The Garden Rules

Many people have asked me how I manage to have fairly decent flower gardens and still let the chickens free range around the yard.  Most people would expect the chickens to scratch up and trample on everything, and to some extent they are correct, but you can have both if you follow a few rules..

One of the main strategies is that I don't mulch anywhere I wouldn't want the chickens to scratch.  Of course, they are still going to scratch even bare dirt some, but putting down mulch of any kind is the exact same thing as putting a person in a room full of bubblewrap.  They go wild.  Can't help themselves.  Chickens are absolutely sure that that next few inches of mulch is harboring a motherload of tasty bugs and by God they are going to fling that stuff everywhere until they find it.  You simply don't go there.  You will never win.

You can mulch with stone, but it better be heavier than pea gravel and hard pine cones work pretty good but are not absolute.  My strategy is to just plant things close enough that the foliage serves as mulch, or use a non-invasive ground cover in between plantings.  I also mainly use sturdy plants, such as iris, lilies, echinacea, mums, peonies and so on.  The girls will make little trails through the beds but the flowing foliage of such plants usually hide them.

                           

 I have also included a number of flowering shrubs with arching habits as these serve as hide-aways for the girls when the hawks are out.  And they are sturdy enough that the hens can't hurt them.

When I plant something new I always lay some small stones around the plant for a couple of weeks because the newly turned soil is an open invitation to scratching!  They can no more resist that than they can the mulch. 

If you insist on growing something that tends towards the delicate I would recommend putting it in a pot and then mulching the pot with stone.  My girls have shown no inclination to eat my flowers; but for some bizarre reason they love to eat the perlite and fertilizer pellets that come with potted plants, so be aware of that.  If I'm planting something that has arrived with commercial soil I always throw a couple of inches of my plain dirt over that stuff so the chickens can't see the "goodies" in the potting mix.

The vegetable garden is another matter entirely because they will happily eat most anything you have planted there in addition to scratching everything up.  Now, you all know I have my garden fenced, which is mandatory, and a couple of runs available for the girls depending on the season and age of groups.  This did take a bit of work to build, and is much more than what most people would be willing to do, but it works great for us and we didn't mind doing it.  The runs come off the coop at a right angle and run alongside the main garden.  Their main run is solely for the chickens but the other one, which includes the Goober Chicken Memorial Pen, is divided in two and can serve as a bittie pen or a larger run for adult chickens, mainly if we separate pullets or roosters.  The larger section of this run can also be garden and this is where I have planted my winter crops this year.  I sold George last weekend so I knew this run would be empty and just the right size since we don't plant near as much in the colder months.

This allows me to let the girls use the main garden now that the warm weather crops are gone.  It's very handy to keep them in here on days when we need to leave before sundown or if there is only one of us here and that person needs to run into town for a minute.  You can see the black gate in the back that goes into their main run and coop.  Chickens are very much creatures of habit and if you disturb one of their beloved daily rituals, like getting out into the yard, they will get their cranky pants on in a hurry, so this is sort of a happy medium with them.  Big enough that they feel they are "outside" but still safe from most predators and at the end of the day they go straight back to the coop without us having to worry if they all got in before dark.

By the time winter is over they have picked the garden pretty clean of bugs and larvae and fertilized it all over, even working in into the soil with their scratching.  The only thing I don't like is that they have decided that underneath the blueberry bushes is the best spot to dust bathe and have dug huge holes there.  I may have to fence off the fruit bushes for that reason but that would not be terribly hard to do just for the winter. 

No More No Less

My photo mojo has just abandoned me these past few weeks so I'm going to have to rely on an old pic for today's post.  I was trying to capture a similar look while out on my early morning walk with Chigger today but I had waited too late; the sun was too high and the mists we've been having had mostly dissipated.

At any rate, this is going to be a shorter post, I think.  I just wanted to share a link to a site that I thought some of you, who are on the minimalist wagon with me, might enjoy if you didn't already know about it.  I've been reading posts on Becoming Minimalist for some time now and have really enjoyed what I have found.  And if you are not sure about living a life based on reduced consumerism, this site might help explain what it's all about.  Most people just assume that minimalism means doing without- most everything.  But that's simply not true.  It simply means reserving your hard earned money and time for the items and people in your life that are truly important, not things that our misbegotten society tells you is important.  Some of the statistics that he provides on just how far our western society has fallen down the greed hole is truly mind-boggling.  It is scary really, how much our media controls our minds and impulses, and ultimately, our pocketbook.

Now, unless you are some self-sufficient super person, we all have to buy some goods, and that's okay.  In fact, after I finish this and a few other chores I'm off to town to buy some groceries!  And I'll most likely treat myself to a nice lunch since it will be an all day trip. But the key here is that because I do not indulge in "sport shopping" as I like to call it, for crap I have absolutely no true use for, I can afford to have a nice day off from my regular jobs with a nice lunch while I stock us back up on a few things and run some other needed errands.

I'll try to write a little more about my minimalist practices later but in the meantime check out the site.  The articles are very well written and include everything from not buying so much, to decluttering what you have (something most people want to do), to just making more time for yourself.  I think it has a little something for anybody that wants to live a more conscious life.

Now, I'm off to clean the chicken coop and get all the critters ready for my day out!

When You're Alone

                                                                    

 I've spent a great deal of my life living alone, so really, it's a comfortable feeling to me.  Like that favorite old sweater that's worn enough that you don't mind spilling something on it. I guess a lot of it is just what you get used to though.

