Tackling the List

If you know me in real life, you know that I love a good list, and I love it even more when I am able to mark completed tasks off of the list :)  We have had productive days here at the homestead, and have been able to mark some things from the to-do list.  Hooray!

Nathaniel has finished up the new home for the pups.  Patti and GiddyUp are not sure about this new house because it is outside.  They much prefer to stay inside the house...spoiled pups already!

Nathaniel had a special little helper for the doghouse project.  Isn't Levi adorable in his protective eye gear?

Here is a new picture of the puppies...they are growing like weeds and eating so much!  They are fun...most of the time ;)

 GiddyUp

CowPatti

This last weekend we also tackled setting the poles for my new clothesline.  It was one of the things I have had at the top of the list, so I am thrilled we are making progress.  There is something wonderful about clothes dried outside on the line, especially in the country spring air.  It certainly helps lower electric costs when I don't have to run the clothes dryer for hours every day.  I cannot wait to get the clothesline finished, but until then, I am so thankful for the progress we have made.  It should only be a few more days before we are able to finish, and I will be putting them to good use.

My dad, being the super talented guy that he is, made my clothesline poles.  We had to start by digging holes between 2 1/2 and 3 feet deep.  That doesn't sound like much, but man o man, my arms are sore!  We used the manual post-hole digger, which made things lots easier, but it was still hard work!

Here is a picture of the hole with the pole propped up inside.

Here is the pole on the North end of the yard.

And the one on the South end.

Once the concrete is cured, we will be able to attach the clothesline, and start nature-drying the laundry!  Woohoo!


It is also that time of year.  What time?  Well garden planning time.  It is time to start prepping the garden beds, gathering seeds, starting plants indoors, and even doing some early planting.  I am so excited about our garden this year.  We are planting it in the same spot my grandparents used for years and years and years, and also where my sister had her garden when she lived here.  It is the perfect spot, with lots of rich and fertile sandy soil, excellent for growing veggies to eat.

I have been prepping my seeds, making files and lists and spreadsheets so I will know what plants make good companions, and which ones do not.  This will help me as I put together a 'floorplan' for the garden, and decide what I want to plant where.

Here is a picture of the beginning of my seed files.  Each type of seed has a pocket folder, and I store all of them together for easy access.

We have spent some long days outdoors prepping our garden beds as well.  Here is a picture of my dad tilling it for us.  He is a lifesaver with that tractor, and all of the many attachments he has for it.  I'm so glad I didn't have to hand till our HUGE garden spot!

Our front garden bed.

It is time to begin planting some too!  We have put in one row of onions, and will probably add another long row of onions as well.  Here are the onion starters I bought and put out.

 

Natalie was super helpful in getting the onions in the ground.

I also plan to start some of my own onions from seed, and we will add those in soon as well.


Next to our garden is a large evergreen tree...a pine tree.  I knew it would make a great place for a small seating area, so today, while Nathaniel was at work, I decided to tackle it myself!  And tackle it I did :)

Here is a picture of the before...mainly weeds and pine-cones that have fallen from the tree.

First I used a rake to remove all of the loose debris.  What a pain!  Then I decided to utilize all of the moving boxes we had left over from our move, so I cut those apart and spread them around in the shape I wanted.

Once the boxes were in place, I had the kids help me bring over all of the large sandstone rcks we had, and we lined them up making a perimeter for our garden seating area.

With the rock border in place, we filled the inside with mulch...back-breaking work!

And here it is, all set up with an old spool table, a rocking chair, and a cutesy tray and teapot with flowers.  Whats a seating area if I cannot make it cutesy! :)

I know that we will be able to spend many hours here this summer, enjoying the sunrises/sunsets and watching the fruits of our labor grow in the garden.  All I will need is a Caffeine Free Diet Coke, and I will be a super happy girl out there!

In other news, we completed the chicken tractor, and have moved it to the backyard for a trial run with the baby chicks...well, they aren't really babies anymore!  They have probably tripled in size already, and from what we know of the breed, they are going to be HUGE, as in 12 pound birds!  Yikes!

Here are a couple of pictures of the girls out on the 'pasture', or in this case right now, the yard.  We will give them a few more days in the yard, and then they are getting the boot!  They will go out in the real pasture to range around, scratch and peck, and enjoy life in the farm!  These girls have lived the good life so far, so they had better be preparing to provide some fantastic eggs for us in the spring!

Oh, the joys of farm living!  It truly is a blessing to be out here, living our dreams, creating a sustainable life for ourselves.  While the work is plentiful, God is blessing us beyond our wildest imagination, and we are so thankful!