Linoleum was a concern in the old farmhouse. We didn't really have the strength to lift it, nor to deal with the subflooring where leaks had occurred. We leveled up with wood filler, painted everthing white, lined off squares with a pencil, and hand-painted red "tiles." A couple of coats of polyurethane served as finish. This has lasted almost thirty years. With this sort of "remodel" one has to not be too concerned about resale value.

In 2010 we painted the roof white, using roofing compound formulated for use in trailer parks. It's not as good as the stuff meant for asphalt roofing, but it was $80 for five gallons, as opposed to $150. We found that it needs to be re-applied after +/- five years, a serious workload. OTOH, the summer highs in the house fell by 10 to 15° F., resulting in our not needing AC until the last three years.

For 2010, where we could remember to do so, we moved crops one bed over as a stab at rotation. Lacking liquidity for buying in concentrated soil treatment, we relied on leaves, grass clippings, hay, straw, poultry bedding, compost and humanure. But never really in sufficient quantities. Our heavy clay soaked up everything and begged for more. We came to expect reduced crop yields (except tree fruits), and this was before the drought set in.

New trees (pear, apple, cherry, plum) were added to the poultry moat in 2010. To get them established through the hot summer, "used" duck pond water was carried to them once a week. Not shown, white tiles were also leaned against the southwest sides of the trunks, to help protect against high ground temperatures at the root collar.