The Book Farm Project

What is the Book Farm Project Blog?

I've created The Book Farm Project Blog to document my experience transforming the home of my childhood into an environmentally responsible, neighborhood friendly place where people can learn, meet and celebrate. As I embark on this journey, I wish to share the history and background of the Book Farm in more depth than I make available on the website. I will also discuss current activities underway at the Book Farm, as well as explore future projects and possibilities.

Most importantly, I strongly wish to solicit suggestions and comments about this endeavor. It has been my experience that the end result of any undertaking is dramatically improved when those committed to it listen to the ideas and insights of others. So the goal of the Book Farm Project Blog is not just to share the story, but to actually have the story evolve as a result of what is discussed here.

So -- whether you are a nearby neighbor, a friend or acquaintance, or someone outside of my "immediate circle" -- please feel free to read and comment. My goal is to create something very special in Northwest Boise, and that can only happen with your help!

Hearing Results: Approved!

On June 1, we were awarded a Conditional Use Permit to operate a Commercial Social Center at the Book Farm site. The award became official after a 10 day appeal period passed - there were no appeals. The city's conditions of approval require some pretty significant modifications to the property, both inside and out. My mom and I have agreed to let it all sink in over the summer and figure out our modification / construction plan this fall and/or winter. I will be creating a new blog as that project gets off the ground -- as we've decided to rename the facility The Foothills Event Center. We are excited to bring a unique setting for both outdoor events and indoor workshops, classes and other events to Northwest Boise. Thanks to all of you who have followed this blog. Watch for a new blog and website about the upcoming Foothills Event Center coming soon.

Hearing Date: June 1

On June 1, the City of Boise Planning and Zoning Commission will officially hear and decide on our request to modify the property at 5600 Hill Road to a mixed use Commercial Social Center / Residence. We have done everything we can do in terms of preliminary planning and neighbor notification. The city will inform us on June 1 if they will issue us the permit and what the conditions of that permit will be. Now we wait -- and garden, and landscape.

Nature at the Book Farm

Here are just a few pictures of various wonders of nature at the Book Farm. Note the way the ivy has covered the tall tree in front, the enormity of the juniper trees that line our driveway, the native grasses on the terraces and the natural desert beauty of the foothills behind us. You can subscribe to this album: this is really just a small sample, and I will keep updating throughout the Spring and Summer.

Project Summary

What's been done:

1. Sewer line installed to replace failed septic system. All bathrooms now working properly.

2. Compromised trees (14 at my last count) cut down, large logs cut and moved to a terrace for future utilization, small logs cut into firewood, branches chipped into enormous pile (for garden paths)

3. Repair / renovation of residential area, including kitchen and bathroom. Lots of plumbing work.

4. Replacement of roof on "Book Building" which now contains more general storage than books

5. Green Room, Kitchen and Multipurpose Room cleaned and repaired for commercial use - we used Victoria's Green Cleaning Service for our deep clean

6. Site plan created (with great "on the fly" adjustments by Tim Scharff

What's in process (to be completed in the next month or so)

1. Garden and picnic area preparations

2. Cleanup and repair of lawns impacted by trees

3. Finish work on the commercial rooms

4. Conditional Use Permit Application to be submitted along with site plan and phased parking plan.

It's Back On - Applying for a Permit that is.

We have received such an extraordinary amount of interest in weddings and events at The Book Farm that we have determined we are going to file for that Conditional Use Permit this year after all. In the best case scenario, we will be able to begin operating this summer and take bookings for weddings and events. The parking issue I have blogged about is something we are just going to have to come to terms with sooner rather than later. We are hoping the city allows us to phase in parking over a few years in order to keep control of the expense of this project. I am meeting with city, ACHD and county planners now, and have just about got things figured out for the application. It even costs a lot to file for the permit, so I want to make sure to get this right. More on this soon ...

Just about there ...

We are just about there!

All of the trees have been cleared, and the roots are being removed today. The infrastructure has been repaired and upgraded. The majority of the work to open up our indoor room suite has been completed. The garden has been mapped out and planting will commence soon. The parking area has been cleared. The remaining projects to further refine the facility - at least for this year -- have been scheduled in the next month.

The website has been updated.

We will begin tours in March and will begin taking bookings after we complete our conditional use permit process with the city.

Making Progress

I hate to say that things are ahead of schedule, because it seems like that is a sure way to "jinx" things. But they are ahead of schedule .. surprisingly so.

Chancey Sessions completed the installation of the new roof on the "Book Building", permitting us to move items in for our upcoming Community Yard Sale without worrying about leaks. We are still unsure long term what we are going to do with this building but Tim Scharff had some interesting ideas today that I am giving some serious thought to. 

The residential part of the house is essentially ready to go, with the bathtub repaired and new kitchen sink installed -- meaning we can now begin moving the remaining residential items into that area to clear the large rooms we are going to rent out for commercial purposes. It will be weird moving family pictures and other things that have been in the same place for 36 years back to where they were when I was 2 years old (before the addition was built).

Even the tree situation is getting resolved ...finally. Idaho Tree Preservation is coming out to cut down the last of the trees (in front of the book building) and thanks to some great insights from a local mill owner (Greg Green), site planner Tim Sessions and an outstanding friend, realtor and amazing gardener -  Jen Beutler, (we have made some final decisions on how to best process this wood. Most of the large logs will remain on the property, creating decorative borders for our heirloom garden and picnic area. Some of it will be used to build a pergola. The remainder will be stripped of bark and used for firewood. All the wood will be moved into its processing / staging locations on Monday and the lawns will finally, thankfully be clear of debris. We'll hold off on building our grape trellises until next year, and then we will use the stand of smaller black locust trees for those, allowing us to simply shave the logs down into single posts instead of milling.

