The Snow Melted and We Were in Awe

As the snow melted in that first spring in 2015, Brad, Alexander and I realized that we may have bitten off more than we could chew……

Sometimes it is truly possible to be in both shock and awe simultaneously, and at the farm, this feeling became quite familiar after a while. You’ve heard the adage before; for every up there’s a down, the glass is full/empty, good/bad, yin-yang….you know what I mean. That balance between woohoo and boohoo was literally around every corner, behind every door, and under every melted snow pile. We truly never knew what to expect when ever we approached anything at the farm.

And in that spring of 2015, when the snow melted, we had a bit of a sinking feeling. I’ll admit, I probably cried, and anyone that knows me, knows that is my go-to response for a variety of emotions, so crying doesn’t necessarily mean that I am sad. In this case, I was.

It’s a sloppin’ soggy mess around here.

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We knew that we were getting ourselves into a big job when we took on this property, but we never really knew how much of a job it would be. So we put on our rubber boots, and we dove in to explore our surroundings. Here’s an idea of what we were diving in to….

Every single nook and cranny was jam packed with stuff; old margarine containers, chicken feed bags, hamster cages, ginger ale bottles and cans. We had a barn full of 40 year old hay that had become a snake and mouse haven. We had buildings that we knew we wouldn’t even be able to consider entering for years, and we didn’t. There were tires everywhere. I saw so many mouse carcasses that it got to the point where I didn’t even scream anymore. Oh, who am I kidding? I still screamed. They’re gross. And we didn’t have running water at the time. So we would get full of mud and dirt and poop and grime and grease and who knows what else and have to boil up water to have a sponge bath. If we went to town to pick something up at a store, I would go to the washroom and embarrassingly watch the water turn a grayish-brown as I rinsed my hands, and this AFTER I thought that I had washed. Yuck.

But honestly, I would not change any of it for a second. Because as I said, out of this chaos, many beautiful things have emerged. It definitely helped to build our relationship, as communication became of utmost importance. We quickly learned what each other’s limits were, and developed a respect for each other’s unique approach in dealing with these kinds of situations.

Even after a long, cold day of work outside in the rain, we were still smiling, most of the time! haha

We had the opportunity to introduce Alexander to a new experience, and show him that following a dream takes a lot of hard work. And we met a fantastic dog named Rocky, who we referred to as “buddy” for the longest time. (I’ll talk more about Rocky later on down the line in another blog.)

  • Our new-to-us buddy!
  • Soggy but fun!

But the best, best part that makes all of this so amazingly worthwhile is the big sky, and the big fields, and the beautiful rocky cliffs, and trickling streams, and wild flowers, and massive trees, and the wildlife that comes with it.

Yes, most of this was intertwined with garbage and scrap metal, wood and vehicle parts, but it was just a matter of time (a whole heck of a lot of time) before we resurrected a lot of the land back to it’s natural self. There’s that balance that makes it all worthwhile. So, we trudged along, warming up in “The Love Shack” and wondering what our next surprise would be.

The Love Shack with it’s fancy “click-clack” couch; a step up from the air mattress! I think.

In the next blog, I’ll share with you all of the upgrades we did in the summer of 2015 to the farm house so we could get out of the Love Shack!

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There were outbuildings full to the ceiling with clutter, junk, garbage, and treasures. We just had to sort through it all. Little did we know what we were getting ourselves into, and little did we know what incredible treasures were in store. #clutter #treasures #antiques #vintage #reclaim #upcycle

Author: theclevercorvidsfarmhousestudio

Rhonda (Bobinski) Beckman left Red Lake, Ontario, after high school to obtain her Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours Degree, then continued on to receive her Bachelor of Education Degree at the University of Manitoba. She then returned and taught Visual Arts at Red Lake District High School for almost 20 years while continuing to make her own art on the side. In 2014, Rhonda established herself as the sole proprietor of The Clever Corvid Art and Art Workshops, where she runs artistic workshops for all ages and abilities in the community and beyond. She is now working on the next stage of her artistic career as she and her husband slowly transform 167 acres of land just outside of Dryden, Ontario, into a future artist's retreat. Rhonda can be found at local festivals and on Facebook, peddling her creative wares that are inspired by the beautiful nature that surrounds her.

2 Replies to “The Snow Melted and We Were in Awe”

  1. You’re right. Our experience with our properties are very similar. But so so worth it. Taking on this property as a project is probably the hardest and most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. We’ve learned a lot about each other and I’ve learned a lot about myself and I wouldn’t change any of it because this place just feels right. I’m going to save your blog and I’m going to check back you’re doing great.

    1. Hey! Thanks, Shari! Yes, that’s totally what it is: a gut feeling. When you know, you know and then the work is all worth it, eh? Thanks for saving my blog! If you subscribe, you get a quick email when a blog is up and running (I promise, it’s not spammy. I hate spammy stuff!) and then you get access to my freebie resource library! Woohoo! 😉 In the meantime, I’ll keep on checking out your Instagram account. See ya in cyberspace, farmer friend!

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