Spring Fever

My wife was quoted in the News-Leader, and I just stumbled upon it searching for information on Walnut Grove on the net...

Bakers dozen

bakers dozen
Originally uploaded by duanekeys.

Production is up on the farm. With 22 hens, Jennifer is collecting 12-14 eggs a day. All of the neighbors are staying well stocked with farm fresh eggs and the chickens might actually start paying their own way as far as their feed goes. They'll never pay off the mortgage on their house and yard though!

Face Off

IMG_8229
Originally uploaded by duanekeys.

Haley would spend all day staring through the chicken wire if we let her. The chickens are oblivious to the implied threat (sometimes they peck at her and Dobie through the wire).

Geek Acres Sunrise

Geek Acres Sunrise
Originally uploaded by duanekeys.

I took this a few mornings ago before heading to work. These colors only laste a few minutes before the sun rose over the horizon and lit up everything.

Child ID Program

IMG_8109
Originally uploaded by duanekeys.

Friday night I helped with the ChIP program hosted by O'Sullivan Lodge #7. I took a few photos of the event, you can find the slideshow here. The ChIP program gives parents a useful tool in the event that their child becomes lost or is abducted. I heard it said best when a lodge member said "hopefully it's a little work for nothing!"

Progress all around

Jennifer and I made some real progress on the farm this weekend. On Saturday we took 9 chickens to the Bolivar sale barn. We had way too many roosters per chicken so the flock needing a little thinning. Also, a few of the hens were able to fly out of the pen and had started wreaking havoc in the gardens where things are starting to come up. Now we're down to 22 chickens and 2 roosters.

We found time on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning to clear brush. I've gotten pretty good a sharpening my chain-saw and thanks to our neighbor, Coy Dan, I've learned a few techniques on the chain-saw that make the work much easier. I was able to cut up all the large branches that were in the front, side, and back yard. Jennifer and I (mostly Jennifer) also raked the side yard of the thousands of tiny sticks and fragments of trees left over from the ice storm. We burned several neat little piles of brush and stacked next year's firewood.

The large brush piles still remain as the wind was too strong to burn the bigger piles. Jennifer would like very much to rent a chipper but I think our money and time is better spent. It would be many truck loads of practically free mulch to off-set the cost of a chipper for the weekend. There's still more sawing and stacking to do, however, as I haven't yet tackled the back pasture.

We also made progress on the home remodel. Knock on wood, but I think the room addition might actually be complete this week. We tackled the cedar shingle siding and thanks to Bob Vila's tutorial on cedar shingle siding (and my buddy Larry), it's looking pretty good. All that's left is some trim on the interior, sealing the new tile, finishing the shingles, and building the steps and benches on the deck.

Technorati tags: Geek Acres, farm, home improvement

Together

together
Originally uploaded by duanekeys.

Four years ago yesterday, Jennifer and I embarked on a journey.

To my wife, I love you!