The Final Countdown... ...House 2.0

We are, baring some unforeseen complication, less than a week away from living in our house. In the last few weeks, we have been out there almost every day working on something house or farm related. There will still be a lot of small things to do, but the necessary items should be completed by then.  

One the farm side, the pastures have greened-up nicely and on the last day in April, I turned the cows out to graze the the east side of the farm (around 8 acres). I spent early April working on fence connectivity around the farm and getting power to the high tensile lines that went put up last fall. 

Looking Toward the House and Building from the East side of the Farm

Cattle Getting Turned Out to Grass on April 30th

Wiring& Digging under the Gates to get Power to the Boundary Fences

Wiring up the Fences so We Have Power

We have starting to get this growing season worked out. Poultry have been ordered, but we are starting a month latter then we normally would. We have only two calves so far, but several other cows are looking pretty close to calving. I hope we can can get customer correspondence out within the next two weeks, including delivery dates. We do still have some inventory left from last year (whole chickens, ground beef, tenderloin, flank steak, porterhouse steak, and, shorts ribs come to mind). We will be working with the Story City Locker this year. That will cost quite a bit more, so adjustments to beef pricing will come this year.  Beef prices have been steady for three years, but our costs have not. I am excited about the possibility of working with the Story City Locker and about new products we might be able to offer. As it currently stands, we will not have new beef ready until the September delivery, but we should be good to go for fall grilling season. Story City Locker is going to work with our left over turkeys and create some turkey garlic and basil sausages so we have something to offer customers for the summer grilling season. 

The house is coming together finally. There are so many fine details to work out, like sanding and staining trim, touch-up paint, and grading around the house. Despite all of the things left to do, I figured I would share a few pictures of where we are right now. The trim carpenters did a great job. They are some of our new neighbors and are fine craftsmen.

Kitchen in the New House is Coming Together

Egg Washing Station also Coming Tgether

Stove Propane Tank just got Delivered, to its Own Little Concrete Pad

Janice and I just put the Vanities Together Yesterday

Trim Carpenters Built the Wood Lockers in the Mudroom

Trim Carpenters Put the Stairs Together

Another Look at the Stairs

 Through this whole process, the kids of hung in there. We have really been pushing them to the limit here in the past few weeks. Our Son has obviously grown accustom to going to the home improvements stores. They have held up surprisingly well given the circumstances. During this time to, our Daughter had her fifth birthday and our Son is a week our of being two-and-a-half.

Just Another Day on the Job

The Hearth is a Great Place to Set-up the Train Set

Big Sister Trying to Read to Little Brother

Through this whole process, we have had some great help from some friends and family, from painting, to laying tile, to installing insulation, and watching the kids. Without their help, we would be weeks behind. Stay tuned as we hope to get moved in and get production up and running here within the next two weeks.