I've also found that this time has something of a meditative quality to it.  Maybe it's because my body is forcing me to move at a slower pace, I don't know, but it's not a bad feeling.  Or maybe I'm just trying to come to grips with the constant pain.  Either way I've been enjoying myself to a great extent.  

It's a new thing to me to have to get out there and let the girls out, get everybody their breakfasts and tend things during the day.  I like being able to just take my time doing chores and in the order I feel like.

Because of the rural area where we live I can go days without speaking to another human, if I try and I think that lends to the Zen quality of things.  Of course, I talk to the girls.  I mean, who wouldn't?  And they are very chatty themselves.  Sometimes I know what they are telling me and sometimes I just go along pretending.  Chigger and I go for several walks each day now that it has gotten so much cooler.  To be a short-haired dog the hot weather really seems to bother her.  But let it turn cool and she is a puppy again.

I had hoped to do some work in the kitchen but not sure that I'm going to get to that.  I am doing some fall cleaning before the house is snugged up for winter.

I finally got a few things planted in the garden yesterday and am using a new system this year, which I'll show ya'll soon.

Well, my brain is sluggish today so that's all I can come up with right now.  I hope you all are enjoying some of this fabulous autumn weather like we are having.  Anybody else do a fall cleaning as opposed to or in addition to spring cleaning??

Walking On Sunshine

The weather has just been SO gorgeous here the past week.  If I were not so drugged on pain medication I would really be tearing my hair out about now to hit the road to somewhere, anywhere.  Even in my fog it pulls at me terribly.  I settled by taking Chigger for a short hike around the place.

Well, not exactly around the place.  That would take a while.  We just hiked up the ridge about halfway and took a deer trail over to where several large trees were downed by a storm.

Anyway, it was something to keep me from sitting down for a while.  The Birmingham Botanical Gardens is having their biannual plant sale this weekend and I really wanted to go to that but just did not feel like driving that far.  Don't really have extra cash for plants anyway.

I thought it was amazing that this tree got this big all the while being that hollow!  All things endure.

Why is it we get the wanderlust when we are least able to indulge it?  Or, at least I do.  Maybe it's a good lesson for me for when I am able-bodied again....lol!

Funny How Time Slips Away

Well, earlier today I had come up with a topic I wanted to post about, and had even half written the post in my head, and now I can't remember most any of it...Funny how thoughts slip away too.  I've read that chronic pain can cause immense bodily and mental fatigue, and that would explain a lot!  Then again, maybe I'm just getting old!  Nah!  I'm not old.  I just got here yesterday!  Or so it seems sometimes.
Once again it is the fall season and I can't believe summer is over.  I do know one thing; the older I get the more I dread cold weather.  And I don't even live where it really gets cold, although last winter was fairly stout.  The girls are loving the falling leaves though, as you can see above.  I actually planted a shrub and a few daylilies that had been sitting on the deck for ever, so ZuZu was just ecstatic.  I could barely plant anything for her jumping in the hole or on the shovels full of dirt as I was trying to move them.  She's a sweetheart though.

Here is Chigger in her vigilant watchdog pose.  She's actually pretty alert most of the time but the warm sun on a cool day and the fact she had spent most of the night barking at deer finally got the best of her.  She was out like a light.

Heddy (on the left) was kinda put out that the older hens ran her off from the Feather Fixer grub.  Not all of them like that stuff but the ones that do go after it like it's chicken candy.  Bertha slurps it down so fast I kinda have to watch her and make sure she lets some of the other hens have some.  I think she's got a major addiction going on.  But, if they are that needy of protein and it makes them feel good I'll go get some more.

Things are slowly changing around her for fall and I've noticed a bunch of these mushrooms all over the place.  I believe this is a turkey tail mushroom but you can correct me if I'm wrong.  This one was probably about 8 inches across.

So, some of you may have noticed I changed a few things on the blog.  I did delete the pottery page because I just am not producing crap right now.  Not that anybody orders anything from this site but just in case.  Some days I hurt so bad I can barely sit down at all.  I'll even eat breakfast and lunch standing up.  And then some days I can sit for a while and I'm okay.  Still hurts but not as bad.  So, it makes it a devil of a time to sit and throw most days.  I got another restoration job so I've been making more money in that area anyway.  I've been thinking I may just take a break from pottery for a little while.  I have come up with a couple of new glazes I like but other than that I'm just not feeling very inspired in that area right now.  It's been my experience that when you get like that to not try to force it.  Just go off and work on something else for a while and I have a list of other things I need to do.
Basically I've just been biding my time and trying not to hurt so much.  Waiting for this next MRI and hoping and praying that it shows something and they can fix it.  Who knows?  I've got to find a solution somewhere though.
Well, the bed is calling me so I'm gonna wrap this up now.  Need to stand up anyway!  Hope you all are doing well.

Summer's End

Well, there's not been a tremendous amount of things going on around here but I have managed to keep consistently busy for the past couple of weeks.  I've been hurting pretty badly during this time also, so I haven't even tried to do any pottery.  I did do a little welding for a small repair job, which was fun, but I paid for it that evening.  I figured standing up and working would be better than sitting down and working but I guess I was bent over just enough and could barely move by the time I was finished.  So, most of my time has just been spent cleaning up around the place, cleaning the garden up (as you see here) and cleaning and purging the house.  That in itself has made me feel better.

