So our ultimate destination has been determined in the broad sense. We're going to Vermont. We don't know exactly where in Vermont because Davey Tree holds all new acquisitions closely until they are legally completed, which is expected to happen sometime in the next few weeks. All we know is that the acquisition is somewhere in Vermont. So, we are one step closer to knowing our future. We're so thankful that Karl has a great job with the same company he's been with for nearly 25 years now. Davey is an amazing company to work for.
We're doing what we can to get the house and homestead ready to sell. We're done with most of the big stuff and are now trying to get a LOT of smaller stuff done. We have painting to do, trim to put up, a door to replace, some flooring to install, and things like that still. We also have an ash tree by the driveway to take down and firewood to cut up and stack to let go with the house, and the exterior of the house and barns to paint. Thank goodness for log splitters and paint sprayers!
We sold the haying equipment. It went quickly and for a fair price. We also sold hubby's saw mill. A bittersweet transaction. The sheep are going this coming weekend, well, except for the ram lambs who we'll keep and raise up until just before we leave. They'll be marched to freezer camp then. The pedigreed silver fox rabbits will be sold as soon as their babies are old enough to be separated. We have 2 does and a buck. The babies we'll also keep to grow out for the freezer. The plan is to have a huge yard sale to sell a lot of smaller farm equipment, furniture, power tools, hand tools and other miscellaneous stuff, likely over Labor Day weekend. We're also going to sell our single axle trailer and buy either a stronger single axle or a dual axle so we can haul our Mahindra tractor across the country.
In the midst of all the chaos, our registered sweet Maine Coon female, Oakley, delivered 7 darling babies. Our Maine Coon cattery, Red Tartan Maine coon kennel will be coming with us to Vermont. We already have 4 kittens reserved and will likely have the last 3 spoken for soon. They never linger without homes for long. We do ESN (early spay and neuter) so the kittens go home at 14 to 16 weeks of age already spayed or neutered. Early spay and neuter hasn't been found to affect a cats growth the way it does to some large breed dogs. The kittens should all be in their new homes by the time we leave for New England and of course, all that are going to New England will be delivered by us. :)
The vegetable gardens are flourishing! The rain and sun have been good for it all. We're eating fresh zucchini already. Our favorite ways to eat zucchini is stuffed buffalo chicken zucchini boats and orange zucchini muffins. The broccoli is starting to come in as well, and the tomatoes are approaching 5 feet tall. We have them trellised up on a hog panel and T posts. Our onions and potatoes are huge and plentiful and our winter squash are all formed up and growing. We need to take as much with us to Vermont as possible since it may be a while before we are able to have a garden. We're hoping to be in a new place by spring, but we want to take our time and get a place that fits our needs and future goals, so we're not going to rush into anything.
We've had storm after storm after storm, leaving Karl and the rest of his crew crazy busy, working about 12 hours a day. Needless to say, with coming and going, eating and sleeping, he doesn't have much time to get things done on the homestead. So weekends it is. He did take Friday, the 5th of July off (my birthday) so we have a 4 day weekend. We're going to have a marathon house rehabbing event so we'll see how much we can get done!
I'll leave you with a photo of our new baby Maine Coon kittens.
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