because we love our old farmhouse.

Because our basement is 100 years old and Brian promised me I'd never have to go down there, I packed our cupboards to the hilt. We have a lot of cupboards in our large kitchen, but space is at a premium. As I sat pondering how to organize, the thought came that I just needed more space. As I scanned the kitchen my eyes rested on the cupboard at the back entry way. It was an underutilized area that I thought would make an excellent pantry.

With Brian on board and the help of our excellent contractor, my vision is becoming a reality. I'm having dreams of organizing the perfect pantry dancing through my head.

Life on the Farm

Having moved onto our farm in April of 2015, we set about making ready to bring our alpacas home from where they were being agisted (boarded). A good friend of ours, Richard, came down from Canada to help Brian with fencing and other heavy work. Those boys worked hard digging holes, setting posts and then stretching the 4x4 welded wire fencing to enclose our front pasture.

The newly fenced front pasture . . .

Richard on Big Red . . .

Moving a shelter into the front pasture . . .

The girls now home and enjoying the front pasture . . .

Then came the rabbits, a barn cat named Boris, ducks, chickens, goats, and a livestock guardian dog . . .

Boris (the cat), MooMoo, Midnight and Moonbeam (the rabbits)

Thunder and Storm - English Angora

Cayuga Ducks

Heritage Breeds - Australorp and Golden Laced Wyandotte, Cinnamon Queen, Buff Orpington, Rhode Island Red

Felix and Oscar - Fainting Goats

Loki - a Maremma

We've all settled nicely into our routines and things run pretty smoothly. We've been very fortunate not to have had any casualties (save for one chicken that our dog Oliver got - I cried heavily over that chicken . . . sigh). But then it's no surprise, because we're watched over by Angels. And I'm very grateful for that.

With spring just around the corner we're very happy to have survived our first winter on the farm. And this year spring brings us five Ancona ducks and two Talhouse geese. It also brings the renovation of our front porch and some much needed landscaping. Such is life on the farm . . .

A New View

One of the reasons I accepted Brian's desire to move into this wonky farmhouse was because of the promises made to change a few things. One of those things were some of the windows. Particularly the one in the kitchen and the one in the master bedroom (up the wonky farmhouse stairs).

Having undergone window makeovers in the kitchen and master bedroom, I now reveal to you the gorgeous new windows our contractor installed.

Kitchen window before . . .

during . . .

and AFTER with our new cabinets installed either side of the window . . .

Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of the before of the master bedroom window, but think before kitchen window and you've got the idea.

Master bedroom window during . . .

with our bedroom furniture going in because we couldn't get it up wonky farmhouse staircase . . .

and AFTER!

I'll share the living room window renovation once it's complete with trim. It's really incredible how changing a window can give you a whole new view on life . . . and light!

Welcome to A Pig in the House

Welcome new friends and old! I’m so glad you stopped by!

Let’s see . . . where to start? Oh yes, at the beginning of the adventure that brought us (my husband, Brian, and I) to the farm.

It all started with five alpacas that we purchased in January of 2015. At the time, we thought we’d board our alpacas for a year or two until we got our ducks in a row (pardon the pun) and find the perfect farm. It didn’t take that long . . .

Sitting on the couch one evening, I came across this farm on an internet real estate site. Brian had said don’t even bother looking (he knows me so well), but as he came up from the basement and sat beside me, he told me how he had found the same farm. Hey! I thought we weren’t supposed to be looking?! Serendipity?!

In February, during a snow blizzard, we traveled from the small town we were living in to the farm to have a look see. Well, we fell in love with the place. I wasn’t too thrilled about the house though. It had wonky floors (all slanting towards the back of the house), a narrow/steep staircase, a fireplace that looked so out of place, and other features that I wasn’t too thrilled about. On the upside? The property itself was amazing! It had everything we needed and then some.

So, overlooking the wonky house, we dove in and placed an offer hoping our house would sell quickly. We were aghast when it took only seven weeks to sell our house in a town where it wasn’t uncommon for it to take at least a year (as in our neighbor’s case). We had two weeks to move. The pressure was on . . .

We did manage to pack up and move our belongings, three dogs, three parrots, and five aquariums – not without much effort. I still don’t know how we managed it.

And so we moved into the wonky house.

I hope you’ll visit often as I share with you the joy of living in a wonky farmhouse on a perfect farm.


Be Joyful,
Teresa