Elk Farm Housing

We seem to have an unplanned way of starting new adventures. In September 2017, we put our first house on the market. We had spent the 6 months prior looking at ranch real estate. After exploring many options, we were able to place an accepted purchase agreement on a small ranch in Oregon. The prospective property had lots to offer. An amazing hilltop view, large home, incredible shop, mature orchard, working corrals, feedlot, irrigation and a private drive. Everything we had thought we wanted in a piece of property. The property was located close enough, that Nate could remain working at his former employer. It was big enough to handle our livestock capacity at the time. We made long mental lists of plans for our new to be purchase. Remodeling the house, expanding the corrals, etc. We would take Sunday drives by the property, anxious for the day it would officially be ours. To say we were excited, was an understatement. There had been a couple slight hiccups, but nothing we weren’t able to overcome. The land was owned by an elderly widower that wanted to retire, moving closer to his children. It seemed the perfect story for a young family starting out. Big W was 2 years old, I was 4 months pregnant with Mr. C. All went as planned, for awhile.

Our then current house was in a sales contract, within 6 days of being listed on the market. We boxed and packed as much as humanely possible. We rented storage containers to ease the moving process. We lined up fall pasture, feeding facilities and hay within a couple miles of the new property. Planning to ship the cows to the area when summer’s grass was gone. This would make it much easier to transfer them to the new property, December 1st. We even purchased an additional 80 head of sheep, plus a nurse cow with calves. All working towards our new life on the hill in Oregon. There is an age old story of “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”, but the process seemed to move along so smooth. No warning signs, burning bushes, etc. Any ant hill that seemed to develop, was quickly remedied. None the less, the week we were to sign papers on both our old and new properties, it fell through. Our new purchase was gone. The owner had found a loop hole in the purchase agreement and backed out at the last minute. It was as if the rug had been pulled out from underneath us. We still had to follow thru with the sale of our home. The purchaser was planning to move in the day of signing. We were officially homeless, with numerous cows, sheep, horses, 13 dogs (we had just had a batch of cowdog puppies), 2 cats, a toddler and one on the way.

The days were a blur over the next few weeks. God is always watching out for us, never letting us down. It seems sometimes our human plans aren’t always the best direction. God knew that we would be better off doing things differently than we had planned. The silver lining always shines through. Family and friends stepped in to help in different ways. We were able to rent a small 1 bedroom apartment in a friend’s back yard. Allowing us to keep our cowdogs, until we gave the puppies new homes. Our cows were still shipped to Oregon for pasture. Nate found an old feedlot facility to wean calves in. The neighbors in Oregon offered another month of fall pasture. Another neighbor there, let us use his facilities to load and unload semi trucks. This allowed us some time to breathe. We were offered winter range for our cows afterwards, just down the road from our small rental house. My parents expanded their corrals, caretaking our sheep. Our horses were at a friend’s property, 45 minutes away. Still more friends took our bulls for the winter alongside their own. A lifelong friend of Nate’s offered her corrals for our nurse cow crew. It is amazing looking back, how everything fell into place. A sure sign that God was there for us. Thankfully all the hay we had purchased in advance, was in small bales. Weekends were spent loading flatbed trailers, hauling hay in many different directions. We would pack an all day snack bag, the 3 of us bouncing along in our 1993 Dodge pickup. During the week, we would take evening drives thru the cows on winter range. We had many memorable adventures with Big W in the truck, that winter.

We continued to ravenously search for real estate prospects. Our list of property qualifications dwindled. We wanted to purchase another property as soon as possible. It didn’t have to be pretty, just a place to live and feed our livestock. Our realtor knew our situation, becoming even more creative in her searches. She went over lists of properties, no longer actively on the market. After several options, we found two prospective properties that were located close to each other. One property was 83 acres with irrigation, a nice barn and a set of makeshift corrals. The other was a 33 acre former elk farm, boasting tall woven wire fencing, irrigation, old dairy barn and a 525 square foot shack of a house. The properties were within 3 miles of each other. Not a bad commute for feeding, considering our current 75 mile commute, one way. We were able to utilize a conventional home loan for the Elk Farm property, closing in 30 days. The larger property would take 90 days. We had toured both properties with the exception of the Elk Farm’s house. A tenant family of four currently lived there, with several dogs. Since the property was not actively on the market, the landlord didn’t push the issue. I bravely told Nate that it would be fine, even if we “camped” there until building on or improving. The purchase process was completed without a glitch. The tenants asked for a couple extra days to complete moving. It seemed like perfect timing. Mr. C would arrive the end of February, we could move in March, allowing us to be there & ready for our sheep to start lambing in April.

Two days after becoming the proud new owners, we toured the Elk Farm house. The house was built in the 1920’s with exterior, cloth, electrical wiring and porch with plumbing addition in the 1940’s. The original wood floors followed a steep incline to the middle of the structure, in the absence of a foundation. The tenants had taken their personal pellet stove with them. The remaining sole heat source was a blackened, dangerous looking, wall heater. The master bedroom was completely missing glass in both of it’s windows. The bathroom did have a fairly new shower stall and sink cabinet. The sheetrock of the laundry room ceiling had a 2 inch gap, where it fell short of reaching the wall. Hanging from this ceiling gap were remnants of mouse skeletons. There were signs of a rather large and thriving mouse population on the floor and in kitchen cabinets. I can only imagine our facial expressions. Our realtor tried to point out the positive. She scheduled a house cleaner for that week. The poor house cleaner spent 7 hours making it presentable. That’s a long time, considering the house was only 525 square feet. On the way home, I fought back tears. Trying to reanalyze the whole situation in my head. Nate and I both agreed that we would move the animals there, but continue living nearby in the rented house.

