Friday the 13th.

We closed on the purchase of Loving Farm on April Fool’s Day, 2020.  Interestingly enough, we sold the city house on Friday the 13th, 2020.   As soon as I heard that Friday, November 13th would be the date to close, something inside of me knew it was going to happen.  It is 2020, after all! 

Having completed the duck run and coop, Perriee left her job at the end of September, as we were putting the house on the market.  We rented a few U-hauls to move our stuff, 15 feet at a time.    With the pandemic in full swing, and being able to work from home all of the time, it just made sense to scale it back and take the plunge to move to the country.  We are literally Making Time for Tipi now!  The intentions that have been set are coming to fruition and we could not be more pleased! 

Fort Flocka

#lotsaflocka

We think the ducks have something called, “gapeworm” and are going to be heading to vet via Howard on Tuesday. I made the appointment on a Tuesday, but they had a week long wait, or we would have had him seen sooner. He is going as the family representative, since ultimately, how we treat him for whatever he has, will be done to all four of them. It has been stressful, per usual to find a vet in the vicinity. I called some places close by, but no one sees duckies, so he will have an hour ride ahead of him to get to a doc that saw June before for a stuck egg. A dream would be for someone to come here to see them. Fingers crossed that it is a manageable treatment. They are all eating and drinking and spry, so not the emergency in “vet speak”.

@HowardDayzNicknJune

Our current projects are focused on keeping the pipes warm, with some insulation and getting the house’s legs stabilized by having some pier and beam reinforcement done in the basement.  There is a large stone missing from one of the piers and maybe someone removed a supportive wall at some point.  We are on the list for February unless there is a cancellation.  The people we hired seem super organized and professional – a husband and wife couple.  

It has been getting cooler, so we had to get the pilot lit on the propane furnace.  Both of our propane heaters are amazing.  They are by-far my favorite features of this house.  I have always wanted a gas fireplace, and now we have two of them!  The electric is on in the trailer and the barn now too.  We feel the progress and somehow, amidst it all, I am finding more moments of relaxation and self care.  I think it is good.  

Homework

Tip your Uhaul movers.  During one of our truck moves, we hired movers through Uhaul so we could save our backs on the large items (picnic table, matress/boxspring, dressers, etc.).  Compared to having a mover drive the truck, it was several hundred dollars difference to drive the truck ourselves and have someone else do the lifting.  Something felt like it was a gig type job and they were getting little more than base pay and hopefully some insurance if they got hurt on the job.  

Silver Linings, Lemonade, Cup Half Full…

I am not going to lie: the last several weeks have been super heavy.  Things have peaked with plumbing issues, keeping the ducks safe and healthy, waiting on the closing date of a property we may or may not accrue, along with trying to coordinate our move away from Indiana.  When someone talks about the walls closing in, I think I can finally relate. In the middle of it all, of the stress, anxiety, and worry, I keep finding rays of light to remind us of the good things in life.

We broke down the tipi last weekend and it is all ready to move home to the city.  We were hoping to be able to move it to a new place and get the canvas all aired out, but we are not there yet, and don’t even know if we will be there, so it is all coming home to the city. Initially, we were pretty disappointed because we had hoped to only have to move the tipi once, but the universe has other plans.  

One of my two amazing brothers and my amazing sister came out to help us take her down.  It was so awesome to see the tipi in its bare state again with all of her bones exposed to the air.  Surprisingly, it was actually pretty easy. Four people and two hours was about all we needed to get it all broken down and prepped for the move.  We celebrated by having lunch at Jack’s Place on the way home. They make homemade carrot cake and peanut butter pie (which we snagged the last piece of).  

