Friday, August 31, 2012

Job # 7 - Refrigerator And Boxing

Job # 7 was to empty and wash the refrigerator.
I took everything out of the fridge that was removable.


Then I washed everything.
I even washed off the bottles, etc.,
before I put them back in the refrigerator.

I also dumped a lot of outdated stuff
and bottles with little drips and drabs that were
being saved.

There is a lot more room in the fridge now.
 
Then I continued going through the kitchen
getting rid of things I never use
and have been saving for many years.
Don't know what I was saving the stuff for.

Went through all the drawers too.


Filled up these two boxes and at least three more.
And I still have three closets to empty.
Getting rid of stuff gives one a very freeing feeling.


And here is a lovely surprise!


Holly sent me a Dream Catcher
that she bought at the Navajo Reservation.
I should have taken a photo before I hung it up over my bed.
It is beautifully made!
Thank you, Holly!


I also did some raking
but leaves are falling and I need to rake it again.

~:>
2 eggs today
Smiles

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Job #6 - Dishes

Job #6 - Clearing out mismatchted dishes
And other dishes, cups, pots, pans, utensils, etc., that I don't use.

New Dishes!
Since I got rid of all the mismatched dishes
I treated myself to these chicken dishes and mugs.
They cheered up the kitchen!


There are four different roosters.
Four different cups, a salt and pepper,
dinner plates and salad plates,
and a rooster utensil holder.

I am still in the midst
of going through kitchen stuff
and have a lot more things to sort and pack up for Goodwill.
Feels so good to get rid of stuff
that has been saved or put away because it might be used.

I have to admit I was a utensil junkie.
I hardly ever saw a utensil
that I thought I couldn't use or didn't need.
But I have reformed!

If I don't use it, it is going to have to have
a very good reason for staying.
I'm ruthless!

I guess I could post a photo of boxes
of old dishes, etc.
Maybe I'll post a photo of packed up boxes later.
Not very exciting.

Morgan is all worn out
from her trip to the groomer.
She really doesn't like to get her hair done.


3 eggs today

~:>
Smiles

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Job #5 - Floor

Job #5 - Wash The Floor

First I vacuumed all rooms downstairs
and then I went around on my hands and knees
and wiped the floor with the Laminate Floor Cleaner.


I put a lot of lotion on my hands
before I put on the rubber gloves.

The instructions on the bottle say to spray the cleaner
on the floor and then wipe it up.

But I hate breathing the spray
so I pour about a cup of cleaner in the bucket.
Dunk a piece of old towel in the liquid and wring out well
and use the towel to wipe the floor.
Works for me.
All the rooms look nice and shiny.

Morgan doesn't think much of the floor's new smell.

She took a sniff!


And rubbed and wiped her nose.
A lot! 


Arrgh
Poor Morgan!


2 eggs today

~:>
Smiles

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Job #4 - Shed

Job #4 - Clean Out The Shed

Bright shiny new containers.
Retired the plastic cans.
These metal cans with tight fitting lids are for keeping
the chicken feed safe from little critters.

One of the cans is just for storing the
chickens feeder in overnight.
We found that mice, etc., were even getting into
the chickens hanging feeder.

I put the chickens feed out in front of the shed
in the open, in the sun during the day
where mice, etc., will fear to tread.
The old plastic cans didn't let leaks from the roof in,
but they let the mice in.
I took everything out of the shed and swept it clean.
Then I only put things back inside that were actually being used.
Or had a very good chance at it.

I need to do a better job of covering the bikes
In front of the bikes is a plastic container holding a straw bale,
the white bag is full of newspaper kindling,
the plastic can is for kindling...

...dog crate in the corner,
plastic cover and deer netting on top,
and the black thing in front of the dog crate
is a fold out metal dog pen.

So nice to walk into an orderly shed
The shelf is full of all kinds of chicken stuff
for adults and chicks.
Didn't realize there was so much.

The garden tools are all hanging
except for the small hand tools that are
in a bucket of sand.

