LJ got this last weekend off work, and no rest for him! We packed and moved a HUGE load of stuff from the old house on Saturday. It feels so much better every time I clear out another room! We even moved our cat, Skid, and she is happily hibernating in the shop. This coming weekend we'll give her access to the outside and cross our fingers that she stays around. She's a fabulous mouser, and doesn't pee on stuff in the garage. Great combination!
We spent Sunday clearing brush, blazing trails so we can fence some hog areas. And yes, Paula, probably goats too! Lol! Can't wait to get 2-3 weaners in the spring. Pigs are so much fun, and we're gonna put them to work on top of it.
LJ sharpened the blades on the $10 chipper we got at a yard sale, and it is actually starting to run pretty well. Score!
We found a few slash piles and even a big log jam under the blackberry tangles. We're learning more and more that whoever logged this property was only interested in logging and ditching. They left a heck of a mess. Eventually we'll need to bring in an excavator to pull jams and stumps. I hope we can get a big enough machine down the driveway! For now, we work around the messes.
We also bought several gates from a friend and marked where we'll dig the support posts for a 16' gate across the driveway. I'm stoked. Being a more than minorly paranoid person, I like the security. I don't buy it when someone creepy comes driving to the house and says, "Don't the (insert random name) live here?". They're not mistaken, they're casing the place, or were hoping no one was home. Used to happen at my mom's place all the time. Until she put in a gate. As far as I'm concerned, those posts can't go in soon enough. Though we're getting an auger for these. I'm so over the post hole digger.
To top off the Sunday funday, our dryer died. Warmed up some clothes at about 9am and turned it off. Around 3pm, LJ happened to put his hand on it when he was walking by, and it was almost too hot to touch. Being much smaller and more flexible than LJ, I got to squeeze behind the dryer upside down and unplug it while LJ held my feet. Fun! Thank god the house didn't burn down. Scary. The dryer is toast. We've repaired it far too many times. Time for a new set (I think the current set is pre-90s), though we were hoping to wait until tax return time. Ah well. Off to the depot, and a MONTH until they can deliver. That's ok, though. I get a beautiful, multi-function LG washer and dryer. Is it sick to be excited because I've never had a NEW washer or dryer? For that treat, I'll dry my clothes on a rack in front of the fire for a month. Yeah. I think I can handle that. The dryer has a STEAM function for goodness sake! Totally worth it! Woohoo!
6 comments:
I seriously don't think it's weird to be excited over a new appliance and totally understand. I blogged about my new refrigerator, about which I'm still stoked!!
So cool- you're thinking goats!
What're you gonna do with the weaners? I would like to find pastured pork to buy, but can't use a whole hog- maybe not even half. Last spring I ordered a quarter beef from Carman Ranch in Northeastern Oregon, and it's been great. I'd like to do the same for pork and eventually chickens too. I might raise my own chickens, but the current ordinance in town is that they're for pets and not for food, so if I did it, I'd have to sneak it. But there doesn't seem to be anything about rabbits, and rabbits are vewy, vewy quiet.....
Glad your new house didn't burn down; that would have sucked, huh?
Oh yeah, on the goat thing- do you guys have cougars in the area? 'Cause they likes to munch on goats. Just make sure you put them away at night.
Weaners- We want one for ourselves and family, and will probably raise an additional for some friends. We've got the space, and they'll buy their own pig and help with feeding. LJ may be up to parceling out some of what we raise. We just haven't gotten that far yet. Maybe this year, but more likely next. We'd even like to raise a steer eventually, but that's in the far far future.
Rabbits ARE vewy quiet... And vewy vewy tasty. :) Henry's sure they'd be a treat if he could just catch one. Lol.
I'm sure there are cougars around. Our neighbor has been at his place and traversed the surrounding forest land for nearly 20 years and said he's never seen one... Just a bobcat once or twice... But that doesn't mean they aren't out there. I saw them often in California. We do have bears, as I've seen lots of sign, but haven't spotted one of them... Yet.
I only mentioned the cougar because that's what my sister in law lost her goat to, and she never replaced her. I think cougars will live wherever they can, and they are notoriously hard to spot.
Too true. I'm sure they're out there, and actually hope I never see one. I've seen them pretty close before, and even seeing one while you're safe in the house is enough to get your heart racing. We'll make our future animals as safe as we can. One of the hazards of living in the middle of nowhere. :)
I'm looking forward to getting our place completely fenced. We have random people that go through our land. I used to worry about leaving our house for long periods because it looks kinda derelict, but our two indoor dogs sound like they are hungry. There have been several places on our street that have been robbed.
Post a Comment