The girls were a big help in the garden.  We had a few days where we were going to leave in the afternoon, well before they like to go inside, so rather than risk not being able to get them all back in when we needed to go, we just opened the gate from their run into the garden.  I'm so glad we built their run next to the garden with that gate because it has been very handy at times.  Of course, during the summer months we can't let them in there but in the fall and winter there are many times when we can and so they have an expanded area on days when they can't go out in the yard for one reason or another.  The big fig trees in there are good coverage for them too.  If they are under there I can't even see them without digging!  Or they can just run back into their covered run and coop.
Anyway, they really had a good time going through the garden after I had pulled up all the plants I wanted to discard.  I kept a few tomatoes that were still producing a little and the cayenne peppers are still going strong.  Despite those peppers being red the girls don't bother them! Haha!  I find very few grubs in the garden anymore since letting the girls in every so often throughout the year.  And of course, they fertilize as they go!

Susie was trying to decide which of my beautiful marigolds she wanted to trample upon.  They actually left them alone but goofy George, with his gimpy foot, managed to mangle 1 or 2 of the plants.  That's okay though.  The marigolds had gotten so large they had split anyway and were flopped over.

Here Susie is making a last minute inspection to see if I accidentally threw anything away she might want.  They are terribly curious about wheelbarrows and always go through them if you have anything in them.
I also harvested some herbs before the frost gets them and a bucket load of cayenne peppers to dry.  I took my time about doing this cleanup though and enjoyed it, despite having to do much of it on my hands and knees or sprawled out on my hip.  Bending over and sitting much are pretty much out of the question at this point.
I did go last week to see the BFD (big, fancy doctor) again and he has scheduled a MRI on the 20th of this month of my lower spine.  I am very anxious to get that done and see what comes of it.  Until then I skooch along on the ground and walk around a lot.  Ha!  I have developed a bit more enthusiasm for some actual building projects around here but my body is just not cooperating at this point.  So, I do what I can.

The mums are blooming here and there but other than that the flower beds are pretty drab.  The goldfinches were having a blast with a lot of the old seed heads so I always leave them.
The leaves are just barely starting to turn here now and I heard we are supposed to have a colorful fall this year.  How they can tell I have no idea but we'll see.  It was well into the 80s this week but next week is supposed to cool off considerably.
Has fall arrived where you are (or spring?) or are you still stuck in Indian summer?

Bare Naked Ladies

Actually, I fudged a bit on this post title.  The ladies are not totally bare naked and that is, of course, a music group and not a song title, but hey, after 7 years of blogging I'm allowed a cheat every so often!  In fact, after 7 years I should just throw up a variety of photos and let ya'll try to guess what's going on!  But, I would not do my dear readers that way.  Anywhoo, I had mentioned before that the girls were going through their annual molt and it's a real doozy this time.  The girls would be truly scandalized if they knew I were sharing their nakedness with the whole world but since they have not yet learned the ways of the Internets (at least I don't think) I think we are safe to snicker a little at their ragged accouterments.

After observing chickens go through molt over a few years, no one will ever be able to convince me that they, or any animal, does not have an awareness of self.  They know they all resemble the remnants of a major pillow fight and scoot around in the bushes or hide under the deck most of the day.  There's no strutting going on amongst the afflicted right now I'll tell ya.  The photo above of Marlena is actually about a week old and she is really looking bedraggled at this point.  That big beautiful tail she had is completely gone.  Only a few little wispy tufts blowing in the breeze back there.

Every morning I sweep the lost feathers out of the hen house and they have almost carpeted the big run.  I think I almost could have filled one big pillow with what they have put off this year.

Missy is quite distraught over the whole thing and coupled with the fact we are letting George out with them now she goes about in a constant state of grumpy.  If you look close you can see she is getting back the smallest stub of a new tail though, so hopefully she is on the upswing now.

 They all appear to have had a run-in with the business end of a weed-eater but I think it shows up worse on Marilyn since she is all white.  She's always been kind of uppity anyway so the other hens are probably rubbing it in.  You know, I just noticed, it's funny how she has bright pink skin everywhere but has those blue feet!  Like she's wearing knee socks.  Ha!

 Now, Ms. BeaBea has gone completely through her molt and is now sporting a fresh, clean set of feathers in her customized black stripes.  Something of which Marlena may be jealous as she kept trying to photobomb her and partially succeeded with this one.
To help the girls hurry on through their change I usually up their protein intake a bit.  You can use any kind of natural protein like more oats, cooked eggs, organic soy in addition to throwing them a handful of good, dry catfood each day or mealworms.  This year I bought a new product called Feather Fixer that I found at Tractor Supply.  It was like an 8 or 10 lb. bag for $6 so it was pretty affordable and I thought, what the heck...worth a try.  It says to use it as their only food source but I just put a bowl of it out every day up near the house where they hang out and let them eat it when they want it.  We keep layer mix available in the hen house too and I do have a few hens still laying who are not molting..

So, in other news, Big George hurt his foot really bad about a week ago so he had to stay in the little run for a while until we were sure he could manage the yard on one foot.  We have no idea what he did to hurt it or even what he hurt exactly.  We have examined him several times and can find no cuts, no punctures, nothing to indicate what happened.  He just hops around on one foot like so.

