Things are becoming more up in the air now than before as we try to figure out the means to do a big life change, and just what the end goal is. We are sure we need to rehome a few llamas, and that there are other animals we won’t be able to take with us for practical reasons. Anyone interested in goats, two old llamas that need to be able to live out their days in peace, and a young male llama or two? We also have pot belly pigs that need a new home. None will fit into our moving plans or be easy to take with us. There are sure to be other animals too, such as some chickens, geese, and ducks, and maybe even the peacocks, as we are thinking we are going on a long journey forward. Three girl llamas will probably be going with us at any cost, though it would be good to get them stud service before we go.
Our range of possibilities lead us anywhere from Minnesota to Maine, and several states in between. It is time for a change, and a serious one at that. But to give up the farm totally is off the cards. We are looking for land, and it must have some pasture, some place to work our hobbies to turn them into businesses, and some trees. We want the trees! The places we are looking at are just too far to take many animals, and would be hard on all but the healthiest, and us.
Is this any different from when we threw everything into the wind and moved from the UK to America? Life should never be boring.
Right now, we are thinking to look towards Maine, go all the way, and set up a llama heard there, and of course some chickens for eggs and meant. We may get going on goats again, and others. But if we get the chance to get a fiber mill going for her, and a wood shop going for me, then that’s what we ought to do. Too much else is a distraction from where we both have our hearts set. I’d like to see us find a place where we can accommodate all that, and hopefully a bit more, too.
Nothing is set in stone, but either way, we need to get the older llamas rehomed, and the males sold for a reasonable price. They could help us get a good trailer to move the girls in!
I am keeping my eye open for a stock trailer. Bumper pull would do for the girls, though I would really rather have a gooseneck as I think it would be safer to pull long distance, and give them a bit more room to ride in. I have searches set up and check them daily.
I have arranged for a test hole to be dug to prepare for a new septic system on the house. Lucky I have a friend with a backhoe. That part is paid for with the county, and I have to pay for the permit for the system, next. Then it is time to get a solid estimate on cost for a new tank and field put in. Let’s just hope that comes in cheap! If I keep my personal spending under control, I can pay off my debts in a month, and if the contractor can take a payment from a card, and it is cheap, I can hold the cost of it there till the house sells, and begin paying it myself in the mean time. I am sure I have not covered every contingency, but I think as a general outline, we have forward motion.
As we have looked at houses, there are some really nice ones coming up on smaller properties, around five acres. I would much rather come in around twenty, especially with a wood lot, but we have to consider what kind of condition we are willing to accept the house in when we move in. Putting it bluntly, this house has gotten ahead of us on repairs, needs someone to do some work before moving in, while it is empty, and we need a fresh start. I don’t want to let this house get lost to disrepair and end up among the rubble of the many in this area that have fallen before it. It is such an historic home, and so many people are connected to it somehow. This is really important to me. But we have had such a long to do list that it has always been a case of having to do temporary fixes on one job while looking at the next three that also need to get a short term fix. This is why it needs a moment empty, and the work all done at once.
I know I have not been totally clear on this blog where we are going from here, and what is to become of The Peasant’s Manor Farm, or the Whittle House, but we just don’t know yet. We know we have put off moving for a long time, though, even though we have both thought of it every summer for years, now. We have ghosts here that need to be buried. This is the only way. That is a personal reset that we have not been able to work out any other way. We have both had time to figure out finally what we want to be when we grow up, and the Peasant’s Manor Farm idea, and the Antiquary Artisan are our dreams. Those are our path forward. So the farm will not die. It will just transition, then rise again, more focused on providing supplies to the Antiquary Artisan’s workshop!