F.R. "Fritz" Nordengren, MPH

On Tuesday the farm was officially ours. The paper’s signed, the deeds recorded, the check’s written. Now the work/fun begins. Tuesday’s business included posting some private property signs. I have a thing against “No trespassing” — but I know it’s an accepted tradition. But it leaves me cold. So I shopped around for some signs that offer a more polite way to say keep out: Hunting, Fishing and Trespassing by written permission only.The more important order of business was to fish the ponds. After eight casts, I caught 5 bass, all about 6 – 8 inches, but I’ll take that as a good sign. All of them came from the little pond.The idea of living off grid captures the imagination and spirit of many people. I don’t know how far off grid the farm will remain, but there is electricity run to the property and there is an older bored well with a pump.I emailed the local REC and asked for the power to be put in my name, only to find out the power is supplied by a large electric company on the eastern side of the state. So I emailed them and asked what information they needed to put the power in my name. Since I don’t have an address, their reply was to give them the number from the face of the electric meter. easy enough, I took a photo on one of my tours.They set up power, went out to the property and found a blown fuse at the street, and then called me with some tips for updating the meter and the pole arrangement.Water is the second challenge. The old well has an interesting set up, with an electrical cord fished through the side of the concrete that runs to a pump. The cord is covered with overgrown grass and muck.I plugged in the cord and nothing happened, the electric meter didn’t spin and water didn’t pump. I pulled and fished the cord through the grass and found it was disconnected from another extension cord (rural electrical code) so I hooked them in and water flowed.Today’s work included sweeping / scooping the old dusty hay from the hay loft, along with the bird droppings and some of the mud dubber nests from the rafters. I cut down some trees, cut some broken limbs, and began cleaning the dam of the large pond before we ran out of time and 2 cycle gas for the chain saw.

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