For 6 months, we made the 20 mile, one way, commute between the Elk Farm and home. During lambing season, I would load the little cowboys up and head for the Elk Farm. We would pack our lunch, spending all day there. Nate would meet us at the Elk Farm after work, completing night chores. Mr. C became a sheep herder at 6 weeks old. He bounced along in a front baby pack, as Big W & I sorted new lambs and mothers. We would try to accomplish as much as we could throughout the day. Nate would finish chores and help with more difficult tasks after work. The little cowboys took naps in our car, playing in the fenced yard when warmer months came. The old house worked well for warming cold animals, providing shelter from the occasional rain storms. Lambs that needed extra care and late night feedings, were hauled home in a laundry basket. They spent the night getting their strength, returning to the orphan pen in the morning. God got us through the extra long days.

We were actively looking the entire time, for housing options for the Elk Farm. We were given a stick built house to move from a nearby town. After doing the final walk through, we noticed bubbled paint from termite damage. The structure would have crumbled once lifted in the air. We found a single wide mobile home and another stick built home to move. We agreed to view both prospects after work. The single wide was priced for $500.00. I rummaged through my various hiding places for cash, just in case, finding exactly the required $500.00. We set out to inspect the two houses. First stop was the mobile home. It was a 1978 single wide, with no improvements. The previous tenants moved out disgruntled, leaving bad remarks in permanent marker on the walls. They also had an obvious lack of housekeeping skills. It seemed structurally sound, didn’t appear to have been used to manufacture illegal drugs. After a brief team meeting, Nate and I agreed it had the potential to be our “new” housing for the Elk Farm. We paid the owner, promising to have it moved in the next month. Apparently easier said than done. Every moving company I called, was 3 months out. The county’s taxes & regulations proved another challenge. It looked as though we now owned an outdated mobile home that couldn’t be moved. One last phone call, found a mobile home mover that would do it for cash money. No permits, no questions, no answers. We agreed. The movers were very knowledgeable, moving the mobile home to the Elk Farm as promised. I met them there with an envelope of cash, agreeing to not mention their names.

Then began the remodel. We completely tore out the entire interior, except walls. There were many surprises unearthed. One such, was a 15 year accumulation of finger nail clippings behind where the couch had once stood. That still makes us shudder. Nate and I wore many hats, from electrician, plumber, painter, flooring installer, roofer, etc. We layed tile, installed new kitchen cabinets, painted and layed wood flooring. From the inside, the mobile home now resembled a new fashionable “tiny home”. The exterior remained untouched, sporting it’s 1970’s era green paint. The final push to complete our move to the Elk Farm, came in the form of coyotes. These predators were excited about the ease of dinner, served by our sheep. It didn’t matter the time of day, lamb was on their menu. One day the little cowboys & I were in the field, watching helplessly as a coyote chased the sheep nearby. The coyotes had no fear of humans. We scrambled to purchase a less than perfect livestock guardian dog. Then we focused on completing the mobile home remodel. At least if we lived at the Elk Farm, we might be able to protect our sheep. In the meantime, we left radios blaring, lights on and a fan blowing plastics sacks for movement at night. We officially moved to the Elk Farm’s remodeled mobile home in September 2018.

Vintage mobile homes offer their own variation to normal living routines. We were very blessed the furnace was amazingly warm. The windows, even being wrapped in plastic sheeting, still managed to allow cold & wind thru. We discovered where the roof shingles leaked with each rain storm. Nate would diligently patch the shingles with additional roofing tar. The new wood floors provided great traction for the little cowboy’s toy trucks. Mr. C learned to maneuver his wheeled baby walker at high speed, down the long hallway. Towards the end of our residence there, you couldn’t make coffee and watch television at the same time. The antique electrical system randomly shut one or the other off. We plugged small appliances in on a need to use basis. All in all, we had a pretty good year in the mobile home. Summer’s heat was spent under the cool shade of nearby trees, waiting for the home to cool off. The little cowboys stayed outside as long as possible most days. Our second lambing/calving season there was much easier. I could leave the chilled newborns in the heated laundry room of the old house. Within hours, after some warm milk, they were ready to rejoin their mothers. The little cowboys could watch a quick cartoon, while Nate & I finished night chores, on long days. We still commuted the 3 miles to feed cows at our other property. It was a short jaunt compared to our previous trips.

When it came time to move it last fall, we took various pictures, posting ads on local classified sites. Few people appreciated the 1978 single wide mobile home. None had witnessed it’s cosmetic rehabilitation. Or knew how appreciative we were to get to live near our livestock. The mobile home had served it’s purpose for our little family. The local county office declared it had to be moved before the property could be sold. We gave it to a family member of the mobile home movers. The company that required cash and no name references. They arrived shortly before Thanksgiving. Within 24 hours, there was no trace of a mobile home ever existing. We saw it listed for sale a short time later. I don’t know if they were able to reap a big profit. I only hope the next owners, appreciated our humble 1978 single wide mobile home. We sure did.