Amazing what creatures turn up on the farm.

This weekend we planted 75 daffodil bulbs on the terrace near the apple and pear trees.  We also worked on the inside of the pimped-up outhouse and have decided that we need to work on our drywall skills before we start on the cabin.  Installing the drywall is no problem but the plastering of corners etc... that we need to work on.  We just need the right tools I think and some patience. 

We installed the trim inside the outhouse and starting painting the walls.  Next weekend is the installation of the toilet and sink and outside rain water container. 

The seeds we planted (mustard, kale, turnips) have started to sprout and the seedlings we planted seem to like the cold, damp dirt in the ground so they are doing good too. 

We started cutting down trees around the pond to use as firewood and as fence post.  It will be nice to open of the pond area to get some sun. 

I took the dogs for a run - while I ride on the atv they like to run ahead and go exploring in the woods.  Sometimes they catch the scent of a deer and put their noses to the ground just like a bloodhound and start running and sniffing.  When they lose the scent they go all the way back to where they first caught the scent and start over.  It's comical.  This weekend they were so busy with their noses to the ground that they did not see the two deer on the hill in the woods.  They also were so busy sniffing around some logs that they did not see the big rabbit that ran out of the logs and got away.  They seem to be better at catching field mice.  One mouse decided to take refuge in Alex's atv and Nugget had a fit.  He was biting the front grill of the atv trying to get to the mouse.  Before they day was over though, they did manage to snag two mice. 

We took some time out of our busy farm weekend to attend the 1st Annual Chili Cookoff in Grand Junction, which is the next town over from Saulsbury.  There were 7 entries and only one of them was something I thought was any good.  I think next year Cris will have to enter his chili.  We had a nice time.  The city park it right next to the town's cemetery.  We strolled through the cemetery and it was as if we stepped back in time.... so many young men who had died in 1944 during WWII.  So many young children that had died as newborns in the 1800's and from various diseases that were rampet then.  Some families lost 3-4 children. It was sad.  As much as I love our adventure into living a self-sustainable life, I am not ignorant of how much good technology can also do.... and how wonderful it is to have some things that help keep us safe such as antibiotics and the availability of clean water. 

We are trying to decide now where to put the cabin and which direction to face it. I'm really excited about building the cabin... I say that now.... ask me in a few months when I'm sick of drywall and painting.

We have started feeding the bees sugar water now that it is turning cold.  This will help get them through the winter.  The fish aren't hanging around the pond edge as much because of the cold and the best part is that Nugget is not swimming in the pond anymore....just too cold I guess.  Nothing like a wet dog coming up and shaking right next to you and he always managed to take a swim right before it was time to get in the car to go home. 

Cris is looking into raising worms for compost.  Basically you buy a bunch of red worms, put them in a bin, add newspaper, some dirt and sand and then feed the worms the food you would normally put in your compost bin.  Then in 3-4 months you have wonderful compost that you harvest.  The worms are saved and you just start over again. 

I am 'beet' from all the winter vegie planting.

Outhouse - Outside is completed

We even add a little deck to the outhouse. 


This past weekend (Oct 30-31) was a nice Fall weekend though it did sneak up to 80 degrees on Sunday for a bit.  Because of the rain we received last week, we were able to plant all our winter vegies....kale, mustard, collards, beets, turnips, rutabagas, etc.  Our tomatoes are still growing, though they are green and not as big as they should be.  We have been canning pickled green tomatoes.... when life hands you lemons...you make lemonade...or in this case, pickled green tomatoes!  We were hoping for a bumper crop of tomatoes for can tomato sauce this year but there's always next year.

We were able to finish up the outside of the outhouse which included painting the outside walls, trim, adding the roof and the little awning over the door.  We also added a gutter in the back to collect rain water for the toilet. I painted the walls and floor on the inside. We have not dug the hole yet for the septic tank so we aren't going to buy the toilet and sink until then. 

Now that the winter vegies are planted, we are going to turn our attention to finishing up the outhouse, adding on to the barn (another 12x24 stall), and purchasing and installing the hoophouse.  Once we get the hoophouse installed, the Dept. of Ag. will come out, inspect it and then reimburse us about 80% of the cost of materials.  I think it's going to be about 30x100 feet and Cris and I will be installing it ourselves. 

The first of the year we will start on the cabin.  In between all these projects we are also clearing out trees around the pond and bushhogging some trails through the woods.  We have found some pretty steep ditches in our inspection of the wooded areas so we plan to fence these areas off to keep Alex and friends from coming upon them unexpectedly.  I'd hate for someone to fall in them and get hurt......especially me!

Our mushroom logs are FINALLY starting to show some promise.  I did a test and dropped one of the logs a few weeks ago to simulate a tree falling.  According to the mushroom people, if you drop a log onto the ground, it makes the mushroom spores think the tree has fallen to the ground and is in the process of dieing.  This makes the spores grow more quickly.....which is what happened on the log that I dropped.  It now has little mushrooms growing, whereas the other's do not yet.  So, next week we plan to drop all the logs onto the ground, then stand them up vertically and see what happens. I think the fact that it finally started to rain around here helped too.

We plan to visit family in Maryland for Thanksgiving. This will be the first weekend that one of us has not be at the farm since purchasing the property.  I took a weekend away to go to Maryland (but Cris stayed behind and worked on the farm) in the summer but other than that, we have been at the farm every weekend.... maybe not the entire weekend but we have spent at least one day of the weekend there since about March or April.  I so look forward to the day we have moved out there permanently. It will be easier to get things accomplished then and the peace and quiet out there is so refreshing.