The Pasture Fence!

Phase 2 of Wit's End Farm is finally underway.  It's been a long time coming, Phase 1 of building Wit's End Farm took us much longer than we had anticipated, but we're here now, and I'm very excited to be moving forward with the pasture.

Clearing the fence line!  3-16-2015

You know, sometimes life, health, and other unexpected opportunities for growth present themselves, and we have the choice to either adapt, or to struggle against the situation.  As circumstances slow us down, we can choose to take that time to be still, to seek out what lesson there is to learn in each challenge.  Life isn't always about moving forward, but sometimes it's about learning how to get back up and press on after being knocked backwards.

Just the beginning...so much more to come!  3-16-2015

Having had Bill's youngest brother Jim here for several months was such a blessing. Not only for the work he has helped Bill with, but for his positive attitude and easy-going spirit.  God is certainly looking out for us.  What brought Jim here to us this time was a year of great loss for him, but he has turned it into a positive by focusing on helping others while waiting for direction for his future. There's a great lesson in there somewhere.

Setting some fence posts!  4-2-2015

So, with that said, time marches on, and the clearing of the fence line does as well. And it is a slow march, but they head out each day with the resolve to conquer a few more feet, and it's getting closer and closer.  As of the writing of this paragraph, and the photo below, it has been ten weeks of hard labor, mostly on the fence line every day.  There have been some days they worked on other things, like clearing out the garage so my car could be parked inside, and like planting fifteen or so trees and bushes that had been in need of a permanent home before the rains come.  And other stuff like machinery repairs, lawn maintenance, and some time off for much needed R&R.  But the major focus has always been the fence.

The last section to be cleared!  4-16-2015

Today is April 16th, and it is after 7:00 PM, they will be coming in soon for some dinner, so I need to get to it.  Got to keep these men well fed.  More later.

Now that's a lot of cleared brush and trees!  4-28-2015

And there it is burning down to nothing!  4-28-2015

They've been working very hard, today was a very long day.  Just about 9 hours straight of cutting, clearing, and stacking very heavy trees and logs.  I am amazed at my husband at 69 years old with an artificial heart valve, a pacemaker, and a bum knee, he can still work like a 50 year old man.  He loves this kind of work, too.  They are telling me that it won't be long now until they can string a line and dig more fence post holes on the last side.  Hopefully, they're right.

Yes, another pile of debris 5-22-2015

And, there it goes up in flames again 5-22-2015

September, 2016

And the clearing, and the burning, and the digging and the planting continued on for 2 1/2 more months.  Just before Jim left, the boys worked very hard on putting in the agricultural water lines.  Our son and daughter also helped out on this project.  That was a whole lot of digging and laying down lines, but it was another necessary evil to be conquered.  I took a long pause from this blog post, so will try to catch up on what's been happening. Jim met and ultimately married a wonderful woman.  He left us in August to tend to his own life. Waiting on God for direction is never a bad thing.  They are very happy together, and we love her dearly. 

Jim and Teresa

Building the fence has taken a long reprieve for Bill to have a knee replaced in February 2016.  It hasn't been an easy recovery for him, but now, September 2016 he is slowly getting back to being himself again.  Our daughter moved up here from Florida (July 2015) which has made us very happy.  Now all of our little family can be together again.  She had to deal with some medical issues, (she inherited my hips,) and we have taken some time out to help her recover.  She bounced back pretty quickly.  

Something Old Is New Again

In need of some tender loving care!

When we finished our pergola last fall, I wanted to throw away our old, faded, and battered glider.  The joints were coming apart, and I was afraid to let anyone sit on it.  Since we've now hung our new porch swing under the pergola, I have suddenly become a bit sentimental towards that old beat up glider.  It has provided us with many hours of relaxation.

Looking good!

So, Bill decided to get out his glue and clamps, and did some major repair work on the old thing.  Then he did some sanding.  I was rather surprised, it started looking pretty good.  We got out the linseed oil, and I put a good coat of it on the dry, parched wood.  Bill oiled all the metal working parts.  It's looking great!  I began looking for a new home for it, and I found one!

Growing Sprouts at Home!

