Families are like fudge, mostly sweet but there's a few nuts...

When I was in grade school, we lived with my grandmother for a few years. She lived down the road from the same school my mom and most of her 11 brothers and sisters went to growing up. My brother was 4 years older so he went to school by himself without his snot-nose little brother tagging along. That was fine by me because I had my own companion to walk me. Our dog Kelly was a Border Collie mix and pretty much the reincarnation of Einstein. Every day he'd walk me to school a couple kms. through traffic lights, over a bridge and passed numerous other dogs, cats and scrambling animals and then, at lunch, he'd come back by himself, get me and walk me home. Twice a day he did this, he was never late, never forgot and never complained.

For whatever reason we moved to an apartment and had to give Kelly away. I had no vote in that decision and was devastated, but I never forgot how great that dog was. I vowed to one day get another Border Collie mix and they'd watch over my kids too. (This was reinforced by an article I read recently about BC mixes being best dogs to own) D and I presently live with 2 cats in our condo, both are rescues. Mojo would be mine and BiBi (aka Scarface) would be hers. Take a guess as to which one is the cuddly genius and which one is basically a rug we feed and clean up after...

Bibi "relaxin"

Mojo "chillaxin"

So when D and I were midway through our courtship I casually let her know that one day we would have a BC mix. The idea was to wait til our kids were 5ish and then find a pup. D has had dogs before but we both knew this condo was no place for a K9 so I shelved the idea but brought it up here and there to ensure it worked it's way in like a bad jingle. Again, D takes the bragging rights when she comes home a couple weeks ago and she found a guy who has BC and Blue Heeler cross puppies 2 hours north of us. This is the kind of thing that makes me love her more. I had no idea she was even scouring the net watching for this. 

Obviously when you're just buying a farm and starting a family, throwing a dog into the mix is just a bad idea. However sometimes if you're going to mix it up in life, you might as well get it all over with at once, especially when it carries with it the trifecta of positive points:

1. This guy up north had a fresh a litter of 11, which is important to me. I like to have a choice of many. I'd do a fancy whistle or kissing sound to see which one responds, runs over and ends up being the lucky winner of our family unit. 
2. His price was reasonable compared to most we've seen around. (see previous post about saving $$) 
3. Because of the puppies birth date, we can't even have the dog til 2 weeks after we move into Keltic Kreek, giving us time to settle in before he/she craps all over the place. 

Short story long, we drove up today and went to find our newest family member. The guy was a nice enough older gentlemen farmer type with ducks running wild and a few cows gnawing the fence line here and there. He had the pups all caged up with the parents watching closely nearby. Overall we were pleased that it didn't seem like a puppy mill but my attempt at an ultra primal link with one specific puppy via whistle or kissing sound went out the door because they were all constantly chewing at my jean pants and growling playfully. We ended up deciding we wanted a male which narrowed our choices from 11 to 3. Next I wanted one that stood out in terms of markings and didn't seem too runty. And if they could look like a pirate or little rascals dog that would be a bonus.

And then there were 5... We are happy to announce, to our 3 readers, the newest member of our family, we pick him up in 4 weeks.
**(Name Withheld for Security/Indecision Reasons)

Future Chicken Wrangler

Life Lesson #112: Children aren't that different from puppies. When it comes to raising good ones, start early, be firm and stay consistent.
 







 

A full wallet is not as good as an empty one is bad...

Part of what will help make us successful is our ability to stretch a dime, and making $10 do the work of $25. Saving money is like losing weight, it's all about priorities. I'm 6 ft tall and never been over 199lbs and it's not about a regimented diet and killing myself at the gym, it's priorities and common sense. Statistically artists and musicians live longer than marathon runners and triathletes. You'd expect that to be reversed but the numbers don't lie. Money can do the same thing, if you're creative, do your research and shop right, you can make it seem like you spent a ton but you'll have more in the reserves for the long haul. All of this will not be easy to do this first year because we will be hemorrhaging money trying to get the ball rolling the right way. If I make a big score I let you know... 

