The Crooked Path Farm

08/15/2026

The first load has been delivered. And apparently most of the panels are the bottom rings 😂 Dad (or Pa aka Grandpa) said probably 2 more loads. And apparently a telehandler will be needed to put roofs on. But that is a worry for another day.
I'm happy to have this started.

08/15/2026

For those who guessed, these rings are from the top of 3 separate grain bins. My Dad took 3 smallish grain bins down from a farmer's property many years ago and has kept them hoping to put them to good use "one day". A few years ago he said I could have 2 to use as grain storage and perhaps another animal shelter. After looking through all my options and feeling very discouraged, I prayed. Thats when the answer of using the grain bins came to mind.
I asked my Dad if he thought they would work for what I have in mind. He said they should.
So, now we are working on getting them loaded on a trailer and brought out here.
Oh! Did I mention that the bins are all dismantled? I guess its a good thing I like puzzles! Meanwhile, if anyone else local-ish likes puzzles, I could probably use the help reconstructing these bins once I get them here.
It will be a LOT of work, but I feel some level of excitement to think that by spring I could have working public restrooms!

08/13/2026

The biggest hurdle I have faced in getting the farm open to the public is building restrooms. I have looked into building from scratch, (stick built), I have looked at pre made portable cabins. I have looked into the possibility of using shipping containers (I've wanted to build something out of a shipping container since before it was "the thing") and I have looked into quansets or steel buildings. I feel like there is a Dr. Suess rhyme there somewhere. The biggest hurdle has been the cost of essentially just a shell.
You know how something can be sitting right in front of you and you overlook it? That's what has been happening. I'll give you a hint in the photo below. These items have been sitting at my parents house for years now. Does anyone have a guess as to what these rings might be used for? Or rather what they are part of?

08/12/2026

Last Tuesday my Dad, sister, my boy and I picked up a ram.(male sheep)He ended up letting himself in with the ewes (female sheep) in a very dramatic way but it turned out ok and he was fine. He spent the next couple of days getting right to work. If all goes well and he completed his mission, we will be having Christmas/New Year's lambs. We should know in 2 more weeks.
Welcome to the farm Barnabas!
Note on his name: my sheep are named after people in the Bible and for some reason Barnabas kept coming back to me. I called his name and he turned to look at me. Barnabas it is. 😁
Barnabas joins Abbigail, Hannah, Tamar, Dorcas, Esther, and Ruth.

08/10/2026

When you have a child, especially a child with special needs, there are days where all you can do is hang on and hold them while the storm passes. When my boy has what others call a meltdown, it can be extremely difficult for him to calm himself. Next to impossible at times. You try to keep others away and keep him safe at the same time. Today was another really rough Sunday. All I could do was hold him (which is getting harder as he gets bigger and stronger). He cries because he's angry, he cries because he can't stop himself from acting out. So I hold him, safely. As we sat in a chair outside and the breeze was blowing I felt him relax and we talked a little and he was able to continue his Sunday routine.
After his regular Sunday routine was done, and it was just the two of us he and I talked about angry feelings. We talked about the actions we take when we are angry. It seems, for now, another storm has passed.
Why do I share this? Because I KNOW there are others who care for those who have the same struggles, perhaps the causes or triggers are different, but the same struggles. When I say that this farm understands, I truly mean it. There will be no judgment for hard moments. There is space here for those moments.
As the sun sets and my boy is sleeping, I take a breath and enjoy watching the clouds as they pass over the house.

07/29/2026

This morning's shenanigans. Imagine hearing the song, "Somebody's Watching Me". 😂

07/29/2026

Whew! It has been H-O-T!!! here in Nebraska. Trying to stay somewhat cool and ensure the animals have fresh cool water has taken over so I haven't had much energy to make clever posts. Oh! And hay season and all the breakdowns and hurry ups and waits in full swing.
I am casually looking for prices for spray foam insulation installers. If anyone local-ish (within 100 miles) has any they would recommend, I would greatly appreciate it.
Here is a photo of Freyja cooling off in the goat kid water after I had already dumped the old warm water and put nice, fresh, cool water in. When she was finished, I dumped it again and refilled again. She works hard for us and I don't mind her cooling off this way. 😊❤️ (she is sporting a crown of super sticky weeds after chasing off some pesky varmints)

07/16/2026

Miss Tulip. She is definitely enjoying the boys being gone! She has really tamed down too. She has been wild almost from the moment of her birth, but look at her now. ❤️

07/15/2026

07/11/2026