Sprout Jar Wooden Rack with Jars

Growing your own sprouts at home is a rather simple project that can provide excellent nutrients at a very reasonable cost compared to purchasing them in your local grocery store.  In addition, it is a very compact way to store food in case of an emergency.

What you will need in order to grow your own sprouts:

1. A jar in which to grow them.  A standard wide-mouth quart size canning jar is what I use.
2. You will need to have a piece of mesh cloth that will enable you to drain off the water from the seeds as you rinse them each day.  I didn't have any lying around the house, so I ordered mine online. 
3. You will also need to have a way to keep your jars upside down so they can completely drain, and have some air flow to the sprouts.  My very talented  husband made a wooden rack for me that holds up to 3 Mason jars and folds flat for storage.  You can purchase one from our Marketplace if you wish.
4. Then, you will need to have sprouting seeds.  I found mine online.

Canning jar, mesh cloth, and metal ring

Folding Wooden Rack

Tree Down, Fence Down!

As I was leisurely looking out the back window this morning, my eyes fell on something unfamiliar looking.  Upon further examination, we discovered that one of our pine trees had given up a few of its branches, right on top of our fence!

Right onto the fence!

The guys, Bill and my brother-in-law, Jim, got right to getting it all cleaned up.

Formulating a plan!

Building A Pergola For The Farm!

This project was started a couple of years ago.  We put down the 13' wide x 17' long patio, Bill planted the four corner posts, and built a fire pit. Then, life just sort of got in the way.  Finally, construction has begun again!  We just may have ourselves a pergola in a few short weeks if all goes according to plan.  Here's a picture of the patio stones, four corner posts and fire pit that were installed a couple years ago.

The beginning of the Pergola! 6/2012

We haven't landscaped the back of the house because we were planning to put in a deck that would go all the way across.  I think that plan may be reduced to a smaller, less aggressive plan including just one half of the back of the house. Some landscaping against the house behind the pergola, maybe lilacs and hydrangeas, would be nice.  I'm wanting to put wisteria on the four corner posts of the pergola.  I think it should be pretty.  Hopefully it will all grow for me.  Being a Florida girl, my green thumb turned a little brown when we moved here.  I'm still learning tho', and that's always a good thing.

An ATV For The Farm!

1988 Yamaha Moto 4 ATV 350cc

I may have mentioned in an earlier post that I had hip replacement surgery last year, which was a very good decision.  My husband is considering knee replacement surgery, and my other hip isn't too far off from getting replaced also.  I say all that to introduce our need for something to help us get around the farm with a little more ease and speed.

My husband, Bill, had been looking for quite some time before he found this little "gem" for a great price.   Now, when we're talking about my husband, a great price usually comes along with a bit of repair work, and this little "gem" was no exception!  We purchased it in early August of last year, and it's been up on blocks ever since.  Granted, being my only caregiver for a couple months, and then the Holidays, definitely slowed him down.  

ATV Garaged for repairs

The Fence Project Completed!

The Fence Project Complete!

As I mentioned in the post about Kahn and Kheli, the fence surrounding the house property took us way longer to finish than we had expected.  But, it's finished now, and we are enjoying having the dogs running free and keeping out unwanted neighborhood creatures.

The Chickens Love Their Yard!

Chickens Enjoying Their Yard!

Well, the chickens are just loving their new play yard!  It took them a little while to venture out and explore, but last night as I went to close them up, one of the white roosters decided he wasn't finished outside, so as he was making a run for it, I began to close the chicken door.  He made a fast turn around and dashed back inside.  It was clear he didn't want to be locked out all by himself!  They are learning really fast.  It is quite comical watching one of the white roosters jumping as high as he can trying to get to the blueberries higher up on the bush!  They LOVE the blueberries.

Carpe diem! Lil and Bill

The Chicken Yard!

The Chicken Yard Complete!

After thinking it will never happen, the chicken yard is getting completed. Bill built a frame for the run, it is 12' x 28' x6' high. He put about 6" of wire cloth below ground level and back-filled with rocks and soil to discourage predators from digging under. Then he put the fencing onto the wood frame. Next, constructing the 4' x 6' high gate, then, like magic, it's finished! Our plan is that the chickens won't be able to fly over the 6' fence, but that the guineas will, which will allow them to free roam the yard and garden and eat up all those Japanese beetles we have flying around here! 

