By Living Room Realty, April 13, 2018
Pictured, “Tom” – Heritage Breed: Narragansett turkey named for the Narragansett Bay of Rhode Island. Prized for their excellent temperament and cuddly nature.
A little over two years ago, I purchased a small farm just outside of Portland, Oregon – 11 acres nestling the Gorge in a small town called Corbett – a mixture of pasture, woods, and rolling hills. Our initial dream was to own a patch of land away from the bustling, busy city – we would build a humble home and live our days quietly. Out of curiosity, I started to look, and that is of course when our dream property hit the market. One thing that’s true in real estate, is that the timing is never right. We jumped in with both feet, not knowing where it would take us.
The best advice I received from the neighboring farmer. “Take on little bits at a time – don’t try to do everything all at once.” The access to resources and the great knowledge bank for homesteading and small farms has never been greater. There are videos on everything, and you’ll find the nicest folks on the forums. I kid you not, I once searched ‘turkey has large growth on chest’ (it actually auto-populated) and I was happy to learn my young Tom did not have a cancerous growth, but instead was sprouting his turkey beard – yes turkeys can grow beards!
Fast forward as I sit here reflecting on the past few years, I am shocked at all we have experienced. We have kept bees, birthed alpacas, built chicken coops, trimmed goat hooves, sheared llamas, chased pigs, incubated turkey eggs, wrangled cattle, brewed cider, battled blackberry bushes and shoveled a lot of sh*t….
It has been more work and more reward then we ever imagined, but we have loved every minute of it.
So what does it take to buy a small slice of heaven?
Stay tuned for Part 2: So You Want to Buy a Small Farm.
