- Mar 25, 2007
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About 198 more acres than I currently have, at least 1 of which would have to be waterfront (don't care what kind of waterfront, provided it had fish or could be stocked). With at least one southern slope, so I could grow wine grapes.
Current location (well, state- and town-wise anyway) is fine, even current house is fine. Renovations to the house: Insulated walls and roof, strip current paint and do it the way the National Park Service says you are supposed to paint historic houses for preservation purposes, new roof, stained glass removable double glazing for insulating windows, renovate all bathrooms, yank off all the clapboards and re-install them properly, dig out a full walk-out basement, renovate the current barn as garage/in-law suite/workshop space and build another barn for the animals. A solar panel for hot water, PV panels on the southern slope.
Animals I don't already have: Dairy and wool goats, horses, more dogs and a few barn cats, some sheep, turkeys, peacocks, fish and shrimp in the water if I have to stock it. A koi pond.
20 acres put into grain, 3 acres veggies, 10 acres fruit and nut trees, 20 acres oil crop, 5 acres coppice, 10 acres flowers, 10 acres flax, 2 acres mulberry trees, the remainder to be woodlot. A big greenhouse or two. And a solar-powered tractor. And a windmill. Now that I think about it, I should have a water-powered old-fashioned mill setup for both grist and weaving. There used to be a couple of 'em around here but they got torn down in the early 1900s.
Oh, and this should also be due to a winning lottery ticket. Which would also pay for all the hired help, so it wouldn't be me personally having to wash poopy sheep behinds and clean stalls.
It'll never happen, there's nothing but northern slopes all over my neighborhood and the water is about a mile away. I'm working on renovating the house as I can afford it, but I'll never be able to afford to dig a full basement or re-do the clapboards and insulate the walls. I don't have time for a whole lot of animals other than chickens and fish. Maintaining all that acreage would be a full-time job for a groundskeeper in and of itself. So I guess I'd have to be working part-time (which will never happen, not until I retire and cut back to only teaching a class or consulting) and hire some help.
Current location (well, state- and town-wise anyway) is fine, even current house is fine. Renovations to the house: Insulated walls and roof, strip current paint and do it the way the National Park Service says you are supposed to paint historic houses for preservation purposes, new roof, stained glass removable double glazing for insulating windows, renovate all bathrooms, yank off all the clapboards and re-install them properly, dig out a full walk-out basement, renovate the current barn as garage/in-law suite/workshop space and build another barn for the animals. A solar panel for hot water, PV panels on the southern slope.
Animals I don't already have: Dairy and wool goats, horses, more dogs and a few barn cats, some sheep, turkeys, peacocks, fish and shrimp in the water if I have to stock it. A koi pond.
20 acres put into grain, 3 acres veggies, 10 acres fruit and nut trees, 20 acres oil crop, 5 acres coppice, 10 acres flowers, 10 acres flax, 2 acres mulberry trees, the remainder to be woodlot. A big greenhouse or two. And a solar-powered tractor. And a windmill. Now that I think about it, I should have a water-powered old-fashioned mill setup for both grist and weaving. There used to be a couple of 'em around here but they got torn down in the early 1900s.
Oh, and this should also be due to a winning lottery ticket. Which would also pay for all the hired help, so it wouldn't be me personally having to wash poopy sheep behinds and clean stalls.
It'll never happen, there's nothing but northern slopes all over my neighborhood and the water is about a mile away. I'm working on renovating the house as I can afford it, but I'll never be able to afford to dig a full basement or re-do the clapboards and insulate the walls. I don't have time for a whole lot of animals other than chickens and fish. Maintaining all that acreage would be a full-time job for a groundskeeper in and of itself. So I guess I'd have to be working part-time (which will never happen, not until I retire and cut back to only teaching a class or consulting) and hire some help.
