weekend plans

Yesterday morn I was looking at permanent ink artist markers online, wishing i had more cash. The kids and i went running errands, spent an hour at the DMV to get my son his permit to drive. We stopped at Meijer to get some food for the long weekend and as I was strolling along, I glanced at one of the end caps and saw art supplies ON CLEARANCE!

Then when I rang them up they were even cheaper than the orange sticker claimed, OH HAPPY DAY! My plan is to doodle with them on fabric, so I have something to do during the long grueling hours at the Art Fair.

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My plan for this long weekend is to give my coop a face lift. I still have that winter run I had slapped together quickly last fall, that is changing too.

Hopefully I'll have lots of impressive shots to show next week.

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*HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYONE*

What are you doing this weekend?

Happy St. Pattys Day!

I just finished a tasty meal of Corned Beef and Cabbage.

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Our last 5 days weather wise couldn't have been nicer. I sure hope the Arctic blasts of winter are gone for good. The fact that it is Michigan I know we aren't done but a girl can dream, right?

Over the weekend we raked leaves and...

...demolished the old crate coop.

You served us well for 3 years but it was time to go.

We couldn't justify keeping you and your leaky roof when I have this "new" beauty.

Nothing left but the foundation.

Our yard looks less trashy now. We still have a bit of trashy left but that's how we roll.

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I collected sap until I almost got tired of it.

All of this 8 gallon container.

Plus all these.

About 22 gallons worth, and the sap is still flowing.

I had to get our propane tank refilled so I could do this again.

Melissa asked for a close up of our hook system. Our taps had built in hooks so it made hanging the jugs easy.

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Not all good news though.

The winter was a hard one for us but it was even harder on our pond. The inhabitants of our pond actually.

It looks like all of our large fish have been wiped out. Bass, large mouth and small, and our stripes. All of the big Bluegill and Sunfish.

Both of our carp too.

The ice hasn't melted all the way yet so I'm not sure if any small ones are left.

We were stocking up as a future meat source and had only eaten a few last summer.

We were hoping to have a fish fry with our camping guests this summer. Sorry ladies.

I'm bummed, I had caught and brought home most of these fish myself.

Of all the years we have been here we have never lost fish over the winter.

Looks like I need to renew my fishing licence.

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The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain. Dolly Parton

What's a girl to do?

I've got a new coop, the chickens love to free range but winter is coming, they need a chicken run.

The pluses, nice door and ramp. The minuses, the window opens out so I can't block it, I have no cash to spare, and hubby is up north hunting so I'm on my own.

More pluses, I have a shovel, post hole digger and the ground isn't frozen yet.

I've got an old swing set frame. Who doesn't?

I had to bury the legs a couple feet down as to not block the window.

I can add this old chain link fencing I have lying around, another plus.

(this stuff is so heavy, my back took awhile to recover)

Ugly green tarp to seal it up against winter blizzards.
(that's in the plus and minus column)


Works for me.



I'm hoping this run is temporary, and in the spring I'll have some cash and help to build a proper run. But for now, the chickens have a snow free zone for scratching and exercise. They even have the space under the coop too!


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Thanksgiving's tomorrow so I figure I'll be busy then so I'll post some things I'm thankful for today.


I'm thankful for my built in can and make do spirit and a strong body to get the job done, even though my inner lazy person is telling me to go inside and rest.

I'm thankful for scrounged stuff.

I'm thankful for my little farm with my chickens, it's just enough to keep the farm girl side of me happy.

I'm thankful for my family of four.

I am thankful we have a holiday that focuses on a feast, I love to eat.

I'm thankful for bloggers who I learn from and laugh with.

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Happy Thanksgiving.

Coop Tour

Twenty four days ago, my dad and I started a building my "new" coop. The goal was to use up a lot of scraps that were in both of our barns. I come from a long line of scroungers, I am a scrounger, married a scrounger, so I knew there would be a lot of freebies. Little did I know, in such a short time, and less than $70 later, I would have a coop that far exceeded anything I had hoped for.

I started off with a major advantage having a builder for a dad.

He is also very clever at figuring ways to do things.

The ramp grips into place but can easily be removed.

Some boards from my brothers old water bed, an old window and a set of drawers became a new cabinet to store supplies out of the way.

The drawers are a perfect place for tools, nails or other small items.

Pretty cool!

T-Bone approves.

My brother had made us a deer feeder for Christmas quite a few years back. It is illegal to feed deer now...

...but not chickens!

They seem to like it.

We hung the dresser/nesting box on the wall for more floor space and easier cleaning.

This was a ladder from an old bed left by one of our tenants.

The only things left to do are caulking in the cracks, painting the exterior (may have to wait until spring), putting on a door handle and eventually adding an attached run for when I don't want the chickens in the yard.

I still need to buy bedding for the floor.

Brownie is so excited, her feathers fell off!

When i was helping my dad pack up his tools today, I had to keep myself from crying. Not only do I realize what a huge gift this is and how lucky I am, I got to spend time laughing, learning and just being with my Dad.

Coop with a view

My dad and I spent a busy week on the coop.

My dad scrounged a camper storage door???

Now it's a chicken door...

..or doggie door.

I worked on another nesting box from an old dresser.

It works well.

The girls have already been using it.

They don't care about the hammering or me painting the walls around, they just come in and make themselves cozy.

We made a roost with a platform beneath. It should help keep the floor a bit cleaner during the winter months. I covered it with an old scrap of vinyl for easy cleaning.

(I didn't notice the rain on the camera until after a few shots)

We built a partition wall to store the grain barrels behind.

The view from the roost.

When we started on the siding, I ran in to get my camera and look what I found when I came out.

I wonder why I'm screwy.

I told my dad if he left his truck

door open, the chickens would hop in.

This one proved me right.

We are using a cement board (scraps from a leftover project) for the siding. I want to paint the coop barn red and since the primer on these boards is dark, it will save me a couple coats of paint. Serendipitous, ya think?

First wall done!

Second wall mostly done.

This is when it started raining on us, Woo Hoo quittin time!

I am so tired and sore.

This is the view from my chair in the living room.

They are predicting rain and snow on Monday, so I'm not sure when we'll be finished. I'm hoping for mid week, then we can have a giant crate burning!

Building is hard work!

I had a girl home sick from school Friday, she kept her fever all the way through Monday.

Sunday my kitchen sink clogged up. Broke a plunger, went through 2 bottles of draino. No luck, still clogged. This evening Hubby will get out THE SNAKE.

Needless to say my clean kitchen is no longer clean, I can't use the dishwasher and I am amassing a very large fruit fly collection.

In spite of all that,

I did my weekend homework.

I kept my cell phone on me so the girl could call from the couch.

I nailed down the roof.

Hubbie nailed on the drip edge and put on the ice guard.

I did the majority of the shingles.

I just need to finish the cap.




On Monday, my dad installed the windows and door.
Fancy and free!
Display windows get pitched, the guy I sleep with is there to clean up.
Not a bad trade, nookie for free building products.



I put foam in the walls.
Yes my chickens will have insulated walls!

My dad nailed up the interior boards on 2 walls. Leftovers from another project.

I'm thinking of painting them. Does anyone know what color chickens like?

My dad is traveling the rest of the week, my homework is to finish the interior boards on the other two walls. I may have to work around the rain.

My muscles ache, I'm getting carpal tunnel hands while I sleep, and i think I may need a hip replacement.

I couldn't be happier!