No sale, sticking to the plan

The realtor we used when we bought the farm two years ago came out to give us her opinion on selling the farm and it was a little less than I had expected. Her appraisal was that we could sell it like we bought it, as land only. All the building we have done and the mobile home added nothing to the value of the property and could not be advertised as living space – as far as resale value is concerned.

On the bright side, the value she assessed to the farm was about 35% higher than the price we paid originally, so we still have some equity built up in the property. The bottom line is, we will stay on the farm and continue with the five year building plan I have laid out for the completion of the shop, the house remodel and the building of the log barn. In the end we will have more than we could have bought in any other property.

We are still forty minutes away from church but we will adapt to the distance and the time it takes to drive it. What that takes away from our lives is more than recompensed in the time we have week in and week out living on the farm. So now instead of looking at houses, Mama and Victoria are looking at dogs.

Grandpa spent the day cleaning up piles of debris – not really trash but cut limbs and accumulated brush. I had mentioned that while the kids are visiting this fall we can burn the wood we have stacked in various places. It is always fun to do those types of things when it is cold outside. I think that image inspired him to get some things rearranged. The resulting look is very nice.

I spent the evening getting the end of the shop where we installed the garage door ready for the rails and springs to be attached. By Saturday evening I hope to have the garage door operational. The next step will be to install a garage door opening system. I am sure Mama and Victoria will enjoy having a place to park out of the weather this winter.

We are supposed to get several inches of rain over the next five or six days. For those of you still trudging through waters left by the recent tropical storms that have soaked the vast portions of the United States that does not sound exciting. For us here in the very dry south, it is a very exciting prospect.

Recent gentle rains have caused the grass to start growing again and the cattle are loving the tender shoots of green. Now we are praying for the run off that will fill the tanks (ponds) that have been decimated by the drought. It would be nice if the large pond on our farm was ready for fishing when we have visitors after Christmas.

Grandpa and I are planning on taking the time to build a shelter for the horse in the calf lot so Mama does not have to run hoses to fill a water trough for her through the winter. I am looking at getting two pigs to raise through the winter which will necessitate moving Misty away from where she is taking shelter right now; in the pig building.

I am not sure if we will get it done or not before Grandma and Grandpa head back to West Virginia.