A Productive "Boys' Night"

Last night, the girls and I headed to Little Rock to see the touring Broadway production of Wicked!  It was absolutely amazing!  Girl 1, my little dancer, was enthralled the entire time.  Girl 2 was less than thrilled by the mushy song but was otherwise on the edge of her seat and cackling so loudly during the funny bits that she had others around us laughing with her.  I love getting to experience things like this with my kiddos.  

While we were living it up, the boys were enjoying a much more productive boys' night.  John bought Little Boy dinner and few goodies as they shopped for lumber and then came home to construct this "together" in the backyard.

(Notice Milkshake in this photo.  We call her our "in" cat.  It doesn't matter what you're doing; she want to be "in"-- in your lap, in the milk pail, in the garden, in your way, in the new goat shelter, in the photo.)

When we move our animals over to the new farm, we plan to use a rotational grazing method (if you're unfamiliar with this concept, just Google it.  Joel Salatin's face may just pop up. :).  

And while goats are pretty hardy animals, they get all prissy when it starts to rain (snow, sleet, or whatever) and run for cover.  It's actually really funny to watch.  They'll spend all day slowly grazing and lolling about in the field then at the first detection of a raindrop they nearly barrel into each other as they madly scramble to shelter.  So, we need to create a couple portable animal shelters that can be easily moved around the farm to protect these drama queens from *gasp* getting wet.  

My ever-so-resourceful husband engineered this solution.  He used three welded-wire hog panels that we had lying around the backyard, zip-tied them together, and bowed them up covered-wagon-style to fit the wheeled frame he constructed.

All it lacks to be complete is a tarp-like covering, and we have Freckle Face Farms to thank for this ingenious idea:  we plan to use an old discarded billboard cover.  They are weather-proof, highly durable, large, and cheap. And, they're an environmentally-friendly option since they would otherwise just be waste.  Perhaps best of all, they're lightweight.  Our chicken tractors have metal roofs, which do a great job but add weight to the tractors.  This goat shelter is light enough that, using the hook John installed on one end, it can easily be moved about the yard/farm by one person.

Stay tuned for the pic of the finished product!  

So, the boys may have more to show for their night together, but we girls had a blast at our show and are well on our way to having the entire musical memorized, thanks to our souvenir CD purchase.  :)

Guest Post: Our Cheap, Blueprint-less Chicken Coop

Hi, I'm Jess (an old college buddy of Ashley & John's) and I blog at Making Home. 

In June, we got ten Buff Orpingtons (yes, ten-- I have six children who insist on eating three times a day, plus snacks, and so we go through eggs at an alarming rate).  At first, I thought we would build our own chicken coop.  Then once I realized the sheer madness of what I had planned, I texted my husband Doug and told him I was a crazy woman and told him we should sell the chickens.  He texted back that he knew I could do it, and the rest is history.

Like I said, we have six children, and I stay home.  So buying the $1000+ deluxe coops with trendy colors and Ikea-like assembly instructions was an option far beyond our means.

Thankfully, a friend was in process of completely redoing his pool deck.  He let us pick through his used cast-offs.  That and a Facebook shout-out for plywood gave us all the wood we've used.  So the project of the blueprint-less chicken coop began.

The tools we had available were:

• Table saw (borrowed from a friend)
• Miter saw (borrowed from Doug's uncle)
• Hammer & nails
• Drill for installing hinges & attaching the coop ramp

I took notes and drew out probably 10 different potential plans that I liked.  Here were the main things I took into consideration as we drew up our plans:

• Direction of the sun-- this is particularly important here in TX, but I think it would be a factor anywhere.  I wanted the chickens to have plenty of shade throughout the day.
• Security-- Obviously I want the chickens to be well-protected.
• Ease of design/building-- Aside from painting stretcher-bars in college, Doug & I had never built anything before.  Literally, nothing.  So keeping things fairly easy, construction-wise was a priority.
• Good ventilation-- my plan included two windows + vented eaves
• A Place to roost, a place to lay eggs, a place to eat-- meeting basic needs of the chickens.

Here's what we did:

We used our old ping pong table as the floor/foundation for our coop, attaching 4x4s as the supports underneath.  We actually had two ping pong tables, and one of them was moving toward ruin, so we opted to salvage the usable parts and make the coop floor.  This picture doesn't show it, but we actually used 3/4 of the table, if you can imagine that... we cut the second half along the center white line and connected it to the side of this half:

Next, we framed the four walls.  I measured the edges of the table/foundation, remembering to subtract the width of any connected walls:

After we put the framing up on the floor, I cut plywood to fit each wall, leaving the windows and doors open, so that chickens wouldn't roost in (and poop in) the framing/walls.

For unusual DIY features like the egg box and coop ramp, I researched before building. I looked at a lot of pictures of other people's coops, took notes of what I liked, general dimensions (our egg boxes are something like 11x11 or 12x12-- just big enough to lay in, but small enough to feel cozy), etc., and then looked at the wood we had available, and built it with those things in mind.

