Yes indeed. It's happening - we have walls! And that's not all! We also have cabinets - the makings of a kitchen and laundry. Plus, we have new floorboards. Progress I tells ya!
And in other exciting news: We've also set a date for the move.
First week of February we'll be on the farm and taking visitors.
6 week countdown. We've got a hell of a lot to do - a Christmas break to get through and not a lot of time. Fingers crossed!
So, it's been a long time between posts. This whole off-grid farm renovation caper is a tricky business... Since we last posted here, there has been a lot happening, it's just that not much of it gives us anything to show for it.
It's been a comedy of errors. Seriously. We thought we had a bit of an idea what we're doing. Apparently not.
So more than 3 years after we initially purchased the block, this is what we've got to show for it.
So at least there's been some progress. And also, we do have some really nice fences. And there's this:
Realistically, we're probably still a few months off completion, and with a fair amount still ahead of us in terms of painting, cabinetry, tiling, etc. Lucky we know a few people who are quite skilled in these areas.
So, many lessons learned. And when we go to do this next time (god forbid), we'll be all over it like pros.
The biggest positive to come out of this is that despite all the setbacks we know we REALLY want to do this. And every time we've been up to visit our little slice of (delayed) paradise, we become even more committed to making it work. It really is a special place.
We've also met some amazing people in the process - Castlemaine and Daylesford locals, wonderful people who have made the move to farming from city life. They all tell us country living is satisfying like nothing else. So while it's been mostly frustrating for us to this point, we know it will be worth it in the long term.
So while the building is delayed, we've been scheming on just what Curracloe Farm will be all about when we finally make it up there. And I won't lie, it's going to be pretty great. It's just that sometime you need to go through a bit of an awkward period of transformation to come out better for it at the end.
We hope you'll come visit to see for yourselves. And we hope it's sooner rather than later.
You may have noticed a little lull in activity here on the blog. This can largely be put down to three reasons:
Our house was scheduled to move to it's new location a little while ago now, but a few hiccups with planning, and a busy football coaching schedule for Marcus has meant things moved slightly slower than planned.
But that is all about to change. Right now, our house is sitting on the back of two trucks and it is ready to go!
Brace yourself for a flurry of news in the not too distant future.
For now, you'll have to be satisfied with these snaps.
Our house has been cut in two!
Our house on the back of trucks. Ready to go!
While you were gorging on chocolate bunnies this past long weekend, Marcus and I were being quite heroic (well up to the point where I accidentally stabbed him with a fishing knife, but that's a story for another day). We rescued a little baby joey. And yes, it was very cute. And very sad at the same time.
This is what happened.
Marcus had been on the farm building fences (as he does) and he mentioned to me that he'd seen an old roo looking a bit poorly down at the bottom paddock. I promptly made my way in that general direction to check if the poor thing was ok (as I do).
I didn't make it to the bottom paddock though. On my way there, I found a very little baby kangaroo stuck in one of the a barbed wire fences we'd pegged to be removed. The poor thing had its legs caught between two lines of barbed wire and was obviously very uncomfortable. He was laying on his back with both his legs in the air (or the wire, as the case may be) and was quite unable to move.
Poor thing.
Well, what to do!? I called Marcus over to the rescue (as I do). And Marcus being the hero that he is came a runnin'! Carefully, we untangled the poor thing and helped him out. We carefully inspected his little legs that seemed unbroken, though a little cut up. We set him on his two back legs and crossed our fingers that he'd be capable of bounding off into the sunset. But the poor little sod was both so young and so shaken that he couldn't make those legs of his do what he wanted and had quite a difficult time scampering away. So we gathered him up again, and marched him over to our next door neighbours who have been living in the area for 10 years.
Fortunately, they knew just what to do! We called up the local Wildlife Rescue number and found a local vet nurse to look after the little guy. She was only a short car trip away, so we bundled him up into a makeshift fake kangaroo pouch (a pillowcase) and delivered him to the real hero of the story.
She was quite sad to see the poor little tacker in such distress. She explained to me that he was so little he'd likely not been out of his mother's pouch very long at all, so no wonder he couldn't get the hand of the bouncing thing. Plus he was probably in shock and a bit hungry. She explained too that in general, animals are released back into the wild as soon as they're well enough - so with any luck, we will see him bouncing around our farm again before we know it!
I never did find the old roo, though.
Needless to say, I was so worried about the poor thing I didn't think to take more photos. Wish I had though - he was SO cute and LITTLE! These will have to suffice!
A note on barbed wire. As we've discussed in previous posts, the fences on our property were in quite a state of disrepair when we took possession, and Marcus is slowly working on fixing them. In their current state, most of the fences on the farm are seriously dangerous to wildlife, as this story shows us. When our new fences are up and running they will include one piece of barbed wire, but this is largely to ensure livestock (cows, sheep, goats) don't escape. When barbed wire fences are well erected and maintained, they shouldn't pose too serious a risk to native animals. We like native animals (not the introduced pests so much) and we're actually planning on installing little "cat doors" to make sure our farm is friendly to the little guys, and that they aren't tempted to try and jump the fences and hurt themselves.
Yes, you've read that correctly and no, you're not seeing things. We're moving a house.
After many weeks of back and forth, weighing up our options and not having all the information needed to make an informed decision, we bit the bullet and bought a house to be relocated.
The most common response from friends when this somewhat strange piece of information is revealed looks like this: "Really?! I didn't even know you could DO that!" or "What? Like, moving an entire building?!" or "How the hell did you find a house to MOVE? Was it just sitting on the side of the road?!"
