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Why we support Firefly Farms

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On May 14, 2013, there will be an important vote in North Stonington regarding Firefly Farms.  We are not eligible to vote in North Stonington because we do not own property in North Stonington (renting only) and Rob is military (WA resident) while Anna is not a US Citizen.  However, we feel strongly enough about this subject that I would like to call the matter to the attention of others who can vote in North Stonington.

I have spent a lot of time reading everything I could find that was publicly available on town websites, Facebook (clearly has a personal slant), and newspaper articles.  I have also been to Firefly Farms multiple times, seen the animals, watched the progress improving the land and buildings, and met the farmers. In the end, we support Firefly Farms.

I am not going to rehash all the details.  If you are not familiar with the subject matter behind the vote, you can read about it on the North Stonington bulletin board.   You can also read about it on the Firefly Farms website, but I wanted to make sure everyone had the independent site as well.  I do want to explain why I think this is important and why North Stonington voters should support Firefly Farms.

1.  What if your property was next?  This is a case of the town First Selectman, Nick Mullane, clearly admitting multiple times to have made an error in the recording of a transaction over 20 years ago.  Now, the town has decided to “fix it”.  Read the documents and see if you think the town is offering a fair deal to Firefly.  Do you have the ability to fight a legal battle like this if the First Selectman decided they made an error about your property sometime before you even owned it?

2.  Last fall, I attended (but did not vote at) a town meeting regarding budgets since the voters did not approve the first 3 budgets.  At that meeting, the town VOTED AGAINST extending voting hours for residents who requested it.  The major source of opposition was the few hundred dollars of cost to support the request for extending the hours.  HOWEVER, somehow, the town has tens of thousands of dollars to fight for a small amount of wet acreage. I have personally walked on the acreage in question and trust me, you won’t go on family hikes in this area.  In fact, Firefly Farms (via their title insurance) offered the town $100,000 to drop the issue.  I think it is ridiculous because I think they should be chomping at the bit to go to court and seek financial damages from the town.  The First Selectman rejected the offer!  Quite a disparity in my opinion.

3.  North Stonington is the only town I know of that boasts a book about the history of dairy farms (which I have a copy of) and even has it on display in the town hall.  Yet, when a family wants to operate a reasonably sized farm, that generates income, jobs, and pays taxes to the town, the town fights like crazy to block the efforts.  During our 2.5 years operating our small farm, I can honestly say, there are easier ways to make money.  This town can not claim to be farm friendly and expect to keep rural culture, if it blocks farms from starting up like this.

4.  The power lies with the people.  I think this is an example of elected officials using their power without the knowledge of the constituents.  The voters need to be heard and need to send a message to town hall that they are out of line.  And if the vote goes against Firefly Farms, it will send a nice clear message to others who are thinking about farming in North Stonington.

DO NOT RELY ON WHAT I HAVE HERE.  PLEASE READ THE INFO FOR YOURSELF AND MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS. If you agree, vote to support Firefly Farms.  If not, vote against them.  Regardless, your vote on Tuesday May 14th will matter on this issue.

 

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The move has begun

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We have begun the task of moving the farm to Griswold.  We are doing a PPM (Personally Procured Move – formerly DITY) which means we move it all ourselves and get 95% of what the government would have spent.  It works out to be a good deal for us.  Of course, there are limits to what can or can not count, but we maxed out the weight limit when moving to CT in 2006.  We haven’t exactly downsized since then.  In fact, last night I took the first load in my new 14′ dump bed trailer and it had 50% of our weight allotment.  I should only need 1 or 2 more weight tickets to finish with the paperwork, even though we won’t actually be done moving.

I took today off to get a good start on the move.  Unfortunately, when unloading some mulch we were saving for the new place (about 6 yards of mulch), I wasn’t paying attention.  The back door to the dump bed was latched open and as I drove forward, a 14″ maple removed said door.  It broke the welds for the top hinge, sheared the bottom hinge bolt and twisted the hinge, and did some other bending what should have been straight things.  So, the new trailer is getting it’s first repairs.  It should be ready and back on the road before midnight.