Instead of chicken wire, we used 1/2 inch hardware cloth.  It is more expensive, but with hawks and raccoons and even bobcats having stolen friends' chickens within a few miles of us, we decided that for our coop and adjacent chicken run, we would spend the extra money to actually protect them.  

For rain to stay off our chickens, I made a simple slanted roof.  To make the riser from the higher side (48 inches) to the lower side (36 inches) of the coop, I used a 2x4 to support a coop-length 2x4.  Because I'd read about the way that ammonia can gather in a coop and how important it is to have good ventilation, I opted to leave the eaves open, rather than siding them, and staple-gunned hardware cloth over it.  

(I figure, as time goes along, if I notice that this makes for a wet/snowy interior in certain months, I can always use plastic tarping to cover one or both sides, but it would be much more difficult to retro-install adequate ventilation.)

After getting the bones in place, I began using reclaimed 1x4 pieces to make siding for our coop.  I chose to use the thinner 1x4 pieces so that the exterior would be uniform and less heavy.  We also had 2x4 and 2x6 pieces in our wood pile, but the 1x4s (and occasional 1x2) turned out to be just right for siding.  I also used 1x4s for the roof base, since I'd run out of plywood.

The miter saw was invaluable at this point, so I could make sure the edges lined up nicely:

Here's what the inside of the coop looks like, from the Northern door opening:

You can see that we have a 2' x 4' window that makes up almost half of the northern wall.  I opted to do that for airflow and so that they would get plenty of light in the coop, without it ever being direct light.

Also visible in the above picture are the roosts (there's a total of 10+ feet of roost space available for the girls), eggbox, and the 1' x 1' door that will lead to the coop ramp into the chicken run out the western side.

You can also barely see (but it may be more visible in the larger picture if you pull it up) the rebar (at ceiling level) I will use to hang my watering buckets from.  We opted to make our own watering buckets with poultry nipples so that the girls can't kick up grass, feed, and chicken poo into their water.

Here's the nearly-finished version of our blueprint-less chicken coop.  You can also see the 1x1 window I put above the chicken roosts to pull airflow closer to the birds without actually being across them (they do well with ventilation but not breezes).

We installed doors this last week, but I don't have pictures of that.  We just cut plywood to the appropriate sizes, used 1x1s to act as door stops (so the doors will open outward but not be able to be pushed into the coop) and installed them with basic T-hinges we found at Home Depot.

In all of this, I guess it's obvious, but I just let logic and the materials we had on hand guide my plans.  I did measure as we went along, but only for the coop to match up with itself, not to meet any particular plan.  It makes it slightly more necessary to do math and cut wood for the space, rather than according to a nice & neat blueprint, but it also allows you to use up what you have and not buy expensive wood.  

This made it so that we could use the materials we had, and meet the goals we had, for as cheap as possible.  When we looked at what we would have spent just on materials, had we not used reclaimed wood from a friend, we would have easily spent $800 or more just for wood & plywood.

In total, we spent $20 on wood (one friend had extra-good plywood & 2x4s available that they'd purchased to build a bunk bed but never gotten around to building; all the rest of our wood was free), used partially-rusty-but-straight nails we salvaged from our workshop and about $50 on hinges and such , and then we've spent about $100 on enough hardware cloth to do not only what was pictured above but also to do an attached 15' x 8' x 3'tall chicken run so that they will always have one safe, enclosed space to roam, in addition to occasional free ranging through our fenced yard.  

By reclaiming wood from friends and using what we had on hand, the entire DIY coop for 10 chickens (and attached run) will, in the end, cost less than $200, but I think it is comparable in space and quality to coops I've seen selling for anywhere from $1500+.  We like the reclaimed, older look of it, as if it's been around for a long time, and I think the chickens will love the safety, easy living, and ventilation of it.  

The blueprint-less chicken coop suits our needs and our budget, which was the initial goal.  

I hope this walk-through proves useful for other adventurous souls out there who are ready to do their own DIY chicken coop. 

A Beautiful Morning on the New Farmland

It's hard to think of a better way to start the day than the way today began.  John and I got to go traipsing through the new farm, talking with the gentlemen who are working on our road about how exactly it'll wind through the fields and woods and arrive at the house site. The cool, crisp morning air, the scent of wild, the sunlight streaming through the leaves, and the promise of all our farm will be -- it's almost just too exciting to describe!

I've had several people ask me where exactly it's located.  It's a little hard to describe, but it's basically behind the high school football field.  We'll access it from Cypress Lane (when, at the end of Johnson you're forced to turn right, you're turning onto Cypress).  This land is basically perfect for us.  It's essentially in town, but when you're out there, you feel like you're in the middle of the boonies.  We'll still be able to get to the bank or school in 5 minutes' time.  With John working a full-time gig and trying to farm a bit on the side, he doesn't need to spend too much of his day commuting.  Plus, our proximity to town will be great for ballgames, practices, and dance-- something I'm sure we'll come to appreciate even more in the coming years as the kids get increasingly involved in after-school activities.  I guess, for us, it's like the best of both worlds -- the convenience of living in town and the peacefulness of living out.