We try to buy Canadian

One of the websites I like to visit daily is www.redflagdeals.com. Completely Canadian based and monitored by a group of rabid fans, we can pretty much trust what we read here as being the gospel in terms of best deals on an item/service. There is a rolling, up to the minute 'deal banner' and the usual forum sections for discussions. If you haven't already, bookmark it. We also watch www.dell.ca for their periodic deals, great for computers and electronics. Of course Google is our friend when looking for a coupon code. Anytime we're buying something online we do a quick check for any coupons hiding around the net. Usually www.retailmenot.com comes up with a few choices. Point is don't be afraid to poke around before buying anything. Amazon is great for reviews of almost any items.
Edit: New addition which is right down our alley is www.tscstores.com their flyer comes out online every Thursday at midnight, so we'll be there early Friday mornings to ensure good stock. 

Sometimes, the best way to save a dollar is to be patient young grasshopper. Know what it is we want, find the one that is the best combo of quality, warranty, usefulness and of course final sale price. No point in paying 10$ for a rake that'll be rusty toothpicks in a season or two. Watch the local places that sell both the quality ones and the lame ones, like Canadian Tire. When they good ones go on sale for 25$ we strike. Buying 3 crappy rakes over 5 years or 1 really good one only makes positive treehugger sense. Of course auctions, craigslist and kijiji are always an option but as always, buyer beware. As a general rule, we rarely buy tools or electronics used, we prefer to know what they've been through.

Life Lesson #811: Never buy a tool, product or services of a company that has a notation of quality in their name.


   




 

Jack of all trades, master of some....

So as we were looking for the new house, I've been hanging out at my friend Paul's house 1 night a week. Not only for socializing with a good friend and mentor, but to use his carpentry shop. This guy taught me a good chunk of what I know in terms of skilled trades. To be honest, a lot of what I learned was what 'not to do'. He's a great carpenter and if he didn't love the beer so much, he'd probably be retired by now or at least have a crew of minions doing his grunt work. Life Lesson #65: Everyone you meet in life will teach you something, and sometimes it's what not to do, you just have to pay attention.
 
First time I picked up a hammer to build something was in front of him 15 years ago. I lived in his basement for a few years, helped him build it in fact, and moved from there in with D when things got serious. In preparation for farm living I've built a few items which will come in handy I hope. My process to making something is simple. I do tons of research reading, youtubing etc. Get multiple examples of an item I want to make, take all the best features of each of them based on my needs, and then execute the project with intensity, sometimes even tunnel vision but we'll see examples of that later I'm sure. 

What's a garden without black gold! 

Interior Worm farm sans worms

The first project was a worm farm.
(aka vermicomposting)

A design made from:
1) 2 large Rubbermaid containers
2) Vent caps of a couple sizes 1" and 2" from Home Hardware
3) 1/8 in plastic mesh screen
4) Pantyhose.
(I can elaborate on design if anyone requests it)

They'll pay dearly to live here

So far the thing works great. We bring it inside during the winter (we've had it for over a year now) and have never once had an issue with smell or mess. Trust me, if D smelt anything it would have been dumped a long time ago. A key move I find is to freeze the food you are feeding the worms first. When you are planning to feed them, nuke it in a microwave for a few minutes, let it cool and dump it in with the worms. Pretty simple and effective for cutting down waste and adding some useful black gold to the plants we have on our patio. Anyone, even with a small condo space could do it this way and not have an issue.  
 
*Note: This completed farm bin (above) goes inside an untouched duplicate (or shorter) bin to catch any water or liquid gold which might seep out.

Feel free to be yourself, everyone else is already taken...

It's interesting when I think about people's initial reactions to news about making a move like we are. The older people all moan about the workload, wondering why you'd do such a thing. The people our age all moan about the commute or distance to the 'action' and younger people (pre 25) could care less, just shrugging with a light moan of indifference. What makes it interesting is as the time approaches, every one of them seems almost as excited as we are. No one we know lives in a situation like we're moving into, and yet I can almost tell that in some way, many of them seem to wish they were. Everyone is welcome to come by and hang out/help on the farm, but I'll assume the draw of that will wear off within a few weeks. 

When we first started dating, D and I had zero intentions on moving to farm country or starting a business based on anything to do with Mother Nature. As time passed, our discussions about food quality, EotW scenarios, the zompocalypse and other interesting pillow chat started to make us think differently. The push to move into the country and be self sufficient happened organically. Just through osmosis we one day looked at each other and agreed which direction was best for us as a family. Once we started down that path, we've never looked back. Life Lesson #343 - When it comes to your better half, always be yourself and speak your mind honestly.

