Back in early May 2009 Crystal and my daddy and I wrapped up work on our first chicken coop. I had been wanting to raise chickens for some time and it seemed like the time was right.

Now folks with a minimalist mindset are familiar enough with reduction. We reduce. We recycle. We repurpose. We refine. And so when it came time to build that first coop I knew I wanted to spend less time at the box store hardware and more time finding materials with as much character as the chickens they would soon house. So I put an ad in the local newspaper asking for reclaimed  wood and other building materials. Within a day or two I was contacted by a gentleman who had recently taken down an old hog house. It had been standing for nearly 102 years as best he knew. Coupled with some 2"x6" lumber picked up at a local jobsite (the woods first life was as batter board for a concrete project), some corrugated metal from a chicken coop buried on the back of the farm, some hardware from a gate that had long since fallen, and some fencing that has been laying around as long as I can remember, we built the "Coop de Ville" - a subtle play on words indicative of a chicken coop located in BarneVILLE, Georgia.

In the course of two years we watched our flock grow to 9 with a production on average of 6 brown eggs a day. I kept it clean oftentimes scraping and spraying it out once a week. We kept them warm in the winter and the shade of the metal, cool in the summer. I couldn't help but to look at that coop and be proud of it. And so now that we are moving to North Carolina it seemed only right to take the coop (and a later built brooding box) with us.

As Saturday morning came we had strategized how we were going to lower the coop four feet onto a NASCAR style trailer, secure it, and get it to North Carolina. Our same team of Crystal, Daddy, and me gathered - this time with my Uncle along with us - to recycle this house yet again. With the use of a hydraulic jack, some 2"x4" poles and a lot of gumption we finished the job in about an hour. Looking at the day now I may be more proud of the fact that we are now using 104 year old wood than I am of anything else. It is what sustainability is about. It is what homesteading is about. It is what stewardship is about. We are taking what we have, doing the best we can with it, and never leaving behind what still has a life ahead!

What about you? Do you have anything on your homestead or farm that it reclaimed or recycled wood that you are proud of? Have you ever moved something a good distance just because you couldn't imagine leaving it behind? Tell me a bit about it. And if you like this post be sure to share it on Facebook or Tweet the link out to your followers! 

Our Tiny House will sit on the unofficially named Tiny Lane. There we will raise Tiny Goats and this year, have a Tiny Farm.

Unlike last year, we simply aren't ready to have multiple gardens full of organic produce and fruits. We will have to exchange the size of our 'salad bowl,' if you will, for something a bit more fitting for where we are in the move from Georgia to North Carolina. This minor setback (and I use the term setback very loosely) didn't mean we couldn't still have as much fun perusing through seed catalogues, mildly discussing exotic produce, and dreaming about the organic edibles we would one day enjoy from our own land.

So last week - at separate times, unfortunately - Crystal and I both spent time flipping page after page, comparing items from last in regards to growth success, growth potential, overall energy consumed to grow, and overall taste. With a wonderful cup of rasberry-peach tea on my desk in front of me I saw down and began with perhaps my favorite catalogue; Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

We still have a few seeds left from last year that are still quite viable including some cabbage, a bit of Carrot Chantenay Red Core, Lettuce Val d'Orges, and Cauliflower. While I had originally thought of giving them away in a contest, I have decided to save them and use them as a great way to begin some leafy greens anywhere I can find dirt worth sowing in.

Because we are limited on ready space this year we have talked about doubling our efforts by growing potatoes at Crystal's mom's house and even trying some sweet corn in the back field of her grandmother's place. Last year we we tried corn and had really mixed results. We had a case of ear whigs and many of ears came in small and lacking kernels. We're willing to try again though as it was our first time and we're bound to do better in a corn hotbed like the sandy soils of North Carolina.

We're definitely looking forward to doubling the size of our onion beds this year. Last year we harvested just at 124 onions and while they lasted up until mid-November we would love to have a supply that would take us into late-February or so. While the desire is there we are still trying to figure where we would get that size space for such an onion supply. We may have to resort to a bit of gonzo gardening and just plant bulbs all around being careful to remember when we have things growing.

I think the main focus this year though is going to be our beans and cukes. We serve early peas, snap beans, and bush beans all year round and while our cucumbers have done really well each year we can't seem to get enough to both eat and pickle. Crystal loves a good dill pickle and so we look to raise up cuke plants in every available vertical spot we can muster.

So what about you? Have you begun planning and ordering yet? If so, what is your favorite company to order from? Are you growing anything new and original? What are your old standbys that get planted year after year? As always if you like this post be sure to share it on Facebook or send the link out on Twitter. We appreciate you also taking the time to read the r(E)volution and be a part of the conversation!