I have no idea what to do to help him, other than keeping him up for a few days, and we gave him a baby aspirin for a couple of days in case he was in pain.  He is improving now and will let his foot touch the ground at least, putting a little bit of weight on it.  He has also resumed his pursuits of the girls but he's not much of a threat to them in this condition.  They have no sympathy for him either!  He still gets the crap kicked or bit out of him.  Poor feller.  I almost feel kinda sorry for him but the girls don't need him jumping on them right now anyway, in their "delicate" conditions!  If he gets use of his foot back before they all get their new feathers he may be spending some long days alone in the Goober Chicken Memorial Pen.  Big T and Pumpkin haven't forgotten him though and when he is confined they take breaks during the day to come sit next to the fence with him and chat.  I though that was sweet and George seems to appreciate it too.  He'll always lay next to them on the other side.

Easy For You To Say

This post is a milestone of sorts, well, maybe that's not the right word, haha!.  The completion of a goal maybe.  This post contains the last word in the "word" post series and I saved the hardest for last!  Leave it to Woody to give me such a difficult word but I think he was trying to make a not-so-subtle point with the word, floccinaucinihilipilification: the act or habit of estimating something as worthless.  Yes, I had to look it up.
At the time I asked for the word contributions I had been kinda down on my blog, or my writing, for some time.  Making excuses and just generally whining about how the blog wasn't any good anymore.  Not that it was ever great but you know...When I got sick last year (or whatever it was that happened), I'll admit that I fell into quite a funk.  As if ya'll couldn't tell.  I wallowed in the uncertainty of what was happening to me and, at times, I just flat out hurt so bad I couldn't think straight, much less write something decent.  I let it get to me.
 My whole purpose with this blog had been to try to encourage a few people to try a few things that maybe they thought they couldn't do or were not sure about.  A few DIY projects, a garden, or heck, maybe even a house and have some fun in the process.  To share a bit of my crazy life so that other people might feel they were not such an oddball after all for not wanting the 'normal', 2-car garage life.  Oh, I've never been under the delusion that it was ever any more than a little meeting place for a few folks that sometimes feel like square pegs in a round hole or others that just like chickens and gardening.  There are no publishers beating a path to my door.  But we had some fun and laughs and maybe we learned some new things along the way or shared some inspiration.  It didn't help that my downtime just happened to correspond with what seemed to be a widespread loss of interest in blogs in the realm of social media.  I watched a lot of my long time readers fade away.  But of all the years my blog has been up and running I have felt like some people really got something out of it.  Sometimes it was technical information, sometimes just a friendship.  But it was all good. 
And then I lost it.  Or felt like I did.  See, I've never really gone the traditional route in life.  Got an art degree instead of something "useful".  Worked in construction for 20 years in a time where only 2% of tradespeople are female.  Never had kids, or wanted to.  I've basically been a free spirit my whole life and only recently settled down to some extent.  That kind of life leads to a lot of scrutinizing by outsiders.  Lot of them waiting for you to mess up so they can say 'I told you so'.  If you are the only woman on a job of 100 men you better as hell know how to work and make a showing, as they say and this blog was no different to me.  I needed to produce a good product.  I needed to offer my readers some meat, a full meal, and last year and even some of this year I felt like I was just throwing some lukewarm leftovers your way and I felt bad about it.  I know a lot of people really enjoyed the building posts and such, and considering how many horribly misleading construction blogs that are out there, I enjoyed doing those posts too.  Not that I consider myself any great expert!!  But I do know building codes at least and have many years of actual commercial experience.  I mean, my whole blog was built around the premise of me building a house and then wham!  I'm not building it anymore.  That sucks! 
Some of you may have noticed that I have been writing just a tad more lately.  It's not that I'm feeling particularly better...its more that maybe things have just rotated.  Not as much brain fog as before but a whole lot more physical pain.  I have however, found that you either adjust to such things that life throws at you or you just give up.  I don't like to give up.  I am a stubborn ass if nothing else.  So, I am trying to adjust the blog and my attitude.  And really, no one ever knows what is going to happen when they start some project like a house or homestead or even a new job.  There is never any guarantee on anything so I think my blog is still true to it's original intent.  I'm still a life in progress.  I will finish my house despite what some folks like to tell me.  I have always found a way.  I will find out what is causing me so much physical misery and I will get over it.  Or I will adapt to that too.  I hope that you will continue on the journey with me.

Mystery To Me

I have a little bit of a different post for all you dear readers today.  A bit of a Pabloesque mystery to help me solve.  Now, in my daydream world, if I were to decide not to be a counterfeiter, my next choice would be a detective or private investigator.  In fact, if it were not for the fact that you have to go all through police academy and actually work for a time on patrol, I might have seriously considered being a detective in real life.  I'm not much on reading most fiction, preferring technical or how-to books, but I love whodunits and any sort of unexplained phenomena.
So, here is my little mystery....Nothing earth-shattering for sure but a bit curious, to me anyway.  At the road end of my drive, near my mailbox, is one of the largest sycamore trees I have ever seen.  It towers well above the surrounding trees in the canopy and the circumference of it's trunk must be 10-12 feet.  A smaller red maple grows under it and both are a favorite of the local squirrels.  Chigger and I were out for our daily stroll to get the mail and as we approached the gate near the mailbox I noticed something seemed amiss.  Looking over underneath the giant sycamore I saw this:  (you may need to enlarge the photo to really see)

The bright green maple leaves from a newly broken limb caught my eye first.  We had not had any recent winds strong enough to blow that down and the leaves were quite crisp and fresh.  It had to have been very recent.  Patches of a blackish, powdery substances were splattered all about and blending into the gravel just a bit was the fresh body a young squirrel.  It looked as though he had fallen from a considerable height.

