In my previous blog I described my frustrations as I searched for a piece of land in the country where our family could build a house and establish a country home.
The search took several years to finally locate a plot of land that a farmer was willing to sell. In this case it was two farmers, bachelors that lived together in an old farmhouse.
Most of their farmland was located on one side of the highway with 7.9 acres located on the other side. I think they were tired of dodging cars and trucks as they crossed the busy highway to get to the small acreage to till, plant and harvest a crop.
What joy it was to finally find a plot of farmland that was for sale!
The southern edge of the property was bordered by a bubbling stream that would prove to provide hours of playtime for our three growing children.
A beaver dam slowed the flow of water and in the spring one could bring a chair down to the water’s edge, sit and watch northerns attempting to cross the mud and tree branch barrier.
One spring I was forced to make a rescue when a northern got tangled in tree branches on the dam and flopped and flopped until it was completely imprisoned by the branches.
I waded out into the freezing cold water and untangled the struggling fish and sent it on its way to the spawning grounds.
The northern end of the property contained a hill that would eventually become the location of our house. Also, over the years the hill provided a place where snow sledding took place.
The shrieks and laughter filled the air as the red, plastic sleds raced to the bottom of the hill.
The 7.9 acres were being farmed so I felt like an artist with a clean black canvas of topsoil that I could add plant life to and begin a living masterpiece.
The windbreak had to be established.
Rows of wild plums, Russian Olives, honeysuckle, ash trees and Siberian elms were planted and then began the battle of weed control. That battle is going on to this day. 🙁
I didn’t have farm machinery to work the four tillable acres, so I needed to find a farmer willing to take on that project.
But who would want to spend time on such a small acreage?
Our farming neighbor, Carl, did!
He came over shortly after the sale was finalized and asked me if I would be interested in having him seed the four acres with alfalfa.
Then he would mow the alfalfa, bale it and move it to his farm which was just down the road.
We then used the barter system as Carl paid me with a quarter of beef.
I did not have a ‘beef’ with that. 🙂
Baling hay was one of my favorite jobs when I grew up on the farm so when baling time arrived, I grabbed the hay hook and threw hay bales for Carl.
We have a picture of myself, our three children and several town kids riding the hayrack.
Everyone is smiling even though the ride is very bouncy as the hayrack maneuvers over pocket gopher mounds and chaff blows in our faces and down our necks.
The biggest concern in establishing a country home was locating a well that produced good water.
The golf course which is a mile away from our acreage has never been able to find a well with abundant water.
While just a couple miles down the road the landowner dug a well that produced soft water.
We were very nervous about the search for water.
Grandpa Bob was very proud of his ability to witch for water. He dismantled two clothes hangers to produce two wires each bent at a 90 degree angle.
Holding one in his right hand and the other in his left hand with the wires parallel to each other he proceeded to walk. When the two wires crossed over each other it signified water could be found at that spot.
Grandpa Bob performed his witching trick and we marked the spot with a wooden lathe.
The well drillers arrived and they began digging.
The hole remained dry as it reached 50 feet deep. Then 70 feet deep. Then 85 feet deep. Now we began to get a little concerned.
Is it possible that this will be a dry hole?
Finally at the depth of 96 feet, we hit a gusher!
We all cheered as the water erupted from the pipe and soaked the ground below.
Showers and soaking in the tub have become a reality!
But of course, we are a long way from taking showers or baths.
Our next blog will continue sharing adventures that occurred as we prepared our little house on the prairie.
Until next time.
