Can't decide which route to take first

The master bath has a seperate shower. lol We shower.

It's because it's an add on. We did not add this on, it was already here when we bought it. But we have to go up and caulk where the house roof meets the sunroom roof. We did one side and the last rain showed us it worked. Now just to go up and do the other and keep at it.

The problem with our house may be that I have done about a million things 1/4 of the way. You see when I drink wine I tend to grab the crow bar and go hack at something. We are missing a lot of flooring.

I broke my foot stepping off a 1 1/2 foot deck, but there was a mole hole where my foot came down. I can't remember what the limit was for our ins company but they did specify what the maximum height was where they required the railing. But if you are adding planter boxes it would give you lots of room to grow stuff, which is a huge plus, IMO.

Thats never good.... I am in the middle of repairing one of my rental houses. Last tenant seemed to suffer from the same thing. I now have two rooms minus ceilings, 4 rooms that he decided he didnt like the carpet, panelling ripped out of a hallway, and the strangest hole in the middle of the kitchen floor you ever wanted to see! He did seal up around the back door nice though... no drafts there... glued it shut with greatstuff! Not sure what he did with the well pump and pressure tank.. havent found a trace of it around any of the sheds? It probably went with the copper tubing from the propane tank to the wall heaters, which are missing too! I figure about 5 or 6 grand will get it back livable.

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"Nothing so needs reforming as other peoples habits." Mark Twain

I'm not THAT bad. lol The sunroom just has a mostly ripped up floor, the bathroom is missing a portion of the carpet where the tub leaked and the carpet had to be removed and the tub is gone. Also I've removed some of the falling off backsplash. I bought the replacement but for the life of me can't figure out how a tile cutter works. lol SOmeone needs to assist me I think.
But yeah, the railing is gone on the back and I started leveling in front of the porch but never quite completed it....... I also started mulching and defining my flower beds around the house but never finished. I need to focus my efforts.

I'm not from WY but I have traveled through there. I always would ask locals I met how much land it took to support a cow-calf pair. Answer in WY was 40 acres per pair. I think you can forget cows unless you have irrigation. If you have irrigation you can do something more valuable with the land, like grow the fruits and vegetables like you mentioned.

The bees will give the quickest return on your money, but you have to get them through the winter first. Ask on the beekeeping forum on here for WY specific beekeeping issues and guidance.

In the meantime, fix the bathtub and the porch railing. I assume you have the protect the plumbing against freezing issues taken care of. My recollection from what I was told is that winter starts there in about 2 months.

If you have the correct type of grass picked out, seed the pasture.

COWS

I would be getting cows under the assumption that they would be fed hay year round.

The bath tub is in the house? When it gets really really cold here and the wind kicks up we turn on a space heater to keep that side of the house from freezing but otherwise the plumbing is all inside. The drain on the tub simply leaked so I removed it since I couldn't get underneath to get rid off all the water damage.

I vote with idigbeets.

Fix the house up the way you want it first. You spend a lot of time there and you want it nice. Besides, if you put things off they tend to not get done because what you have is "good enough" and it stays that way for years. And then 20 years go by and you wonder why it's still that way.

Then I'd do the extra trees, plants for that U pick. That's your dream.

Then I'd do the other things as you have the money.

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-Northern NYS

I thought you probably had the freezing pipe thing figured out.

Re feeding cows hay, when I fed beef cows small squares I figured on 1/3 of a bale a day, plus whatever amount of grass they could get, which wasn't much in the winter, even in SC. For a dairy cow you would want a little more hay plus ground feed,, probably a gallon bucket or two while the cow was being milked. Do the math. It wasn't hugely profitable for us and we were making a living from it years ago.

COWS

Up here in SK (which is a fairly similar climate I believe, you are at high altitude so you may be worse!) we prioritize a little different. Time is money, even more so than money is Around here, it's like House Stark and "Winter Is Coming" from the moment the longest day passes.

If the ground has to be thawed, then it must be done in the precious warm times of the year. If anything will take a season or year to establish - do it ASAP. Anything indoors is a winter project - whether it would greatly improve your life or not. You need to focus, prioritize and get things done one at a time. You are running out of time (like I am!)

So:
1. Roof - the most important structure you own. At the same time, spray the mold with bleach/TSP to kill it off quick, then forget the floor for now.

2. Prep for seeding - It's too late to seed now. Your crop will be inadequately established and winterkill. Get ready for fall seeding where the seed will overwinter and come up in the spring. Do you know how to establish a good pasture and do you have the equipment (sprayer, disc, maybe a cultivator, seed drill) This is a bigger job than it appears if you don't have proper equipment - you may want to get a neighbour to do it for you so you get a good catch on the grass.