My first thought when I saw the blackish stuff was that some passing redneck had spit out his dip but as I looked around I realized it was a very, very large amount.  I seriously doubt that even the big-mouthed knuckle-draggers I know could hold that much Skoal.  Plus, there was no Skoal odor.  Perhaps some type of tree rust or mold?

Upon inspecting the small limb it appeared that the broken end had actually been gnawed.  The marking were very similar to the large teeth marks that beavers make when cutting trees.  It was like that but in miniature.  So, gnawed branch, flat squirrel, black junk.  My brain tumbled it all around for a few minutes while Chigger proceeded to sniff everything but she was careful not to disturb the evidence.
I returned to the house to get my camera. I concluded it had to be one of a couple of scenarios.  A. the little squirrel was being pursued by one of the local hawks and had broken a weak limb in it's scrambling to get away, falling to it's doom anyway.  But that didn't really explain why the end looked chewed or gnawed....And wouldn't a hawk have returned for it's prize?  Surely it would have seen the little squirrel laying there.  B. the little squirrel, lacking worldly wisdom, was simply on the wrong side of the limb it was chewing and essentially sawed itself into freefall.  But why would a squirrel gnaw on a tree limb?  Nuts I can see... and what about the black stuff?  I looked all around the large sycamore for any other sign of this black grunge but could not find any.  No other old decaying limbs anywhere that it might could have fallen out of.  After collecting my photos and evidence, and not wanting to see the hapless squirrel become anymore "messy" shall we say, I conveyed it's small body to a peaceful area of the forest to let nature finish it's process.
So, what do you think?  What was that black stuff and why was it splattered everywhere?

Double brownie points to any who can also tell me, off the top of your head, the band that the post title refers to.  One hint; this title is an album and not a specific song.

Autumn Changes

Happy Autumnal Equinox everybody!!  A little late maybe, depending on when you read this, but you get the idea.  Today was one of the very few first days of fall that actually felt like fall, in my recent memories.  In fact, the weather here the past few days has been gorgeous.  We've been enjoying not running the air and cooling the house by just opening the windows.
The weather has the animals feeling full of piss and vinegar too.  Mr. George has turned into a fine looking rooster and has been trying to put some moves on the ladies lately.  Mostly he has only succeeded in getting the crap bitten out of him.  The girls have been a long time without a male bossing them around and haven't cottoned to the idea of him doggin' them around, so to speak.  Can't say as I blame them.

Little T and Pumpkin are loving the free ranging too and are fitting in better with the main flock.  Not sure what is going to happen when Little T becomes Big T but I hope he and George can get along.  Little T is quite a character.  When he is out in the yard he is still sweet little T, loves to snuggle in your lap and get a good rubbing.  Come time to go to bed though he's like most youngsters....he does not like to go in.  In fact, when I go to pick him up and put him and Pumpkin in their little apartment, he will bite the living crap out of me!  He is serious!  He does not want to go to bed!  Fortunately, since he is still young, it doesn't really hurt.  Not yet anyway.  It's really kinda funny in a way.  I can just hear him saying, 'No Mama, I wanna stay out a little longer!  Imma big boy now!'

Several of the older girls are going through their fall molt so we are not getting a huge amount of eggs right now but that's okay.  A couple of our regular egg customers were so taken with the fresh eggs they ended up getting their own hens!  So, mainly we just give the extras to family and some friends.  I still sell a few dozen here and there.

And Pumpkin is getting to be a big girl too.  She is very sweet and the prettiest little thing.  I'm really not sure when she will start laying because I wasn't sure how old she was when we got her, but I suspect she will be another month or so off.

I finally managed to get a few photos of Susie sitting in my lap.  The young Buffs get very jealous when they see Susie or PeePee in my lap and usually rush over in mass to fuss and push them out.  In return, Susie and PeePee take any chance to bite the young 'uns when they are out in the yard.

Chigger gets a little jealous too sometimes but not often.  She is so good with the chickens.  I wouldn't say she is fond of them (Ramona was the only one that was kind of a buddy) but she knows it's her job to protect them.

So, that's the news with the critters.  The garden and flowers are not doing a whole lot right now, as with myself.  We are working on changing that however.  I'm going to take the opportunity during my next firing, when the studio is really too hot to work in there, to do a good clean up in the main garden and possibly get in a few greens for the winter.  Or at least get things cleaned up and put away.

I'm working on a few changes for myself also, at least for as much as the pain in my body will allow.  I've got to get back to working on the house and may relegate the weekends for that or maybe Friday through Sunday.  Secondly, I've got to start producing more work and income.  I feel my pottery has become rather stagnant in design, so I am working on finding some new glazes that I will be excited to work with and new designs.  I was always able to make a good living in construction and take care of myself but now, since that is not an options anymore, I've got to get my art work up to an acceptable level of income.  If I can come up with some designs I really like, and that show promise in sales, I may consider methods of producing on a larger scale.  Not to say the work would be mass produced but maybe not completely hand thrown.  It would still be all completely hand made though.  I have to consider the fact that I may not be able to always build every single part of the rest of the house and so to be able to hire out a few things would be nice.  Like maybe the roof on the other half.  I would like to finish this house before I turn 80 also.  So, I've got to get serious about this and quit screwing around.  I need a cohesive set of styles and colors that reflect my work as a whole.  As I've said before too, I'd like to expand a bit more into the restoration work also.  I don't really expect that to ever be a big deal but you never know.  One may work out better than the other and I enjoy both lines of work.  Or one may be my main job and then just do a little of the other on the side.  I guess I'm open to either as long as I can make a decent living with it and enjoy what I'm doing.

