Rich the Builder can do it all!

A few weeks ago, there wasn't enough water. This week, there was too much!  That's where our handy dandy rental pump comes into play. Dad worked to pump about 75,000 gallons of water out of the pond last weekend! Once the water level was low enough to start the dock, the crew (Dad and two friends) used an auger to drill out the holes for the supports. Today, Dad is working to place the repurposed telephone poles into their holes.  After he cut the engine on the bobcat, he was able to answer a couple interview questions.

The final step!

What was the process to get the poles in the holes?
Well, first I scoop up the post and get it centered on the bucket of the skid loader.
After that, I tip up the bucket, then pull forward until the pole is not dragging on the ground. Once it is about balanced, we chain it down. We lift it up, drive very slowly and slide it very carefully into the hole.

What are the next steps?
We will probably let the poles settle as much as they can, then pack in the holes. Once all of that is done, we can start building the frame!

Thank you David and Robbie for all the help!

I will keep you up to date on the action.
Caroline Young, 2625 News

Carving pumpkins isn't just for humans anymore! The chickens at the Golden Egg have been working away on their post-Halloween special. They have chiseled two eyes and are currently working on carving out the stem. What a group of over-achievers...








Sadly, our sweetest girl, Dolly, was found dead this past weekend.  She had been through a lot in her short life and fought like a trooper.  We worked to correct her crooked toes and to save her after she caught her head in a fence and was nearly decapitated. She was loved dearly and a special chicken. The other chickens made a tribute to her after she died as they laid all of their eggs in her crate.



As you can see, Mother Nature is working to fill up our pond.  Dad is hoping it doesn't fill too fast so he can build the dock without hip waders on!  There is a white pipe with a red cap sticking out in the picture.  This is a dry hydrant. Dry hydrants allow fire fighters to pump water from the pond to fill their truck. That's probably a good idea at this house! See blogpost FIRE!!!!!

Fall on the Farm

The results are in and the winner is... lemongrass! Once our ingredients arrive, we will make a batch of our favorite, Gentlemen Farmer soap.
This past week, our pond friends, Bob, Russ and Keith, worked 12 hour days and finished up our pond! (minus the two million gallons of water and the fishies) As they dug our pond, they found old concrete rubble. They made three piles for the future fish to live in.

The equinox has passed so the chickens laying has slowed to about six eggs a day. To boost them back up to their normal rate, we attached a light onto their timer. Now their day starts around six am sharp. But, Waffles doesn't wear a watch and he starts crowing at four! Another reason we aren't getting as many eggs is because some of the hens are molting. Here you see Junie. She is one of the girls that is losing her feathers. Don't you worry! She does have two legs.





The spinach grow off ended in a tie. We all lost... But that doesn't stop us! We planted more lettuce and  some garlic. To prevent the seeds from washing away and getting frosted overnight, we put a plastic tarp over our lettuce. Hopefully our plants will grow this time, so we can have the yummy salads we dream of.

Soap it up!

Lye is super dangerous;
You need gloves, goggles
and a face mask.

Our finished bars of soap.

Recently we made our second batch of homemade soap. We learned how to make soap from our friend, Rhonda. Her soap is much prettier than ours, but we will improve. Using  lye (extremely dangerous) from Stringtown grocery, distilled (or rain) water, lard, coconut oil and olive oil, you can create a a basic soap recipe. We have made oatmeal soap and tea tree soap, but need to decide on our next scent! If you would like to vote, see the poll to the right. Whichever kind has the most votes by October first, we will make next.

WOW

BREAKING NEWS

As we were walking in from the garden, mom looked over at the "pond" and on one of our numerous dirt piles was.........

A BALD EAGLE!

I got a couple pictures before it flew away. We think it was eating something, but when we walked up the hill we couldn't find any remains.

Caroline Young 

Head photographer and reporter

Channel 2625 news- We've got you covered!

The first annual Spinach Grow-Off

Today we planted a fall crop of spinach, and, 
since we always have to be competitive, 
we came up with the Great Spinach Grow-Off. 
The idea is to see who can grow the best spinach.

 We also recently got a rain barrel, which we have been wanting. It was full within 24 hours!

Zelda supervising the action.

Rainy Day

It has been nice to get some rain lately! The rain is good for the earth and also good for photos.
Check it out!