Carpe diem! Lil and Bill

It's 102F, The Chicks Are Stressed!

Bill Building A Chicken Run

Wow!  It's 102F outside today, and that husband of mine is out there building a chicken run for the very hot and stressed chicks in the coop.  They were all panting so hard that I brought out a bucket of ice for them to lay beside.  After it melted, I gave them the ice water, hoping they didn't go into shock.  They seemed to know to drink it slowly, but they did enjoy the cold.  Here is one picture I took of the run today, more to follow as he gets more done.

Carpe diem! Lil and Bill

The Fence!

Howse Post Hole Digger and Auger on tractor

Aaand, we are off onto yet another project How does one drill 140 holes 2-3 feet deep in this hard, rocky clay?  This is how you do it!  A post hole digger & auger, Bill's Fathers' Day present!  We purchased a Howse Post Hole Digger and Auger from Southern Farm Supply.  He's not thoroughly thrilled with it so far, but we'll see how it performs for him.  Hope it goes as quickly as we think it will.  As soon as we finish this project, we will be bringing home Kahn and Kheli, our Anatolian Shepherd Livestock Guard Dogs from Clear Creek Kennels in Mt. Vernon, KY.  I can't wait!  It will be finished none too soon as the baby chicks are ready to go outside.  I think we need to wait for the dogs to prevent them from being snatched up and carried away by the hawks.

Carpe diem, Lil & Bill

The Chickens Have Moved In!

Baby chicks!

The girls have moved into the coop!  This is not just any ol' coop, this is Cluckinghen Palace! We have six Black Australorps, six Silver Laced Wyandottes, and one free unknown rare breed!  Next week we get a shipment of six New Hampshire Reds and fifteen White Leghorns.  The blacks, silvers, and reds are our dual purpose chicks, and the White Leghorns are meat chicks.    These babies are so cute and fuzzy!

Cluckinghen Palace, Completed!

Carpe diem, Lil and Bill

Chicken Coop Chicken Doors

My husband designed these chicken doors with a pulley system so I could open and close them without having to go into the chicken area.

Chicken Coop Chicken Door Pulley System

It is a fabulous system, as the chicken coop has an entrance area that is our supply and storage place, a foyer (or fwa.je if you will).  They are designed on a pulley system, and are very convenient.

Handmade Goat Milking Stand

Goat Milking Stand

Goat Milking Stand

Anyone need a lovely new goat milking stand?  These are pictures of one my extremely talented husband made for Flumgummerie Farm.  I hear they are using it and enjoying it very much.  Contact us today if you would like to purchase one.

Carpe diem!  Lil and Bill

Chicken Coop Nest Boxes

Chicken Coop Nest Boxes - rear door view, open

Chicken Coop Nest Boxes - rear door view, closed

Chicken Coop Nest Boxes

These are the photos of the nest boxes in our chicken coop that Bill is building.  He designed them so that I don't have to go inside the chicken area to collect the eggs.  There is a back door that opens up for egg gathering.  He also made the box bottom to lift out to make for easy cleaning.  What a guy!  I'm thinking he wants to be certain that I keep the job of caring for the chickens, and that it doesn't fall back on him.  That will work until I find my first snake in the box!  He's trying to make certain that doesn't happen as well.  We'll see!

Carpe diem!  Lil and Bill

The Little Red Barn

This is our little red barn, the first of what we hope will be three.  The new chicken coop that we're working on now is the "baby bear" of the three, this is the "mama bear".  I wonder how long "papa bear" will take to build?

Carpe diem!  Lil and Bill

Building a Chicken Coop

Bill hard at work

Building a chicken coop, how hard can that be, right?  Well, we're going on to month three and we're not finished yet!  My husband Bill is engineering this coop so carefully, these hens will be living like little princesses!  And so will I because caring for them will be so convenient!  You think they'll give us bigger eggs?  I'll be posting photos of the inside soon.

Carpe diem!  Lil and Bill