Any changes out your way?  Has Fall made an appearance yet?

Lightnin' Strikes

A couple of posts back I was mentioning the fact that we had not had any measurable rain in some time.  Shortly thereafter we started having a number of rain storms come through.  Some were just light showers but there were a few heavy downpours mixed in and we ended up getting a decent total of water.  Things are not nearly as crispy as they were.  The grass actually grew enough to need mowing and besides the creek still being a bit low, it doesn't seem now that we were ever that short of rain.  I don't know that it was enough to let us have a colorful fall this year, as many of the trees started dropping their leaves early, but perhaps it won't be too bad.
One night a thunderstorm came by us but not close enough that we got any actual rain.  I had been working late in the studio trying to get caught up from taking time out for the restoration job.  I was pretty much finished with what I wanted to do, so I turned out most of the lights and just sat in the open doorway watching the lightning from the storm off in the distance.  I had a little James Taylor and k.d. lang playing in the background and with the storm just close enough to still bring us the cool, stiff breezes, it was quite a sublime experience.
A lot of people don't like thunderstorms but I have always enjoyed them.  Other than their low pressure systems often bringing me some remarkable headaches, I find them quite enjoyable.  Some theories for this attribute the "high" many people feel around or after storms to the high levels of negative ions released by the lightning.  Same reason almost everyone enjoys going to the beach or vacationing in the mountains, especially around waterfalls and swift moving streams.  It's not just that these scenes are pretty, they release huge amounts of negative ions that work on our brains to produce a positive effect.  It's also why a nice, hot shower always makes you feel better. 

I don't particularly like high rise buildings, but I have speculated that being at the beach, a few floors up in a room with a balcony during a thunderstorm would be about as close to Nirvana as I could get.  lol!  It's something I'll have to work on!
I have especially enjoyed the storms this year around here though.  I guess because I have often felt so crappy and uninspired, the occasional storms and their mood-altering ions have been a most welcome lift and respite from my normal fog.  And yes, I have checked out the electronic ion generators that you can buy.  After a bit of research I also discovered that the compact florescent light bulbs that were being pushed so hard produce positive ions, which have just the opposite effect, often giving folks headaches and contributing to depression.  I know it may horrify some granolas but I have always been wary of the CFLs because of the mercury they contain.  Not so much during the use of the bulb but what happens to it if they are not disposed of correctly, and you know many of them are not.  I think that may also be why people people are opting for LED lights now.  At any rate, I switched out all my CFs and after a couple of weeks there may have been some reduction in the number of headaches I have.  I really want to build a cool water feature that contains a waterfall on the patio area behind the house also.  Nothing huge but still more than a couple of gallons.  Just have to keep the chickens from pooping all around it!  Maybe the back yard will eventually include a fence. Ha!
So, we'll see.  Not a tremendous amount of stuff going on around here but I'll try to be back with some photos and such before long.  Or maybe just some more rambling.  I hope everyone out there is doing well and enjoying whatever kind of weather you need at the moment.

Like It Never Happened

 Ya'll will have to excuse me for doin' a little braggin' but, since I had shown ya'll the beginnings of that restoration project, I wanted to show the final results as well.  I was quite pleased with the way things turned out.  The first image is a before and after collage of a couple of areas and then the finished pieces on the end.  The individual photos are just larger versions of those in the collage.

 I do have to admit though, unglazed ceramic is probably one of the easiest materials to repair.  The non-shiny surface is easily matched with paint and so repairs become virtually undetectable.  It still requires good attention to detail though.

This is the only restoration job I've ever done where the artist was still alive and I was able to communicate with them.  That was cool.  I emailed these images to Mr. Fleming with a little note and he replied with a very sweet response.  He said he was amazed at the quality of the repairs and forever grateful that I took the time to do such a good job.  That was really nice and I'm glad he seemed pleased.

The school also seemed very happy with the work and quickly accepted my second bid on another broken sculpture when I got it sent in.  This next one though is going to really test my mettle.  It's a large chunk of cast glass, something I've rarely worked on, and has to be done just so, or else the repair can be easily seen.

When I was still in construction I joked often that I could fix anything from a busted ass to a broken heart and there were a couple of times that I was really sweating bullets to pull some repairs off.  Ha!  But I always managed to do it.  This is gonna be one of those times too, I think.  But I enjoy it.  It's a challenge to restore these objects to their original appearance.  Jobs like this pay pretty good too and I think I may treat myself to one or two modern textbooks I found on restoration.  I have several books on the subject but most of them are quite old and many of the materials and techniques are not used anymore.  I may not be able to attend a school for restoration but I can certainly buy their books and keep myself up to date.

So, not much going on around the house right now.  We are trying to get the garden cleaned up for fall and maybe plant some stuff.  I am way, way behind on fall crops but I might get something before winter.  I hate to not have something growing at all times.  Even salad greens can add a good zip to meals.

