New critter on the farm

Here is the newest addition to the farm a Jersey bull calf. He hasn't been named yet, but I was thinking of something like What's, like in what's for dinner ? Okay bad joke but he is burger on the hoof for someone, even if he is a cute little fella.

A very quiet day here at the farm Christmas day or any other day you still have chores to do and they can't wait. The is home now to lots of critters and I spend more time there taking care of them. However, there are farmers here who have thirty plus calves to take care of and they do it year after year, so my little calves are no big deal concidering what others do. It has been raining here for a few days so things are muddy and squishy, there may be snow later tonight, we are all snug and have plenty of wood in for the stoves and the animals have fresh straw bedding so we should be comfy and dry.

In the spirit of the season, we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

A new addition to the Farm

A neighbor of mine wanted to raise a calf to beef but she didn't have a barn or a big enough pasture for raising an animal that would grow large so we went in together on a calf. He isn't weened yet so he has to be fed twice a day with this huge bottle of milk and boy does he like it. He grabs that bottle and sucks her down with a vengence. I hope he stays healthy and grows up nice and big, so he will fill the freezer with beef.

The drywall project

I have several rooms that need drywall work done. It didn't seem to bother the previous owners that there was no drywall in the mudroom. They used it for storage mostly and the previous door was worn out and ugly, that has been changed and a nice new door is there now. I got a recomendation for a local drywall person from a neighbor. When he showed up I was taken aback at how young he looked, then when I saw his crew I felt like I was hiring the local shop class at the High School. I guess I am getting old, lots of people look young to me these days, except me.

The mudroom project is sort of a test for this drywall crew. If they do good I will use them for the rest of the house. They do local jobs on their own time and work other drywall jobs for a contractor during the day. Drywalling is a messy project there is a lot of dust and debris. The dust gets everywhere and is hard to clean up. The results are nice though, brings a feeling that the house is complete.

The new roof

I have suffered leaks in the roof of this house since the first day. The prior owners told me that they had fixed them. Well their idea of fixing a roof and mine differ. I don't think a bucket under a leak is fixing it. I tried fixing that leak and later found some serious leaks in the wash room that as time went by just got bigger and more troublesome.

Finally I gave up trying to repair the leaks myself and called a man I know that fixes such things and had him come over and replace the whole roof. I figure that with the new roof I would avoid more problems coming up if I just patched the roof.

So here are the photos of the roof going on and after the job was completed what do you think?

That strange feeling in the chest

As some of you know I have been ill for a few weeks. It all started about the beginning of October I had some pressure in my chest and having been diagnosed with cardiac disease some years ago I felt it prudent to have my records transferred to my new doctor here in Kentucky. One day being in town I stopped by to see if the records had been transferred and they had. I made an appointment that day to see the doctor about the records. He ordered an EKG and based on what he saw he insisted that I go immediatly to the ER located at the Regional Medical Center about forty-five minutes away. The next thing I know I am in an ambulance headed to the ER. Scary, very scary. I spent overnight there and they ran some tests and I guess I looked good enough to go home and they released me with an appointment to see a Cardiologist in few days.

Oct 20th, I was home and I didn't feel good, I had some pressure in the chest and after a nitro tab it didn't abate. So I called a neighbor to ask him to take care of my animals and he said sure what's up? I told him and he offered to take me to the ER in town, I accepted. I am so glad I did, because as time went on I felt worse. I am not sure I could have driven all the way myself. When I got to the ER they got all the records from the Medical Center and deceided I was going back there by ambulance again. When I got there I was told I was going to be prep'd for a cardio cath that is when they put a tube into the artery in your groin all the way to your heart and then release some dye to see if there are any blockages. You guessed it I had 'em, one at 80%a and one at 70%. I was then told I was being transferred to the next hospital for stents to be put in to increase the blood flow so with the catherer still in me I was loaded into another ambulance and off we went to the next hospital. There two stents were placed in my heart.

I am home now thanks to many people who cared about me and did their job in a very professional manner. I am grateful to my neighbors who took care of my place and me. I feel very lucky to have such nice people down the road.

I am recovering well, and hope to be back to my usual activities within a few weeks, a little humbler than before and ever so grateful.

