Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Shifting Gears, Negative to Positive



The last 11 days, since we were court awarded control of our property in Chatsworth, have been stressful. Managing two farms with livestock on both, the cleanup activities required on the bigger farm, showing of the that farm to prospective buyers and the twice a day milking there has been frazzling but, the blessings coming our way are equally overwhelming.

The community support via social media, texts, old fashioned but much appreciated phone calls has been truly awesome, and I do not use "awesome" very often. At night, when we are exhausted from it all, we read these comments and best wishes to each other and we are reminded of how special our family, friends, and past customers truly are. The word, community, has never felt so powerful.

We also remind each other...no one died, this is just stuff we have to fix, repair and resell. Things...are not permanent. Keith worries about my workload and I worry about his, that's how we operate. We both worry about our financial burdens but that gets offered up to higher powers everyday. HE has much bigger shoulders than even this wide bodied farmwife.

Through Facebook listings we garnered huge interest in the real estate and showed our one time family home to many people over the last 24 hours. Yesterday we met with a realtor and will turn it over to him very soon. You can see our home/machine shed/barn listing HERE.

All of our livestock, milk cows, young heifers, and calves are for sale. Some are being sold to individuals and the first few destined for the sale barn have been identified. You can see our livestock listing HERE. We are open to offers on all.

In a day or two I'll be listing our equipment for sale. Tractor, grain wagons, hay feeders, grain grinder, manure spreader.

It is difficult to piece out our old farm business life this way, we had always hoped it could survive intact, but that has not happened. Yet, at 57 I am aware that often something has to be torn down, deconstructed, dissected, in order for it to be built back up again, stronger, more resilient, than before. When we bought the Chatsworth farm in 1995 it was destined for destruction at that time, on the schedule for complete demolition and return to farmland. We had to convince the owners to sell it to us.

Over the next twenty years we built a new barn, repaired the century old farmhouse, built a milk house, added a new machine shed, opened a Grade A Dairy, converted it to a Raw Milk Dairy, and obtained organic certification for our land, livestock, milk and meat products. We also raised four children there. In the last 14 months much of this was destroyed or at least badly damaged, (not, the kids, they're fine) but there is a family or individual out there willing to envision it's new potential. So until we are connected , we are going to continue to work very hard to bring this farm back to a place someone would be proud to own, to call home, as we, our children and grandchildren did, for over two decades.

24 comments:

  1. Wishing you the best of luck with the rest of the process xx

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    1. Thanks Lorna. We've got another hot day here. Wish I was in cooler Ireland right now!

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  2. You are SO right. Life goes on. But does it have to be so bloody messy & hard sometimes??? You have grit Girl. Deep, deep gravel & grit. But, don't forget to salvage enough material for that BARN!! By the way, I'm jumping up & down waving pom poms . . .

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    1. Gravel and grit. I love that.
      And thanks so much for all the cheerleading.Rah, rah!

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  3. Thanks for keeping us updated. It sounds like a hectic schedule, filled with a lot of disappointment, but you've got the right head on, to remember what's really important. To lose a possession is one thing, but to lose a partner is another.

    When my husband and I have had our nose to the grind in the past, the best place in the universe, was when we hit the pillow together. Knowing as hard as it is, you have your soul mate, right beside you, and they'll be who you wake up to in the morning, makes it more bearable.

    Take care of each other, and make time for hugs. They are always my fuel to get through the hard days. :)

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  4. Thank you for taking the time to keep us updated, it must be one of the few sit downs of the day when you are sat blogging.

    What a huge amount of work for you both to have to do. I have my fingers firmly crossed that a good buyer comes along for the farm and maybe one that will buy a few of the other things being sold off and keep some of it together for the future. xx

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  5. A logical game plan coupled with your positive attitude and the help of your family, friends and community serves as a shining example of what can be done when everyone steps up to the plate. To.geth.er. Donna, your's and Keith's moxy sends vibrations throughout the Force and shames the likes of a certain politician who thinks America is not great.

    I know how sad and disappointing it is to have to sell off the farm/stock piecemeal. But it's not for lack of intent on your part, just bad luck the "prince farming" that took over really turned out to be a loathesome "prince harming". I don't doubt you'll make it right in the end. Hang in there.

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    1. "Prince harming"!! That's great. First real smile I've had on my face in a few days.

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  6. You two are amazing.

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  7. If you were both Aussies i'd anoint you with title of being True Blue. As it is, what you have is gumption, by the truck load.

    Sending you both my wish that in between all that work, your sleep is restful and filled with peace.

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    1. Mostly Lynda, we just pass out half way up the stairs. Fortunately not many stairs in the grain bin house so when we tumble back down the injuries are minor.

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  8. I wish I could afford to just quit my job and come lend a helping hand until all things are settled on your farm(s). UGH!! Period.

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    1. Thank you Keith. We've been blessed with lots of hands recently. One of my sisters built a Koi pond out front of the farm Store and another added a balcony off the master bedroom. Or did I just dream that? (My) Keith and I are walking a fine line between reality and disorientation these days :)

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  9. Your work loads must be overwhelming at the moment, I do hope you manage to sell the stock and farmstead quickly.

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    1. Since this post (4 days ago) we've sold all our calves and several of the cows. Hard to see them go, but we're happy to have some financial relief.

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  10. I´m so sorry you´re having to go through this. I do hope you manage to sell quickly and get on with your new lives.

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  11. I still can't find a way of 'following' you.... have I missed something?

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    1. I have tried to figure out this issue Cro but failed. When I can remember will ask my son to look into. In the meantime drop by whenever. Now time for me to hop overseas and see how you are doing.

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  12. Wishing you well! I must have missed a post about what happened. I thought it was all sold and no worries? Obviously somehow you got it back. Me thinks there is probaby a story worth a novel there, ha. You'll get thru it, I truly believe we aren't given anything we can't handle. Now figuring that part out, well, that's where the work is, LOL. Fingers, toes, and eyes crossed for you!!

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    1. Funny, my sister Peg said the same thing about their being a novel in all this. I hope so, with all the time we've spent doing clean-up I've done very little FUN writing.

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