Saturday, April 7, 2012

The Painter's Farm LLC!

Well, The Painter's Farm is really coming along here. It is now an LLC, there are tax ID numbers, a shitload of paperwork going on and don't even talk to me about taxes, exemptions, deductions and agricultural licensing procedures, yikes! Besides all that busyness, spring is springing and there is a ton of stuff to do. The new goat barn arrived a few weeks ago. I was incredibly impressed with how smoothly the Amish fellows put it into place, they had a really cool shed delivery trailer thing, even I had to admire it!
We initially planned to put it further down into the pasture but decided it would be too difficult for this girly girl to get down there in the winter. So we put it closer to the road and just across the road from our house, next to the hen's retirement home:
Looking up towards the house:
The barn (well, technically it's a shed) is 12 x 18, kinda small but it's a good start for my goat herd:
The goats will have a GREAT view:
and in their front yard there is an old silo foundation with a tree next to it for them to decimate, which they will be VERY happy about. I suspect there will be a lot of 'King of the Hill' games here:
In the meantime we are slowly working on the fence and I do mean slowly. I spent several days measuring out the new pasture until my life was made infinitely better after I purchased a measuring thingy that you push along on the ground as you walk. Once I got that baby, I finished up all the post placements in one afternoon!! Then a guy (neighbor/farmer/handyman) came and put the posts in, he pushed them down into the grown with a front loader. It seemed strange but hey, it worked. Doug was out of town for all that fun, but since he returned he has been adding the posts that need to be set in concrete; corner posts and gate posts. Oh and a few of them needed new holes which he is hand digging in between his day job and sleep. Also, he has to work around an old barn foundation that seems to be located just a few inches down everywhere that we want to put in a post. Anyway, I think we he will be working on attaching the wire fence this week, the neighbor/farmer/handyman guy is going to help with that, while I supervise. heh. But this is where we are today:
Oh and I have to get back into the studio to start some new work this week. Can you believe that a gallery contacted me that is actually interested in both my paintings AND The Painter's Farm honey/soap products????? What are the odds of that???? Will update on that when things get official.... PS. Gratuitous cute photo of Stevienicks who managed to get caught with a bucket around her middle and then me saving her while everyone else "helped" me.

6 comments:

p said...

nothing like hard work is there :) looks like things are going great! good job tracy

Almira Hill Grammer said...

I love your new venture and adventures. By the way, the surrounding countryside is beautiful.

Cecily said...

I am reflecting on the 80s and those days at the bar and thinking about how if I told you that I was gonna be reading about you pulling a bucket off a goat's belly you'd laugh and laugh and laugh... :)

Tracy Helgeson said...

Paula, the hard work does feel good! Thanks Almira, and yes it is pretty here, it's why I started painting landscapes!

Cecily, I would have laughed so hard until I choked,
then I would have had a drink (or ten) to eliminate that horrific vision of my future from all my thoughts!!! I was such a city girl then, prolly didn't even know what a goat was!!!!!

Heidi said...

Ummmm...scratch my previous comment about Houdini. He may indeed be lonely but I guess you have plenty of friends for him already!! :)

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