What a mess

Moving is such a pain in the ***. I have moved many, many times and I still haven't gotten used to it. The house is a mess. I know it will look better after the 'stuff' is in the truck but until then I have to live in the clutter and confusion.

I am worried that some important document will be lost or mislaid some how and I will be in a panic trying to find it.

Details, lots and lots of details, I have to close accounts and change addresses in so many places and of course it all has to be done now. Aaack, where's my panic button! Of course I have already packed stuff that I shouldn't have ....yadda yadda ....sigh I guess it all will work out somehow, it always does. I am having my last photo taken today in uniform. This is like my graduation photo, like when you graduate from school or military training, it marks the passing of time and events.

Tomorrow I return my government property and sign out for the last time. Once the big doors click and lock behind me that is it, the career is all over. All the sweat, work, worry, striving is past, gone and my memory there will quickly fade.

My official first day of retirement will be Sunday January 1st 2006. I think it will be like any other day. I will be still packing and cleaning up flitting about until Monday when I pick up the truck, load, clean house and then....Tuesday am hopefully early am on the road to Kentucky. And another adventure begins.

What is essential??

I have been reading in the news about how many people feel that you need to be connected with technology these days. How odd that I am stepping back from all this ipod, tivo, cable tv and living without electricity. I am living without the flush toilet also. Am I in my own "survivor program"?

No, I don't think so, I am taking the farm just as it is and will put my own mark on it. I have found that I have become to obsessed with the internet. As a tool it is useful, but a lot of time is wasted looking at none essential things and just wasting time. As a communication tool email is very useful and as a research tool the computer does make the world more accessible. The problem is that I use it and then don't stop and do something else; you find more and more things to look up and it just keeps on going like the energizer bunny, going and going. The next thing I know the room is dark and hours have past. I will be restricted for a while, using the computer at the library to catch up on my mail and shopping etc.

I will have a telephone, as an emergency communications device, and to stay in touch with family and friends. One day I may have a solar power source to run the lap top computer; just not pleased with the looks of those photovoltic panels. I am sure I will get over that and get something to power the computer.

On this farm there will be lots to do, as on any farm, wood needs to be stacked, chopped and carried inside, animals fed and cared for, gardening, repairs to the house and fences, finnishing off the upstairs bedrooms, daily chores (cooking,cleaning,washing), seasonal chores (planting,harvesting,canning,birthing,haying) I must not forget egg gathering and milking :)
That is just the essentials; oops forgot taking a nap and reading the latest bestseller playing with the pets, daydreaming and trying to remember what it was I went into the room for (?).

Oh, ya, I was talking about the things that are essential. Food, water, and shelter are essential; I will learn what else is essential as I go along.

My Barn

I have been thinking about my barn lately. My thoughts are how I am going to use this barn? I have been thinking about getting live stock and I have made contact with a lady about buying some icelandic sheep, they don't need a barn just a shed to keep out of the wind and some shade when it is hot. I have also been looking into getting either milk goats or a cow.

Now I know getting a cow is a big proposition; they are a lot of work. Once they have a calf and you get them milking it is a twice a day thing until you dry them off months later. Some cows give more milk than a family can use; so when I came across a breed that is small and gives less milk than the larger breeds I began to think of getting one. The breed is called Dexter, they came from Ireland and were bred for the small farms there a long time ago. Of course cows produce more than just milk and its products, they produce manure; lots and lots of manure, as a matter of fact the large ones can produce tons of manure.

This manure thing could be a problem because one has to move it from where it falls to where it will do some good. Now when the cow is in the pasture that is not a big problem the cow just moves around and makes deposits here and there. It is when the cow is in the barn there is a problem. Sooner or later somebody has to shovel it into something and move it. That somebody being me of course and the thing to move it in is called a manure spreader; something else to buy. So, you pile the manure into the spreader and pull this thing around the fields and it throws the manure all over the fields as the wheels turn. My advice is not to get to close to this operation in action; you might get banned from the house till you take your ***** clothes off.

My second choice is a Jersey cow, they are smaller than most of the milk cows but finding one for sale is not easy and they are copious producers of rich milk and cow patties; definitely going to need a manure spreader.......

The goat thing is a whole other story.