We weighed our options between driving a truck ourself versus paying movers and we ended up settling on Two Men and a Truck, ordered a 26 footer, and called it a day.  Let me tell you, it was worth it. Let’s look at a quick list of why:

• Successfully pull up the steep, precarious driveway, without getting stuck in a ditch at the bottom, and get out without incident.  
• Pick up and move the picnic table 
• Move the cast iron wood stove
• Successfully pull up our steep hill, park and unload said items above, and drive out of the neighborhood without hitting any cars.
• Moving tipi poles alone, in order for us to get a smaller truck would have cost between 500-700 dollars.  

The poles look pretty cozy in their new spot, and the things we moved into the city don’t feel at all overwhelming in terms of volume.  The backyard shed is pretty full at the moment, and we have a very large pile of tipi canvass in our basement/family room, but it is ok. We have turned the page, officially.  The sick feeling that I have had in my stomach for the last year, everytime we went there, is gone. That feeling would start towards the end of the ride to get there, until we unloaded everything and were settled at our spot, by the tipi.   Whatever the origin of that feeling was, it does not matter. It was not serving a purpose to enrich our lives so it needed to end. And it feels so good.  

Homework:  Look at how full your glass is and enjoy it! 

Now that we officially do not have to go back to Indiana, and have everything we own all in one place again, we are going to lean into the moment and regroup.  Although we still have a lead on a house, we don’t know if we will be getting it. Instead of worrying about that unknown, we will focus on the home we have and enrich our life here as much as possible.  We already have a list of projects we want to tackle, we have seeds growing for the spring, and are loving the extra time with the pets.  

Here is a quick list of our Northern Kentucky projects:

• Build privacy fence along one side of the backyard.
• Redo kitchen sink and install a door between the bedroom and kitchen (contractor please!)
• Pour a concrete pad for the basement bathtub. 
• Redo the basement bathroom area.
• Epoxy the basement floor
• Redo basement lighting
• Tiny-house-ify the shed in the backyard? 

Being back in one place feels right at the moment.  In light of the whole mission of our lives to simplify and spend more time together, I think we are actually on to something! Yes, we are still excited about the prospect of the new property and have a ton of ideas about how to fit that into our mission.  But this time in limbo has given us time to reset and refocus what we really want. The cabin was amazing, but once done with it, we would still be in the same place we are at now. We would not have an alternate source of income, except maybe Airbnb in the tipi, which never felt right anyhow in light of the situation with the other family living there.

That time spent was not a waste.  We needed it to learn the skills that we will use in this next phase of life.  We grew closer because of it all. Now we reset and keep pushing forward. We are counting our blessings.  Yes, we have had a bit of disappointment in the last year or so. The true source of the “let-downs” is not failure.  The only real reason we have had disappointment is because we took chances. If you never take any chances, you cannot fail and cannot be let down.  We tried. And we will try again! 

We are simplifying.  We are Making Time for Tipi.  Our glass is half full of lemonade and it tastes so good.  

Happy Hatch Day, #lotsaflocka!

Happy Hatch Day to #lotsaflocka!  I cannot believe they are one year old already.  It has been quite a journey and I love them more now than I could have ever even imagined loving a duck when we first considered getting them.  

hatch day 2018

One little duckie, Dayz, has given us quite a few worried days, and she likely will continue to do so, but I will not give up on her until she tells me it is time.  Even with their nutritious diet, she has trouble forming normal eggs.  This causes her a lot of discomfort and could be fatal, so we asked our local vet to do an implant that will prevent her from forming eggs for a while.  So far, it seems to be working well.  She has not had to lay in over a week now, and seems to be feeling pretty good. 

I would have never guessed that that would be something we would be dealing with when we got ducks.  Needless to say, we have learned a lot about them in the last year, so we want to pass on our knowledge to you.  Most of what we know has come from both internet research as well as from an amazing group of Instagram duck lovers who share their stories to help educate as well as entertain.   

hatch day 2019

Here is a quick list of things I have learned since we got them:

Appreciate every egg you eat.  The amount of energy that goes into creating a good egg is underreported.  It is physically taxing and not all fowl are physically able to produce a good egg all of the time, even if their bodies insist on trying. After seeing all of the trouble Dayz goes through to make eggs, it hurts my heart to think of all of the hens out there in industrial farming settings who suffer alone.  As consumers, we don’t get to see all of the ugly eggs and the hens who struggle to lay them.