Quiet Sunday

This has been a lovely quiet Sunday. The chickens are out hunting bugs and such like good chickens should, the goats are out and munching on brush and weeds like good goats should, the dogs are out keeping an eye on everything just like they should. Just a peaceful day here on the farm. We had a killing frost for the past couple of days and that did in the gourd vines so what we have harvested is what we will use for bird houses this coming spring. Now the gourds are behind the stove drying until spring and I cut, clean and paint them to be bird houses for the Purple Martins that will be flying our way and hopefully picking our birdhouses to nest in and rare their off spring.

I got some fresh straw Saturday and feed for the chickens and goats stopped by a neighbor's house to ask about a visitor to the farm he might know of and I found out he had cut himself with a chain saw and he was trying to decide whether to go to the Doctor's office or go to the Emergency Room. When I left he was getting ready to go to the Emergency Room and get that sliced knee sewed up. I think I will call him this evening and see how he is doing.

Stopped by my neighbor's house to check on him this evening. He was up all night with pain and stayed in his recliner as the thought of moving to bed was just to painful. He had over twenty-five stitches to close the wound. He will be laid up for about a month. We talked about a lot of things besides his wound, like the cost of living, how to fix metal roofs, who does repair work in the Amish community and how to get a hold of them, and a few stories thrown in for good measure.

The picture above is that neighbor helping me lay gravel up the ramp to the hay loft.

New Goat Stand

I am new to tending goats and need all the help I can get with these squirming, kicking, free spirits. I have put together a goat milking stand which also can be used to examin, medicate, hold 'em for their hoof trimming which has to be done on a regular basis, as well as (we hope) milking the little darlings. This was the first time for me trimming the hoofs of goats and it was the first time they had it done by me. So it was a good test of the strength of the stand as these goats didn't want to have their feet messed with by the rank beginner (Me). The goats got trimmed I learned what I need to do to make the stand more efficient. The goats got a treat, so they would think better of the contraption later. We shall see the next time I put them in the goat milking stand :)

Fall is on its way

Fall is on it way to the farm. Time to reflect as to what we accomplished and what we didn't accomplish this year. Time to get the wood in and split some kindlin for the stove.
Lots of thinking going on here as to what to do for the winter and what projects to get done before the cold wind blows that white stuff around. Time to think about the future and what it will bring. Summer went by so fast I look back and wonder were did it go?
I am glad that things did get done that I wanted like getting electricity in the first floor rooms, we now have hot water, a real bathroom, the kitchen has cabinets, the barn has a new door to protect the goats.
I wonder what next year will bring?

Test of photo program

This is a test of the photo program

Me and my big friend

This is Princess and me having a little chat she is staying here at the farm while her owner is away on business. Princess is a big draft horse very calm and friendly she likes attention and will follow you about the pasture to see what your doing and sniff the equipment and look in the pick-up truck to see if there is anything there of interest.

Kentucky Hay Ride

Today I got up close and personal with a hay wagon I got to buck hay with two youngsters will being driven around the hayfield pulled by a tractor. This was my first time bucking hay and I had fun. I have always wanted to buck hay and now I have, it is a lot of work lifting those bales and those kids did a fine job. I could only keep up with them for one wagon load they did the rest of the bales on their own and had a fine talk with one another while they worked. The lad was from my next door neighbor's farm who has seven children so they felt they could spare one for the afternoon. The young lady came from down the road her Father shares in my hay and she loves to work with her Dad in the fields. If this is the kind of youngster they are growing here things don't look to bad for the future.

The hay is now in the barn so I have about two tons of hay to get me through the winter and that should give me a few bales to sell to help pay for the grain I feed the goats now and then.'
It won't be long and it will be breeding time for the goats so we will have spring kids and fresh milk and cheese.

The hens have been doing well laying from six to ten eggs a day, that will decrease as the days get shorter, but we will always have some eggs as long as we have birds.

Yup, fall is coming on quick got to get things ready for winter before I know it I will be lighting the stoves and hauling wood again.

Laundry Day

Here at Oak Spring Farm we have only a few modern convienences, we don't have an automatic washer and dryer. We use a Maytag wringer washer and clothes lines to wash and dry our clothes. In case of incliment weather we can run a clothes line back and forth in laundry/washroom. The clothes come out clean and drying in the fresh air gives them a nice smell as long as the wood smoke doesn't get to them.