My woodburning kitchen stove or humble hearth with a heart

My wood burning kitchen stove has no chrome it is plain, as plain and black as can be. It is modern in a way that is odd, it has a temperature dial and the draft turns with a knob, but even with these additions the stove is plain. Not ugly mind you, just plain. It has a good size fire box and gives off a great amount of heat. On the top of the stove is a rectangular box with a top that has a hole at either end and slides back and forth so one can pour in water as this is a basic water tank that just sits on top of the cooking surface and heats the water. In the rear of the tank is a comercial style coffee faucet; which makes it easy to drain water into a bucket.

There are no timers or designs attached, no lights or bells there are few moving parts, a draft knob and doors for the fire box, oven and ash pit. The oven is not self cleaning though remains clean if you are careful with your cooking. There is no on off switch either-to lower the temperature one moves the pot or pan about the flat surface from very hot to warm. If warm is to warm one uses a trivet. A trivet is a device usually of iron that sits on the stove and raises the pot up about an inch, more or less, and lets the heat escape and cools the pot. The cooking surface is steel, it can be brought to a dull sheen when scrubbing, but that is not needed the sheen won't make it work better. Only the cook can make the stove work better by feeding fuel at the rate needed to maintain or increase heat output or move the cooking food about the stove to regulate the cooking speed of the food.

I have moved a rocking chair near my stove as it is comfortable to sit by the stove and read or hold a pet and day dream near the stove's warmth. The crackle of the wood burning inside and the smell of wood burning and food cooking tugs my soul in some basic way. I guess, like the dog that sleeps several feet away from the stove, I know my comfort zone and hanker for it.

In Praise of the white 5 gallon bucket

One of the most useful objects on a farm or rural home is the common five gallon bucket.
If one had exsisted during Wm. Sheakspear's time he would have written a sonnet to it as he did a rose.

The bucket carries all manner of objects in all kinds of shapes and states; liquids, solids, granular, mixed as in filled with trash. However there are other less obvious uses for the white bucket. It can be used to as a step stool by the lighter folks or with a board laid across makes a nice sitting bench. It can be used to protect the tender plants from frost by covering them at night.

I have used one as a door stop and to bring home fish from the lake; I also have used one as a stool to rest on while painting or planting. Feeding animals is common using a big white bucket and once they get used to being fed from or by a white bucket just the sight of the thing and maybe a few pebbels rattled in it will bring some animals running for their dinner.

Of course you can mix all kinds of things in it like feed, planting soil and fertilizer; mixing cement for small jobs is possible also. With ice it will cool your favorite beverage. With a tight lid it stores food like cornmeal and flour. With the addition of a nipple it can be used as a calf feeder. There are liners that lap over the edge and convert the bucket into a tool box. For light loads it can be used to wash clothes or yourself if need be. Collecting things like when beans are harvested the bucket comes in handy or when collecting squaw wood those small dried pieces of wood found on the forest floor.

Even when it leaks from a crack it still can be used for a trash can. They are good for holding things while your sorting out a pile of something like in the garage or barn. One turned upside down over a fence post marks the spot were you worked last so the next day you know where to start again with what ever you were doing.
The uses for the simple white cylinder go on and on. I wonder if people in other lands use the same bucket or do they use something else?

The move begins

With a great deal of trepidation the move to the farm has begun. I don't know If it is because I am getting on in years or just my cautious nature showing through but the the move has had its stressful moments.

I was in luck this time around as Samantha was home and she loaded the truck almost completely by herself I got to help with some of the larger pieces after I got home from work.

The following morning bright and early we loaded the dogs and headed our vehicles toward Kentucky. It was a long ride with making stops for the animals to have a break and give us a rest as well. Our little caravan made its way across the the Smokey Mountians into West Virginia and on into Kentucky. We had walkie talkies that kept us in touch with each other during the trip.

We arrived at the farm before sundown and unloaded some of the things we needed for the night and pumped up the airmattresses; these mattresses turned out to be a good thing after all. I had my doubts, but with space and money concerns seemed to be a good idea; who knew they would be comfortable ? We got a fire started in the big stove in the 'Meeting Room' as the Amish would call it. The stove kept us warm for most of the night with a few loadings of fuel during the night. By morning the fire was out; it was cold as the outside temp had fallen to 28 degrees during the night, but we did get some much needed rest, we would need it because we had just a short time to unload the truck and turn it in to the U-Haul place.

Things didn't go well at the U-Haul store as we got there about ten minutes to closing without our papers for the truck. We were told that we would have to have them faxed from Virginia to turn in the truck and to do that we had to drive to the nearest city and find a U-Haul store that had that ability. Well, to make a long story short, we didn't have to do any of that, it all could have been handled over the phone-somebody wanted to get off work on time.