I've ordered some drip irrigation equipment from Rainbird and have a plan for our vegetable garden (thanks again to Jen Beutler); The rental rooms will be "Deep cleaned" in a week or so to prepare for commercial use; the back lawn and bordering area will be cleared out by Ayad Al-Mansuri of AhA Lawncare and a brick paver patio will be installed. The parking circle and pergola will be completed as well. With everything staying on track, we will hopefully open in early March instead of April. There is still a lot to do, but the light at the end of the tunnel is starting to look like a doorway.

Life is good .....

Is the Book Farm Really a Farm?

I thought a lot about this question over the New Year's holiday, and don't know if I really got my answer.

Naming a business is such an important thing to do. Our original name, the Boise Book and Hobby Farm (even before that it was Doc's Book Farm), reflected my father's passions. He loved books, he loved all forms of hobbies and tinkering, and he loved the outdoors. Growing up as the youngest son on a group of seven brothers - Orthodox Jewish Immigrants in Pennsylvania living and working in a farmhouse - he learned any number of skills: cooking with his mother in his younger years, working on the farm in his teenage years, not to mention the skills he obtained through his service in World War II and his formal education.  When the Book Farm was so named, it was more than just a play on words -- it really reflected his entire lived experience, I think.

My experience and education has lead me down many paths as well, and I spent many of my years with my father learning, albeit at the level a 3-9 year old would, about gardening, cooking, books and many other things. Piles of books have been around me for years, and when we donated most of them last year, I questioned whether or not books should still be part of the name. I also questioned whether it was really a farm, and if that is fait say. Is that fair to real farmers? Should I just stick with the name because it is known?

If you think of a farm in the sense of a sustainable place that has a diversity of products that help perpetuate other products and services -- like the old farm picture books we saw when we were little kids -- I think the Book Farm IS a farm, or at least on its way to becoming one. We clearly are not a farm in the modern, industrialized sense, where only one product is produced - we are not a monoculture. We aren't getting any corn subsidies. But I think in the family farm sense, we really are a kind of farm. Perhaps that is stretching it, but ...

We do everything we can to maintain the biodiversity of our acreage; we value our old buildings and do what we can to preserve rather than replace them; we use the tools and resources (like compost - TONS of compost) we have on our land as much as we can; we care about good food; we share with our neighbors; we struggle, and we persevere. Well, if I am honest the "we" has been relatively recent -- my mom has been doing this mostly herself, along with helper Harold, for many years. Managing 4 1/2 acres, dealing with irrigation issues, facility repair issues, gardening, watering, and loving the outdoors. So If my mom is not a farmer -- at least in the old time sense -- I don't know what she is!

This is perhaps a bit of a rambling blog entry. It's funny how you can reflect on something for a time and not really come up with the answer. Are we really a farm -- in my view, yes. Have I explained sufficiently why that is? Not yet -- but once I know the answer -- I will.

Holiday "Break"

Well, progress continues. We got my mom's bedroom moved and the plumbing work in the old house is almost complete. The snow delayed the roof project to some extent but thanks to Chancey Sessions we now have new soffit, fascia and gutters on the Book Building - we'll do the last piece - the EPDM - after the snow melts. We're combining all of our remaining books (turns out we still have a whole bookstore worth of books) into one or two large rooms.

In the coming weeks I will be reporting on:

• The completion of the roof project
• The completion of my mom's "move"
• The new garden spot (just below the vineyard)
• The vineyard project
• The processing of the remaining lumber (also on hold until the snow goes)
• The new outdoor restroom facility
• Retouching of the indoor facility
• The new picnic area
• Exterior landscape improvements  
• And more! 

  
I will be shifting my focus to the holidays briefly, and coming back with many updates as we work toward our reopening on March 21 and our pre-booking coming in January. Happy holidays to those of you that are reading along, and thanks to all of you for your support! 
  
Dave  

The Grand Reopening Plan

Thanks to collaboration with Tim Scharff, we have implemented a reopening plan. Here is what is happening or will be happening over the coming few months:

THIS MONTH (December, 2008)

Replace The Roof on the Book Building with a commercial roofing material called EPDM. This will safeguard against leaks for many years. Roof replacement also involves new soffit, gutters and fascia.Our deteriorating roof is going to be looking good very soon!

Replacing the Bathroom and Kitchen fixtures in the "old house" so my mom can complete moving into this consolidated area, freeing up the larger Green Room, Black Kitchen and Bistro Room for facility rental, community classes and more!

JANUARY, 2009 Besides the grape trellis posts, we are going to use some of the logs as decorative borders on the property, to mark out the picnic area and upcoming square foot demonstration garden. We will begin taking facility booking reservations in January 2009, and scheduling classes. More on this soon!

FEBRUARY, 2009

FInish the parking "circle" and move the compost pile near the square foot garden. We'll also prepare the upper and lower lawns near the house (not the large lawn which we cannot use until we annex into the city) for small outdoor events.

MARCH, 2009

Complete landscaping for the upper and lower lawns and have our first "Spring Cleaning" community yard sale. 

APRIL, 2009

Officially reopen the facility