So the initial plan, as it stands, is to build the farm to a stage of feeding our family, our extended families and any local neighbours who are interested in quality and sometimes unique foods. We'll do this without pesticides, hybrids or damage to our ecosystem. In the end, we don't care about what other people think or moan about. It's not just about the money obviously, it's not about the in-laws all accepting it. It's about a unified dream and as D says 'Team Us' (usually followed by a Wonder Twins fist pump)

Everyone can have their own dream but this one is taken. We have plans to start a festival for a certain veggie we feel is being neglected and perhaps a cook-off contest of some kind. But none of this can happen without us building various projects.  These are including but not restricted to the following. This blog will share them all in some capacity and if you have any questions feel free to ask, I assume no one will read this but D and I.

8 ft Patio Sunflower

• Massive Greenhouse
• Chicken Coop  (aka Cooptopia)
• Beehive(s)  (aka Buzztropolis)
• Worm Farm
• Root Cellar  (aka Root Cellar)
• Carpentry Shop
• Solar Heater
• Solar Power Unit
• Solar Dehydrator   
• Canning Station
• Composting Station
• Fruit Orchard
• Vegetable Garden
• Mushroom Farm 
• Gunsmith Station
• Herb Garden
• Water Collection Unit (grey?)

 





  

Our very own Shangri-La, but with kids.. and chickens...

So the night we get back from our weekend away, we both hopped on our respective computers and starting searching to see if any new houses came online. Somehow even tho I'm sure we search the same sites and criteria, D always seems to find things I can't. We always have a little rivalry over who found the best restaurant for butter chicken or the best deal at a garage sale so finding our family homestead would hold tons of bragging rights.

D bounces upstairs and tells me to look up a realty listing number online. At first the house didn't seem like anything we'd be over the top about. And after searching some Google maps, the listing didn't really fit what we were looking at via online satellite images. It save tons of time to be able to check an overhead view for a real perspective on neighbours, distance to major towns, even just the basics of the property.

We booked a viewing immediately with our agent, The Dragon Lady, as my friend who suggested her calls her. He's kind of old school so the fact she is Asian and it could be a little insensitive, is lost on him. Regardless, we went for a viewing, and fell in love. As it turns out the place had been on sale for over 6 months, and the sale was a result of a bad divorce. Not sure how we didn't see it before but we didn't want to lose another place like last time. So with the the Dragon Lady unleashed, we battled it out and happily ended up getting the property for 40% under original asking.
As a side note, Life Lesson #621: Make sure you get a pro inspection when purchasing a home. The bitter homeowner was less than truthful about almost everything but we found out and were compensated nicely in terms of a price drop.

You have to understand tho, this place had basically been untouched for years. To say the vegetation is  overgrown, is an understatement. I'm positive an Ewok swung by during our first visit. The interior is a cheesy Cali Santa Fe motif and needs to be updated top to bottom including replacing anything that runs off power. The important thing is, the place has very solid bones and even better, we have the skills to make this place an incredible home(stead) and hobby farm.

Inspection Day

Our family farm, tentatively coined Keltic Kreek Farm, is located on 10 acres, with 2 ponds, a creek cutting through it, a detached workshop, and less than 45 mins. from the city. I will keep you up on all the projects and various milestones once we move in, 2 weeks from now. The excitement level is like 10 Christmas' mixed with a dozen first kisses and topped with a few last days of school before summer vacation. Ya, we're pumped and the wait is torturous...





     

Life's a journey, not a destination...