We got the house put together and made progress with the woodstoves. Learning to use them was a learning process. As time went on we got good at starting fires and stoking the stoves and even did some nice cooking on the kitchen stove-which also has a large hot water tank on the back. This tank came in handy for our shower baths, there was plenty of hot water from the this tank.

We got to fix the water line to the farm several times as each time we had thought it was fixed it would break at another spot. We think that we have it fixed now, but keeping an eye on it until it proves its self, so the hole is not filled in yet.

The neighboring farmer harvested the hay field and got the third cut off that five acres; only 91 bales. He also disked the garden and we had a chat about the pasture and what to do with it. The pasture needs to be bush hogged (cutdown) and replanted. The hay field should be fertilized and resown. I will look into having all that done later in early spring.

I got a real feel for living in a place without the usual ammenties; electricity, indoor plumbing, hot water heater, central heat/air. The oil lamps take getting used to-the small ones from Wal-mart aren't good at giving out light. The larger ones they sell are better. The Alladin lamp that costs a lot of $$ works fine if you keep a careful eye on it. The propane camping lamps give the most light, but the light is harsh and the the lanterns make a hissing sound which you get used to quickly. I bought a large Dietz lantern and it gave out very good light for the price. The lamps and lanterns give off heat as well as light and that is a benefit on a cold night.

Speaking of cold nights flannel is defenitely in fashion when the temps fall. Flannel pajamas, nightgowns and sheets and if your feet get cold like mine some nice fluffy socks too. Getting up in the middle of the night to feed the stove is a treat. I get up at least once or more for the loo anyway and seeing as I am up I put some wood on fire and get back to the warm bed. Soon enough the rooster crows and your up and at 'em getting the fire going, taking the dogs for a morning walk and when you get back to the kitchen making your favorite breakfast including toast and coffee. The toaster I use is a one sold at camping stores and toasts four slices of bread at one time, one side at a time and rather quickly. One has to keep an eye on the toast or you have rather well done toast in a fashionable shade of black to go with coffee.

The dogs had a wonderful time, checking out the barn, pasture, garden, chicken house, all the rooms of the house-there are nine rooms counting the large pantry, and the mud room. They also got introduced to the Amish horse and buggies. They responded to the new scenes rather well and looked very happy and very tired at night. After the evening meal there is a quiet time in the evening before getting ready for bed. This time, at first, was used for talking over the day and making lists of things to do the next day. Then when we got things caught up it became game time; we played board games until it was time for bed. There are so many things that have to be done one has to make a list and choose what to do. When I move in full time the list will get longer and the chores will increase as well; such is life on a small farm.

One disappointment was not getting the telephone installed. I will have to call the company and find out what the problem is as we had an appointment and they didn't show. It will get put in just that it will take time.

I enjoyed myself this trip, I felt at home, the place grows on you, plans come to mind and it feels right. I have chosen a place for the fruit trees, a place for the compost pile, another place for the green house. I have lists of things to repair or replace in my mind such as gutters for the house and over the barn doors, finnish the siding on the washroom, repair the porches, paint the kitchen and put up shelves, build boxes for the firewood, put up more curtians, replace the mudroom door, finnish the mudroom interior, so forth and so on. Then there are the pastures and fences to repair and gates to fix, the ramp to the second level of the barn has to be redone, and live stock added too. Whew! There is a lot of work to do :)

What people ask me

Here I am on my first overnighter at the farm fixing breakfast very early in the morning; note pressure lamp, wood stove with camp stove on top, old lady getting her bread ready to toast looking stylish in her black go anywhere sweats.

Here are the questions I have been asked concerning the farm so far.
How are you going to live without electricity?
How are you going to keep your food cold?
You don't have indoor plumbing?
How will you keep in touch with people?
What do you use for light?
What kind of animals will you have; would you eat them?
What will you grow in your garden?
How will you keep the food you grow if you don't have refrigeration?
Won't you get lonely?
Can you cook on a wood stove?
How far is it to a grocery store, big town, doctor, hospital, ect.
That is a lot of acres how will you be able to do the all the work?
How will you be able to use a computer there?

I think that this era is far removed from basic living. They depend far to much on technology and convienences so solve their routine life problems. Most of the world would envy the above picture. Having a fine stove(s) to cook with, ample light, abundant food and clean water to drink in obviously large suroundings. Everything is relative I guess. The questions have made me think how different my life experiences have been than the generations that follow me.

