My husband, brother-in-law, and I frequently get asked about the latest projects we’re doing on our farm. We love that question. It’s indicative of the work we’ve done over the past three years (from Dec. 2020 to Dec. 2023).

We’re busy remodeling, restoring and refreshing my husband’s family’s (nearly) bi-centennial farm in Michigan.

As I look back at what we’ve accomplished to date, it’s amazing. And that’s not bragging because it’s not what we’ve done in our strength, but what has been accomplished as we sought the help of countless others.

Farmers, firefighters, conservationists, demolition and excavating companies, and more, are part of our 2023 story.

If you look back to 2020 and even before, so many others contributed to our progress. But for now, I’d like to focus on 2023 as the end of the year allows for reflection. I always enjoy reflecting before intentionally planning and strategizing the year ahead. 

Looking back

House demolition

In March, after several years of careful planning and prep work, several local fire departments helped to burn down the 1854 farmhouse on our property.

We donated the home, which was beyond repair, to  the firefighters for several training exercises. It was the home where Tom’s and Jim’s great-grandfather and family lived, and then where Tom, Jim and their family lived. Read the full story here.

What an incredible experience to be part of! And we are forever grateful for the partnership with the fire departments to complete that daunting task. 

After the fire, two chimneys remained that needed to be pushed into the old basement. Excavators came to complete that job and to grade smooth the previous site of the house.

What you don’t see here, is the work our family did to pick up rocks and tree limbs and put down grass seed. Hours of work, but we didn’t mind it one bit. And now, we have a beautiful side yard. 

Garage & club house demolition

Behind the 1854 farmhouse was an old, two-story garage and a small outbuilding or club house, which at one time was referred to as ‘the fun club’ by Tom and Jim’s dad and sisters who played in it endlessly. Both of those were demolished since they were no longer structurally sound.

In fact, we couldn’t get to the second story of the garage to look for antique treasures because it wasn’t safe to do so. Instead, we asked the demolition company to keep an eye out for antiques as they took the structure down and to carefully push it over so as not to break anything precious if it did house treasures.

As they pushed the structure to the ground, I saw them carefully pull out and set aside an old-fashioned butter churn. It now sits in our dining room.  

Fence demos

In April, we had a wood-board fence demoed and removed along the dirt road.

It was falling down and rotted; no longer serving a real purpose. The area was then graded smooth and opened up our view of the pond fields from our home.

We also had a quarter mile of fence and posts removed from the middle of our farm fields. They used to be there to separate a barnyard from the field, but the barn and barnyard were removed years ago (2018) rendering the fence useless. 

Combining fields and working the ground

This allowed us to combine three separate fields into one large one for farming efficiency. Once that was done, we contracted with a local farming family to work the fields for us.

They have the necessary farm equipment that we don’t, which made it possible for them to till and seed 40 acres of ground for us that hadn’t been worked that well in over 25 years. 

My husband, Tom, put in 22 acres of hay seeding he plans to harvest himself. He’ll sell to horse and cattle customers, like he’s done the past few years. He enjoys doing some of the work himself, but can’t do it all with his off-the-farm job and commitment to family life. 

‘Less is More’

Our motto continues to be “less is more.” That’s because we have many buildings on the farm that are either no longer needed or not in good enough condition to continue using. Tom, Jim and I decided it would be too costly to fix them up, reroof and maintain them. So we’re in the process of taking them down and beautifying the landscape.

Pig house demo

That’s what we did with the pig house that was next to our driveway. We don’t have pigs, nor plan to get pigs in the future, and the building, though it looked okay structurally from the outside, was in very poor condition on the inside and no longer of any use. It was time to let it go. We paid excavators to demolish it and haul away the debris. In a few short hours, it was completely out of here. 

Clearing trees

We also worked to clear Autumn Olive trees from a  section of our property. Autumn Olives are an invasive species that will take over if left unchecked.

Since our pond field was being put into hay seeding, we needed a new route to get to the swimming pond.

So we cleared a path around the outer edges of our fields, which allows us to enjoy a second pond  we previously didn’t have access to.

Now, we can drive our gator or walk right next to this pond on our way to our swimming pond. We’ll leave this one to nature, but we still get to enjoy the view and the sounds as we pass.  

For Our Girls

We also completed a couple of fun projects for and with our two daughters.

Rec room 

First, we created a recreational area (or rec room) in our basement. 

We wanted them to have an area to call their own and a fun hangout area for their friends. We cleaned out the room and painted the walls and ceiling, including a feature wall with the pretty sky-blue color they chose.

Then my husband put up trim around the windows and we moved in a couple of couches, a TV, a rug, a mini-fridge and a game table. They made it cozy and use it for all sorts of things now.

Sand volleyball court

Second, we put in a sand volleyball court.

Both girls now play on volleyball teams and have friends that love the sport, too. It made sense to create a space for them to practice or get a game going when friends are over. We even played after dark on the summer and fall nights with a campfire going.

Dock for the pond

Third, we built a dock together and placed it in the deep end of our swimming pond.

The girls have enjoyed having it to run and jump off of, fish from, sunbathe on, and more.  We spent countless hours this past summer at the pond, and the dock was an awesome addition!

Whoa!

As I list it all here, it’s quite a lot. And all accomplished while working our day jobs, raising kids, and participating in sports and church and social activities. But again, we didn’t do it by ourselves. We have many others to thank for their efforts and hard work. #sograteful

We’re looking forward to another year of progress in 2024. I won’t share our plans yet, but know there’s always a project or two (or six) on our minds. We call the farm and its beautification a ‘labor of love’ because it truly is. When you love what you’re doing, it’s not work at all; it’s a joy. 

Thanks to God

And lastly, I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank God for blessing us with this amazing farm. We are simply stewards of his land and his gifts. We hope to leave it better than we found it and pass it on as a legacy one day.

Your turn

What did you intentionally accomplish in 2023 that you’re proud of? I always love to hear from you! You can comment below or send me an email at yoursintentionally@yahoo.com.

Or if you’ve been watching our progress at the farm, let us know! You can also keep up with the latest progress by following IrwinEst.1836 on Facebook & Instagram. 

Yours intentionally, Amanda