Composting chicken coop underway

As expected, the snow has gone away!  And it feels like we just skipped over spring and went right to summer.  Today's routines no longer included winter hats and gloves, but sun screen instead.  I would have been very happy to stay in the 50's and 60's for awhile before jumping to the 80's.  But it was very enjoyable for me to see little pea plants poking through the soil as I gave them a drink earlier today.  Last evening we replanted onions, as our mad rush to get onions in before the last snow storm didn't amount in many of our tiny onions starts making it through.

The major news from the home front these days is that the long dreamed for composting chicken coop is being constructed!  We hope that it will house the chickens that will be hatching in less than a week.  We have another coop to brood them in for awhile but it was high time we got this major project underway!  Thankfully this past weekend we had some extra hands on deck - family members, Tangly Woods folks and a friend earning some of the many Groupees that Jason had earned on a wood working project for friends.  One of the highlights for me was getting to be involved in the actual project, beyond feeding those working!  And I once again felt muscles that aren't used nearly as regularly as I would like them to be.

The news hot off the press is that as of just moments ago, all the stone has been laid! Here's a few visuals of the project - but I imagine it will still beg a good amount of explanation for anyone not familiar with a composting chicken coop...  The girls also enjoyed participating when it involved a wheelbarrow ride or hose, but they were also often found elsewhere playing together or Kali would about disappear out of sight up into a tree. 

Once we got to mixing concrete the wheelbarrow wasn't available for rides but it was enjoyed while it lasted!

Kali, of course, found a "precious rock" that we had to keep close watch of to make sure she was the one that got to place it!

Foundation ready - time to start filling with rocks!

Even Alida could help with this part!  It will always be special for me to do family projects where we haul rocks from our big pile in the woods - takes me back to us creating our parking spaces by hauling load after load of rocks the summer/fall after Nora died.  It was therapeutic then and still does something for me beyond good exercise!

I shouldn't be smiling since the only reason I am laying rock all by myself is that Jason was temporarily out of commission after squatting right onto a rebar stake!

Where's Kali?

For those that don't know that Kali is on a bit of an "anti-pig" kick, here she is engaged in her "anti-pig protest parade."  She is okay with other people having pigs but does not want us to ever get them.  Her parade wasn't an overly effective tactic, but it entertained her for a good part of the afternoon. 

 

Well, naps over and so is my time for blogging!