The little Buff Orps are not so little anymore and we are letting them out into the yard now to try to get integrated with the big girls.  The youngsters are still pretty shy but they are doing good and really having a blast being out free-ranging.

We are finally getting some rain now so maybe I won't lose any of my dogwoods.  I've got to get my flower beds cleaned up too.  I've just let everything go to poop lately.  Oh well, needing to get everything cleaned up is just a good reason for me not to sit around, which is still incredibly painful to do.  Hopefully everything will be resolved by winter.
Hope things are cooling a little where you are.  I walked outside this morning and it was almost like fall.  I admit, I really hate to see summer go, but the cooler weather is delicious.

What's (S)he Building?

  Unbelievably enough, I'm actually still keeping up with the "word" posts that I started so very long ago and am down to only 2 words left on the list!  One word after this post because we are going to explore the word "architecture" for Rich, who wanted to know how I designed and built my house.  And as you may have guessed, yes, I saved the harder words for last!  Or I guess I should say, words that involved the most time and effort to elaborate on in a blog post and I really wanted to do this one as well as I could.  It's not going to involve all that I originally wanted to but I think it will be fairly complete.
  Now, as far as how I built my house, well, that's the majority of the blog and you can just pick what part you want to see over in the 'labels' column, i.e. foundation, framing, electrical and so on.  And for any newcomers, yes, I am a woman and yes, I built my house.  Of course I had help! or you could say I was the help in some cases as Allen was in charge of framing and such but I did the formwork, the steelwork and all the interior after it was dried in.  I even did a long post on how I saved for and financed the house, which is somewhere in finances.
  Now, as far as how I designed the house, well, I didn't.  Okay, I kinda started out doing it and knew sort of the footprint I wanted but you all know by now that the BFA (big, fancy architect) had a big part in the design of the house.  I did use The New Natural House Book by David Pearson and The Solar House by Daniel Chiras for technical information on passive solar heating and cooling, correct placement of windows and all that and just general inspiration for a naturally built house and I highly recommend both books if you are interested in doing something similar.  I would also recommend any of Sarah Susanka's Not So Big House series for the sensible, actually livable designs and beautifully crafted houses she spotlights.
  So, I admit flat out I used, and still do use, an architect... and I've been really taken back by the amount of crap I've received over that.  I think I can kind of guess why in the blogging world.  From my reading of the popular homesteading/ DIY/ prepper/ doomer blogs I have gotten the distinct impression that if you don't do absolutely everything yourself and/ or you dare to use any conventional element from normal society (like a contractor or architect) you are not authentic and are pandering to "the Man".  Because you know, I didn't manually shred and chew 1,000 pairs of old blue jeans into natural cellulose insulation and I let a real cabinet maker make my cabinets so I'm just faking it all!  So to employ a honest-to-goodness architect!!  Holy shit! I might as well turn in my anarchist card immediately and cancel my subscription to Mother Earth News.  What the hell was I thinking!
I think what it boils down to is the idea that if you actually use an architect, you must have money and no real homesteader/ doomer/ prepper has that kind of money, so you are not one of us.  This theory is backed up by the fact that I've had a number of people ask me, to my face, "what, you think you're better'n everybody else?"  "Why can't you just do like everybody else?"  and let's not forget.."why d'ya even want to use some ol' architect?"  Well, let's ponder those questions for a minute...Some people could accuse me of an ego trip but I can't really see how because I can't say who the architect is and to me, that's where the bragging would be.  And no, it's not Frank Gehry.  Hah!  I'm not a big fan of his designs anyway.  I mention using an architect because it is something more people should consider, it's more possible than many believe and I don't want to give people the false idea that these cool designs are mine!  As far as why?  Hhhm, let's see...I found a notable, very experienced design professional who was willing, and even considered it fun, to design a unique little house in exchange for carpentry/ manual labor on my part...but nah, no thanks, I'll just use some layout I found in a magazine.  Yeah right.  I mean seriously, if I'm going to go to the extreme physical effort to build my own house, wouldn't you want it to be something awesome and reflective of your personality and life, rather than just stick something together that looks like some damn Jim Walter home some half-ass contractor could throw up in 3 months?  Of course, I know there are those out there now saying, well yeah, but the Jim Walter crap would be done by now!!! and you're still slaving away on only half of your fancy-smancy house.  Well, you got a point there I'll admit.  I'll also admit I've had some unusual physical problems and such that have seriously impeded my progress and it has caused me to question what I'm doing more than once, I assure you.  In the end, it's up to the individual and what matters most to them.  Some people want 4 walls and a roof and be done with it and there's nothing wrong with that.

This is an example of why I enjoy the route I have taken.  I could have never come up with this design myself.  Or the large steel beam that holds up my roof, or the rafter tails inside and out and how it kind of, in the back of your mind way, makes you think of a church when you see them.  The column in the drawing above is a recent thing that the BFA came up with and these will support the covered walkway that I've started and will extend further down the house as the next half is built.  The bottom half or less is stone around a concrete base with filigreed steel extending up to the roof.  The cool thing is that the steel design is cut from three flat plates and joined at ninety degrees so that a cross-section would look like a + sign.  It's still very strong structurally but does not employ the normal hollow tube used for steel columns so that you can have this really cool, open design but not have to worry about wasps and other horrible critters making nests up in it!  If the design looks a bit, erhm, intricate to you...then I would agree and we figured this will probably be simplified a bit to keep me from losing the rest of my mind trying to assemble these things.  There will probably be 5 or 6 of them when the house is totally finished.

