Retrospective: The Kitchen Loft

 Remarkably, the earliest photo we have of the kitchen loft's southwest corner

 The same spot, with the old siding stripped off and the SIPs going up

 The old barn floor has been repurposed as the support for the kitchen loft

 Up on the kitchen loft, you can see the old barn floor in its new place

Now the timber railing posts have been added along with furring strips that will support the future cherry floor

 The kitchen loft today, with temporary 2 x 4 railing

 The kitchen loft, with reused barn floor, facing south

 The same spot, with cherry floor going in

 The kitchen loft today is now a niece's paradise

An early kitchen loft photo, facing north

 With the cherry floor and spiral staircase in

 The ultimate kids playroom

Retrospective: The Northeast Corner (Kattrina and Brian's room)

 The old woodworking shop, which was present prior to the renovation

 After the initial clean-out

The old floor has been ripped out so that the new subfloor can be installed

   The new subfloor is down and the building has been stripped to its bare timbers

 The wall panels and windows have been installed, as has the framing between bedrooms

 Home sweet home

The Gilded Cage

   Our spring mornings feature mountains caressed by ribbons of fog and mist

We moved the chicks out of the stiflingly small closet and into a larger cage in the great room

 They now have more than enough room to grow

 Two gold laced wyandottes and a buff orpington dine together

 

 This orpington has yet to fully differentiate between eating and roosting

 Later in the day, she figures it out

Garden Of Eatin'

We planted the first of the from-seed vegetables that we have had in the greenhouse since mid-February out into the garden to keep the lonely shallots company, namely broccoli and cabbage. We are practicing organic companion gardening this year, so we are planting flora that either attracts beneficial insects or drives away destructive insects and pests along with our veggies.  

We have planted calendula with the cabbages and the broccoli was paired with sweet allysum, parsley, marigolds and asters. We also scattered some lettuce seeds under the shaded northern side of some nasturtium plants and planted some sugar snap peas and Amish nuttle beans.

Which To Eat First, The Chicken or the Egg?

On Tuesday, we got a call from the Auburn post office informing us that our baby chicks had arrived. We didn't know exactly when they would be coming, so we had to scramble a bit, but soon enough our ears were picking up the cheeps of little chicks as we brought them to their new home.

We had ordered 15 chicks: 5 buff orpington pullets, 5 gold-laced wyandotte pullets and a mixed group of 5 speckled sussexes. Susseces? The hatchery had sent 2 extra chicks with the 15 ordered to account for loss in transit, and it was a good thing as one chick was dead in the box and another one was so far gone that it had to be euthanized; the rest were happy and healthy, bright eyed chicks. 

We set the chicks up in a large plastic container in the closet under the stairs to protect them from wandering feline and canine mouths. They worship the mystical 250 watt red light bulb in the sky that gives them life sustaining heat of plus or minus exactly 98°F. We started them out with a few sheets of paper towels as bedding with their chick starter feed sprinkled onto it for ease of discovery and even added a bit of sugar to their plus or minus exactly 98°F water to get them off to a good start.

Yesterday, we began omitting the sugar from their water, switched them from paper towel bedding to pine shavings and started feeding them with a chick feeder rather than simply sprinkling their food. We have been adjusting the heat lamp to get the right temperature, but it seems as though the closet they are in is too enclosed and they may require more ventilation; we will likely need to figure out a different enclosure. In the meantime, we get to watch the fuzzy little chicks run around in circles and figure out the world. Next stop, feathers.

Springtime and Wild Edibles

 A morning fog heralds the arrival of spring

 The grass is getting greener and plants are beginning to emerge

The maple trees are beginning to get their leaves

 We harvested this garlic mustard from the front yard. The leaves are slightly bitter and taste like garlic, while the roots are like a mild horseradish

 This field garlic tastes somewhere between an onion and garlic

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

 Max the bunny says happy easter!

The kids make preparations for the impending candy tsunami

Arboreal Annihilation

We removed some dead apple trees and unwanted walnuts to make room for a much nicer white or scarlet oak.  We also began the process of clearing out the bank along the driveway of walnut saplings, sticker bushes and villainous underbrush. 

With the apple removed,  it's time to pacify some walnuts

Heavy equipment makes short work of the trees 

Clean-up is a snap thanks to the trunk of the iron elephant

The corpse of a copse

Before the bank was cleared 

The mostly cleared bank 

The greenhouse is getting greener

Retrospective: The Southeast Corner

The old granary, as of September 2007

The granary and old floor have been removed and replaced with a new subfloor

The old siding has been removed, exposing the skeleton of the barn

The insulated wall panels have been installed and the pellet stove dry-fitted in place 

The finished product 

Signs Of Spring

The trees are budding, the geese are flying and the mud is thick; Spring is almost here.  When the robins show up and the crocus pops out, we'll be golden.

The sludge has waxed as the snow has waned

Broccoli, cabbage, leeks, celery and chiles have been started for the garden.  Many more seeds await.

The great room

Looking up in the great room. 

The southeast corner of the great room, with pellet stove and plumeria.