Any Mainers need a new coop? GORGEOUS shed on craigslist $50!!

Well hopefully you'll get it then Krista.
smile.png
 
I'm not holding much hope - I e-mailed, dh e-mailed, it's probably already gone. I wish they would zing a note if so. Same thing happened with the last one we tried getting, called with no answer
hmm.png
. Already tried talking my dad out of his ice house since it hasn't been on the lake in 4 years or so, he won't budge. I think my kids use it mostly as a playhouse. Good luck!
Krista
 
Okay, so I am pretty sure I will not be the lucky winner. Did anyone else get a call back? Boo hoo. I was all excited. DH didn't even winge when I told him about it......
hit.gif


But we did score a huge portable kennel for 100 buckeroos that is going to be the bones for our chicken run!
wee.gif
 
Horsegirl, where do you live in Maine?? I just found the thread with your farm pics and describing your animals and I am soooo juealous. Our long-term plan is a sustainable organic farm in southern or mid-coast area.

We are pretty commited to our short-term plan, which is to sail around the world -or atleast attempt to, it'll depend on whether we can get jobs along the way- before our DD, Olivia, goes to college. After that I intend to be a farmer; Neil works on boats, though, so we have a BIG conflict in where to look for land. He obviously needs to be somewhat close to boatyards (Portland/Yarmouth/Thomaston/Rockland/Camden), especially with gas prices nowadays, but of course lands just costs exponentially more the closer to the coast you get. It's a real dilemma.

Our hope is to find some small acreage that's atleast partially cleared, and build a small, very energy-efficient house and barns. My family are all architects so we're ahead in the game there. We'd love 6 acres so we can qualify for the working farm tax exemptions. We've both run numerous small businesses, and I'm pretty handy at marketing, so I feel confident that we can find a couple niches and make the farm worthwhile.

But finding the land is going to be soooooo difficult. ALL the good land that comes on the open market is already split up by developers, or gets bought by them for subdivision. It makes me SO mad how all the good farmland in southern Maine is getting bought up for development. And of course we need soil suitable for crops and pasture: I've been checking various properties using the government's interactive soil website, which is such a cool resource. but almost all the good soil is turning into McMansions. Pretty soon there won't be ANY farmable land in Southern Maine, GRRRR!

I really think the only way we're going to find property is by word-of-mouth... find someone with a lot of acreage who is interested in keeping the land farmed properly, who's willing to sell a small chunk off the back to us with the promise that we won't develop it and will keep it a working farm.

So if you happen to hear of anyone like that, let us know!!!

Stacey
 
Nope, didn't get a callback on this one, and the ad was removed, someone was quicker than us
hit.gif

I did find a different one, I will keep looking if you need one, let me know
Krista
 
Quote:
Stacey

We have alot in common. I bought this farm right after I returned from an 8,000 mile trip from Seattle through the panama canal and up to New England. I sailed out of Newport, RI for years for a living on 12 meters. I held onto this place as a rental until I settled down and my dh and I had the money to renovate.

I have looked into moving down into Southern Maine. We are an hour north of Portland. Prices down south and on the coast are insane......

I completely understand your conflict!!!!! Sea or farmland.

I have always wanted a saltwater farm. Not gonna happen for me.

We now have almost 200 acres. We keep toying with the idea of selling some and this farm and building a highly efficient green house on 10-15 acres.

Wonder if you could get a real estate agent to scout for you?
 
You might consider moving it up a wee bit to Nova Scotia where you still can get a Salty Farm without selling your first born. Just a thought. Folks are very nice here - eh! Love to have more chicken fanatics - well or just those who like the water and the earth. We have two sailboats, two canoes and one row boat! Now ask me which ones are in the water yet! The land on the South Shore is pretty rocky but there is lovely land within spit of the ocean in Annapolis Valley - also I have a good friend who bought a farm up towards Cape Breton in Merigomish which is just fantastic. She has started a business with her garden and her cooking which is doing well. I'm going to entice her to get chickens and then she'll be set.
 
LaBanan- Thanks. We actually once thought we'd move to NS but then we sailed there for a couple weeks and the weather was so miserable we dropped the idea. And we are Mainers so we know from fog, damp and cold..... probably just bad luck in timing, but still. Between the wx and some health care issues, and needing a pricier market for our work, it didn't seem like the right move at the time. Then again this was a few years ago before your dollar clobbered ours! Maybe later? What's the market for fancy organic specialty items like there?

horsegirl-
I have met a lot of sailors who are also chicken-owners or organic farmers. There's something about all 3 that has a common root of appeal, I think. Self-sufficiency, beauty, being close to nature.... Sounds like you're a racer more than a cruiser? I always had a hard time with the intensity and testosterone in racing. I have been judging Cruising World's Boat-Of-The-Year contest for the last 2 years, down in Annapolis, and the other 3 judges are always guys, often ex-racers. When it's blowy and we're out test-sailing performance boats (the new J last year, for instance) it can get waaay too stressful for me. I'm such a wimpy cruiser! (Here's our boat's web site if you're interested: www.sailzora.com. Please ignore the horrendous layout--- the site is VERY old and massively needs to be upgraded. Shameful for someone who does website design for a living!!!)
Is your farm within commute distance (like less than 40 minutes) of any of those ports I mentioned? If so, keep us in mind if you decide to split up the farm. You could sell the farmhouse and a chunk of land, keep you favorite 10-15 acres, and sell us 6-10!!! We'd be good neighbors I promise. You can take our boat out sailing, too!
wink.png

We have a good friend who's a real estate agent but he pretty much agrees with me: If we're going to find the right land its going to be a word-of-mouth thing, that we find before it ever hits open market. I think what we will probably do, when we are ready to buy, is simply go around and knock on doors and leave notes for people in the areas we like best.

Don't tell my DH but I am having some second-thoughts about our upcoming sailing trip. Part of me wants to buy a farm right now. My DD Olivia has been working as a barn-helper at a stable in exchange for riding lessons and it is making her sooooo happy. She came back yesterday from nearly 8 hours of hard physical labor at the stable, and was happier, more relaxed and cheerful and "up" than I have seen her in years. I would love to have a situation where she could do that sort of thing more often. She is an amazing kid, super bright and intelligent and kind, and to see how she flourishes in an environment like that -as opposed to the mall-centric suburban that surrounds our little oasis of organic self-sufficiency on 5500 sq feet- makes me wish she have it all the time.

Sigh.... hope it works out!!!
 
Last edited:
Sea Chick If you're looking for cheaper land along the midcoast try the warren-union-washington area. It's close enough to the coast (I live in Warren) and there are LOTS of farms. It is a buyers market right now.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom