Excitement is stirring around the new Farmstead location in Kuna. This winter we moved every building, tractor, and attraction from Meridian and have it all neatly stockpiled at the edge of the new field. Next step: plant grass, corn, and pumpkins. Simple, right? Well... not so fast.
After many years of using inefficient irrigation systems and scrimping by on limited electrical service, this move marks a chance to build our forever home right. That kind of improvement requires making lots of messes that all need to be covered back up to make a smooth seedbed for our Farmstead crops. Much like the "old lady who swallowed a fly," the simple task of planting spring crops has turned into a huge project with many interconnected steps.
Over the last few months, we have been digging for irrigation lines, water lines, electrical conduits, setting sprinklers, plumbing valves, adding irrigation risers, and even assembling a center pivot irrigation machine. At long last, most of the unseen (but greatly valued) work is complete and we are waiting on an upgrade in electrical service to power our irrigation sprinklers and supply enough electricity for all of The Farmstead's attractions. Fortunately, we started the process of working with Idaho Power over a year ago. Unfortunately, the planning, designing, engineering, bidding, and construction is a much longer process than any of us had anticipated! With summer coming quickly and the whole project hanging on the completion of the electrical project, Idaho Power and their contractors have found a regular place in each prayer sent up from the Lowe family over the last month. We jumped for joy last week to see construction crews closing lanes in the area to work on power lines!
These pictures probably look like ordinary summer construction for most of you. But for us, each power pole and buried line is a beautiful indication of the future of The Farmstead. We know that this infrastructure will fuel the fun of The Farmstead like never before... and we can't wait!