Sorry, that last post got cut short. So, the beauty of the building is that I don't have to trudge out to the barn twice a day anymore. I can do all my feeding from the back side of the feeder in the hay building. I used to have a pretty stupid setup for getting out there, too. It was an electric mesh fence that I would have to open to get through. I scored some gates and cattle panels on the craigslist and fixed all that. New easy access to both my orchard and the main animal yard.
That's a nice cattle panel roof over the tractor, a la Tru and Nutcase.
The orchard has been amazing. I have almonds, apples, and raspberries already, just two years in. Lots of other fruit and nuts coming in slower. I put the whole thing on soaker hose this year attached to the IBC tank on the building so in dry periods I can just water by cracking the valve on the rain tank.
Earlier this spring while selling goat kids we got an offer we couldn't refuse on our entire goat herd. Silverflame, what was it you said about that little bottle buckling I had? Runty? Scrappy? Well we built our herd off that buckling, and used the herd sale to purchase more property. So we're free from ruminants right now, but picking up a flock of Katahdin lambs next weekend to fatten and sell this fall.
My wife and I have been doing a lot of planning. Short term goals, long term goals.... the new property is going to get us to where we want to be in 5-10 years, and right now we are living really well, and doing the things we need to in order to get to those long term goals.
"Knowledge is power. Arm yourself."