The road to the house site will end up being about a 1/2 mile long.  Our hope is that it's construction will be as low-impact as possible.  We don't mind for it to wind around a bit if it helps save trees, and the fewer materials used to build the road, the better.  Based on our drive through today, it's looking like we may only have to take down 3-5 trees over the course of the 1/2 mile.  That's pretty good!  The ones that do go down will be put to good use, though -- either milled for lumber or cut for firewood.

We're still not sure how long the road will take to complete.  The rainy weather has definitely slowed things down, there are several low spots that will need some extra attention, and it'll take a lot of dump-truck beds full of materials to build a road of this length.  But, we are loving every step of this process.  And, I'm excited to get to share it all with you!

Big, Big News!

August 2005 in New Orleans:  I'd spent an entire summer writing a curriculum for my English V AP class at the all-girls Catholic Academy where I taught and was gearing up for yet another school year that would involve pantyhose and hours so long there'd be days I wouldn't see baby Girl 1 awake.  I absolutely loved my job.  It was rewarding, and my students were amazing.  . . . 

And, if you'd told me that 8 years later, I'd wear overalls more often than I'd wear pantyhose, start my days by milking a goat in my backyard, and enjoy doing things like soap-making, cheese-making, gardening, and canning, I'd probably laugh and then click off in my heels to work on next week's lesson plans.

And, if you'd offered John and I a piece of land to make our own that only had a few drawbacks, like that it can't even be reached by car, has no electricity, or water, or anything else other than a pond and woods and pasture, I'd probably have said, "thanks, but no thanks."

But that was then.  Hurricane Katrina spun us around and set our lives on an entirely different course.  And on this new course, in August of 2013, I am downright giddy about the opportunity to grow our farm on this new plot of land.

That's right, our backyard homestead will be growing.  Soon, we'll have enough room to grow our farm as big as we'd like it to be.  And, believe me, we're dreaming big.  When we stand on the spot we've chosen to build the house and gaze out over the pasture, I just keep thinking, "How blessed we are!  How very, very blessed." 

The first step in gaining access to our farm was to put a gate into an existing fence so that construction vehicles can get in to build our road.

And, John wanted to put that gate in himself.  It seemed symbolic, in a way.  There was no entry there.  And now there is.  A door has both literally and metaphorically opened to us, making way for us to build this farm however we'd like.  It's a blank slate.  

John had planned to write what would undoubtedly have been an excellent guest post about the symbolism of the gate, but to say that he's been a little too busy with work lately to do it is a big understatement.  So, that will have to wait.

Construction has now begun on the road.  There's a creek that has to be bridged before our land will be fully accessible by vehicle.  So, all other work relies upon the road getting finished.

In the meantime, we have so many decisions to make.  We've picked out the house site, but where will the barn go?  The milking shed?  The garden?  What will the house look like?  In what order should all of this be done?  It's at once exciting and completely overwhelming.  

And, you'd better believe, this blog will be following our progress every step of the way.

Follow-Up Friday: Toilet Upgrade

This is the first ever installment of "Follow-Up Friday."  Much like the name implies, this post will allow me to provide updates on topics that have already been covered on the blog.  I'm a big project-driven girl.  Once something is crossed off the list, I rarely pause to look back.  I'm hoping that Follow-Up Fridays will help me to pause long enough to reflect on how things are going and, in turn, fill you in on things as well.

For this week, I wanted to show you the upgrade our little composting toilet received today.  That's right -- thanks to an attached toilet paper holder, it is now better equipped for us ladies!    Also, we rearranged the back porch a bit, creating a new potty spot that feels more private thanks to the piece of furniture next to it.  The plastic basket conceals extra rolls of toilet paper (in sealed containers, of course). 

The cheapest holder I could find was about $5.  I positioned a scrap piece of 1x4 under the crate and affixed the holder to it.  Of course, I spray-painted the wood first so that it would be black and "hide" under the crate.  You know, that just keeps it classier looking.  We definitely want our backyard toilet to be classy.  :)

DIY Composting Toilet

So, either you're convinced or curious.  Either way, welcome back to our discussion of our new composting toilet.  (If you're lost, you need to read yesterday's entry about why I built one and why you should, too). 

Most of what you need to build your own, you may already have lying around. 

So, go gather up these items:

milk or filing crate

5-gallon bucket

scrap wood for the legs

toilet seat

zip ties

Tools I used:

pocket knife

jigsaw

chop saw

scissors

drill

I did have to buy the toilet seat (the cheapest plastic version I could find was $9 and change); everything else we had on hand.

