We had a good week. We never get everything we need to do done, but that’s something I guess I’ll have to get used to. It’s wonderful when friends help out, but we have to learn to rely on our limited skills to get things moving. The girls and I have learned over the last 4 years to figure things out. When we need to build something, or fix something, we work at it till we make it work. It’s not always pretty, but we have always managed.
This time around, unlike living in the suburbs, the backyard projects are bigger and so the learning curve is also bigger. But we are getting there.
The coop is still not ready to accept birds. This makes me sad. We completed the frame for the fencing this morning. Again, not having done this before slowed us down. We have pounded in a dozen fence posts and tried to level the 4X4s as best as we could. There is a saying in sewing. Measure twice, cut once. I know this saying, I even understand this saying, but I don’t always follow it! So I tried to distance the posts by the length of the 2X4s that would be used to frame the fencing. I miscalculated one of the distances. So we had to figure a way to lengthen a board. No biggy if you know what you’re doing! And it eats at our time.
The idea is that the bottom and top frames will help solidify the fencing but also be used to staple on the poultry netting. We leave enough netting at the bottom to bury it in the ground. The trenches are dug already. Mosquitos are not making the work easy. I can’t abide bug spray so there is a lot of slapping going on.
On the subject of bug spray, I have to say, even if the girls spray themselves, they are still getting bitten, so I don’t see the point of putting that stuff on my skin.
On the chicken front, the girls discovered that one of our Lavender Orpington girls was injured. One of her legs seems broken. The initial shock was followed by much internet searching and they figure out that it might be a genetic condition called twisted leg. She seems to be able to get herself to the feeders and is as plump as the other hens. We’ve put her in a different stall with a few friends for company. She is doing well with the silkies.
On the gardening front, I borrowed a tiller and ploughed some land. Not enough. I need to do an hour of ploughing a day if I want to return the machine anytime soon! But there is life in the beds I seeded. Lots of radishes for sure. Some of the pole beans and peas and also showing up. Oh and let’s not forget the weeds! I haven’t started the weeding process and am not mulching yet this year. Time is just not on my side.
Potatoes peeking through 
Kohlrabi, radishes and so much more
As I write this blog, I am counting down the minutes before I have to get ready for work. Luckily, I start later than most, but I have already painted a huge mirror and a side table, finished the fence frame with the girls and drove Lizzie off to a grad week thing. Now I need to shower and get going. Oh, and I jogged around the horse track! All in all a good morning. No wonder I sleep so well come night time!
Tonight I should be home early enough to get the lawn tractor out and mow the track. The vegetation that grows there is a mixture of spiky, grasses, and moss. It makes for a very wet run in the morning. My shoes don’t have time to dry from one morning to the next!
A spiky, mossy, grassy track 
But a beautiful view to run by
But the land is beautiful. Every day, every walk, shows me a new thing that makes this my paradise. The previous owner obviously had a passion for flower beds. There are a multitude of them scattered around the place. Look around any tree, rock or any dip in the land, there will be a flower bed. So even though I managed to clean the ones around the house, I haven’t touched anything else. But I will make time. They are too beautiful to let grow wild.
Another week done. We are getting into a groove. Our skin is darkening, calluses are thickening, stamina is improving. It’s a good life.
Unruffled Farms 