friends – Olsen Farm

Yes. This IS a blog about a toilet. And so much more.

For nearly six years we have been living with a toilet that needed a pot of water poured into the bowl to get it to flush. Things that humans put in toilets are not things we wish to spend lingering time with, patiently waiting for the extra pot of water to do its job. Nobody’s got time for that shit. Literally. Not the greatest- a disgusting frustration- and an uncomfortable obstacle to have to explain to house guests. Not to mention the appalling amount of water wasted with each pot-full.

This toilet became a metaphor for every obstacle working against us in creating the sustainable, low stress life we aim to live. It needed to go.

This old aluminum pot lived beside the toilet for almost a decade and needed to be filled in the sink and poured in the bowl with just the right timing for the toilet to flush

A hand-made sign lived above the toilet with directions for house guests on how to use the toilet water pot system for flushing.

Trying to solve this problem- we bought a new toilet as a Christmas gift for Chris’ Dad in 2016. But he became sick quickly that winter and we did not have time to install it while caring for him in his last months. The brand new toilet sat in a box, taunting us, for nearly three years.

Chris’ Dad built this house in the early 1980’s. Chris grew up here- his heights measured on the kitchen door jam. It is more than just a house to us- it is a home. Despite all the cracks, messes and broken bits, it is our home. After purchasing the family land in 2019 and coming to an agreement about purchase of the house we are FINALLY allowed to start making needed repairs. The toilet was first on our list!

This weekend we finally decided to tackle our toilet problem. No more disgusting, broken latrine. No more wasted water. No more water pot for Olsen Farm!! What we thought would be an easy project turned out to be much more involved after finding the subfloor rotted, and the sewer pipe needing repair as well. After six hours and lots of help from our friends (THANK YOU Jere and Paul!) our brand new toilet is fully installed and functioning- no pot necessary.

Our brand new low-flush toilet, completely installed! Dreams do come true!!

The house needs many costly repairs, this toilet is only a small piece of what we will need to fix in the coming months and years. The toilet water pot has been retired, and the old toilet is in the yard with a R.I.P sign. Replacing a toilet may seem like a small victory, but it is one that signifies obstacles we have overcome and we will be celebrating!

‘We bought the farm’ is an old-timey way to indirectly say someone has died- often referring to death in a battle, or plane crash. While we did have our share of battles with debt collectors and nay-sayers (no plane crashes though), for us it holds a more literal meaning- after over two years of fundraising and negotiations with family we have finally purchased 28 acres of the family farm lands!

These 28 acres include Sachum Brook, running along the West side of the property. Forest trails through mixed hardwood forest, a vernal pool in Spring and magical hemlock groove, blueberry and apple orchards, our gardens, apiary and chicken coops as well as the original farm house (now condemned) built in the 1790’s.

Forest path that leads across Sachum Brook to the vernal pool and hemlock groove

Big bend in Sachum Brook, a favorite spot year round

The idea of owning land feels strange and disconnected- what does it even mean to ‘own’ land? It has always been our goal to prevent this acreage from being developed, to protect and re-build our four generation family farm and preserve habitats for wildlife, birds and native plants. Our owning the land on paper will allow us to do all this- and more, but we think of ourselves more as stewards than owners.

This land is home to the animals we raise- chickens, honeybees, an Australian Shepherd and three crazy cats. It is also home to incredible wildlife, birds, insects, amphibians and mammals. The old farm house has been a home to little brown bats for years, we have great blue herons fly over the yard regularly. Barred and great horned owls visit and call- bluebirds return to nest each year. This year we had dozens of monarch caterpillars and butterflies- and found a praying mantis in the garden.

We have seen bobcats, a fisher, coyotes, black bear, fox and a mountain lion (yes, it was a real mountain lion!) in the yard. The hemlock grove is home to some very large porcupines, and the vernal pool has had spotted salamander eggs two years in a row. Deer love to come snack on fallen apples, raccoons and skunks are regulars too.

Bluebird houses on the meadow edge- we have had nesting pairs for the past three years

Our apiary- all 19 colonies- nestled between old apple trees and our vegetable gardens

Our three chicken coops, with a mix of bantams and standard birds stand on the other side of the old apple tree

While the work of a farmer is never done- this land purchase is a huge step in the future of Olsen Farm. THANK YOU to everyone who has supported us along the way- we truly could not have come this far without each of you.

If you are local to the Berkshires- please join us Saturday, November 9th from 4-6 PM at Dottie’s Coffee Lounge 444 North street in Pittsfield to celebrate!

Many of you may know, in January we lost our father/ father in law unexpectedly after a short illness. The months building up to and after his passing have left us broken and the future of Olsen Farm in jeopardy. Tommy grew up on this land, helping his grandparents to take care of the farm and soaking up knowledge about farming and caring for animals.

Today is Tommy’s birthday. He would have been 65.