1.  Place your 5-gallon bucket under your crate, and using the pocket knife, score the crate just outside where the bucket is to mark where you'll cut with the saw.  You want the bucket to just fit through the hole you'll create.

2.  Remove bucket and use jigsaw to cut along the line you made, creating a circular opening for the bucket.

3. Using the chop saw, cut the 4 legs to a length that just allows the bucket to peek above about a 1/2 inch.  I think I cut my legs 14.5" long.  (I spray-painted mine black to match the crate with paint I already had; while this does make for a nicer looking backyard 5-gallon-bucket pot, it's not a necessary step.  :)

4.  Attach the legs by threading zipties through the crate and tightening them around the legs.  Use scissors to snip off excess.  My zip ties happened to be black (how fortuitous!), so they are difficult to see, even in a photo.  Sorry.

5.  Attach your toilet seat.  My crate didn't have holes where I needed them, so I had to drill some.

6.  Set your finished toilet over the bucket and you're ready to go! 

I think we may add a toilet paper holder to the side, but I'll have to check the store for my options on that.  Since this crate lived a previous life in my high school English classoom, I removed a label from the front that read "Makeup Work."  I suggested we replace it with another one that says "Making Doo."  That idea was immediately shot down by very literal Girl 1 who was quick to point out that it doesn't work because we'll only use ours for #1.  Oh, well.

By the way, Little Boy is definitely the biggest fan of the potty thus far.  In fact, my plan to cut down on the flies let into the house when he runs in for a quick potty break is totally backfiring on me.  He's actually making extra trips outside just so that he can use the new toilet!  What is it with boys and al fresco urination?

I didn't take pictures during the process, so my explanations may be difficult to follow.  Please message me or comment with any questions.

Why I Built a Composting Toilet and Why You Should Too

I know that lots of you already think we're crazy around here.  For those of you who haven't yet made that judgment, let me just get this over with and move you over into the "Yep-They're-Crazy Camp" -- I built a composting toilet.  And we intend to use it.  Probably in the backyard.  Much like an outhouse.

Since I feel I may need to reel you in on this idea, let's devote today's post to WHY one should build a composting toilet and allow tomorrow's post to explain HOW to actually do it. 

Why Build a Composting Toilet:

(Okay.  I'm not going to get into the whole Humanure debate here.  We intend to use our toilet to catch urine only.  So, my arguments assume a #1-only potty.  If you're unfamiliar with the humanure debate and are bored, just Google it, and you'll have hours of entertaining reading.)

1.  You get to use power tools!  Don't let that scare you off, this thing came together in the span of about 15 hands-on minutes.  And, I guess, the fact that you get to use power tools is maybe not the most important reason to make a composting toilet, but it is the most exciting part of the process.

2.  Human urine is nitrogen rich.  If you grow a garden (or just pretty ornamentals), your soil needs regular fertilizer to keep plants productive and healthy.  Developing a compost pile is a must for the serious gardener.  But, studies show that the urine/compost combination is even that much more powerful.  So, why not just go pee on the plants?  Straight urine is too potent for plants and needs to be watered down.  Our plan is to empty our potty onto our active compost pile.  This will speed decomp and add nitrogen to our pile.  Rain will serve to dilute the urine as the pile develops over time.  Now, even if you do not have a compost pile, you can still use urine in your garden or flowerbeds.  Experts disagree on the urine-to-water ratio that is appropriate (suggestions I've read range from 1:3 to 1:10), but all advise that you apply your urine/water combo a few days ahead of a planned harvest.

3.  Who couldn't use an extra toilet?  We're thinking our toilet will live somewhere outside.  Especially this time of year, we spend large chunks of our day outdoors, so this could cut down on, say, the number of flies let into the house by Little Boy when he runs in for a quick pee before returing to his dirt pile outside.  Girl 1 refuses to use the new pot unless I enclose it in some way like a port-a-potty, though I was just thinking we'd hunt down a good, private spot that's not viewable from outside the yard.  We'll see. (For the record, Little Boy is pretty excited about the new potty and wanted to be very involved in in it's construction.  Girl 2 just shrugged her shoulders when I asked her how she felt about it, but she is thankful I've chosen not to include the photo I took of her trying it out.)

4.  Pee is free and abundant.  I guess you could go buy bags of nitrogen-rich fertilizer for your garden, but, if you have to stop for a pee while at the big-box store making your purchase, don't miss the irony.  Why not make use of what we already have?

5.  Our toilets use approximately 6 gallons of water per flush.  In our family of five, our flushing adds up to a lot of natural resources consumed in water usage, sewage treatment, etc. Generally speaking, less flushing is better. 

This may seem gross, but a lot of times (especially at night) we subscribe to the "if it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down" philosophy.  This cuts down on flushing, but you can only let so much paper accumulate before a flush is necessary. 