“His” and “Hers” quarters are a must! The next time we build an enclosure for these turkeys we will at least make it possible to separate them easily, even if they seem to be getting along.  There are those times (aka spring) when the guys just can’t control themselves, and “toxic masculinity ruins the party again”. In the meantime we will supplement with dried chamomile flower in their morning water to help keep everyone as calm as possible.  I slacked off for a bit, and it may have been coincidence, but things got pretty crazy for a bit and just might be leveling out a bit since I re-started.

Plan for the water.  We go through so much water so this year we are planning on growing a lot of stuff that needs water!  I think we need a watering can too. We have made three raised beds in the back yard and are going to plant all zinnias in the front yard.  We also have talked about a way to recycle the water, similar to aquaponics.  

Ducks are so smart.  As ornery as they can be, they are so quick to pick up new tricks and will do almost anything for a pea.  I feel it is important to make them work for their treats sometimes to keep their mind busy. The boys, especially, get really bossy when they are bored.  

People dump domestic ducks all of the time and think it is ok.  It is not ok. It is so sad and heartbreaking. I am afraid to go to a park right now because I am fairly certain that now that I know what I am looking at,  I will find ducks who should not be there.  Domestic ducks (Pekins, Khaki Campbell’s, Magpies, Runners, Muscovy, etc.) cannot fly to get away from predators, they do not migrate, and they depend on us to provide shelter and nutritious food to keep them safe and healthy.  Yes, they can fly up and then fly back down, but they are not going any significant distances. With proper care and good health, a duck can live to be at least ten years old. They are not a short-term commitment.

People love ducks!  I can tell you we were nervous to welcome them to our urban backyard.  I was worried that the neighbors would be upset about them and complain.  The actuality is that our neighbors love them. So many of them sneak peeks when we don’t even know about it.  They come to watch them when they are feeling stressed and just need to unwind a bit. Ducks are so fun to watch and very therapeutic when they are just going about their business.  

Ducks are tough.  I have already thought we were going to say goodbye to Dayz several times in the last few months.  She has looked so tired and has bounced back beyond belief. Someone said the other day, “there is a reason that this descendent of the dinosaur is still here today”.  Boy were they right about that!

Happy hatch day duckies!  Thank you for all of the joy you bring into our lives and thank you for allowing us novices to do our very best to make your lives as perfect as possible.  

Winter in the City with Ducks

Winter has finally arrived and it is wonderful.  I made it back from week out-of-town for work  just in time to enjoy a snowy weekend in the city. It started snowing Friday night and it kept falling into Sunday.  Our totals were probably only about 6 inches after it was all said and done.

Here again a week later, we are waking up to a fresh blanket of snow.  Since we have been close to the city home for the past couple of weekends I thought it would be a nice opportunity to share what we have learned about keeping domestic ducks in the winter.

Most of what I have learned is courtesy of Lisa Steele from Fresh Eggs Daily (@fresheggsdaily). Thanks, Lisa! If you are interested, I encourage you to read up on the topic to make sure you are getting the facts.  It is fascinating to learn about their special physiology that allows them to jump into a cold pond in the middle of winter: Why don’t duck feet freeze?.  

It is just now the coldest it has been since we have had them, and as a result of what I have learned about how cold tolerant they are, I am taking the recommended measures to protect them against the “below 20 degree Fahrenheit” threshold. The heated water dog bowl is getting its inaugural use today (which they seem to love) and I beefed up their house last night with a couple of full flakes of straw to take up some empty space and add to insulation.  Although the outside temp is about 10 in the sun, it is at least several degrees warmer in their house. We will toss in a couple of more flakes of straw in their house, as it is only going to get colder tonight.  While their coop door is open, I draped a towel to cover the opening and keep some cold air out.  

