On the Garden Path at 5~Acre Farm: Up, Up, and Away...

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Up, Up, and Away...

John finished the chicken kite this week.

I don't know why John calls it a "kite." He said something about it looking like lightweight stick kites he used to make when he was a kid. They were triangular, and there was something about the way the air flowed through them, to lift them into the sky. I guess I can see that in the chicken kite.

John's inventive nature attaches itself to every project around the farm. He looks at something, and he just has to improve upon it. It frustrates me sometimes, because what should be a quick project becomes a lengthy one; but more often than not, the results of John's efforts are far superior to acceptable standards. The chicken kite is no exception.

All the chicken tractors we have looked at are relatively small, and made of wood and wire. They are only big enough for a half-dozen chickens at the most. Some are larger, but not by much. One woman I know has complained that the plywood on hers is warping badly. She's only had it a few months, and already, major changes are required.

Chicken tractors are supposed to be portable. Most have two wheels on one side, and are picked up on the other side like a wheelbarrow, then moved. A common complaint however, is that they are much too heavy for one person to move. Most have too-small wheels. One I saw had large, but heavy wheels. Some of them are attractive, but what good is a portable pen that is too heavy to move?

John's chicken kite is large compared to others we've seen. It's triangular shaped, approximately 10' long, and 4' wide at the base. It's relatively lightweight, and moves easily without wheels. It's pretty spacious too. Right now, there are 15 chickens in the kite, and they have plenty of room to scratch the earth, stretch their wings, and chase each other around.

I wasn't sure about John's design for this chicken kite when he started. I wanted his assurance that it would be aesthetically pleasing. Even as he built it, I wasn't sure it would be. But John's chicken kite is more attractive than any of the chicken tractors I've seen. I absolutely love it!

John's going to build a second kite for the younger chicks which will be ready to move outdoors in a few weeks. This kite won't take nearly as long as the first one did (I hope), but I know John will be making improvements on the design.

I'm anxious to post pictures of the kite and our chickens, but I think John's got a great idea here that folks will want to copy, and I think he should be able to sell the design, or kite kits if he chooses to do so. So I've encouraged John to patent his kite. That's why I'm not posting pics of it yet. Once the patent is established, I'll post pictures with great excitement.

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John and Michelle, and 5 Acre Farm

How We Came To Be

John was born and raised in Georgia by parents who lived incredible lives of their own, and passed on to John a rich family history from both sides. He was a die hard Boy Scout, and later, spent 17 years as a Troop Leader. He earned a dual Agriculture/Agricultural Engineering degree at ABAC in Tipton, where he also started the college's radio station. After college, John served on nuclear submarines in the Navy, where he once saved the lives of his shipmates, and, rumor has it, did many incredible things in the service of our country. He married and had a family, and after the Navy, worked briefly with the EPA before opening his own HVAC-Refrigeration company. John was inventive as a child, and that carried over into everything in his life. He is a fixer of severe mechanical problems, and an inventor of all kinds of things that improve on or simplify existing machinery, equipment, and ideas. His inventions are unique, and some of them may some day aide humanity, save lives, and save our planet if we can get the right people to listen.

My dad was career Army. I was born in France, and introduced, at a very young age, to the Virginia countryside, where we raised rabbits and chickens. After dad retired, we moved to North Carolina, his home state, where we spent many years on the coast, near Wilmington. Here, we had a garden, raised cows, pigs, chickens, and ducks, and fished commercially. Our freezer was always full of fresh Spot and shrimp, and oyster roasts were a weekly event! As a young adult I lived with my family in the mountains south of Asheville. Here too we had a garden, raised cows, pigs, chickens, and ducks, as well as geese and peacocks. I worked for many years with an arts council, Christian organizations, and other non-profits. I helped train missionaries, researched/wrote grants, produced professional documents, edited newsletters, and wrote a lot of publicity materials. I already had two Associate degrees, but in my late 30s I finally completed an undergraduate degree in English/Art History. For 20 years I was active in community theater, sang solos with a community choir, and danced with a show choir. Treasured memories! I moved to Georgia in late 1998, and married my first husband in 2002. I was 45. Eighteen months later, I was widowed.

John and I first met in 2000. After I was widowed, and John was divorced, we found each other again. Of like minds, spirits, and goals, our hearts came together quickly, and we married in 2005. Each of us has undergone Elijah House training, and we were both ordained into ministry in 2006. I have been a Christian counselor and prayer warrior for probably 30 years. John and I live to put God first in our lives, and in our dreams for this small piece of earth of which we are the caretakers.

We call our place "5 Acre Farm." John's father took this barren, overworked field from a larger parcel of farmland in the mid-70s. He fenced off about three-quarters of an acre for the house, and added plants, flowers, and trees. Elsewhere, he transformed the property through years of hard work, adding an apple orchard, peach trees, pears, two fig orchards, grape vines, and a greenhouse. John and I have been trying to continue his father's work on this land, adding to it with our own hopes and dreams, and our late-in-life efforts. Not a day goes by that I don't feel great respect for John's father, for the man he was, for the work he did here, and gratitude for the bounty we reap because of his hard work.

John and I are in our 50s, just starting life together, but with age and health trying to work against us. We aren't ready to sit down and take it easy. We have a goal to become self-sufficient by growing our own food (meat and vegetables), and getting off the grid. The challenges we face in doing this are age, health, and finances. John's inventiveness is being strongly applied, as is my gift for budget stretching and frugality. Our strength? The love we have for each other, and the trust that we are working inside the will of God.

One of the things we ask ourselves now and then is this: "Is it worth it?" I never had children. John's son has set his own path with family and career. There does not seem to be anyone we can leave this property to who will continue the work and the dream; one of John's grandchildren, perhaps, but they are very young right now, and do not yet notice or care.

So, is it worth it (all the work and expense) if there is every chance this land will end up in the hands of developers after we're gone? Well, our answer to that question so far is always "Yes, it's worth it." It's worth it to us, because of what we are accomplishing here in our lifetime. It's worth it because what we grow here we share with family, with friends, and with our community. And not just what we grow, but our faith and philosophy, our hopes and dreams, and our very desire to leave at least our little part of the world better than it was when we found it. We are living - consciously, and deliberately - a lifestyle that expresses who we are and what we believe. Does anybody care? Why don't read our blog, leave a comment, and let us know.