Our Top 5 Farm Fails
Ever feel like things just didn't go to plan? Well, let me tell you, we've been there too! Today we're sharing the top 5 mistakes we've made while living on the farm.
1. Chicken Catastrophe -
Possibly the hardest lesson I've learned while living on the farm, happened one winter evening as I headed to the chicken coop. Basket in hand, and furry friend by my side, we went to collect the eggs. When I reached the door to the hen house, I was greeted with a pungent smell similar to that of a skunk. "Oh great, I bet a skunk got in and is eating my eggs." I thought. I quickly closed the door, and took Tucker back to the safety of the house. The last thing I wanted was a smelly dog needing a tomato juice bath. Caleb joined me and we headed back out to the coop. I was not prepared for what I saw next. Strewn throughout the coop were my beloved chickens. Blood dripped from small holes in their necks. Not one was alive. After doing some research, Caleb discovered it was most likely a Mink or Weasel that had gotten into our coop and caused such havoc.
I was devastated. I had raised all 18 of them from chicks. I fed them every day. And now they were just gone. I took it pretty hard and shed a few tears over my lost flock. Several months later, I still wasn't sure I wanted to get more chickens. What if the same thing happened? Should I try again?
Fortunately, Caleb is quite the carpenter and spent several days "improving coop security." He convinced me to try again. I am happy to report that since then, we've had chickens for 2 years and haven't had any more attacks.
Although it was one of the biggest disasters while living in the hollow, it was a good lesson that life and death are part of living on a farm. Nature doesn't follow our rules, and unforeseen hardships will come.
2. Strawberry Shortcomings -
I have to confess, that I am still working on this one. I tend to have a green thumb, but strawberries have been a different story. 2 years ago, I was gifted with a flat of strawberry plants. Although it was late in the season, I tucked them into the ground and they seemed to flourish with the unusually warm fall weather. As frost threatened to nip at the fragile leaves, I covered them with straw. All winter they lay warm and protected. Or so I thought. When spring came, I removed the straw and to my horror, only 3 plants had survived. The rest were nowhere to be found. I hoped that as the spring progressed, they would sprout up. But not so. All of my hard work resulted in only 3 tiny plants. I only harvested 10 berries that summer. Needless to say, I was very disappointed. So, I decided to try again. That spring I got more plants from a friend and went to work. The tough thing with strawberries is that you only get fruit once the plants are established. I would have to wait another year for my strawberry dreams to come true. So here I am eagerly waiting for warmer days and (hopefully) a harvest of plump, juicy, red, berries. I am excited to see if the changes I've made will lead to strawberry success. But for now, the plants lay tucked under their blanket of straw.
The lesson in all of this - patience and perseverance. Worthwhile endeavors often take time and a little hard work.
3. Erosion Issues -
As you've probably realized, we live in a hollow. There are lots of hills and 2 creeks surrounding our property. Erosion is an ongoing problem. The area beside our lane was one of the worst. Over the years large gullies formed from water flowing towards the creek, making it challenging to access the nearby field.
The previous owner's solution was to fill the gullies with large pieces of rock and concrete. Unfortunately, this didn't really solve the problem. When we moved in, we knew this was one of the first projects needing done. We spent hours removing the debris, grading the ground, and planting grass. Sadly, only a few days after we finished the project, a huge rainstorm hit. Our little grass seeds were washed away in a flood of muddy water. To make matters worse, new gullies started to form again. Back to the slope we went with shovels and seeder in hand. Only this time we checked the weather. Neither Caleb nor I were very happy about redoing a project we had just finished. But as my grandma would say "it built good character." Thankfully, everything worked out the second time. We now can enjoy a nice grassy area with easy access to our field.
4. Waterline Crater -
This past fall we decided to run a waterline to our barn. Everything was going smoothly. We ran the waterline and installed a new pump by the corner of the barn. Then we backfilled the trench and planted grass. Easy peasy.
After a few weeks and several rainstorms, we noticed an area where the ground had settled causing a small dip in the yard. Oh well, we'd fill it come spring. Next came snow. And to our dismay more settling. Soon a trench about a foot deep ran from our garage, across our driveway, and out to the barn. We thought we had packed down the backfill more than enough. But apparently not.
Unfortunately, the ground is still frozen and we can't fix the trench until things warm up. So, for now, we're living with the ditch. It's a good reminder that things aren't always perfect. The upside is we now have water to our barn! There is always something to be thankful for!
5. Chicken Coop Soup -
I'll admit, I was in a rush to get chickens. Caleb wanted to finish the spouting on the barn roof that stuck out over the chicken run. But I successfully convinced him that even though the spouting wasn't good, nothing had flooded up to this point. Besides, think of all the eggs we would be enjoying if we got hens. He agreed and I soon had the coop filled with chicks.
Everything worked well. We enjoyed fresh eggs and the rooster's crow every morning. But then, we got a record amount of rainfall. Slowly the chicken run began to get soggy. "Well, no worries. It'll dry out in a few days." I thought. Unfortunately, we got even more rain. Soon there was several inches of water sitting stagnate in the run. The chickens couldn't leave their coop without wading through the muck.
It was a huge mess. Something had to be done. Caleb and I put on our rubber boots and headed into the swampy water. It was NOT a fun job. Mud, rainwater, and chicken poop created a most unpleasant smell.
We had to dig under an old concrete barrier and into the yard to place our drain. It took WAY longer than we thought. We slowly chipped through concrete and dug into the murky watery mess. It was an all-day affair. I would love to say that we were the perfect encouraging team, but we were both annoyed by the whole situation. If I'm completely honest, we got a bit snippy. But nevertheless, we got it done.
Covered in an assortment of nasty slime, I was never more thankful for a hot shower. I had learned a valuable lesson. It's better to be prepared than to jump into a project when you're not yet ready. Caleb was gracious enough not to say "I told you so." However, the barn spouting became our next priority project.
The curated picture we paint for others is often a poor representation of what actually goes on. Real life is messy. Things break. Plans change. You know how it goes...
So, here's to making mistakes, trying again, and faking it until you make it.
Thanks for reading,
Abby