In May we spread Tommy’s ashes on the property so that he could be part of this land eternally. We have been working tirelessly to raise money in order to keep the family land from being sold off and developed. The two most important things to Tommy were his family, and this land. There is so much history here and we hope there will be many, many more generations of Olsens and Wheelers here caring for this incredible piece of land.

Happy Birthday Tommy! It is an empty feeling to celebrate your birthday without you being here. But our memories are strong and our love for you and this land are endless. Our gift to you is that we keep fighting to save the family farm, that we will do everything in our power to keep Olsen Farm alive.

If you werewith us this year, Tommy, here are some highlights we know you would take joy in:

We planted your favorite, corn- and it was a success! Chris tried three sisters planting, sowing corn, beans and squash in the same bed so the three plants could support each other. Next year we plan to triple the crop.

There were so many monarchs in the yard and one even built a chrysalis on the chicken coop!

We added some cute little fancy chickens to the flock, and Jelly Doughnut hatched and raised a clutch of chicks. She was a great mama hen. You will get a kick out of this- instead of Thanksgiving turkey we will be having Thanksgiving rooster and eating Mr. Alexander Hamilton!

Chris harvested our first jar of honey, super dark and spicy from all the goldenrod in the yard. We lost the hive we had last year in February after a cold snap, but now we have three hives and are planning to double again next year. Susan’s gardens are looking AMAZING with all the extra help from these busy, busy bees.

Chris and I saved an injured barred owl from the side of the road. I remember last year, when I found an injured owl and was able to coax it back into the woods. You were so excited to hear about it then, we know you would have loved seeing this little owl too.

We know you and Susan are always watching over the family and farm and probably already know about all of these things- but it feels good to put them down in writing. Happy Birthday, we love you.

Remembrance is bittersweet, but I believe it is necessary. We know Olsen Farm would not be here without Tommy and the work he did to preserve this land. We will always remember, and while it brings saddness to remember it also brings hope and relief in knowing our fight to save the farm is righteous.

It has been a difficult year at Olsen Farm.

In January we lost our father unexpectedly after a short illness. Since then our world has been turned upside down. Trying to manage the sudden death of a loved one is an impossible task. On top of that tremendous loss we are faced with large debts against the land and are at risk of losing our farm and family home. With such urgency focussed on these critical financial pieces there has not been time to properly grieve.

One piece that has kept us moving forward during this struggle is the kindness of strangers.

Please- don’t get me wrong- we have an incredibly supportive group of family and friends who have been wrapping us in kindness every step of the way. We are thankful to have this base of support, and know that we could not continue fighting for our farm without friends and family there beside us.

But the kindness and generosity of complete strangers is something powerful and provides great hope.

In April we started a ‘GoFundMe’ campaign to try and offset the large amount of money we need in order to save the farm (https://www.gofundme.com/please-help-save-olsen-farm?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=email&utm_content=body_photo&utm_campaign=upd_n)

It has not been easy to share our story, and it certainly has not been easy to ask for help- particularly because it involves money. But we had to put it out there. Since we made that leap we have made so many amazing connections by sharing what we are going through. By taking the risk and putting our vulnerability out there we have been able to connect with people all over the country who are going through, or have been through similar circumstances. We have met people who grew up eating eggs from Olsen Farm years ago, and heard amazing stories about what the farm was like then. We have heard memories about our father from his childhood- these pieces have more value than can be put in words.

-Two sisters shared memories of visiting Olsen Farm as children, riding the tractor and feeding the animals with Great Grandpa Olsen.

-A former Berkshire County resident who recently returned to the area found us on Facebook and reached out via email- making a generous donation and becoming one of our best egg customers and Olsen Farm cheerleaders!

-Tradespeople, including a plumber, two electricians and many skilled carpenters have reached out with offers to help repair the farmhouse pro bono after hearing our story.

-An old friend of our father’s shared that there was a tree he and our dad had carved their names in years ago and we were able to hike to that exact spot and find ‘Tommy Wheeler’ carved there in memoriam.

-A young woman beginning to study archeology and her father introduced themselves and generously offered to survey the property, searching for burried history- and treasures.

-Someone made the purchase of a silver spoon from our first yard sale and came to return it after doing some research that night and finding it was a valuable family heirloom. She polished the spoon, wrapped it up and brought it back to us sharing that she thought we should keep it on the farm.

-A gentleman told us his parallel story that he is currently working through similar circumstances while trying to revive his family store after the death of grand parents.

-A couple from Florida, vacationing in the Berkshires, came to the farm this weekend after seeing us in the newspaper and made a generous donation.

Please take a look at the Berkshire Eagle article here: http://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/lanesborough-couple-on-mission-to-save-family-farm,515057

These moments and stories are what give us strength to push forward with our seemingly impossible task. Once these strangers made the effort to step in to our lives they became part of the Olsen Farm family.

Please, be kind to a stranger. The impact is powerful and lasting. And please, keep reaching out and sharing your stories with us. Your stories give us hope.

Olsen Farm

Tag: friends

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