Got to sleep in a wee bit… 8:30 o’clock in the morning! However, I was very curious to see how the girls were getting on. Went out to the barn and found everyone was safe and sound. Most of the girls were still roosting as I opened up the big barn door. I spent most of the morning hanging out and watching them. At one point I was talking on the phone to my Dad and finally Bucka Roo started to crow! We haven’t heard him crow since we came home! Well, he let out a resounding good crow and then another. By the time he was done, he had given out 8 beautiful crows! They laid 2 eggs over the morning’s time. I know that we don’t have the best nesting situations, but I was hoping to remedy that by the night’s fall.

After making a lovely brunch from some of those eggs, and a couple pancakes we all got started on our major task of the day. After a unpleasant incident where Dingo managed to stop the traffic out on the road, I knew it was time to get that last bit of fencing done! SIlly dog.

We got to digging some holes and cutting some landscape timbers for good solid posts. I have a design in mind that is a bit creative, and I hope that it works out. Worse comes to worse, we can always buy some more expensive picket or privacy fencing and finish it out! I dug most of the holes, but the last two were a bit tougher! They were in an area that people have been parking on for a good long time and the area was full of stone, gravel, broken tile and hard packed dirt! But we managed to get a good depth with a sledge hammer and chisel and other implements of destruction! Hahaha…

The area we needed to fence off was between the garage and the house. Of course, we could just put up some wire fence and all, but I want that courtyard to some day have plants and flowers and beautiful herbs and such. And it would be nice to have a little privacy from the busy road.

One of the things that I like best about the farm, is the chance to teach my girls how to do things that challenge them a bit. And today was how to use a circular saw and how to place posts in quick-crete and all that. They did very well and we made short work of the job!

Last week, we managed to score some good free wood from Craig’s List. We had to drive back to the big city for it, but it was worth it. A pallet for the compost center, and also some 2 x 4s and some 1 x 3’s of slightly warped pine. Not bad at all, so that we can use them in our fence design! Also 4 panels of an old wooden garage that we have a plan for. We had to buy our posts but that’s okay.

We had to get the poles set before a storm came. We managed to get them in the ground and nice and secure just before the rain drops started. We all went out to the barn to watch the chickens for awhile. Yes, even Jessy! She wanted to see how our ladies were doing, she had hear us talking about their antics. But as the storm approached, the dogs were out, so Jessy headed back to the house to let them in. We stayed, but very quickly, it got worse and worse! Next thing you know it was HAILING again! This is the second storm in a week that brought hail and a HUGE amount of water! For a while, it was so loud in the barn, on the steel roof that we are worrying about it turning into tornado weather! But it passed and soon we were off to our next appointment…

We found the most wonderful lady in Craig’s List, nearby selling hay and we stopped in for a brief visit. LInda has horses and a pair of wonderful dogs and a very lovely homestead. We had a nice visit and any time I get to scratch and pat a good old horse, that is a good day for me. We got 4 bales of hay, 2 for the hens and 2 for Jessy to set up a archery target in the eastern back pasture. She’s excited to give an old hobby a chance! That will be fun!

We found an old ladder in another barn and our friend Brian, whom used to rasie chickens, told me that old ladders make great chicken roosts! And we thought it would do nicely to give them a way up into this old steel shelf that is in the corner of the barn.

Several of the hens and the roo have already figured out how to climb the ladder, tuck under the shelf and then jump into the box on the wall! And little Marilyn laid an egg up there! We tucked a good bit of nice soft orchard grass hay up there and the girls loved it! We made a nice little hay mound nest in another corner and it was so funny! Half the ladies got in a line waited while Eleanor tested it out and produced a nice little egg for our efforts. It was so funny to watch them all fuss and cluck over her accomplishment!

Our last egg of the evening! I think the girls are a little mixed up as to a good schedule, but hopefully within a few days or a week they will settle into a nice routine. We got a few nest boxes to put up for them in the morning, that should be helpful for them! And I’m going to go to the feed store and get them a big bag of layer crumbles and some scratch feed! They will be most spoiled little chickens!

This is the rocker that I got by the side of the road! Upon closer examination, it will need a little good gluing and attention, but it’s a lovely design and will look splendid in the parlor. It’s really very sturdy, and not that badly off. A good project for a rainy day!

And these are the good solid garage door panels that we got! We have a secret project in mind for them… I’m hoping that it happens! If it doesn’t, we have a few other ideas for them as well!

Well, it’s late and we have a busy week ahead of us… hope you all had a nice busy day and that things are coming along with your own plans and dreams!!!