Until then, I am continuing to work on fence removal and loading fencing into one of the other 3 trailers we have.  Isn’t moving fun!

random observation

My new ride

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Last week, I bought myself a new car: 2013 VW Jetta Wagon with the TDI engine. I will soon be commuting 20,000+ a year, and with trimming clients spread around, I expect to exceed 30,000 miles a year. While I love my truck and it still serves a purpose in our life, 14mpg just wasn’t cutting it.
So, 9 days later I added some diesel to the tank. First tank: 39.3 mpg.
I am extremely happy with the new ride. 11 years of driving a truck made me forget how comfortable driving can be.

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goats

goat herd reductions

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Anna and I have been debating what to keep and what to sell as we prepare to move.  The one thing we agree on is, we have too many goats.  It was fun developing a larger herd, but we can’t stay caught up with the horses and goats with the herd size we have now.  We are not ready to give up entirely (though the thought has crossed our minds a few times).  We have decided to sell our Oberhaslis and keep the Lamanchas.  You can see exactly which goats are being sold here.

kids

Alex the reader

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Alex reminds me a lot of his Uncle Benji. While I always enjoyed readying, my brother Benji would stay up all night reading.
Yesterday evening Alex started reading a new book called Fablehaven. I made him put it down for bed and turn out lights around 9. Anna found him reading about 10:30 and repeated the routine.
This morning, we had to drag Alex out of bed after 9, which is late for our kids. Further discussion at breakfast revealed he had stayed up to continue reading until he finished the book. 526 pages in one night.

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Sawyer Family Farm on the move

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After nearly 3 months of searching for a place to buy and having 3 locations chosen, only to fall through, we gave up the search and began to look for a lease option.  We had been continuously watching the rental market for another farm that might fit our needs.  We talked with a couple of others who were considering selling or leasing, but timing just wasn’t working out.  And then, today, I discovered a brand new posting of a farm for lease on Craigslist.  I immediately called, and after an outside only tour with Anna and the kids, met with the owners this evening to see the interior.  I signed the lease on the spot for a 3 year lease.

The farm is 4 acres in Griswold.  The house is 2,900 sqft, 3 bedroom, 2 bath.  The girls will likely share a bedroom, but there is plenty of space in the house.  There is a full, unfinished basement and a 2 car garage.  8 stall barn.  The entire 4 acres is usable, which is actually more space than we have been using on the 6 acres where we are now.  While there is no arena, there are plenty of flat paddocks to put in an arena.  The house is getting some updates, however, the appliances and floors will still be a little outdated.  But that is fine for our family.  We will have to do some fence repairs, but that’s better than having to clear land.

And the property directly borders Pachaug State Forest.  Like, ride out the back on the state land and trails.  And it is just about a mile from Mt Misery and only a few hundred yards from linking up with the equestrian trails.  Oh yeah – how about hunting right out the back door (and the neighbors were already complaining about the number of deer eating the apples off trees).

We had already begun preps for the moving potential.  Now it is a matter of choosing what sells, and what goes.  The good news is, all the animals can go (although we may reduce our chicken flock).

The kids will be changing schools in the fall, but I think that will work out fine.

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Emotionally and mentally drained

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Over 11 weeks ago, we found out the owners of our farm (that we have been leasing for 2.5 years) would not extend our lease another 3 years like I hoped.  Instead, they plan to sell it.  We have been looking at properties ever since.  Should we buy this one with some problems (the devil we know)?  Should we buy that one which is cheaper but doesn’t have a barn?  Should we buy the one that has a tiny house with lots of land?  Should we give up on farming and board the horses?  Should we lease something and not buy at all.  Anna and I have been having these conversations every night for over 2 months.  To say it adds some stress is an understatement.

Three times we made up our minds and decided the path to take.  Three times we found out the path was a dead-end road.  I was hoping by now to have a major announcement of what we were doing.  Instead, tonight, we are getting a cup of tea and resuming the same discussions that have plagued us for 11+ weeks.

In the end, we know life goes on. And we know our family will get through this, regardless of the decision.  However, based on the point of my career in the military and the age of the kids, this move seems to have more significant long-term impact that any before it.  We have pondered for a long time.  We are rapidly approaching deadlines to make a decision, even if not the best decision.  We have a fixed window to execute the move, because a farm is a lot to move.

So for now, the suspense continues until we have a decision.  For everyone who thinks they know which way we are leaning, you are wrong.  Because we don’t know.  And the options we were considering are not necessarily still valid.

The story of our lives with horses. And goats.