The sound of rain

The sound of rain on the metal roof and the distant rumble of thunder, once a common sound here at the farm, but of late not so familiar. I always know when it is real thunder and not some farmer blowing up a tree stump, my big yellow Labrador retriever looks for a place to hide, she doesn't like the thunder. She is trying to get behind my old file cabinet right now and won't come out till I move or the thunder is all over.

Yesterday evening we had rain showers that got the ground wet, I didn't think it did much good. This morning it looked like it might rain again. I thought about it and got out to the wood pile and stacked some more wood before the rain started. I also got an old mattress out of the cellar. Gosh that thing was ugly, it is now sitting in the pick up truck bed, getting wet, waiting to be hauled the road for trash day tomorrow. I sure hope they take it.

I have made apple butter and apple sauce just barely enough for myself I may have to make some more for gifts and trading. Peeling and coring the apples is not that hard just tedious after a dozen apples you wonder if it is worth the effort, however once I get that homemade apple butter on my tongue with homemade whole wheat bread I know for sure it was worth all the effort. With my mid-morning break I had coffee, toasted homemade whole wheat bread with peach jam I made myself. I don't even have to blush it was good. I finished off the biscuits this morning as I had biscuits and gravy for breakfast. I guess it is time to make more biscuits just one more thing to do, I guess I will just add it to the list.

So for the rest of the day I will do inside jobs like staining the new doors and if that goes well staining the new wood in the kitchen floor. For a while though I think I will just sit here and listen to the rain on the metal roof. As long as there are no leaks of course. After this long drought that rain sound on the roof is sure welcome.

Update for September

It has been quiet here since the carpenters have departed. They won't be gone for good I still have three windows that need replacing and a barn roof that needs mending.

I have been playing with the fire wood, stacking the wood according to size and dryness. Most of the smaller pieces are drying rather well, the large pieces are a long ways to go yet. This year I got quite a few small irregular shaped pieces which would be time consuming to stack. So I made a crib out of larger blocks to pile the small pieces in so that they will dry and be easily accessible. I hope to get all the wood off the ground before the cold wet weather comes. I hope to put a stove in the cellar to try and heat the house with it. The carpenters suggested this and one of them does it and heats his house all winter that way. I am going over to the Tin Shop and discuss it with them they sell stoves and furnaces and may be able to advise me on what size stove I should have in the cellar.

I have had the termite pest control people over to give me their estimate of the termite and powder post beetle control program. The prices are all over the map and the work they will do and how they will do it varies from complex to simple. My job now is to compare the estimates and choose one to do the work and of course pay for it.

I got new neighbors next door stopped by and introduced myself they seem nice.

Made some apple butter and canned it only eight half pints but that ought to be enough for me this winter. I am planning on putting up seven pints of applesauce too, I love that applesauce.

The weather has stayed warm even though officially it is Autumn, the weather should moderate later this week and .... dare I say it? We might (!) just get some rain. Well let's hope so.

I put up an electric fence to keep the calves in close to the barn the little boys have been naughty and have been running off to play with the neighbors cows. The bigger one got in with the big herd and it will be a while before he is cut out of the herd and sent back to where he belongs. In a couple of months they will be sent to the butchers and a few months after that I will start all over with a few more calves.

Photos of construction

I don't think the pictures do justice to the project there was a lot of work that had to be done and when it is done it will look like it should look and that won't be impressive because it will look the same as before. However the rot will have been cut out and new wood put back in where needed.

I am saddened to find this condition in the house. I thought it was in better shape when I bought it. Now it is a much better house than when I bought it, sturdy, and functional.

What has been going on?

Well it has been a while since I last posted. Been busy here at the farm. I painted the upstairs bedrooms and floor, well just three of the bedrooms, still got one to go. I had some carpenters come in to replace some windows, hang some doors, reconstruct the stairs to the upstairs bedrooms and fix the door not opening right in the kitchen.

As with most things around here it didn't turn out the way I thought it would. The windows didn't show up the doors were a pain in the rumpus bumpus to get hung the stair project went well and I got a closet under the stairwell. Then everything went to H.E. double hockey sticks when the carpenters got to the kitchen. Turns out the reason the door wouldn't swing correctly was that the sub floor and sill for the kitchen had rotted. Also the structure over the cellar stairs was infected with termites. The door had to come out, the sub floor and sill and structure had to be torn out and all new treated wood put back in to replace the rot. The house had to be jacked up while they maneuvered the beams in place and cut the bad stuff out of the good stuff. They worked their rear ends off.

I also started getting all the old wood out of the cellar and bought a dehumidifier and got it working drying out the cellar. At one time there was a wood stove or wood fired water heater in the cellar and firewood was stored there, just the thing for termites and other bugs to get a start. Also the cellar is damp from water seeping through the walls, that causes other problems with mold and rot.

Looks like we have the situation under control, the cellar has never looked so dry. Still there is half of the cellar without a floor and that could be problematic, so I guess I will spend more money having a cement floor put in to cover the gravel and dirt (sigh).

In the mean time I put the goats up for sale as I wasn't doing anything with them and they were getting out and causing mayhem. I thought it was just a good business like decision and when it came time for them to be picked up by their new owners I even helped load them in the truck. Everything went well untill the truck started down my driveway and my does started calling to me Maaa, Maaa. I must tell you my heart was in my throat and tears were welling up in my eyes. I didn't realize how attached we had become. It was the longest walk that evening from the barn to the house. (sniff)

I also sold the ducks no sniffing there caught 'em and shipped 'em right quick.