I always seem to dread going out to survey the damage after the storms have passed, but this time, I knew exactly what to expect when I walked out into the yard. I knew some branches had fallen because I heard them fall, but they were much smaller than expected. We lost two shutters thanks to 70 mph wind gusts. Thankfully, everything that starts to blow away ends up against the barbed wire fencing. We knew they were going to come off because of the sound they were making during the storm. It sounded like someone was banging on the side of the house. They will be bolted back on this weekend.
I will also be creating an Instagram account because I still have no idea how to post photos within a post, but I am very familiar with Instagram. It’s also much faster to post a bunch of photos to Instagram than it is to post a single photo as a header here. I will eventually figure this all out. Once I get the Instagram account up and running, I will post a link on the blog as well as in a post.
Now, for the updates. Hubby was extremely helpful this week and cut 1 inch square piping before welding it together to form a frame for my barrel compost tumbler. He will strengthen up the handful of tack welds that are not completely welded this weekend while also helping me to finish the chicken coop.
This is the process of the support beams being set up. I burn easily so hubby made sure I stayed put of the sun as much as possible. I was still sunburned.
I swear that man has the patience of a saint when it comes to me and my ridiculous mistakes. The first part of the chicken coop was to sink the support posts three feet into the Oklahoma clay. I dug four, 3 ft holes, but once I started digging, my measurements were no longer accurate I also did not account for the slight sloping and dug each hole exactly the same depth. So, I had a very uneven square and my posts weren’t level. He had to sit down he was laughing so hard. I never once claimed to be good at building. When he handed me a saw to cut the barrel for the compost tumbler, he had a good giggle once again because I cannot cut a straight line with a saw for the life of me, but the cuts lined up and the door works just fine. He will be cutting all of the wood once we finish the chicken coop because I can’t cut a straight line. (Omg I figured out how to put a picture in the post.) Here’s my compost tumbler.
He was impressed that I was able to determine just how much plywood I needed for this project because I only had a photograph to go off of. No instructions, no blueprints, no designs, just a picture. He double checked my supplies after the posts were correctly spaced and asked me how I figured it out since I am terrible at math. I laughed and explained that I just guessed. As I said, patience of a saint when it comes to me.
We will be ordering chicks from a hatchery by mail because friends have had terrible experiences with the local Tractor Supply and Atwoods (feed and farm stores) chicks being extremely ill or dying shortly after bringing them home. So, we are taking the recommendation for a hatchery from close friends who also homestead. They recommended McMurray Hatchery. I will have the chicks arrive during his vacation time because I am not allowed to drive. Live chicks shipped by mail need to be picked up immediately and having him home makes that so much easier to accomplish. I still have not chosen a breed, but that will be based on what they have available during that time frame. I only have one particular thing I want, which is no white eggs.
We are still debating getting calves this year since the horses we have been boarding for about a year are leaving this weekend. (Their owner fell in love with our property and bought 20 acres not far from us.) He doesn’t even own a lawnmower and bought 20 acres. Sounds like us when we bought our property. We had a push mower. (It was a nightmare those first few months.)
I’m not one to go back and delete an entire post because I figured out how to do something. Instead, I will keep a record of when I learned how to do it. Speaking of horses, the boys were very excited about keeping me company as I made my crooked square of posts.
I will definitely miss them greeting me each day, but we won’t be buying horses. Neither of us can ride due to medical issues and the kiddos don’t particularly like horses. We may board horses again, but for now, letting the pasture be wild for a bit is fine with us.
I will continue to post updates until the chicken coop is completely built and then it will be mass amounts of baby pictures of the new chicks. I am so impatient. I want them now, but I also want their coop completely built before they come home. That way, I don’t have the stress of getting it done as they grow.
Until next time…
The Homestead on the Plains 