Friday, October 22, 2010

My new logo, what do you think?

Thanks everyone for the wonderful words of encouragement from my last post. With the move coming up so soon and little work being done thus far, I'm just a little tense and strung out emotionally. I will be breeding our Angora Rabbits for the first time in November and have a plethora of fur I need to process for sale. One of the reasons we got into the rabbit business was to well, generate business and since we started with our first buck in January this year we haven't done a single thing but love them up.

They're not pets, they're livestock. They need to start earning their keep around here.

I made up a logo for our farm based on the fact we will be a fiber production farm. I added in the sheep even though we're not getting them until later next year. Presumtuious? What do you think? We do currently have wool we will be processing to sell, it just isn't our wool.


What do you think of the logo? I wanted something that stood out but was simple and could be printed inexpensively. I think it portrays the essence of what we'll be farming. If you have a better idea or suggestions for the logo please let me know! I'm not that good with graphic arts.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

It's all in the wording.

It's not a shed, it's a cabin.

It's not a bucket toilet, it's a eco-friendly composting commode.

It's not 57 square feet per person, it's reducing our carbon footprint.

It's not run off, it's low impact water accumulation.

Over the course of this past week I've gotten a lot of good advice about how we spin our non-conformist ideas to the consumer friendly masses. I've been worried, down-right nauseated, that someone will get "good intention" and make a stink over our new living arrangements causing us trouble with the state or government regarding the kids.

I've had an overwhelming desire to shut up. Seal my lips. Not eep out a word about our exciting and life altering plans. Even on the "anonymous" internet. So, I've been thinking of turning this blog private. I want to share with others that are looking down the same long road we have stepped down but I also have to be careful and keep my family safe.

Ideas, recommendations or just general comments are always welcomed though politely phrased message are better received.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

So it begins

A few hours ago Rob left for North. Nausea, nervousness, excitement and general disquiet have been filling us both these last few days.

It's happening. We're moving. It's inevitable now.

What wild, crazy thing have I gotten us into this time? Though I feel in my heart that trepidation before any life-altering event is called for, when you're experiencing it, well, it doesn't feel so great. When I mention to others what we're about to embark on I usually get glazed over looks that tell me it's time to shut my mouth. Lots of smiling and head nodding at appropriate times. The fact is what we're doing is radical. Monumentous, so far from the norm that there just flat out is no appropriate response from those that do not share the calling.

"You're going to what?" "How are you going to do that?" "Where will you get this?" Comprehension of our dream is sometimes difficult for others to grasp no matter how much explaining we try and do. Actually, over-explaining has gotten us into many an akward conversational situation.

Crashing through barriers of social norm is a harrowing, frightening thing to do when you're going head first into the blockades. For the longest time it's just been all talk. We want to do X. The factor of X still sometimes even unclear to us. But it's been only wanting. Yearning.

Yes, we bought land but again that's not a really concrete step. Lots of people invest in land they never use. Yes, we bought a shed and a shipping container for the future idea of creating a home up there. But no work has been done as of yet. Making phone calls isn't a solid thing. Gathering information for use later is just words in a book. Living so far away and still having a job here, it has still felt like a pipe dream, a maybe, a want that would probably never come to life.

Until Today.

Today somehow makes all the work and talk we've been doing real. Rob no longer lives in Tampa. It's a fact. It's concrete. We will be following him within a few short months or sooner. We are moving to the land.

So it begins, there is no more wanting.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

He Found the Marker

I just got a call from the technician at the electric company. The plat map saved the day and he's found the corner monument. They're sending me paperwork to approve the pole being set (no cost to us) to bring the line across the street and onto our property. We can have that completed as soon as next week. I'm working on the budget right now to factor in the pole we do have to pay to put up.

I'm hoping for next week on that also. We can have electric in as little as a week. Hallelujah!

Monday, October 4, 2010

More Electrical News

If it seems like I am only ever updating on the electric progress, it's because it's the craziest process ever. I could just wait and say "Oh look, the electric is on." and never delve into the meat of the issue but I think that would do you a disservice. For those that have dreams like ours, that want to take the role of building from scratch into your own hands, the honest truth is what you need.

We are still about a third into getting the electric turned on.

We have the permit. The application is in at the electric company. What has taken us so long (and by long I mean hours of phone calls. Hours.) is finding an electrician permitted in our teensy county and that also puts up electric poles. We finally found someone and his rate isn't all that bad. We're looking at $450 for the meter, pole, box and installation. The price for the pole and delivery alone from the one company that sells them was almost $250. I don't think another $200 for maneuvering a twenty four foot pole into a hole in the ground is asking too much. Really, I don't know how we'd do it otherwise. And I'd rather pay him the $200 than spend it in co-pays when we drop it on ourselves.

The other problem has been the electric installer finding the monuments that mark the border of our property and our neighbors. The problem is he can't find them. In order to get the service to our side of the street, he has to put up a pole in the 10' easement between our plots. I've had to have the company we bought the land from mail over the plat map which took time. The electric guy will be going back out tomorrow hopefully, to see if he can now find them with the map in hand. If not, more delay will occour as we try and find them, call the real estate agent if we can't so he can try and find them and if he can't get the original survey company back out to find them or put them in if they didn't do it to begin with.

All this takes T.I.M.E. the biggest commodity we're dealing with right now. We have too little of it and life is demanding too much. As of Monday Rob lives and works in Gainesville. He's staying with a friend. Hopefully, we can get the shabin ready by the end of October.