Country Roads

I’ve been stewing on writing something like this for the last 2 weeks. 2 weeks of wrapping my brain around what’s next. 2 weeks of realizing that everything I’ve been wanting and wishing for is now coming true. 2 weeks.

2 weeks ago we bought a farm. 2 weeks ago Matt looked at me and went "why are you nervous, this is what we’ve been waiting for for years." Years in the making. Matt and I have been married since December 2013 and have lived in our current house downtown Zeeland since July 2016. My goal was to be out of town by the time our first kid would be able to show livestock. Matt wasn’t so sure we’d be able to make that happen. Well, Felicity turned 8 in August and she’s got big plans for sheep and (she’s hoping) a feeder calf for next year’s county fair. We’ll see how everything shakes out but she’ll for sure have sheep next year. And goats of course, can't forget that.

If you know anything about Ottawa county, you know that farms almost never come up for sale. If they do, it’s sold for commercial purposes and split into lots for housing. It’s definitely a market in which you need to know someone otherwise you’ll never be able to secure anything. Thank goodness we were able to connect with someone we both knew or knew our families. And lets be honest, we've been very fortunate to have things just line up and work out. God's timing is never wrong and we've definitely seen that over and over again in life. It wasn't that long ago that I was told that looking to buy a farm in Ottawa County was an "unrealistic goal" and boy do I wish i could shove those words back in that man's face. Nothing like a little rage to keep that fire burning.

So now the question is, what are we going to do with it? Put sheep on it obviously. Eventually. Is it a large farm? No. Is there potential for growth in the future? Yes. What about the meat business in Zeeland? Well that will move with us. Things may look a little different. Hopefully I will have a designated space for all these freezers (I have 7 for the business alone) and we get to have a garage for actual cars. Crazy talk I know. There is a milkhouse attached to the old barn that I am looking at making the meat house. It'll get upgraded electric and all the things. Now lets hope I can fit the freezers in there! Obviously, there will be moving pains and growing pains and all the pains... but that's ok. The biggest pain will be packing up this house and garage and moving it 7-8mi NE of here. Pack and purge will be the name of that game.

5 acres with an old house (the original owner's family is unsure of when it was even built, no real records on it but they think the late 1800s) and an old barn. That old barn is sturdy and I won't lie, is my favorite part of the place. We're talking hand hewn beams, wood pegs, and all that fun stuff. It's got a split hayloft over each side/wing of the barn and open space in the middle. On one side, has an old stable area where there's cement and an old gutter system. The beams up above there have bark still on them. Cows were likely milked by hand of with a bucket milker in the stalls that are there. Now, I have no intention of milking cows any time soon, but I think that stall area would be great for some lambing pens. The other side is open and just begging for some pens to be built and the sounds of livestock will fill that barn once again. I've always heard that old barns are living breathing things. If they are housing animals, they are much more likely to stay in good shape. But if a barn stands empty, its like any one of us that's been deprived of air. It will eventually collapse. I love old barns. You can just stand there and feel all the history that has come before you. Makes you feel extra connected to the past.

We will start out slow on moving animals and general stuff over to that property. We have to seed hay/pastures, build fence, figure out how to configure the space. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will this farm. But it'll all be worth it.

The old house. She's old. If those walls could talk, I'm sure the stories would be quite something. With age though come its fair share of issues. Couple that with the high water table and a Michigan basement and things tend to go downhill quickly. We've talked with builders, an architect, foundation restoration, as well as other family and friends on what we should do with the old girl. Lots to consider. To be continued on all of that.

Long story short, I feel like I'm in a constant state of limbo. Unsure of my next move. All I know is I wish there was a Goofy "How to" episode on buying an old house. Its been an interesting ride so far. We aren't moving far, but its time for us to get our of town. The countryside calls and that dirt road is screaming my name. The quiet, the open space.

Country roads, take me home.

~until next time