I look forward to lighting my oil lamps in the evening and hearing the crack and pop of a wood fire in the stove with the smell of wood burning in the air, the tea kettle whistling and steaming the air that is heavily scented with dinner cooking on the black stove. I would make a pot of tea and take it to my favorite rocking chair to have a sit and sip while waiting for supper to be done. Maybe if I am curious I will listen to the radio for the news or better yet not listen to it and enjoy the moment and give a small silent prayer of thanks to be here and able to enjoy the moment.

My first overnight stay at the MY farm

The time came to visit the farm. I didn't want to go earlier because the folks that sold the farm to me would be busy getting their stuff packed and ready to ship to their new place. I felt if I did visit I would put more stress on them and accomplish nothing for myself, so I put off visiting.

My sister came home from her job in Louisiana and we planned a visit to Kentucky. But, I didn't know if the other folks had moved yet. They were supposed to move and send a letter the day they moved out. I hadn't received a letter, calls to the neighbors didn't get answered and I was in the dark as to go or not go on the visit. The Amish didn't have a telephone.

I deceided to go. The day we left it had been raining in Virginia for several days and the rain was intense as we departed on our trip. It is a long ways to Kentucky from coastal Virginia and longer still when driving what seemed endlessly through the mountians of Virginia and West Virginia in the rain. Then the weather changed; it got colder and still wet. Slight problem with that weather change; we were not prepared for colder weather. So after several stops at Wally-World we had enough warm clothes to continue with our trip. But for one thing; we would arrive in the middle of the night. What if the other folks were still there? Where would we stay? We were tired and needed sleep anyway and deceided on staying at a roadside motel and have something to eat, get some sleep and arrive in daylight.

The next day we drove on to the farm and guess what? Our Amish folks had departed a few days earlier. When I got to our farm lane there was a van driving out, thinking that it was the Amish folks I waved it down. When the van stopped a young man was driving it and looked kind of nervous. I went into my Cop mode and demanded an explanation he said that the departing folks had given him some wood; I made him open the van and show me. It was wood and not much of it; the wood was cedar. He looked a little upset as he drove off. Later I felt bad for being so .... untrusting?

I checked the house out and then visited my neighbor; I told him my story above and he said he had seen the van and had an idea who it was. I told him that if he were to talk to the youngman or his folks to tell them that I was sorry that I was so rough with him over the wood. I also found out from him that the water line to the house and barn had been broken by the moving truck and that the previous folks were upset about it but had to leave, so they shut the water off at the meter, which is located up the road from my turn off. I borrowed some firewood from the neighbor and went back to the house.

Later that evening while sitting on the porch after dark a car drove up to the house. It turned out to be the young man's mother from the van earlier that day. She was very nice and we talked for a while and I got a chance to extend my apologies in person. We exchanged life stories and seemed to get on well.

That night Sis and I slept on the floor in our sleeping bags with the barest of padding.
Believe me that floor is hard wood alright. In the early morning hours there was a huge flash of lightening that lit up the house and a big bang of thunder that shook the place a bit then rolled and echoed off the hills for a long time. Sis said something like "Good Morning to you too" and went back to sleep.

The trip was over way before we had enough of the farm neither of us wanted to leave. The peace and quiet even the mooing sounds of a neighbor's cows made us feel at home. The rough quirkyness of the place grew on me and I felt at home there. In the morning sipping my tea, and eating toast after a breakfast of hot oatmeal I felt at peace, I felt at home.

On being a Nervous Nellie

It always comes down to money. I get so nervous spending money. I just made my first mortgage payment and I went through a period of worry. I am real good at worry, few things come easy to me but worry is EASY.

I can worry about most anything and if it has anything to do with money I can, most likely will, worry the situation till I drive myself looney. Most of the time when I do this it amounts to nothing, but you never can tell!

So, if you need to worry about something just let me know I'll show you how to do it up in style.


The horses above are not my horses. I wish they were my horses they look strong and able to pull a haywagon and mow the hayfields and pasture. They live on a farm not far from mine. The horse's pictured are named Jewel and Jed.