Using the composting toilet regularly could greatly cut down on our environmental impact.  I mean, why would we want to expend valuable resources to dispose of something that, if harnessed, could actually be beneficial in growing our fruits and vegetables?

Instead of wondering why I should build a composting toilet, all of these reasons make me wonder why I haven't built one until now!

I realize, though, that this isn't for everyone.  And some of you may be thinking, "Remind me never again to accept the surplus vegetables Ashley offers me at church!"  :)  But, if you're at least a little intrigued, check back tomorrow to see how to build your own out of items you may already have lying around.

Slabtown Customs Tour

You know that feeling you get when you meet a movie star?  That's kind of how I felt Tuesday when I met Scott Stewart.  "I've watched every one of your YouTube videos," I gushed, "I'm such a fan of your work."  Yes, it was nearly that bad. 

In case you're not quite as in love with tiny homes or as in-tune with the tiny house community, let me clear this up for you.  Scott is the owner of and man responsible for Slabtown Customs, the tiny home construction company based in Mountain View. 

Girl 1's field trip Tuesday to Blanchard Springs had us driving within a block of where all the magic happens.  How could I not swing by? 

Scott builds custom tiny and small houses here at an old saw mill then delivers them directly to the customer.  (Most of his deliveries, by the way, are quite a ways away.  The tiny house movement hasn't really made its way here . . . yet.  He was surprised to hear that "a local girl" had such an interest in his work. :)

While he didn't have any completed houses on-site, he did give us a tour of this current project.  It's an 11x36 foot, coming in under the magical 400 square feet -- much bigger and it would have to meet lots of different zoning requirements. 

Here's a look inside.  Once finished, this house will have a living room, bedroom, kitchen (with full-sized refrigerator, sink, and bar stool area), bathroom (with full-sized shower), and a good-sized sleeping loft.

This photo isn't great, but it was taken from the bedroom (which is large enough for a king-sized bed), looking up toward the sleeping loft.  The pitched roofline really helps the small spaces not feel too cramped.

If you've got five minutes (or maybe an hour or so . . . you may get sucked in), look up Slabtown Customs on YouTube and watch as Scott provides walk-throughs of his finished products. 

I plan to make another trip up there (with John in tow) once Scott has another house finished.  I just love walking through them;  it provides me with my "tiny home fix."  Scott informed me that for a "local delivery" to our area, he could go as wide as 16 feet.  Hmmmm.  Maybe we could work with that and configure something that would be workable for a family of five.  ;)

Backyard Garden Box Construction

 Sunday afternoon was just beautiful here!  We took advantage of it and worked in the backyard, constructing our 3 new garden boxes.

Look who loves power tools!  (Not that we should be surprised.)

"These screws are as long as my finger!"

Surfboarding!

Not going to be outdone by little sis ;)

The kids got ahold of the camera, so we got lots of fun, silly shots -- like this one.

And, this one.  Our backyard doesn't have any good climbing trees, but that's not about to stop Girl 2.  Here, you can see the elaborate system of jumpropes that she's tied to this Bradford Pear.  They allow her to hoist herself up to the higher branches.  Innovative, huh?

Finished product.  Three garden boxes.  They are each 4x8 feet long.  Two of them are 6 inches deep, and one (for growing root veggies) is 12 inches deep.  Here, they are propped up on rocks so that they're ready for painting.  With the forecasted rain and/or snow, that may have to wait a few days, though.  We'll see.

Recent Obsession: Tiny Houses

Lately, I've been obsessed with Tiny Houses.  I thought maybe the obsession could be traced back to my somewhat recent reading of a book titled Twelve by Twelve: A One-Room Cabin Off the Grid and Beyond the American Dream, which was awe-inspiring.  I mean, seriously, no electricity or plumbing?

But, then I remembered how my favorite part of IKEA is seeing how they compress everything one needs to live into only 90 square feet or some such ridiculous number.  I love just meandering through the model set-ups they have and imagining what it would be like to live that small.  But, the obsession may go much further back, all the way back to pop-up-trailer camping with my family of 5 when I was growing up.  It was just so amazing to me that we could compress everything we'd need for the trip into that tiny little pod that we'd pull behind the van.  And, the tiny fridge and cooktop?  Adorable.  So, maybe it should be no surprise that I find Lloyd Kahn's Tiny Homes:  Simple Shelter such a treat.  According to Kahn, a "tiny" home is one that is less than 500 square feet.  This makes a great coffee table book and features amazing images of houses Khan describes. 

One company featured in this book is Tiny Texas Houses, the brainchild of Brad Kittel, whose tagline is "building the future with the past."  Kittel builds tiny homes that are 99% salvaged materials.  Houses are built in Luling, TX, and can be easily transported to pretty much anywhere.  This video gives a visual overview of some of his very cool work.