I would like to start off by giving credit to a person who inspired this blog. His name is Jason and he has a blog Modern Pioneer based in the USA. We've never met, never spoken and never emailed, but his story isn't that different from my own and I liked how he went about sharing it. He is more of a 'pioneer' tho, hunting animals, tanning hides, canning beef and veggies alike. For the time being, we are not killing anything except in self-defense. I'm not a hunter of anything but cookies, and more of a soft heart ultimately, so when it comes time to cull a chicken, I'll hire a local guy probably. We are trying to be self sufficient while still keeping a toe in society. Oh and as far as canning goes, it's fruit and veggies only. There's something unnaturally odd about bacon in a jar. If for nothing else this blog may inspire/entertain others but its also to share with our children the chronicle of our journey. So, Jason... thanks...
Modern Pioneer Blog

Pic Off Condo Balcony

At present, my wife Danielle (D) and I live in a small condo within the downtown core of Canada's largest city. The area offers everything a young couple could ask for in terms of distractions. Walking distance to everything that happens in the big city and to some degree we took advantage of it. I spent too much of my youth 'partying' so I was more of a worker bee while living here, D however rode the wave and enjoyed the city life to its fullest. By the way, party should not be used as a verb after 30.                           
                                                    

Luckiest man alive...

Anyways, I have always lived near the city, D on the other hand was born and raised in small town Ontario. We met in Jamaica 5 years ago and were married there last year as well. She is a great woman who understands the meaning of team. I love her with all my heart and truly am lucky to have met her. Coming up to our 1st anniversary we have decided not only do we want to be responsible for our own food, but in our opinion, the city is no place to raise a family. Some may call it homesteading, others hobby farming, I'm not really sure what we're calling it. Ultimately, we want to depend on others as little as possible in as many aspects as possible. It was also some point between the 10th disease awareness marathon and the 5th religion based protest march that closed our area that year which told us we've had enough. Deep down we aren't city people anymore.


We started looking for a new home 6 months ago, criteria in mind and budget firm, we began the hunt. This new place is going to be our family home, something where roots will run deep and a true heritage can be established for our children and hopefully grandchildren. I will dig into my Irish genetics, channel my forefathers who came to Canada after the potato famine and farmed the land for family and neighbour. D is French Canadian and Eastern European, she can't choose if it's Ukrainian or Polish but I'll let you know when she decides. Either way she makes a mean perogie.

Family Roots

Family heritage was never a big thing in my house. Being raised by a single mother of 2, it left little room for anything but the basics. That being said, we never went without, and it wasn't until I got older than I appreciate what she gave up for us. My mother tells of her childhood on a farm in eastern Ontario but they had moved to the city long before I came along. Throughout my childhood I spent many a summer day working on a friend's grandparent's farm, I have an incredible memory and learned as much as I could. But honestly, if I learned anything at that time, it was a love of fresh food and a respect for nature. As is true with most parents, I want to make sure my children have what I didn't, but for us, that also means understanding who you are and how we fit into the world as a whole, with an emphasis on self sufficiency.  

After a short home search, D and I found a great place just north of the city. Sometimes when you have a dream, you can get blinded but what you don't want to see. Long story short we didn't get that house. We were crushed to lose that first house by $1000, but in hind sight I'm glad we did. I'll tell that educational story another time.

We kept looking but hope was low because what we needed was pretty specific. 5+ acre utopian dream home close enough to the city to commute and flexible enough to have freedom to do what we want to. D will keep working at her job while I get Keltic Kreek Farm up and running. Did I mention I have little experience homesteading? So what, I have read countless books and websites already on various subjects from beekeeping, chicken raising, alternate views on food cultivation, solar energy and grey water usage. Perhaps my memory will come in handy for once. Either way, we'll take the journey together and one day you'll come to our farm for great food or to learn how to be more self sufficient. Well that's the general plan anyway.

Months of disappointed searching past and we went away for a weekend to relax. One night we finished dinner and were having a discussion with an older couple next door about our future plans. Older couples love talking with newlyweds and dispensing words of wisdom, and this was no exception. The man in the equation turned to us after hearing our obvious dismay about losing that first house, and said "No matter how great a deal is, there's always a better one around the corner, you just gotta be ready..." I know it seems very simplistic, everyone else was moaning about 'fate' and 'meant to be', which always seems like the cry of the loser to me, but this, for whatever reason hung with us in terms of making us feel optimistic. The next day we went home to real life and everything changed...













    

And so it all begins...

This is my first post, first time ever using a blog and soon enough, first time ever working on a farm since I was a kid. This adventure I hope will be informative, entertaining, sometimes frustrating and overall a wonderful experience, for all of us, which includes you...

Welcome to Homestead U.