So, I have this horse drawn equipment, but no horses! I have a cultivator, hay wagon, haymower, and grasscutter. All I need is a horse or two or three. I have to think about this business of getting horses. First of all what horses? The two pictured here could do the job for sure. Then I was thinking of getting a buggy to run errands in like the Amish-that would require a different type of horse than the draft type pictured above. The Amish, I am told, favor the Standardbred horse; this is the same horse used at the trotting race tracks.

If I wanted horses for everything, work/pleasure, I would need to purchase three horses. A draft team and a buggy horse. I also would have to purchase a buggy. What do I know about this sort of thing? Very little, I hope my education doesn't cost to much. Like my father used to say "it costs to get an education, some people just keep on paying".

Of course I could avoid a lot of this by contracting out my hay to my neighbor and have him cut and bale for a share. Then I could get a horse that could pull the buggy, grasscutter and garden cultivator. That sounds like a good idea-I'll have to look into that.

Making Plans and researching

I am getting ready for the move to the farm. I will be saying that over and over to myself for months to come, I'm sure. I have started collecting and gathering together items to take with me on the next trip to Kentucky.

I have started a collection of buckets the 5 gallon white buckets with a handle-they have so many uses, from watering stock to using as a cap in the garden if there is a sudden frost. The buckets are good for storing feed, tools, flour, dog food, odd shaped objects, trash, "stuff for the compost pile. Speaking of the compost pile I making my own compost toilet. The Humanure book has directions for a composting toilet system using a common white plastic bucket. Of course I will have to try this out; I will let you know how it all works. I think I will convert the little house out back over to the composting system. You know that little house needs some decorating too. I'm thinking of a dutch door so one can have a view while conducting business. I think I will put in a hook for the lantern also "never liked doing business in the dark".

I have bought a camping stove that uses LP, a lantern that uses LP and LP canisters. I think I will convert a larger tank to run the stove so I won't have to change the canisters so often, the canister of LP always runs out just before the water boils or the beanie-weenies get hot. I also procured an Aladin Lamp, she's a honey and should give out the same light as a 60 watt electric lightbulb. Of course I have my collection of oil lamps they will do in a pinch.

I have been keeping the UPS driver busy delivering books to my house. I now have books on; raising chickens, sheep, goats, beef cows, composting, rural living, cooking on a wood stove, preserving food, Amish, solar power, living without electricity. There are books coming on how to keep a milk cow.

I dream of having a cow to milk and how nice it will be to have fresh milk and cream. Sure until the bugger swats me with its wet tail, steps on my foot and poops in the pail or all three things in the early dark hours in a cold barn-oh ya I have to see this ;) I can see the point of view of the cow though-here comes some old lady wearing black rubber boots an old coat and who knows what on her head carring a noisy, shinny pail in one hand and a noisy pressure lantern in the other. Oh, ya a cow's dream come true! Then this strange old lady lays her cold old hands on this cow's teats, I can see this getting real interesting.... I never did figure why we milk cows so early in the morning anyway-another of life's mysteries I may never find the answer to.

Will I have cows, sheep, horses, goats, chickens? Chickens for sure they will be the first to arrive. Then either sheep or goats; today I am leaning toward sheep (Icelandic). Then either a horse or a cow. If it is a cow I am thinking Jersey or Dexter as they are smaller and use less feed. I am thinking as far as horses go an Amish trained horse to pull a buggy and the lawnmower. Introducing a horse to the lawnmower has the potential to be very interesting, like a rodeo with the clowns!

Buying A Stove And Meeting The Neighbors

I drove over to the farm from the Post Office. Not a long distance and the country road went past some nice farms and a few that looked a little worse for wear. I drove into the farm and hello'd the house and sure enough the lady of the house invited me in. She was busy cooking and kept right on at her task. after a while she was caught up enough to answer some questions and show me the items that were for sale.

One of the items I wanted to know about was the kitchen stove. The asking price was reasonable and she showed me the features of the stove. Now this is a wood fired cooking stove Amish style, plain, black and functional. No fancy chrome, or designs, this is get down to business cook, bake, heat, make hot water stove. Her demonstration was as basic as well; put wood here, open draft here, to bake pull this, for hot water fill this and draw water there. I had seen other stoves selling at local stores for more money and in similar style. I bought the stove.

The lady took me out side and showed me several pieces of farm equipment a hay wagon rather old and with iron wheels (well you won't get a flat tire) a horsedrawn cultivator, and very nice mower. The mower she showed me was in the barn and it was a dandy. Painted bright red it had about four reel mowers that were dragged by a horse cart and there was a lever that raised and lowered the reel mowers-this looked almost new. I couldn't come to a decision on this so I didn't get it. Sometimes I get that way-I will spend thousands for one item and in the next moment get all tense about spending what is in comparison a small amount of money. I know it doesn't make sense, but that is the way I am- about a half a bubble off as a carpenter would say.