Our family absolutely loves the outdoors.  When the weather allows, we eat many of our meals outside and congregate in our outdoor living space.  If we lived somewhere with a more moderate climate, I could totally see us attempting to live this small because we'd just spend most of our time outdoors.  As it is, though, it's hard to imagine all 5 of us hunkered down in 400 square feet while being snowed in for days.  Oh, well.  I do follow Kahn's blog via my Google Reader feed, so I guess I'll just have to get my Tiny Homes fix that way.  The blog features a new tiny home nearly everyday.  Check it out here. 

What do you think?  Could you live that small?  What is alluring about it?  What would you miss most if you compressed your life into only 300 square feet or so?

Cold Frame Construction

I usually am not one to procrastinate.  It just stresses me out to wait until the last minute.  I even stress out about other people's procrastination.  (Just ask John.  When he was in grad school, he finally learned just not to even tell me when his papers were due.)

But, lately, I feel like I've been running, running, running and am still a few steps behind.  So, this week, I found myself with new adorable lettuce sprouts and a forecast of freezing temperatures.  Ahhh! 

I had to construct the cold frame and I needed to do it . . . um, yesterday!

I set to work to create this.

Here's what I did:

I started with 4  10 ft. pieces of 1/2" PVC. 

I then cut one piece so that it was 8 ft. long.  Since my covered-wagon design was intended to cover a 4'x8' raised bed, this 8 ft. piece would span the length.  (The leftover 2 ft. piece became Little Boy's sword for the rest of the day and entertained him for hours!)

To screw the PVC pieces together, I used nuts and bolts.  I was sure to use rounded edge bolts so that they wouldn't snag and tear the plastic sheeting that would be draped over the structure. 

I screwed the 3 10 ft. pieces to the 8 ft. cross piece like this.

(Sidenote:  At this point, I learned a very important lesson in physics.  The lesson is this:  Do not use 1/4" bolts to screw together 1/2" PVC.  When you bend the pipes, they will break because too much of the width of the PVC has been compromised by drilling.  When I learned this lesson the hard way, I cursed myself for procrastinating, got a phone call from John saying I needed to drop everything and go haul hay with him, told him I'd meet him as soon as I could but I HAD to make a quick run to the hardware store.  I purchased 1/8" bolts this time and new PVC, went to haul hay for 3 hours, then proceeded to rebuild the cold frame in the rain, finishing just as the sun set.  Uggghhh.  Procrastination!)

Once I'd learned my lesson, and reconstructed and installed the frame, it looked like this.  (Notice how it's getting dark.)

I then used this plastic sheeting to create a cover that will allow light in while protecting plants from extreme temperatures, much like a greenhouse.

I then used rocks to secure the plastic sheeting.  These are easily removed for harvest and watering.  Hopefully, this cold frame will allow us to extend our growing season a bit and continue to have fresh greens for a while longer.  In the spring, it will also allow me to plant in this bed earlier than in others, cutting down on how many seeds I'll have to start indoors to get a jump start on the growing season.  And, because it's only held together my 3 bolts, it can be easily stored when it's not needed.

If I hadn't had my little mishap, the project would've cost me about $25 (in reality, it cost me $40).  Oh, well.  You live and learn.

DIY Coffee Table Update

This past week, our old coffee table underwent an extreme makeover.  Actually, it got a facelift.  Pictured below is the IKEA $30 or so coffee table that we've had since we moved in 6 years ago.  Recently, it's scratched veneer has had it looking like a 6-year-old-$30-coffee-table, and it had thus been stored in the garage, leaving our living room clear for the impromptu family dance party.    I'd been missing a place to set a book and prop my feet, though, and found this idea for an upgrade on Pinterest.  (Don't worry, dance parties will continue.  We'll just have to dance around the furniture and maybe keep the cartwheels and break dancing moves to a minimum.)

We had a bunch of scrap 2x4s from our goat shed project last month, so I decided to use them to create a new top for the beat-up table.

We didn't have enough long pieces to cover the table top, so I decided how I wanted to piece the boards together.  Then, I cut them to length.

Yep.  I cut them to length. . . . using this.  All on my own.  John wasn't even home.  Can you tell I'm a bit proud of myself?

I then stained them using Mission Oak, a color that I thought would go well with the veneer finish of the table and still lend a rustic feel to the knotty pine boards.

Once the stain was dry, I used wood glue to adhere the boards in place and stacked heavy books atop the table to hold them down as the glue dried.

24 hours later, we removed the books and moved our table back into place.  (Girl 2 really wanted to be in the picture.)

Here it is, all done, with the lower shelf back in place, holding our floor pillows.

(As you can see, I haven't quite decided what I want to sit on it.  ;)

It's not a professional job, by any means, but I do think it's an upgrade.  And, all it cost me was the $10 or so that I spent on the stain and wood glue.

Goat Shed Complete!

Okay, if you have any construction expertise, please avert your eyes.  Our finished goat shed may not be up to par for you.  When John asked Girl 1 what she thought of the finished product, she gave us a long, "Hmmmmm."