I should clarify that the water bowl is in their run.  One thing I can say with confidence, is that you should never put water inside their house when it is super cold out (or ever, in general)  since it can cause a situation where things will get wet and they will possibly get frostbite.

I fed them some warm oatmeal with peanuts and raisins (which honestly, they haven’t eaten yet) to help raise their body temperature.  I think i will offer some warm pea soup later. That, I can be certain they will love.

Finally, in their outdoor run, I spread out some straw on top of the snow to give them something to step on that is not directly on the cold ground.  I even tossed in a nice piece of wood for them to sit on if they wish. I want them to have options. Above it all, I am so happy to be home so I can keep a close eye on them.  These are the first super cold days that I have had them for, so I feel like this is a great time to establish a baseline with them. It is time to learn what this group in particular needs to get them through this special time of year.

Homework

Do your homework.  I have been using Google, consulting my print resources (Duck Eggs Daily)  and asking questions to the Instagram duck community to get this right.  You don’t know what you don’t know, so reach out to get the information you need.

Birthday Weekend 2018

Cabin Corner:

Four tons of gravel is scheduled to be delivered to the homestead this week.  The man I spoke with about the delivery really made me realize how much I need to learn the lingo in the area about where we live.  “You are over there on top of the hill, right?”, he said. “Uhhh…I think so?” “Are you close to the fire department?” , he asked.  “Ummm, I am not really sure”, I replied. “My mother lives over that way, I’ll find you.” There were a couple of more exchanges about where he thought we lived at, then we started talking about payment.  All cash or check. No problem, except for the fact that I did not know if Elaine and Matt would be able to give him money at the time of delivery.   He was not at all concerned and was completely comfortable just having us pay him over the weekend.  People over there are just so very kind. It is so refreshing.

In addition to the gravel order, I have loaded up a cart on Lowes.com and am hoping for an easy truck delivery to the farm.  Since we are getting a truck full of bags of concrete, we went ahead and threw in about 40 bags of mulch in order to touch up the Tipi Trail when we’re done trashing it with our equipment.  We also added 200 feet of garden hose that should reach us at the bottom of the trail in order to avoid the need for hauling water down to our spot.  This will also serve as a life-saver once we move in.  We will use the access to water for both the ducks and some gardening, not to mention for basic teeth brushing and dish washing.  I can’t wait.

All of the holes are dug and currently sitting at a two foot depth.  We decided to go ahead and continue digging down to three feet this weekend, before adding the gravel.  Three is definitely the magic number in this case.  That is the frost line level in our area and we might as well go with it.  The post hole diggers made a 9 inch diameter hole and we will top them off with a 12 inch sonotube pour for a bit of extra stability above ground.  From there, we will add a 6×6 post to the top of the footer and build up. Not sure how exactly yet, but one step at a time, right? We have some ideas of how we want to do it based on a combo of advice and YouTube videos.

Cast Iron Cooking Corner:

I made the best oatmeal for breakfast on Sunday morning.  It was full of apple, walnuts, cinnamon, butter and brown sugar.  Delicious. It took forever because we let the fire go out overnight on Saturday since it was actually pretty warm in the tipi. I did not even think about firing up the propane stove until it was almost done.  Next time!

Gadget Corner:

We left the Biolite Campstove with Matt for the week to see what he thinks about it.  In the absence of excitement, we may return it and put the money we spent towards a different solar package with a little more power.  

Homework:

Don’t be afraid to make your own recipe.

My homemade spaghetti sauce is a hybrid of the influence of many different sauce makers in my life.  I add the carrots from one person, the Worcestershire from another, and the meat from someone else.  Why can’t the cabin design be similar?  I am pretty sure our cabin is going to be a big combo of our advisors input as well as the internet research we have done  on the internet and other places. Ask your questions, get your answers, then make your own decisions.  It is ok to try out your ideas.  Make it your recipe.  

Nikki