Now, here is an old, original drawing of the entire house footprint.  You may notice that it's been marked on quite a bit, changed, and that there are no dimensions!  Well, there are some concessions you must make when working with a BFA in a barter situation.  If he had to work hard enough to put actual dimension on there I'd still be a slave to this guy! Ha!  Well, I laugh but those fancy columns just bought me another round of labor and sweat.  One good thing about taking a while to build a house is that you really, really figure out what is essential to what you want in a house and where to put it.  This drawing shows a 3 bedroom house but it will probably wind up being only 2 bedrooms and a really honkin' great craft/ sewing room.  And a much bigger master bath...I don't know what the hell he was thinking on that.  When I'm old and decrepit there's no way I'm gonna try stepping into a tub to bathe.  Hell, I'm half decrepit now.  I want something I can just cruise into and sit down.

This is the elevation drawing from the south side and it is somewhat different from reality in that not that many windows actually went in the existing part.  But that's okay.  Since we were experienced builders we really didn't have a problem building with drawings that were....not quite finished, let's say.  I would not recommend that if you are not experienced in construction.  Most people also have a hard time seeing in their mind what the finished house will look like from some drawings, so I found this actual photo of a contemporary dogtrot house.  Of course, this house does not look like mine is going to but you get the idea.  Their trot area is wider than mine is drawn now, and I'm thinking about maybe making mine a little wider, but overall it gives a very similar feeling.  Long, rectangular footprint, high windows, metal roof and a deck that bumps out on one side.

When you are building your own house, and it ends up taking a while, I think you also begin to think about other scenarios.  "What if I go to all this trouble and then don't end up staying here?"  "What if some giant storm comes and destroys my house just about the time I get it finished?"  Due to circumstances beyond my control in the years I have lived here, I have seriously considered the idea that I may not always live here.  What if I found some beautiful, secluded property with a gorgeous mountain view?  Well, no one knows what the future holds and how things are ultimately going to work out.  Often times it's quite a surprise.  I know it would break my heart to leave this house due to the sentimental value and I'm not kidding when I say I would rip out certain parts to take with me!  But, it is one thing to consider when building.  At least if I finished the house and needed or wanted to sell, I could be pretty certain of getting a good price in order to start over somewhere else.  Because the house was designed by someone who does that for a living, most everyone* that comes here raves over the flow and comfort of the place.  And it's not even all here yet.  People find it very homey and comforting.  It's personable, not some sterile, catalog ordered floor plan. So, it's an investment one way or another.

This post may not have answered your question Rich, if you even remember your question, so if it didn't just let me know and I can hopefully address what you really wanted to know.

*Everyone except my stick-in-the-mud family who hates everything.  Ha!

Something's Got To Give

So, this is the third post I've attempted to write since the last time I posted.  Maybe the charm will do it's thing and all that.  I think every time I tell ya'll I'm gonna try to be back soon I end up waiting even later than I did before.  I don't think that's a conscious effort but who knows at this point.  My ass is dragging and according to many, that must be what's causing these headaches and awful brain fog.  I have a few things to write about, more if I'd put my mind to it, but I just don't have any desire.  I think at this point I've kinda said it all when it comes to my current situation.  I hurt a lot and I'm bored slap out of my mind.  Sometimes the simple life ain't so simple.

However, I'm not gonna let this post turn into a morose quagmire of despair!!  So, I'll keep it short.  Seriously, I've been doing some research into art restoration programs/ education etc. to see what is available.  Unfortunately, there are only about 9 universities in the U.S. that offer any kind of restoration program or degree and none of them are anywhere near me, of course.  I suspect now days you might can take some courses online but I will have to look into that more.  There are a few places that offer short term courses or workshops for certificates in specialized areas and I will look more into that.  Again, they are usually no where near my home but it's not an impossibility to travel somewhere for a couple of weeks or so.  Most of the courses I've seen so far are for building restoration though, and I'm not really looking for that, but there could be some specialty subjects where that might apply.  I've always done pretty well teaching myself in the subject but I would really like to take an actual course somewhere to get some kind of real accreditation.  I think one of the main things is that I really need to get out more, professionally speaking at least.

I'm also waiting on one last MRI of my tookus.  Exciting isn't it?.  Just what you wanted to know.  Blue Cross initially turned me down for the test, which is not terribly uncommon, but the BFD (big, fancy doctor) is working on getting it passed.  I guess Blue Cross didn't feel that 15 years (or more) of extortion level monthly premiums was enough to warrant them actually covering what they say they will.  Oh, I know that they have to check stuff out because there are people who will happily defraud an insurance company but it makes me feel a little better to gripe about them.

Sorry I didn't include photos but I didn't figure you all would be too interested in seeing pics of dried grass and half dead trees.  We did actually get some rain a couple days ago but it did not last as long as we had hoped and was sucked into the earth so quickly you could barely tell it had rained at all by the next morning.  I will say this; the chickens are having absolutely no trouble taking dust baths.  In fact, I think at this point they are digging the holes to mainly try and reach some cool level of earth, more than trying to bathe. 
Hope you all are getting by okay and I will try to post again soon!  Ha! Maybe with some actual photos.