He then interrupted her with, "Listen, it's not bad for having been built by two people with degrees in the humanities!"

So, yes.  It took us more than twice the time it would've taken a more experienced builder.  And, yes, we mostly figured it out as we went and spent more time problem solving than pre-planning. 

But . . . it's done!  It was a big problem that was looming over our heads.  And, it's done!

And, we did it ourselves!  I mean, two days ago, there was no building there.  Today, there is.  And, it's because we built it!  We are proof that a husband and wife team can complete a 2-day, labor-intensive project together in 110 degree heat and still like each other at the end of the day.  ;)

I know it's hard to see what's going on here, but I thought the church in the background would lend perspective to each picture.  This one was taken before we began the project.

Mid-way through

Construction complete!

And, painted!

This picture may provide the best look at how the shed actually spans the fence.  To the right of the fence is the new buck pen; they have access to the shed via the open end on the right.  To the left of the fence is the open field.

This pic is taken from inside the buck pen.  You can see how the right end is open to allow them access to the shelter.

We are currently letting the paint dry, then we'll move everybody in to their new digs.  Hopefully, when the goats are hunkered down in there, waiting for a storm to pass, they won't pass the time by scrutinizing our work.  We won't leave the level in there, though, just in case.

 :)

Stay-cation Project

This week, John is off work, and we're going to celebrate by having a week-long stay-cation!  While we do intend to have some fun (we'll definitely be visiting our favorite animals in Memphis:), we also have one big project we're hoping to cross off the list this week.

As is the case with any good project, this one is intended to be a solution to a problem. 

The problems are actually two-fold:

Problem #1-  Copper, who I'd like to think is still an adorable little buckling, is growing up on us.  And, he has begun to pester the ladies in some ways that we're not ready for until mating season later in the fall.  So, he and his buddy Dallas have been quarantined.  For now, that means that they are living in the old dog pen with a tarp for shade.  It's fine for a short time, but they need more space and grass and weeds to eat, so it's a temporary solution.  In fact, there will be other times (e.g. birthing and weaning) when we'll need a way to separate the goats, so we need a better space in which to do that.

When we had the back field fenced, we had a 1,000 sq. ft. area sectioned off in one corner to serve this purpose.  But, goats are finicky about getting wet, and they need a way to get some shade on these super hot days.  So . . . we need to build a shelter for the new buck pen area.

Problem #2:  The giant fenced-in field has no shelter for the goats.  We turn them out everyday, but if it starts to rain, we have to run out and let them back into the yard where they can find some shelter.  Also, in the early morning hours, shade is hard to come by in the field.  So . . . we need to build a shelter in the field.

Rather than build 2 separate shelters, we've decided to build just one building that spans the fence separating the buck pen from the rest of the field.  Half of the building will provide shelter for the bucks while the other half provides shelter for the goats in the main field. 

Stay tuned for our progress!

Compost Bin System is Complete

Lovely, isn't it? 

It's definitely not the most high-tech compost bin, but it gets the job done and cost us nothing.  We acquired the pallets a couple at a time.  In fact, the system began with three pallets, encompassing just one pile.  Last night, John affixed the last two pallets to make it a 3-bin system made up of 7 pallets all screwed together.  We figure this is all we'll need to keep us in year-round compost. 

The far-left bin is the newest.  All it has in it right now are the clippings from the squash plant that I cut away this morning.  This will now be the bin we fill with dryer lint, vegetable scraps, chicken poo, garden trimmings, etc. 

The middle bin has just been sitting for 4 months or so.  It is ready-to-use compost.  When we need to add some to the garden, we just scoop it out of this middle bin.

The far-right bin is the one we had been filling up (until yesterday).  Now, it will be allowed to sit and decompose for the next 4 months or so.  We will turn it periodically and be sure that it stays moist to speed decomposition. 

So, now that we have all three bins in place, the functions just rotate.  In 4 months, the far-left will be full and will become the one that is in the process of decomp, the middle will be empty and ready to be filled up, and the far-right will be decomposed and ready for use.

Just a Walk Around the Yard (with commentary)

This sunflower is enormous!  I am 5'10", and it now towers over me.  It's an Evening Sun variety and is loaded with what should soon open up into blooms the color of a sunset.  Pics to come soon.

Okay.  I know I talked big about pulling out the broccoli plant, but in the end, I just couldn't kill it.  I transplanted it to a pot on the porch.  This way, it still gets to live but isn't casting too much shade on the surrounding veggies. It still hasn't produced any flowerets, but we'll continue to keep an eye on it.

The fence is coming along nicely.  If the weather cooperates, we should be able to turn the goats out onto fresh grass within the week.

The little pickling cucumber vines are covered with blooms, and I've even cut a few of the earliest cukes over the past couple of days.

The only problem with that is that I've seeded the organic dill several times and nothing has come up.  I really don't want to have to buy bunches of dill from the grocery store come pickling time, so I bought some small dill plants to put in.  Hopefully, they'll have time to get a bit bigger before I'm ready to pickle.