I think I did pretty good getting rid
of lots of stuff we didn't use.

Below is a photo of what is left of the compost pile.
I need to fill it up again.


I had packed straw around the sides to keep the chickens
from pecking all the soil out.
I dug out pretty much all the soil
and added it to the planter beds.

I went out to take photos of the chickens
but couldn't find them.
Under the house?
Off in the woods?

2 eggs today

~:>
Smiles

Monday, August 27, 2012

Job #3 - Chicken Coop

Job #3 - Cleaned the chicken coop

I forgot and let the chickens out this morning
before I took a photo of them 
in their nice clean coop.

So, I took a photo of the last hen
to come in the coop tonight.
The rest of the hens are roosting.
I leave the windows dirty so the hens don't fly 
into the glass and break it.


This morning I did take photos of the two broody hens.


I would really like to believe that these are not
the same hens
who where in the photos about 6 weeks ago.


They look the same though.
I usually break hens from brooding,
but I have been busy.

And I took this photo of Morgan this morning
as she ignores the Light Brahma marching 
over to see what Morgan is doing.
Food?


And here are some photos of my owls.
One is on top of the ladder looking over the planter beds.
(it is really Kristine's owl)


See... cute, isn't he
I move the owls to different places in the garden every day.
Have to keep the birds convinced the owls are alive.


Here is the other fellow.
I have to blow him up and keep the air in
while I try to close the opening.
Tricky.


The chickens love their watermelon.


Oh, dear...
I forgot to check for eggs.
Later...
1 egg

~:>
Smiles

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Job #2 - Planters

Job #2
Planter Beds In Green Garden

Small planter bed full of herbs
Larger planter bed:
Kale, Lettuce, Potatoes, Carrots, Onions
The top two photos are of the planted beds.
Job finished.

These lower photos are of some of the steps
I went through to get the beds ready for planting.

First I took out all the berry bushes and weeds.
I did leave the potato plants.

I turned all the soil over

At the bottom of the beds are old branches.
See the Hugelkultur Tab above for those photos.

Compost pile. shovel, sack
Then I went to the compost pile
and shoveled sacks full of soil to add to the beds.
This was in addition to the soil we got at the nursery.

I turned the soil over again
and made trenches, filled them with water
to soak the branches at the bottom.

Soaking the bottom of the bed.
Filled the beds up with soil.
Raked the soil and removed twigs, rocks, etc.
Beds ready for planting.

The potato plants are at the high end of the bed.
I have deer netting over and around the beds.
I also move two plastic owls around the garden
to scare away birds.

The garden hasn't been bothered by deer.
But If they spot this green stuff
they may decide to hop the fence.
?

~:>
3 eggs today

Smiles!

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Job #1 - Posting Again After A Work Break

Job #1 completed! 
Cleared out this loft for the second time! 
Only thing left is the vacuum hose...
 This is the second and the last time 
I'm going to move everything out of the loft. 
and the horrible old rug
This time the loft gets a new floor 
before anything goes back upstairs. 
!!!

It has been very hot here 
so we got Morgan a "cool bed." 
Morgan really doesn't like her photo taken.
It took a long time to fill the bed 
with water and it is heavy and not easy to move around 
but Morgan has started using it to cool off. 
I even tried it out. It is cool to lay on. 

These three beds are Morgan's night time bed.
What I really like about these three beds 
is that they all will wash in my washing machine. 
The thick bed on the bottom has a foam core 
and the cover zips off to wash. 

One of my new rules is to just have 
dog beds that I can wash in the machine. 

I'm done with hand washing dog beds! 

I have been working and not posting or even reading blogs. 
I think I should feel guilty 
but I don't. 
I just feel tired. 

Tomorrow, I'll post photos of the garden beds. 
The carrots finally sprouted. 


The chickens are not laying well. 
Some days no eggs. 
Some days one, two, three or four. 
I think they are laying eggs under the house. 
Maybe? 

Smiles 
~:>