Now that June is here and our first CSA pick-up has come and gone, the cold March night of the barn fire seems far away. Since then, we’ve gone through many drafts and ideas of what a new building will look like and where it will be. As I tell everyone who asks about our progress, some days feel fast and some feel slow. We’ve had a lot of indecision around this building since the need for it came so unexpectedly, and the cost, though buffered by the generous donations and a loan we received, was not in our first year business plan. Up until now, progress has come in spurts. We’ve worked with our neighbor Buzz Ferver and our cousins Amy and Weston Noyes on design ideas and how this building will fit into the whole farm. We’ve talked with excavators on how much the foundation will cost. In April we bought an old timber frame barn in Hinesburg and will bring it over here when it’s time to be assembled.
But for the past month, with all the work to be done in the fields and garden, barn progress halted. Finally, last weekend I told Edge, “We have to have an action plan in place by Wednesday so we don’t get to August without this barn being started.”
So Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday went by with no talk of the barn. Then on Wednesday Edge walked down to our neighbor’s, who are building a detached apartment for their home, and spoke with the excavator at work there. Jody came up to look at our site that evening, and by Thursday at 4:00 (exactly the time our CSA pick-up begins) he had the site leveled and was on his way back down the hill with his excavator. I am in a bit of excited shock–I really do believe that what we put out into the world comes back to us, and what we open ourselves to will show up, but wow the Universe really responded timely with this one! Thank you!
Once this stretch of rainy weather lifts, we will lay gravel and pour concrete. The rain isn’t so bad, though, as it does give us some time to work out the rest of the foundation details. Thank you again to all who have helped us since the fire. We will continue to keep you updated on our progress, and you will all be invited when the barn raising day comes around!