I thought that using the old time washer would be a lot harder on me than an automatic washer, but I found that washing clothes using the wringer washer isn't that hard just takes longer. However I have the time and would rather let the sun dry my clothes and not pay the electric co-op for the privilege of using their power.

We don't have a dishwasher or garbage disposal either the dishes are washed by hand and the garbage goes in the compost pile. We do have a vacume cleaner here and it is handy catch those dust bunnies and we have 'em as we have indoor pets. We also have indoor plumbing now and hot water by an electric hot water heater, sure is nice when you want a shower.

Bathroom Project update

Things are progressing, I have a functional bathroom, not finnished yet still have a lot to do but it can be used. The toilet flushes the sink drains the shower works. Some things still have to be done and or redone; the electrical fixtures have to be put in, the drywall installed, the wax ring for the toilet reinstalled, painting, trim work and flooring installed. We are getting there just taking a lot more time, effort and money than I first thought. There is so much work to putting all this together it can be over whelming.

Had a little leak around the bottom of the toilet so that ment the was seal wasn't working. Removed the toilet; undid the tank, and pulled up the toilet, cleaned off the the old wax seal added the new wax seal and added another for good measure, put the whole sheebang back together again under an hour and a half. Practise makes perfect or almost perfect. Will have to wait till the wood floor dries out to see if the new wax seal is working or not. I sure hope it is I don't want to get to good at this toilet plumbing stuff :)

I just keep at it until I get it done; little by little. Sure have learned a lot.

Plumbing story part 2

I got the drain and vent system connected. Today I got the kitchen sink drain connected to the drain and vent system and tested. It drains well, no funny noises and it drains as fast as any other drain I remmember. This is a leap forward as before the kitchen sink drained into the cellar and was piped to the drain in the floor of the cellar and emptied out in the pasture somewhere. So, now the kitchen drain goes to the spetic system where it belongs.

The toilet has been mounted on the waste pipe and bolted to the floor and the sink is in place not connected yet, but it is ready to be connected. I am leaving it unconnected for now in case I need to move it out of the way to work on the shower. The shower is connected to the drain and vent system and the wall is begun.

I think things are going to look nice once everything is completed and decorated.

August 11, 2006
Progress is slow as I had to redo some work and get more pieces and parts. I do have the walls of the shower up and I have dry fitted the fittings and pipes to operate the shower. I will start cutting into the cold water line and connecting it to the shower and sink tomorrow. The directions for installing the single lever valve where confusing and incomplete, so I just guessed at the installation procedures. There is still a lot of work to do. This project seems to go on and on, sigh.

Plumbing Project

This will be an on going project. I am putting in a bathroom, at least a shower, sink and toilet. I have torn out the shelves in the pantry and I have reinforced the floor with plywood. I have purchased a toilet and shower stall. I have to build a wall for the stall to be mounted to so it won't fall over.

I have had to learn a lot more about plumbing. It can be complicated. There are many factors to keep in mind at the same time. There is a drain/waste system, a vent system, and a water supply system. I have the drain and vent system in place now without the pieces being glued together so I can adjust and move them as I build around them. I have started the wall. I have the vent going from under the house up through the floor and through the ceiling and out the roof.

My next purchase is a sink and cabinet to put it in, then I will know where the supply and drain lines are to go for the sink and I can drill those holes and fabricate the drain connection for the sink. After that I can start joining the drain pipes together. First everything has to fit.

I will be adding to this post as I go along. I sure hope that it all works well. I haven't done this much plumbing before.

My Baby sitting gig

Here are photos of my babies I am minding for a neighbor while she takes a trip.

New photos

Just thought I would post a few pictures of the farm to show how things are going and what they look like so when I talk of them folks will know what I am talking about.

The pasture has been cut and the result has been rolled into these big round bales. My neighbors said they could use this for their cows later in the year. I thought it would be low grade as there were a lot of weeds in with the grass. The pasture needed mowing as I don't have stock to graze this much pasture. I think I will have to do something about that.

