May 27, 2020

We finished the chicken enclosure!  We had to move the chicken brooder out to our deck because they were starting to smell and they were creating SO.MUCH.DUST!  The enclosure suddenly became a higher priority, so we all worked together to get it finished.  We purchased a billboard tarp online to use as a cover to give them protection from rain.  All along, we’ve been calling the baby chicks, “Chicken Nuggets.” It’s appropriate, then, that the tarp we randomly received was an advertisement for McDonalds!!  The chickens won’t be laying eggs for another 8 weeks so we have some time to build the actual coop and nesting boxes.  We used the fencing the previous owner had for his sheep to build the shell of the area and added pvc pipes (also left behind) to arch over the space.  The pvc pipes held up bird netting to prevent the chickens from flying out and owls or hawk from flying in.  We moved their waterer and built a new feeder that holds about 50 lbs of feed at a time.  We moved the chickens into their new home just as it started to rain.  Success!

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The next morning, we woke up to FAILURE!  The rainwater was too much for the pvc and the tarp collapsed into the enclosure.  Luckily the birds were not hurt, but we had to rethink our set up.  We took the netting and pvc down and put cattle panels over the area to support the tarp and put everything back together.  Much better.  It has rained a few times since then and it is holding up.  Yay!

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We had a HUGE blessing.  A friend was having an estate sale for her deceased father, God rest his soul.  She let us have an early look.  We were able to pick up a planer, laser level and chain saw.  All three of these items will be used often at the farm!

The first item to be used was the planer.  Joshua took the nasty old joist from the farmhouse to make a table.  He wants to sell it to raise money for a new computer.  We were doubtful he could make the money he needs, but he was very optimistic.  As he planed the 2×6 joists, he discovered they were beautiful, solid red oak!  Jackpot!  He has been working on the table for several weeks and it’s looking great. He just might be able to sell it for top dollar! We’ll be sure to share the finished product once he’s ready to sell it.  If you happen to be in the market for a red oak table, stay tuned!

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It really has been great having Joshua home this spring and summer.  He has helped us with so many things on the farm.  He repurposed other reclaimed wood and built a nice gate for the garden.  Speaking of the garden, we laid down the polypropylene ground cover, added our cucumber trellis and planted the transplants and seeds.  It is a small garden for us (it is actually only 15×15, I was mistaken in the last post).  But it will be good to grow some of our own foods.  We just don’t have time to tend a big garden this year, but we are already making plans for next year.  It would be perfect if we could grow 50-75% of our vegetables next year!

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We’ve not really made great progress in the house.  We were able to get the girders in the correct place (that took HOURS, even though we got to use our new laser level).  And we’ve notched 4 of the 30 joists we need.

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We’ve got to tell you, this spring has been extremely hard for us.  We are all dealing with a type of PTSD because of COVID-19 that is making us snippy and impatient.  We need to be working on the house, but other things are taking us away from it – the chickens, the garden, rebuilding the mower, the apples, the bees, and our grass is knee high, but it is too wet to mow!  Add to that, John hurt his shoulder pretty badly.  He’s been to a massage therapist twice and is not really getting much relief.  Tomorrow he will make an appointment to see his doctor.  To say the least, we are frustrated.

But, we still have confidence that moving to this property, rebuilding the farmhouse and starting an apple orchard is the right decision.  We are where we need to be, this is just a little bump in the road.  We soldier on…