HOW TO HELP US BUILD.
Perhaps it's because we're stubborn and want to do things on our own, or perhaps it's because we really were succeeding there for a while, but we've long been reluctant to directly ask for donations....especially since so many of you helped out with our first farm back in Owingsville! Still, when we were asked to leave the land we were leasing here in Danville, we were effectively asked to leave behind most all of our investments, and all of our potential earnings for next year––the garden. The perennials we'd planted and weeded all season that were poised to pay off next season; the fencing we'd bought and put up; the hand-plowed quarter acre––almost all of it has to be chalked up as a loss, and we have to start over with practically nothing.Thanks to a generous family, however, we now have a wonderful and exciting piece of land on which to rebuild, but that piece of land needs a lot of work, and a cabin. We have seen lots of our friends raise money for their own projects through kickstarter-type websites, and have been encouraged by many of them to start a campaign of our own.So...we are humbly coming before you to ask for a little assistance. We have managed a couple thousand dollars through odd jobs and vegetable sales, but still need several thousand more to pull this off. Our goal is $8,500, but anything and everything will help.Please follow this link to our Indiegogo page and read more! And if you're like us and don't have spare money but still would like to help....the main way that these kind of fundraising campaigns work is through SHARING! Share the link on facebook, twitter, myspace if you're still into that....spread the word! And of course, a simple, encouraging note is always appreciated, or you can always come lend a hand once we get started! There will definitely be a fresh meal or two involved.- Jesse & Hannah.
CABIN DREAMING.
Jesse and I are having trouble doing much these days except dream and sketch and plan for our future home. We know absolutely nothing about construction and architecture - which makes this even more of an adventure! Currently, we are planning on a small cabin - off-the-grid and made with as many salvaged and local materials as possible. We will be clearing a lot of our land to turn it back into pasture, so we'll have a lot of accessible lumber. However, we are also interested in alternative construction methods like straw bale and cob houses. Oh, the possibilities!If you want to get a little glimpse into our brains these days - the site freecabinporn should do the trick . We love perusing it for ideas and inspiration...but I warn you. Be prepared for the minutes to turn into hours as you look through the photos - it is easy to get lost in there.What would your dream cabin the the woods look like?
*all images from my inspiration folder and freecabinporn- Hannah.
HOME AGAIN.
On Tuesday morning we got up early, took care of the animals and hit the road––off to look at another piece of property. Our destination was a few hours away, and admittedly a little further away than we were typically looking, but among the many wonderful responses we'd received after being asked to leave, it was an opportunity we couldn't ignore.If you ask us what we want for ourselves––where we see ourselves in ten years––we're likely to just say Bugtussle: we want our own Bugtussle. It's where we interned and fell in love, but it's more than that; Bugtussle is our dream farm.We want the off-the-grid cabin, and we want the creek. We want the barefoot children and we want the woods. We want gardens and animals and pastures, but most of all, we just want a homestead among a friendly community of family, patrons and neighbors. After we were asked to leave our farm in August, however, we'd never felt further from our dream––further from Bugtussle. It was sad to lose our farm, but worse to know we were a full year further away from our goal than when we started. But...in case you haven't guessed, Bugtussle was where we were headed last Tuesday.The farmers, Eric and Cher, met us with big smiles and even bigger hugs when we got to their cabin. They took us just up the road to an old homestead site and a small plot of five acres they were offering to sell us. The land was heavily overgrown, but potential was everywhere. With enough work, there were places for gardens, ponds, pastures and more than enough space for Wendell to lord over. We walked around the three barns, two of which would likely have to come down soon (or would just come down on their own), but one barn was restorable and charming. In the large high tunnel––an unheated greenhouse we'd also be taking over––we saw a place we could put veggies as early as, well, now. Most dauntingly, but most thrillingly for us, we studied a weedy plot where there used to be a house, and where we'd likely build a house for ourselves––our cabin––just a few minutes from our mentors and adopted family, the Smith's.So with that, and with overflowing excitement, we're proud to say it's official: the search is over! Starting this winter we're going to be building a cabin and a garden; we'll be restoring a barn and clearing woods, chipping away at our slab, hoping to sculpt something beautiful, or at least something we can call home. It seems we do get to have our own little Bugtussle, and it will just so happen to actually be...in Bugtussle!- Jesse and Hannah