One photo shows the new fence off very well. I worked hard and long on that fence it took the help of a friend and two workers to finnish it. I still need to put some more paint on it in places to protect the fence from the weather.

The best crop from the garden so far has been the peas - they were very tasty even in their immature stage when you can eat pods and all. Later as peas out of the pod I would eat them as I stripped them out of the pods, sweet and delicous. May get a cabbage or two, had some summer squash, cucumbers, onions and there may be water melons later, the small sweet ones. I will be planting some more green beans, carrots, lettuce this month for the fall garden.

The gourds look like they will give us lots of gourds for bird houses to attract the Purple Martin birds. We have six gourd bird houses on a wire from house to the barn, I would like to add a dozen more. Purple Martins eat insects that make life unpleasant for man and beast.

The next big project is getting the bathroom installed the septic system is in so we can hook up anytime we are ready. I have taken all the shelves out of the pantry and given the pantry two coats of primer and two coats of satin white. I hope to put beadboard around the walls and stain it oak to match the rest of the house. This is going to be a long project and I am going to try it myself. If I get into trouble I will get someone to help.

Had an interesting experience when walking the pasture. A deer came running by me and my dog Shelby. Shelby couldn't resist and ran after it the deer ran about the field looking for a way out. Samantha was taking pictures of her bird houses and caught a nice shot of the deer leaping. This was a young deer.

Porches

The back porch to the mud room has been painted and the west porch has some new lattice and will be painted soon. The usual way to enter the house is through the mud room so the back porch gets a lot of use. The mud rooom is on the list for a redo as well because it is not finnished inside needs insulation drywall and some electrical plugs.

Did you ever get that sinking feeling?

I noticed that the floor in the gathering room (livingroom) was not quite level, so I got out my carpenter's level and got down on my hands and knees and checked it out. The level showed the floor to be off about a half a bubble. That equates to three or four inches, Yikes, that is not good news. I found a carpenter working on another house and had him come by and look it over and sure enough he confirmed my suspicions. When we checked the rest of the house it was found that the second floor had sagged down about four inches because the folks that built the house used a steel cable to hold the second floor joists in place. Welllll, folks its like this...ahem ... steel cable streches over time when weight is applied to it and this was what was happening to the house it was sagging into its self.

The cure was to put cement pads in the cellar(the old posts were sitting on flat rocks) and new posts and jack the floor back into place and then put posts in the gathering room holding up a beam that crosses the room at the most sag to shore up the second floor. This is after jacking up the house untill the second floor was mostly level. This has been done and it has been an experience for both the carpenter and me.

The pictures show most of the story .... I must admit it was 'interesting to hear the house pop and groan from the jacks pushing it back into place. The second floor doesn't lean to the southwest anymore the first floor is level. I am not saying everything is perfectly level and plumb, it wasn't the day it was built-it was (is) an old Amish farm house and still has that character, plain, functional, no frills. I feel better that the old house is under better supports now, maybe I can sleep better ? Just hope we haven't caused some other problem when the house was jacked up.

The Fence is UP :)

The fence is up the gates are in place, a few finnishing touches are needed and a good paint job. This has been quite the project, it took a lot more than I thought it would in time and money, but it looks pretty good for what it is and for who did it.

Seven hundred feet of four board fence over eighty, eight foot long posts, six inches by four inches. If anyone were to ask me to build another board fence I think I would run and hide. It is (was) a lot of work and it still has to be painted......sigh

I got an offer from two men to help with the fence and I took them up on it - they had the right tools like a nailer gun, chain saw and air compressor. They could produce more in less time than I could with my hammer and hand saw. Did you ever try to hammer a nail into white oak? This is how it is done ... first you get the board in place and then you place the nail, pointy end toward the board and hit it with a hammer hard. Hopefully you will not hit your hand or fingers, now the nail should be a little ways into the oak. Then you hit the nail again and again until it bends. Then you cuss, swear, sweat, and try to pull out the offending nail; which of course doen't want to leave the board. Eventually after using your best bad vocabulary you get the nail out and try again, and after that nail bends you try again, usually after two or three tries you get the nail into the board and post (sort of). Then you do it again and again till you get so tired you quit for the day....

I can't wait to see what kind of trouble I get into painting the #%@**damn thing .....