3. Trees - much later this year and trees will not be established either. Already cutting it close. But every year of age on a tree makes a big difference towards your yield. Don't put it off, this is a long-term payoff that you need to start early.

4. Fence - posts don't go into frozen ground very well!

Then you are set to get the livestock next year and do the indoor stuff in the winter. You may want to set the posts for your deck now as well as you can do the building when it is cold, but not the digging!

This is assuming you will be making more money, of course, to finish the other projects. If you need to use that money to make money... forget the grass, the fence, and the livestock! Spend the money putting in U-pick plants, because that makes you money. Hope you have a good water source.
The only person I know who makes money on confined livestock spends half the summer cutting ditch hay and hauling heated grain and screenings. He is 82 and has near zero expenses, also. Large pastures are essential for a profitable operation - and raising beef cattle for yourself must be profitable as well, as in cheaper than buying - otherwise, buy your beef on the hoof from a neighbour and get it butchered.

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Depending on where you live in Wyoming, forget the fencing and pasture unless you have irrigation. It would be a whole lot of money chasing after the wind.

A u-pick in the right place (Cody, Jackson Hole, Casper, etc) could do really well very quickly. If I thought I had the market, I'd focus here, after the house is weather tight. But you've heard that before.

grapes, berries, fruit and nut trees--because you have to wait for them to grow to be harvestable, so get a head start.

To answer your question, I considered the following:

(1) My own propensity for starting a project and then taking forever to finish it, plus my hubby's hate of living in a house with half-done construction going on
(2) The fence will need to be up and the land seeded before buying the livestock
(3) Danaus29 is right about having to over-winter the livestock: spring is the time to get them
(4) spring is also the time to get bees. The hives will need to be built first, which can be done over the winter.
(5) When is the best time to plant grapes? Brambles? Trees? Usually either spring or fall, depending on the species.
(6) fencing can be done any season except winter; ditto for the greenhouse
(7) seeding grass is best done in the fall
(8) livestock will take the most effort - once you get them, they will take time every single day.

Based on these, here is the order I would take them in if I were in your position:

1. Do the deck first, then the sunroom. This gets these half-finished issues off your plate while the weather is agreeable.
2. Seed the pasture this fall
3. Buy the plants that do best with a fall start this fall
4. Do the bathroom over the winter. Another half-finished project done
5. Build the hives once the bathroom is done; have them ready in time for spring bees
6. Get the bees in the spring
7. Buy the plants that do best with a spring start in the spring
8. Build the greenhouse over the summer
9. Do the fencing over the summer
10. Buy livestock in spring 2016 (only 18 months away!!!)


On a side note, () here's an idea for your greenhouse:

There are some folks near us that have built a greenhouse using the following:
1. stick lumber (probably 2x4) for the frame
2. an arched roof - not sure how they did it; flexible plastic pipe/hose, maybe?
3. clear plastic sheeting for the sides & roof
4. a basic cable/pulley system to raise a 4-5 foot section of the wall plastic up to allow ventilation

It looks simple, easy, and relatively cheap to build. Then you could gradually add permanent windows, siding, roof, etc as you have time and $.

I have a stack of windows from my office and we are getting the windows on our house done before winter so I'll have those to add to the pile. With all of those windows I should be able to build a really big greenhouse using just stick lumber for the frame. Shouldn't be too bad!

Thanks for the reply! I do agree. The bathroom will be a priority financially but it will wait until winter to do. Though I might need to get the tub in through a window and in that case I'll have to haev it delivered the day the new windows are installed.

I am outside of Cheyenne, the capitol. I think I could get some Colorado peeps to make the drive when I get established enough. Market should be ok!

We have 40 acres total but I plan on using 35 of it for planting for the U-pick. However, that is a huge future time and money investment and I'm doing it in stages so far. So I could run cows on 35 acres as 35 of it is fenced fine for cows and horses, just not goats.
We raised a calf before and it was pretty darn tasty. While spending less money would be wonderful I think I'd be willing to pay more for better quality meat then the grocery.

Plus my DH grew up out in this country and is besties with several farmer kids so we get a great price on big round bales.

Re the greenhouse. We used old windows for ours too. Its 10 x 16. We used siding off a home that was being redone. Saw an ad in the paper. 15$ for the whole lot of T1-11. The door came from Sears. 5$. Special order that was canceled. It had a name plate on it with Mr. and Mrs Murphy engraved. The framing was from the old woodshed. The only thing we bought new was the roof panels and a gallon of paint. So, look around and spread the word. Our whole cost was less than 200$

I vote with Mo Gal!

It's too late in the season to start with bees and look into top bar hives to save money.

I suggest you spend the money in a way that will give you the best long term return in food. if you get cows get a cow and a bull.