After my visit to the farm I drove over to the neighbors place and introduced myself. His family was on a shopping trip and he was there alone. He proceeded to tell me all about the area and how he moved there,about his family, that his wife home schooled, their seven children, the youngest about six weeks old. He talked about septic systems, electricity, wells, springs, cattle, hay, home schooling, politics, sheep, etc. He also told me about the night they came over to look at the place and after a while one of his sons came in and told him "Dad it's dark outside" he replied that that usually happens at night. A little later on "Dad it's really dark outside" I' be there in a minute he replied. When "Dad" went outside he found out what his son ment. It was absolutely dark; couldn't see the barn dark. There was no moon out and the Amish don't have barn lights; the children are used to the dark now.

I told him I had to go and would come back to meet his wife later. I did returned after dinner and met his wife who is a nice lady; taking care of seven children as though it were the easiest thing in the world. I did find out the telephone number for the telephone company servicing the area. I called the telephone company later and I have been told that I can get a phone put in for less than $250. I ordered that right off before someone changes their mind. When I left my neighbor's farm I was glad they left the door open the light helped me find my truck 'cause "It was dark outside :)".

As I left the neighbors farm and drove along the road in front of my farm I could see the light from the pressure lamps glowing from the windows and I imagined how they must be sitting down to dinner or board game maybe making some popcorn and planning their trip to their new home in Pennsylvania or New York. I also imagined myself inside with my lamps aglow cooking dinner on the wood fired stove with my cats soaking up the warmth under the stove and my yellow lab shelby sleeping on the rug dreaming dog dreams. Then I would be the one making plans, drawing up lists, dreaming of things to come.

Later on after the trip home and discussing the horse equipment with others I decided to buy it all. I figure if nothing else I can loan it out to others to use and maybe get them to use it on my place. If I get a horse that is broke to driving I may be able to use the equipment myself; after some instruction of course. I would like to get a buggy and horse to run errands in. I think that would be fun when the weather is nice. It might even be fun when it isn't nice like in a light rain or a snow shower as the horse clippity clops home to our farm. (sigh)

Tying Up Some loose Ends

August 3oth, 2005

Still raining off and on sometimes heavy sometimes not at all. The news is all about the hurricane and the problems with the whole gulf coast. The weather guessers are saying there will be more rain from the storm arriving all day in Kentucky.

After breakfast I got a late start on my chores for the day. First stop is the water company, I got the bill changed over to my name and asked what the bill was like for the previous year. There was were some high months but most of the time the bills were at the minimum rate of $13.oo. I guess the previous owners irigated their garden with county water? I paid a few months ahead and the usual deposit.

I then went to the county extension agent's office for information about farming in the area. I said something about goats and the next thing you know I am recieving information about goats. Meat goats no less. This getting information thing is going to take some time. I will have to get some soil samples to bring into the office and get analysied to see what improvement is needed. How I will be able to do that is beyond me.

I then went to an area called South Fork, there I made some inquiries about wood cooking stoves and other things. I got referred to a store called the Dutchman's. He sells supplies to the locals. The Dutchman's store doesn't look like much from the outside and at first glance not much inside, until one starts to look around. The first floor is for the hardware and general store stuff like bailing twine, boots, shoes, kerosene stove, kerosene lights, mops, brooms, nuts, bolts, nails, hinges, cleaning supplies, and on and on. The second floor was for used furniture; beds, chests of drawers, tables and so forth.

The man tending store was in a talkative mood and he asked questions and I asked questions we had a rather long conversation about the general state of affairs and felt each other out. He seemed pleased that I had bought the farm and even more pleased that I was not going to put in electricity. The store just happens to sell lamps, spare parts for them and kerosene (!!).

I went about my chores and found the Post Office and had a wonderful chat with the Post Master and rented a postal box. I may find that better than home delivery. I will give it a try.
The Post Master gave me a map of the local area and showed how to get to my farm from there rather quickly. I took his advice and headed the truck to the farm.