Zucchini has been going crazy lately.  While my back was turned, this one got a bit too big to be tasty.  The chickens didn't seem to notice, though.

While I was feeding the zucchini to the chickens, these guys were sticking their heads out of the pen and eating my shorts (literally).  We like to move the chicken tractor right around the edge of of the goat pen as bug control.  When the goats first came to us, we noticed a few ticks, but since the chickens have been circling the pen on a regular basis, we haven't seen anymore. 

Our soil around here gets so compacted that I had never dared attempt to grow roots in the ground.  Now that we're using our own soil mix in raised beds, I am able to try out roots.  I have, however, no experience with growing them.  Luckily, the carrots, beets, and radishes help me out by peeping their heads out of the ground to let me know they're ready to be harvested.

Our kale sure is happy.  We only planted two squares with it, so I thought we'd eat our way through it pretty quickly.  Turns out, everytime I harvest it, more comes back in its place.

Some pickings from today.

Hear that? It's the Sound of Progress!

Even now, as I sit here on the sofa typing this, I can hear the sounds of progress coming from the backyard. 

Let me explain.  A few years back, we bought the open field behind our house, mostly just to ensure that no one would build right behind us.  Since then, we've amassed a small farm in the backyard and have decided that it's time to make better use of that acre and a half just sitting back there.

Here's the field.  It's currently unfenced, but that is about the change.  It'll soon be surrounded by goat-proof fencing and contain a separate pen we plan to use to keep the bucks away from the gals.

Right now, our yard has privacy fencing on three sides and chain-link along the back (between the backyard and open field).  But, chain-link is not tall enough or sturdy enough for goats, so it's got to go. 

Luckily, John has buddies with fun toys.

Here he is knocking down one of the fence posts.

And here, the fence is down!

Now, he's working at further clearing the west fence-line, which is pretty overgrown.  Friday, the guy building the fence will be putting in posts; and by sometime next week, our goats should be able to frolic in and munch the fresh grass!

It's Moving Day!

We've been taking these precious little chicks outside for some fresh air the past couple days and getting them ready for the big move out of their tubs.  As you can see, they've entered their awkward "tween" stage as they gradually trade in their soft fuzz for actual feathers. 

Our chicken farmer is moving them into their new digs, a specially designed meat chicken tractor built by my very talented husband.

Here's another view of the tractor.  It's a much simpler design than the egg-layers' tractor.  These chickens won't be needing nesting boxes.  This is designed to provide them plenty of grass to forage and sunlight.  Like our other tractor, it's set on wheels, so we can move them every day or so to fresh ground.  Before you know it, we'll be eating free-range chicken!  (I know this doesn't seem like free-range, as they are in a confined space, but my reading suggests that the term simply means they're given continual access to fresh ground.  The term pastured is used to describe birds who have had free range of large swaths of land. -- Just a little poultry FYI you can use when reading  labels at the supermarket.)

"What's this green stuff?" 

John positioned them right outside my kitchen window for the first day so that I could keep an eye on them.  They seemed to happy all day and may have doubled in size.  They just pecked away at that grass all day long!

Speaking of my view from the kitchen window, the chicks moving to the backyard now brings our backyard animal tally to 35!  Let's inventory.

1 Rabbit

5 Goats

6 laying hens

23 chicks

Yep, that's 35 animals!  And that doesn't even count the snake John killed a couple weeks ago or that wretched neighbor cat who keeps coming over the fence to use my garden as a litter box!

We are loving our little backyard farm!

DIY Rabbit Hutch

John has been a getting-things-done kind of guy lately.  And, though, he wouldn't consider himself very efficient when it comes to building things, he's definitely been beefing up on his experience lately.  Case in point -- during a recent garage re-organization, he diagnosed a problem we were having with all the bicycles and scooters cluttering up the garage.  He went inside, looked up a plan for a bike rack, and built one the next day.  Problem solved!

Now, Cocoa Puff wintered in the garage in her metal cage.  But, once things warmed up a bit, she was ready for some more permanent digs on the back porch.  We looked around at various pre-fab models, but none of them were exactly what we wanted.  So, John set out to build a solution -- this time without plans to guide him.

I think the finished product is great!  It gets her up to eye level.  There's enough space between the metal cage and the wooden frame to allow for plywood inserts on the back and sides in the colder months to block the wind.

A pull-out poo-catching tray makes it easy to clean and keeps her from getting messy.

We painted the top board with chalkboard paint so that we could add her name.

She seems really happy with her new set-up.  And, I'm happy that my favorite of our farm animals (shh!  don't tell my kids . . . or the other animals) is getting to enjoy the fresh air from such a nice custom-designed space.  :)

Also, currently under construction is the meat chicken tractor.  I'll post some pics of it as soon as my expert-builder husband has it complete!