hi I'm Mike and I'm Erin and it really seems like our lives have been turned
really upside down this year yeah you know we started the nonprofit that very
project to help both consumers and producers yeah we moved into our very
own kind of venture here in this building the farm store which actually
opens here just a couple days are you nervous yeah it's tomorrow we're not
ready but it is really nerve-wracking to go from what I'm used to in my normal
routine a farmers market and to venture into something that is very much so on
our own 100% independent standalone business not part of a group where
anything and so this is make-or-break it on our own and I've got this brand-new
farm show adventure and this branded nonprofit adventure and two very
brand-new things that have turned our lives upside down so today we get to
wrap up a few loose ends get the store ready to open on Wednesday afternoon
maybe we'll get a little bit of a breather but I very much doubt it but
we'll see what happens on our wildlife
hi there thanks for coming back don't forget to subscribe and come along with
us as we explore the ranch like and escape the ordinary it's super simple
just hit that little bit about six months ago the thought came to us I
think about six months ago for the farm store in December we're gonna everything
everything changed in December yeah we don't know what happened that's been
something in the water but now six months later the whole thing is coming
to a head it's all I can see it's coming to the end or maybe it's just this is
the beginning beginning or its beginning of the yet we've got a couple days until
the farm store opens officially opens it'll be up and running but we do have
one final great thing that we have to put in to get to that point so today
well not today actually was yesterday
she went one way I would another and hopefully we were hoping in the
beginning today that somewhere along the line we would meet I'll go so let's
start with Aaron's day okay I am it's Monday morning well it's Monday midday I
am headed to town I have a list of my along a stuff that I need to get in town
for the farm store I need some flowers we need some stuff for irrigation for
the little garden we need a flag for the flagpole I just
have a ton of stuff that we need to get just odds-and-ends stuff that we haven't
picked up yet for the opening of the farm store and yeah like I got to get
water to the garden so stuff can grow so I can sell stuff
I'm store so I am off to do that the kids are at Grandma's Mike is running
around like crazy trying to get stuff done I'm super stressed today and the
next few days is gonna be really I don't want to say hard it's gonna be really
stressful we have a lot to do there is a ton of stuff still left to accomplish I
know that we'll get it done because we always get it done but in the meantime
like I feel like your crazy person my stress level is through the roof but
that's okay we will get it done the furnitures gonna open I made a Facebook
event so more official we're opening Wednesday we're gonna make it happen so
I'm off to the store I will come back with a carload full of stuff for me the
very first thing on the agenda for the farm store is coming up with a way to
divine freezers into compartments to make the meat the beef and the pork
easier to select and browse through for customers obviously I just can't throw
the meat in here in a big old pile so something has to be worked out now this
is the tail end of a construction project that's been of a scale that I
really didn't anticipate luckily we didn't have to build the building itself
it was manufactured by homestead structures just down the road from us
they built it in their shop and delivered it to the ranch and put it in
place that was back in April
since then we've been finishing the inside adding power insulation paneling
all the while managing a ranch through storms calving the beginning of a spring
and a family it's really nice to see things coming together but one thing
that I love doing is problem solving so when I knew that we had to divide
freezers I wanted to do it in a new way for us anyway first up all right my
first step of the day is that Menards if I can get actually most of what I need
here at Menards there might be a few other trips that I have to make I am
gonna go to one of our local greenhouses because I am looking for just a couple
like filler Tomatoes and I want some different varieties so I hope I can get
most of it here at all ironically enough I was at Menards just yesterday and the
day before and probably the day before that it was on one of those trips that I
picked up a 4x8 sheet of high-density polyethylene polyethylene is the most
popular plastic in the world it makes toys plastic bags even
bulletproof vests and today it's gonna become dividers for our freezers the
trick here is that the plastic expands in the heat and contracts in the cold we
could end up making our dividers than putting them in the freezer only to have
them shrink and not fit correctly so we're gonna have to cut everything just
a little bit long now I don't have a formula to figure this out so we're just
gonna go with a quarter of an inch and cut all of our pieces for our dividers
cutting the plastic sheet with a jigsaw one piece for our center divider and
then the others for the cross pieces that into the freezer they go to cool
down and shrink to size I got my bar stools I think I have everything that I
need I have everything I was on my list I am starving it is two o'clock in the
afternoon and I have not eaten lunch mind if I get some food go home do more
work and hopefully we can make a dent in the to-do list
and yeah it's warm today I wouldn't say it's hot I want to complain about it
being hot after it being so cold this winter it's warm time to go home when
she does get home the timing couldn't be better
while our de fires continue to cool it's off to help unloading see how nice and
pretty the countertop is touch it don't touch it it's wet just like this little
guy found out over here and we get to make the outside of the farm store even
prettier I don't know should be right next to the building I was sure they'd
be further out well bricks are meant to take up space and the planter is
requiring less dirt both of these they're not gonna fit
which means we get to break something guys we need a hammer quite strong today
idea I'm gonna use the rock we're gonna make tools like the monkeys do hey good
work tools rudimentary tools the foundation of civilization that bums
and through a little destruction with the help of our thumbs Aaron makes the
outside almost as pretty as the inside in the meantime our panels are cold
enough and have shrunk down so we can start cutting our grooves out for them
to fit together and what we're going for is an air locking divider system
race decides the walls are a little bare and some decorations come next the final
thing that we want to get done today is stocking of the freezers first unloading
errands Farmers Market truck with freezers inside that are normally
stocked with me to take to market not needing them any longer we can start
unloading them and organizing the beef and the pork inside the store
and so we finish up just in time for a nice sunset and to lock up the store
with one less day until we open to the public
ready or not here we come
so we're t-minus what 12 24 or less than 24 hours away as we sit right now it's
419 p.m. Tuesday afternoon and with less than 24 hours away from the opening of
the store how do you feel any better yet no I'm
still baking I still like doing the exact same thing I was like this morning
I'm almost done baking yeah I'm just trying to wrap up this project so I can
go back outside and get some more stuff done in the final storage so definitely
if you're ever up in this area you're born welcome to stop on by we will
figure out what our hours are and have them posted so yeah so we're gonna go
Tuesday through Friday from 2:00 to 6:00 right now you can like us on Facebook
that are why I'm in life farm store that will give you the most up-to-date
information if those hours do change so yeah make sure you like us on Facebook
but Friday's Tuesdays through Fridays 2:00 to 6:00 I'm guessing that's gonna
change but that's what we record let's break it off so come on in we're gonna
have lemonade have a cookie and take a look at the start yeah if you happen to
be in the area yeah don't make a special trip yeah if
you heard us talking about EPP a little bit earlier that's the edible ferry
project while the video coming up about that where we'll clue everybody in
what's going on there yeah we have a website edible prairie project or and
feel free to check that out and Facebook all set so but yeah more information
coming about upp awesome be sure to subscribe hit that little Bell
notifications so that you don't miss the thing and until next time
oh you want to forgot something Thursday is our live stream are we
live stream on Thursday and a very special guest coming up this Thursday
you know him has the harmless farmer he can check out his YouTube channel
harmless farmer at YouTube I'm guessing it's just one word but Andy will be
joining us during our live stream on Thursday so be sure to come in and hang
out with us for that and hear all about Andy's very inspiring islands okay so
and we're very excited for that so until next time have a great week and thanks
for joining us in our Wyoming life
you