Closing rituals

August 28th, 2005
The trip to Liberty KY was long, longer than I remmembered, however this time I didn't have a co-driver and that does make a difference. The weather on the way to KY became worse with rain showers and then heavy rain in patches. Why is it that when you are looking for a sign that is the time the skies open up and the rain is the heaviest? I missed a turn and ended up in diffrent town!
Realizing my mistake I didn't want to try and find a back road to the town I was going to with the rain and darkness falling so I doubled back to where I made my wrong turn and got on the correct route.

My arrival in town went un-noticed as I searched for the driveway to the only motel in town. I got my room and found a place to get coffee. Actually the coffee was surprisingly good even though it was at a convienince store/gas station. I made a call home to ensure that there would be less worry about my where-abouts. I used a phone outside the gas station and as luck would have it I got drips of water down my neck as I tried to talk on the phone. I made the call a short one. When I got back to the motel I used the phone there to call home again in drier conditions. I turned the TV on to catch the news about the hurricane hitting the gulf coast. The news looks bad, if the levees fail it is all over for New Orleans. If the hurricane arrives as class 5 or 4 the loss will be beyond belief. The best thing they can do is try to get out of there and away from the area as far and as quickly as possible.

August 29th 2005
This the day of "closing" on the farm. Closing is a legal ritual to finalize the transfer of property and obligations from one owner to another owner and try to clarify all the details as to who owes who what. I have dressed appropriately for the occasion-I am wearing black.

This morning I slept in because I got into watching the news about the hurricane and stayed up late. The news folks hyped the event and did the usual stand in the wind and rain thing. I got up got dressed and went to a local restaurant called Emma's for breakfast. I have to remmember that they have bigger than usual portions. I asked for ham and eggs. The ham covered most of the plate. I could only eat half of the ham two eggs and three biscuits. Then it was time to go to the bank.

Banks, Churches, and people's behavior.
Did you ever observe how people behave when they enter a bank? They use the same behavior as though they were in church. Hushed tones, and a quiet demeanor is the rule-holding their deposit/withdrawal papers in front of them as though they were praying. Who knows maybe some are praying-please let there be enough money in there, please, please.

Then there are the gate keepers, the gate keeper at this bank was friendly at least and did acknowledge that I was there-she even knew my name. Then again few people can forget a woman over six foot tall and built like a tractor. In due time I was summoned to an office to begin the ritual paper work.

Surprise #1. The lady I had been dealing with was out for the day-because her farther-in-law was having a pacemaker put in.
Surprise #2. It was revealed by the title search that there is a mineral lease on the property. That gave me a start. Seems that this common in the area and as far as the lady at the bank knows none have been invoked. The lease has four more years to go out the ten year life of the lease.
Surprise #3. The usual method of closing is there is a statement of what is owed by whom and the various parties pay a third party to insure that the financial obligations are met. This could be important when it comes to taxes. It seems here that the real estate company collects the taxes due on the property to date from the owners and makes a check out to the buyer for that amount and then the buyer is responsible for the taxes for the current year. This I feel puts a burden on the real estate office that is not their responsibility. However, once again this is how it is done here so that's they way it will be done. The good thing about this is I get to use the full deduction for the tax year, I hope.

The the ritual check writing for the various expenses; lawyers, loan prep, deed registration fee for two counties because the land is in two counties.

Suprise #4. The part where I come up with the down payment, this became dicey when I showed them the checks from my broker at Fidelity. Seems the lady filling in for the one I was supposed to be dealing with didn't know that I had been told to just bring the checks. She had to dash off and talk to one of the bank officers about this issue. It worked out as the bank cashed the checks and made out one for the down payment to the realtor (?) and the balance to me.

"So" I asked where are the sellers? The bank lady explained that there had been a change in times made by the realtor and they hadn't been able to notify the sellers as they didn't have a telephone. Weak excuse, the real estate office knew this and it was their responisbility to get the word to them. The sellers had an appointment for the afternoon. They were being driven in from the farm in a van.

My part was done-sort of anti-climatic; I had a bundle of papers and a mortagage at an outragous rate and I now owned a farm in Kentucky. I had mixed emotions about the proceedings like it needed something, I don't know what. A little song and dance a few bars of "Green Acres" a warm handshake or even a cold handshake. Maybe things are that easy, you pay your money and sign a promise to pay more and pay for a few chores and that's that; stand up straighten your skirt, grab your umbrella and leave.

