I need to weed, obviously, but here is an anthurium that is growing in my bed near the house.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Beautiful morning, happy animals...
Decided to take the camera around on my rounds today. The sun is mostly shining - hopefully, it will dry up the puddles from two nights of pounding rain.
Temporary inside housing for adolescent hens. This and the recycled feed scoops go a long way to explain the "Hapless", but hey, we're all happy.
Well, you can barely see it, but we put up a five strand electric fence to enclose about 2000 square feet for the sheep to mow down.
Muddy small sheep yard next to barn. Elvis is sticking his nose over the gate checking out what I am doing.
Another make-do-with-what-we-have animal shelter option: we turned an old satellite dish over to keep Puueo and I'o away from the chickens, and used an old tarp to block the wind.
Fruit trees: citrus of various kinds and an avocado.
Catchment tanks. We collect the rain off our roof and run it through filters to supply the animals and the house.
Clouds rolling in over the back pasture. You can see how muddy it is right at the entrance to the run in for the horses.
We used to live in this cabin, and added the barn extension later. The plywood is blocking off the old car port, which did a turn as a horse run in shelter, also. The cedar portion is where the original cabin was. This became the kitchen and bathroom when we added to the cabin. When we took down the addition, we used the roofing and the walls to extend out to the barn.
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8 comments:
I will always have a fond spot in my heart for homemade feed scoops cut out of gallon jugs. Milk jugs work OK, but the better ones held things like bleach. Great handles and everything.
Your buffs. They are one of my favorites. But too nice, so they make easy pickings for our trigger happy neighbor.
Nice job on the electric fence. I bet they get some good shocks with that wet ground. LOL
Elvis is IN THE BUILDING! I wonder if he would like some stepping stones.
I love that you reused a satellite dish. There's no sense in going without a necessary shed if you've got something like that laying around. I've seen them painted in really cute decorative ways, as well. Yours looks really really good and sturdy.
How do you like the catchment tank system?
Now that cabin looks like you roughed it! Actually it reminds me of Mowgli's cabin. Every once in a while, I think how nice it would be to live on a barely inhabited tropical island. I'd wear nothing but a grass skirt and bathing suit top, gather native foods that grew all year, drink water from a waterfall, and no money would be necessary at all because I lived in a little hut with half walls up the sides since the air was so mild.... Nothing to do all day but gather kiwi and coconuts and swim in the ocean - when I wasn't busy napping on my hammock and playing with the children.
Is the cabin still livable?
~Faith
Jason's cabin is a lot bigger than this one, but yep, same idea.
I love Buff's - one of my favorite breeds. Everyone is into Americauna's here, but Buff's lay much more prolifically.
I love to see Elvis tip-toeing out - he jumps over those logs and leaps to the drier spot. Stepping stones might be a nice idea - but I think the plan is to build up the whole area (just not this weekend, my husband says with great conviction).
I love the catchment, except during droughts (gets dry in January). We run it through 7 filters before it hits the glass, so it's clean. I like these closed tanks better than the open ones. We had to pay for water on Oahu, this is much nicer. We have solar water heating, and photovoltaics, too. Still have an electric bill, but not as high as if we didn't. We used to be off power, but we ended up spending so much on fuel for the generator - it was worth it to run wire in from the pole. Hard work, but worth it.
If you lived in a grass skirt and bathing suit here, you'd be pretty cold (it is mid-60's today), maybe on Oahu or Maui. Actually, I think parts of Western Samoa are like that - open walls, easy life-style. Hilo's developed enough that we do have a Wal-Mart and a Home Depot, and a Target in the making....but not up here by my house....
The cabin needs work, but it could be livable with a little cleaning and a wall on the open part where we took down the bedrooms....hmmm, a good place to send messy young adult children....Fixing it up in one of those projects on the mental list....
You make hard work seem fun sum how. Looking at the animals and fencing, I would love to walk around and take care of it all!!
Beyond, that is because I never post directly after I have gone out in the dark and (relative) cold and mud and the dog has planted her muddy paws right on my last pair of clean work slacks....LOL. Actually, I love feeding, most of the time, and am finding I can stand and watch sheep for a looooong time without getting bored.
Hi Nan, glad you took the camera out - I enjoyed the tour
Thanks, Grandpa, I just realized I haven't gone farther than the barn and back for 4 straight days -luxury!
Nancy, It is nice to be able to "see" what your place looks like. I love the idea of water catchment tanks, although I think the cold here won't allow us to use them.
I did see mud, yep, looks like a lot of it. Love the satellite dish.
Maybe you can rent the old cabin out to Faith as a vacation cottage? Trade work for rent?
Chai Chai, I think that the only catchment tanks that would work for you would be the ferrous cement buried ones, but I bet even the ground freezes to a certain depth where you are! I would love one of those. One friend had one under their house. These food grade fiberglass ones do age to the point of needing replacement....
I just slepped around in mud for the last two hours doing the weekend barn chores. I feel like I am covered with it!
Would love to have Faith out if we finished up the cabin - need advice for my garden :)!
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