Making Hay

Painting:

As of this past weekend, our new chicken coop is moved in place via a "sled," which is not a snowtime fun item but rather a few two-by-fours and some pvc pipes to roll it all on. Like a big wooden tray with removable pipe/wheels. The EGE is very engineery that way. The girls helped him place the pipes at the front and run them around from the back as the coop rolled off each one. I need a better digital SLR so I can take action shots.

Of course, every girl must accessorize, so we made the signs above. They're not quite done in that photo. Grace had to trail slug slime green across them with her fingers ala vines. Very attractive. But I still think my signs are funny. A little background: the EGE is very rooster averse. We. will. not. own. a. rooster. Period. Also in the photo you can see the leftovers from our earlier homemade play dough fiesta. Ah, the joys and messes of a three-day weekend!


Planting:

We are late with our garden this year, but it snowed just a couple of weeks ago. The girls were very excited for the new garden site. It is right next to the horse paddocks (easy fertilizer transfer!) and the new chicken coop (see last parens). Over the weekend we planted four cherry tomatoes, because we have to have enough to share with the critters. Also the girls just like to stand in the garden and eat them faster than they can pick them. Then they come inside about 9 p.m. and sick to their tummies and starving for dinner because tomatoes and raw green beans are great um... appetizers. I also planted onions, peppers, celery starts, carrots, radishes... not sure what else. It's always fun to overplant and freak out later, don't you agree?

Repurposing:

The school was going to throw away some sections of picket fence. Since I am an A-Number-One Recycler and junk addict, I had to get the EGE to haul them home. They will grace the garden. And maybe help keep the deer out... with the addition of another three feet of wire on top... maybe it'll help. Or maybe I'll just cry and laugh and try to take photos of the deer eating my pole beans ever-so-delicately. Hey, a new camera would help with that. My dad and husband laughed hysterically at the idea of a deer "exclosure." We'll see about that.

More painting:

I threw caution to the wind and let the girls paint the chicken coop. I am no longer a control freak, I'll have you know. Just brushed my hands clean of that particular personality disorder, I did. There is one particularly fetching photo of the coop painting which y'all will never see. The EGE caught me rolling on paint with one hand, baby on other hip, capris hiked up most attractively, while Grace pulled on my shirt and covered me with paint from her wildly waving paintbrush. Nice. Design note: We chose this particular shade of wedding mint green to match the uber-ugliness of the shop. It would be nice to re-side the shop in cedar shakes, but it would also be nice to finance the girls' college funds sometime before they graduate high school.

Making hay:

So there wasn't much sun in our corner of the world this weekend, but we still had a great (if nutty) time.





And of course, completely nonfarmy but fun, we had to watch a movie:

The girls dreamed and planned, and the EGE stalled, and we worked hard all weekend, and then the girls plotted some more. Finally, they unveiled their diabolical snack bar (complete with homemade kettle corn and Diet Coke to ensure my attendance) and their copious rule sheets regarding movie behavior (maybe aimed at Grace? Or Daddy?) and the parents capitulated.

In addition to the photo-chronicled craziness, we... made homemade cinnamon rolls, did two thousand loads of laundry, chased and caught chickens again, gave the horses their monthly meds, went to and overspent at the hardware store, celebrated my nephew's 10th birthday with a Harry Potter extravaganza at the pizza parlor (oh joy) and in general overdid it until going up and down our farmhouse stairs hurts the backs of my thighs more than an hour on the stairmaster.

I have to go rest up from my weekend now. How about you?