One of our main projects this winter is preparing for and constructing a permanent packing shed/walk-in cooler building. We have been washing and packing in our potting house for many years now, which is a fine setup most of the time (though not ideal in midsummer). However we have long outgrown our refrigerator space, and we need to use the potting house for growing transplants, not washing and packing.

Our best site for the building, as I mentioned in the previous post, is the trailer site: centrally located between our two field areas and convenient to the driveway for loading and unloading. When we bought the property this trailer came with it, and we have been able to put it to use for tool storage.

But the trailer has always been in poor condition and needed to be removed. Gavin used a tractor, a crowbar, and sawzall to take it apart, piece by piece.

He was able to salvage quite a bit of metal, which he took to the recyclers.

What a nasty job, with a lot of dust and fiberglass insulation blowing about!

Gavin flipped the trailer frame over and then separated the frame from the floor assembly.

We have joked that we could probably build a nice little tiny home on that frame! But after living in the yurt for so many years, I think we are looking to build something with a permanent foundation (though it will still have a small footprint).

Getting the last bits in the dumpster.

The next step was taking out that big walnut tree growing just a few feet away from the trailer.

Gavin’s friend Todd masterfully and safely brought the tree down yesterday. It was quite a job, considering all the obstacles. The tree was leaning toward the power line and had large branches overhanging the deer fence, as well as being in close proximity to the yurt. It could have done a lot of damage if it had fallen the wrong way.

He couldn’t have done a better job laying it down!

We spent most of the day cutting up the tree for future firewood, and scattering the smaller branches in the woods up on the hill. As I came back down I caught a nice shot of the West field. The rye and clover in the bottom rows are growing happily and will protect and enrich our soil for next fall’s garden. Above the annual crop rows are our perennials. The asparagus patch is on the right, our former raspberry patch in the center section (which we will convert to more asparagus next year), and the blueberry rows are on the left. Now that the building sit is clear, we can start building! Hopefully the building’s shell will be mostly completed by the time April comes around and we can begin the season packing in the new space. Only 2 months away!!!

Warmer weather and lots of veggies are around the corner, but we are keeping busy. Coming soon we’ll be posting information and details about a community supported agriculture (CSA) program we will be offering this year, with pickups in Forest on Wednesday and Saturday.