I'm growing more anxious every day to move to our property near Rodeo, New Mexico. The well is in and the electric and septic will be in within two weeks. After that our spot for our temporary living quarters and circle drive will be prepared. It won't be very much longer, but I'm beginning to feel like a child waiting for Christmas morning.
It is a small piece of property at ten acres compared to the large ranches of the area that are measured in sections. It will be enough for what we want to do. Knowing what is enough is something I've gotten better at determining as I age. Ten acres will be plenty.
Del and Dan dismantled our modular, failed dog run a couple of days ago and it is going to be recycled into a chicken pen. I'm glad I had the foresight to design it so it would be easy to dismantle and move. We have the materials for building the coop and nest boxes. Farm fresh eggs are first on the agenda after our move.
We have a lot to do this winter. The list is long. Fence a garden space, build a pump house, build a greenhouse, plant trees, move in a container to convert into a shop, build a dog kennel that will keep our dogs safe from predators and keep them contained (we have one that is a master escape artist), build a footbridge over the wash to the back strip of property, and get our house ready to put on the market in the spring. My lists usually are longer than what I can accomplish, but we'll give it our best shot. Fortunately, Del retires in February so we'll be able to work together on this list.
I experience childlike joy when I gather eggs, dig up a potato, or fill our freezer with meat that is organic and raised humanely. It is my belief that if an animal gives up their life for our food they should be as comfortable and content as possible during their lives. I prefer raising food organically as much as possible.
As you can see from the photo we will have to learn how to enhance the soil for our gardens and trees. We have a lot to learn about that. The land is slightly sloping westward. I'll learn how to test soil and what to do to make it right for the plants we plan to grow. There are many good people in the area who will probably be willing to teach us about that.
We are coming full circle. More than 32 years ago we shared a goal of living in the country and raising as much of our own food as possible. We have made a few attempts at that through the years, but it wasn't the right time. Still, we learned how and how not to raise chickens, hogs, corn, and tomatoes. One of my greatest lessons was that proper fencing is a must. It is not much fun to chase hogs. We always built the pens too large and didn't have enough money to build such large pens to the standards required to keep the animals in the pens. Live and learn.
The events in our lives led to making our home in New Mexico for which we are grateful. Now is the right time and the right place. We are looking forward to it, and now we have grandchildren with whom we can share our harvests and our love of country living.
We are open to advice.........
No comments:
Post a Comment