I did a little shopping and went to lunch at Emma's - where I sat facing the window watching the passing parade of people coming and going from the county court complex and businesses on or near the restaurant. The rain came down harder, the news from New Orleans was bleaker. I left after lunch and returned to the bank to talk with the sellers. I got a list of items they wanted to sell and I made an appointment with them to visit the farm and look over the items.

I went back to the motel and caught up on the news. I had a lot of things to do the following day.

Communicating with the Amish is more personal

I made an offer for the little Amish farm and the realtor said he would take the offer to the owner at the farm. You see the Amish don't have phones at home or electricity nor indoor plumbing. They do use technology; just that they are careful about how much and when.

This makes for an interesting circumstance when doing business with them. Instead of talking to a little plastic box in your hand you go and visit with them and talk about the business in person. This is the way business is done in most of the world except the developed world. I like doing business this way. I get to see how the other person reacts to my communication-most communication is non-verbal. Posture, hand, eye movements, facial expression, rate of breathing, sighs, shifting of weight and a host of other voluntary in-voluntary actions and learned regional, social expressions color communication. The little plastic boxes cannot transmit that kind of information.

Also the when you have to visit someone in person and get their attention to do business the pace slows in one respect and in another the response is immediate. Usually you know where you stand in regards to how they feel about the issue at hand.

I like the the personal face to face business style seems more real.

I am coming to the end of a career in government service (U.S. Customs) and in preperation for that event in my life I have explored many options in great detail. My choice of what to do with my life is to move to the country. I remember my childhood days on a farm in New England that belonged to my Aunt Hilda and her parents. It was a small chicken farm run by the three of them-her parents were the day to day managers and she held a full time job with U.S. Customs. With her salary and the extended family helping the farm was a success and provided a pleasant home for them for many years.

I have had the oppurtunity to care for livestock and garden over the years since, but not live in a rural environment. I have taken care of horses, chickens and raised a family garden with modest success.

I have most likely romanticized country life to some degree, a natural failing. On the other hand I am a pragmatic person and love a challange of my own making. To help keep my failures to a minimum I have been studying up on farm skills and knowledge. No doubt I will be a source of amusment to the real country folk who will be my neighbors.

I started looking for country property a year ago; watching the ads on the internet. I narrowed down the location of my country place to a few states. I tried to get insight into the areas of interest by talking to people I found from these states. I visited the states of particular interest to get a first hand impression of the area. I made a real estate hunting trip that took me through eleven states and numerous real estate offices. I found a place that I liked and within my budget in Kentucky. This place is an old Amish farmstead that I will call "Oak Spring Farm".

Why "Oak Spring Farm"? Here is were emotions come in to play. That day I had looked at several farms (5) and each had its good and bad points. This farm seemed to be home to me. The layout of the house and barn set back from the road with its own country lane I had seen in my minds eye for a long time. I walked through the house and felt it was a good place. In the barn I could smell the hay and hear the horses outside whinneying as they conversed among themselves about the strange visitor inside their barn.

I walked the fields and smelled the alfalfa in the hot summer sun with two of the horses as my companions-I spotted where the Amish owner had his deerstand. I had dozens of un-spoken questions some of which I knew the answer to almost intuitively. The real estate agent was smart enough to leave me alone with my thoughts and only led me to where the pond was fed by a spring hidden at the stump of an old oak tree; hence the name "Oak Spring Farm".

Will my dreams of rural life on a twenty four acre farm in Kentucky come true? Will my dreams turn into a nightmare? Who knows what the future will bring. I think it will be very interesting.

My neighbors are going to be Amish, Mennonite and Kentucky farm folk. They have a lot of experience in rural living I hope they are kind to this new neighbor.

The house is both old and new, the original homestead is about a hundred years old. There have been several additions and modifications over time. There are many repairs needed- actually projects that need to be finnished; such as the siding on the washroom, and front porch and the upstairs bedrooms need finnishing off. Oh, I forgot to mention there is no electricity or indoor plumbing. There is pressure water from the county. The heat is from woodstoves in the kitchen and parlor. The Amish don't believe in frills.

I admire the Amish for their commitment to their way of life. The family that lives on the farm now seems to be doing well. The owner is a saddle maker and does very good work. He runs his machines from a motor installed in the barn with belts and drive shaft. His wife is very busy with four children to care for and a large house to run all by hand. Her washing machine is the old wringer type run by a small gasoline motor, works fine. She uses a solar powered clothes dryer (clothes line). The privy is convenient to the washroom; just a short walk from the door to the little house.

This could be very interesting.