Day 231

Since the day we moved to the farm, we have been working nonstop. It is a rarity to drive past our house and not see some type of work truck or piece of equipment somewhere on our property. Some days, you might even see more than  one. We have also done a great amount of work ourselves and with the help of friends and family. We have transformed our indoor and outdoor space tremendously, but we have only just begun. 

Outslde, the restoration process is making progress. The wetland is being restored slowly but surely. Weare seeing more natives pop up every time we take a hike on the not yet officially named Dargatz Trail. We have hired a professional to have a forest management plan completed. This plan is an essential step to finding grants that will help add and improve our tree situation, which currently includes plenty of dead ash, many, many fallen trees overrun by invasives. The prairie will be here soon enough if we continue to be patient and responsible. We’ve added a successful garden and are coming up with creative ways to use the unbelievable amounts of zucchini, cucumbers, peas, tomatoes, and lettuce we gather on almost a daily basis. We are in the process of creating a nature play area that our kids will be able to enjoy with their friends for years to come. Our chickens are happy and we are getting better and better at taking care of them.

Inside, we completely renovated the entire first floor. We transformed and updated a house in desperate need of improvements. While certainly livable, it left much to be desired to be ready for an active family of five humans and multiple animals including a larger laundry room, the addition of a mudroom, easier to clean flooring, and a roomier, more user-friendly kitchen. 

It is always exciting to show off our changes, especially if those seeing them were familiar with what it looked like from the beginning. The reviews have been positive. While we have much more planned for both inside and outside, we are very happy with the progress we have made so far.

Unfortunately, not everyone was happy.