Actually, the very clever Marcus stumbled upon the idea via Trading Post, way back when we were looking at modular, eco housing. Thinking there must be something along these lines sitting somewhere waiting for us to find it he started trawling ads for ownerless houses. About this time he found many houses (alas not the made to be moved kind) that really were waiting for us to find them.
When you consider the pros and cons the list looks something like this:
Pros Cost - is approximately a third to a quarter of the cost of new modular housing. BARGAIN! Sustainability - you're essentially recycling a pre-existing home otherwise destined for demolition. Time - modular housing built on site is quick, but this is even quicker! Character - rather than a brand new place devoid of personality, these homes often have period features and design, much more in keeping with a country farm house.
Cons Risk - granted, a wall could fall out during transport or the whole thing could fall apart but it is highly unlikely and company guarantees and insurance largely cover us for any such risk.
So the decision is clear, really.
After inspecting just two such houses we made a purchase. Here are some snaps of our new pride and joy! Hopefully we'll have some much nicer ones very soon!
Currently, our future country abode is in the suburbs, namely Canterbury. But in less than a month it will be cut in half, loaded onto the back of two trucks and transported to its new home in Guildford. Then it is simply stuck back together, given a bit of a polish and it will be ready for us to move in!
One of the most interesting challenges to taking over a largely neglected rural block is the state of disrepair the fences have fallen into.
This isn't so serious now, but in the not too distant future when we have lots of delicious vegies and an orchard possibly sheep or other furry animals on the property we want them to be protected from unwanted wild animals or pests, including rabbits, foxes, or feral dogs and cats.
It must be said though, that most of our visitors are of the kangaroo variety, which isn't so much of a problem and we like having them around to enjoy the scenery, except if we don't keep a bit of an eye on things they can eat a hell of a lot of grass and not leave enough to feed our flock.
All this said, repairing the fences had been one of the first tasks we (mostly Marcus) have taken on.
So, on Australia Day, Marcus and I made our way to the farm ready for a big couple of days of fencing - pulling apart the old fence and installing a shiny new one in its place.
We were pretty disappointed when we arrived to find the trailer we'd left there some weeks earlier loaded with fencing equipment had been stolen. Yep, front gate unlocked with bolt cutters, trailer locks broken with bolt cutters and our borrowed trailer gone - no sign of it at all!
Never the less, Marcus soldiered on, ripping the old fence down and making a good start on the new fence with the equipment we had available.
Fortunately, much of the fencing mesh, though a bit dilapidated, was of a good enough condition to be reused. Many of the steel posts too, could be cleaned up and reinstated. Sadly, almost all of the wire and the wooden posts are completely worn out, rusted or rotten. The wire will have to go to the scrap metal recyclers and the wooden posts will make great firewood.
Marcus did manage to erect a fair stretch of fence, complete with new corner posts. It looks a fair bit straighter and sturdier than the one we pulled apart.
I think the new version looks much nicer and will hopefully stand the test of time and keep out any unfriendly furry fellas.
So it wasn't a complete disaster after all. Marcus did a great job, I helped a little. We both got sunburned and met our next door neighbours.
We also visited some fairly amazing places in the area. More on this to come soon!
The day finally arrived! On Thursday we travelled to visit our new farm. We took with us a lime tree and a lemon tree that were beginning to look a little sick on the balcony of our inner-city apartment. They were to find their new home among the gum trees.
We stopped in at the Guildford store for a home-made lunch - sausage rolls and schnitzel rolls - which I can highly recommend.
We took our time planting our little fruit trees, checking out the fences and the dams, assessing the state of the grazing land and its potential - all the time surrounded by many, many butterflies. Glorious.
Here are some snaps.
Marcus planting our fruit trees.
I helped!
And the big news? We got engaged! Marcus proposed at the highest point on the farm (affectionately named Hilly Rock Rock) and of course I said YES! Now it looks like we have two great things to plan for!
The rock Marcus gave me atop Hilly Rock Rock. A family heirloom.
Vital to the happy existence we have planned on the farm is a house to live in. With a vacant block soon to be at our disposal, we have started investigating housing options. As we are looking at potential plans through the lens of sustainability, I do have some hesitations with the idea of building a new house from scratch. However, we have come across several companies who come highly recommended when it comes to sustainable housing options.
So far we've had meetings with PreBuilt and Modscape who both specialise in modular, pre-built housing. According to my sustainable architect friend Tim, these two companies really do walk the talk, employing key principles of environmentally friendly design - including passive design, renewable materials, energy efficiency and natural ventilation. Also, as they are assembled in a factory and erected on site in a day, there is minimal damage to the local eco system, plus a reliable build time thanks to no rain delays. Plus, they are infinitely flexible when it comes to modifying plans and have a simple and clean design aesthetic that is easy to make your own.
As we're looking to build a house that is entirely off the grid, we have been looking at viable options for power, water and sewerage. At this stage, it looks like solar, gravity fed tanks and a simple septic system are the way to go but we're still exploring our options.
Would love to hear any suggestions.
The first of many small steps to our dream of owning and operating an organic and free range farm has been taken. Today, we made an offer on 80 acres of vacant land - and much to our delight it was accepted.
We now await the settlement date - set for December 1, which seems excruciatingly far away.
Many adventures to come - but thrilled to have taken our very first step.
A fledgling farm in Guildford, Victoria.
Curracloe is a fledgling farm in Guildford, Victoria run by Marcus Goonan and Lara McPherson - two food lovers passionate about provenance, story telling, simplicity, sustainability and community.
Curracloe Farm: 6800 Midland Hwy, Guildford, VIC, 3451
Postal Address: PO Box 971, Guildford, VIC, 3451
Phone: 0418 999 025 | Email: hello@curracloefarm.com.au
