The Beinlichs' 2002 Holiday Letter

Page 2

Our farm from the air. Click for more details!This is an aerial view of part of our farm that was given to us by the previous owners.  The farm house was built in 1931 and was completely remodeled about ten years ago.  The farm includes several outbuildings: a large barn, stalls and henhouses, a planting shed, two large greenhouses that will need a lot of repair before we can use them, and a high-output well.  There are many fruit trees on the property, a small pine grove, and three main areas where we’ll be able to grow crops.  But perhaps most striking are the two huge Sequoia trees just behind the house.  We’d have to say they’re over 100 feet tall… truly awe-inspiring.  Click the image to see a larger view that keys the buildings to their descriptions.

Since we moved, it’s been non-stop activity.  As if moving and settling in wasn’t enough, we’ve been working on clearing up about ten years of “deferred maintenance,” as Brian likes to call it.  Outside, we’ve been cleaning up debris, pruning, trimming, pulling weeds, and making repairs.  The fix-up projects extend to the inside, where we discovered that a surprising number of things in the house were either not finished or needed repair.  In fact, Brian spent most of November just working on repair projects with Polly’s stepbrother Josh, who is a general contractor.  We’re also turning an unfinished “hot tub room” into a mud room.  It feels like we’ve been busier than we have been in many years.

 

As for farming, well, we can’t say that we’ve been doing too much of that—yet.  We’re giving ourselves the rest of this year and early next year to get settled in, complete repairs and remodeling, and develop a farm plan.  We’re currently thinking of adding some more fruit trees, growing some vegetable crops, and raising vegetable starts for sale locally.  Everything will be done organically, of course.  We’ll have much more to report next year.

Before we found our new farm, though, we did keep busy.  In January, we took the time to protest King George's attacks on civil liberties.  In the early part of the year, we took a discussion course on Globalization.  This is the fourth discussion course of this type we’ve taken, several with the same group of friends.  Since then, our Globalization group has gathered several times to share information and enjoy each other’s company.  In August, the group headed to Opal Creek to spend two days hiking in the ancient forest and learning about the area’s ecosystem and habitat.

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Last updated: 12/20/2002.

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