For Sale

.95 acres in Richland Springs for sale.

Fixer-upper or tear it down and move in a mobile home.

Lots of open space for the kids to play.

City water, City sewer, electricity ON SITE!!!

Survey already done. Cash or conventional.

 

 

Yes, I'm selling my little homestead. 

I never expected this to happen and the decision to sell wasn't easy, but it's the right choice.  I have worked so hard to make this happen, but I've had so many setbacks and bad luck.  I've prayed about this a lot, too, asking God to tell me what to do.  I finally started asking God to 'send me a sign', something obvious, I'm not good at subtle hints.  And in the meantime I keep having all these setbacks.  In February my grandson totaled my car.  He drove off an embankment, the vehicle left the ground, somehow landed on the roof and then slid for 20+ feet.  He walked away from that crash with just bruises. I was so grateful that he wasn't hurt that I didn't mind that my new car payment was $75 a month more than the old car.  Then, in June, when I had saved $1,100 to do repairs on Moody Girl Farm, a large branch broke off of a big tree between my neighbor's house and mine.  The branch got caught up in the tree and the only part that touched my house was 3-4 feet of the tips of the branches.  Luckily neither house had any damage, but it costs me $700 to have the tree taken down.  In early August I found out that I wasn't going to get the raise my supervisor said last March she'd get for me, and that the museum where I work may reduce the hours it's open, so I may end up making less money each month which means I'd have even less to save for Moody Girl Farm.  And then, I got a call from the water department in Richland Springs.  My temporary water line had broken and 108,000 gallons of water had spilled out before they caught it and turned off the water.  I have to pay for all of the water that spilled out.  And I have to repair my water line. 

For a while I kept thinking that God was testing me to see just how badly I wanted that property, so I kept plugging along.  And then I had an epiphany.  God had been sending me signs, and they weren't subtle at all.  I know now that I've been very, very blessed that no one has been injured in all of my trials.  I truly believe that God doesn't want me in Richland Springs.  He has other plans for me and they don't include living up there.  I'll just have to wait and see what He wants.

Yes, I'm sad that I won't have a big garden and chickens.  I've dreamed about doing this since 2005, but as I said, this is the right choice for me.  I don't have the money to do the repairs the house needs, and with the way things have been going I'm not likely to ever have it.  One bright spot, since I've owned the property for more than one year, I won't have to pay taxes on any "capital gains" I should make when it sells.  With the proceeds from the sale I can pay off my car loan and maybe not have to work anymore.  There have been changes at the museum where I work and I'm not enjoying my job as much, so leaving might be another good choice for me.  I can still have a small garden here in town, maybe include some fruit trees this time.

I'm not surrendering, I'm not giving up, my dreams may still come true, I just don't know when or where or what they'll look like.  In the meantime, I'll keep posting here.

Lots of Space

In my original Master Plan/Goals I stated that I wanted 2-3 acres so I could have several large gardens, chickens, bees, and maybe goats.  However, Moody Girl Farm sits on just under one acre of land.  Because of this I've scratched goats from my plan.  There wouldn't be enough 'pasture' area for them to graze, and I wouldn't be able to grow enough forage for them to eat on my remaining land, and constantly buying feed for them wouldn't fit into my budget.  So, as much as I wanted goats, I'm ok not having them. 

I've tried to download aerial photos of my property from Google Maps to help me determine where the gardens will go, but their images are not very clear.  When I 'walk' the property, I have trouble 'seeing' the layout, mostly because not all of my property is cleared of brush yet.  When I hire the yard man each month, I always ask him to cut just a little bit further into the brushy area, and he does.  The last cutting really made a difference.

BEFORE:  Notice all the brush/weeds growing under the mesquite trees on the left of the house.

AFTER:  Brush is gone!




It really opens up the area.

With the brush cleared from around the mesquite tree, and the dead branches removed, I see that I have a lot of space for my garden.  This area is at the highest point on my property so it will drain well.  Or at least as well as clay soil can drain.  I think I see raised beds in my future.

The next highest ground is back behind the house around those trees.  That's where I'm thinking the chicken coop/run/paddocks will go, eventually.



June 3, 2019

My yard man trimmed back those mesquite trees, too.  There's not a lot of shade until later in the afternoon now, so I'll have to figure out some kind of shade-cloth canopy for the chicks.  Also notice that the 'grass' has turned brown.  The summers are hot here, with temps in the upper 90s and low 100s  typical.  And it's dry.  Keeping my animals cool and something green under foot will be a priority.


July 27, 2019

In the meantime, I'm planning another visit and I'll be looking at the soil where my gardens will go.  I'll dig a few holes to see what's below the surface, to see if there's any 'life' there.  And it's probably time to send off a sample to my county extension agent to have it tested.  Until then, never give up, never surrender, and may all your dreams come true.