oldfashionmama posted: " We are back to spring around here. Our 90 degree temperatures have dropped to the 50s at night and the 60s to low 70s in the daytime. We had already taken the stovepipe down in the house so these cool nights we just bundle up with extra blankets. I have " oldfashionmama
We are back to spring around here. Our 90 degree temperatures have dropped to the 50s at night and the 60s to low 70s in the daytime. We had already taken the stovepipe down in the house so these cool nights we just bundle up with extra blankets. I have never seen such cool temperatures this close to June. The cool weather plants in the garden are thriving but the the peppers and tomatoes aren't so sure about this drastic temperature change. During the hot weather, we had added some hay because there is no shade at the garden and the hay definitely helped hold the moisture in the ground a little longer.
The shop build is in its final stages and for this we are amazed and thankful. The hubby really did not want to spend any money on materials for the shop except of course for the nails he had to have. This no spending money led to quite a problem when he reached the bottom of the shop. He put a board around the bottom to nail the walls to but this would leave a gap since he didn't want this board directly against the ground. He considered cinder blocks which we priced; he also considered pouring some concrete which we also priced. Neither of these options would be cheap even for as small as the shop is. Finally he decided on stones. He already had a small pile of stone but each morning when he went for his walk, he brought back 2 to 3 flat stones depending on the size. One day we went for a truck ride down the county road and loaded up flat stones that had washed up during the storms. He was nervous about dry stacking the stones but in the end it turned out beautiful. He also took the red clay and filled in the cracks. The roof is recycled and he had to fill many holes with silicone he had on hand so it wouldn't leak. The only other money we have spent on the shop is some rough cut lumber milled by another man with a chainsaw mill. We invested in that because our trees are not big enough to build an entire building. It would take too many to make into enough lumber.
We are in for some more rain but any day it is not raining I imagine he will be nailing up walls.
Our next full time project is the winter's firewood. We have some done but we are waiting to move the hubby's things into the new shop because we will be moving the garage tent up there beside the new shop. There is a tree over his current tent shop that is dead. It will be used for firewood. We also had an oak and hickory felled in Saturdays night's straighline winds. These are down below the tent near the creek. We will cut them down there and haul it out.
We had major root cellar issues. The drain pipe the hubby installed worked great-- no more standing water in the cellar. But we have had major temp increases. We decided to crack the lid and let some hot air escape. This has worked so we know we need to vent the top. We also need to figure out how to insulate it better. The hay started to mold on the bottom so we stuffed bags with hay and dirt and laid these across for the time being but it is not enough insulation.
We have also been seeing a lot of snakes. The little one went to collect eggs and found a rat snake who had just swallowed an egg. The hubby went to chop its head off and out popped the egg. So little girl and the egg were safe and the snake is dead.
We have seen 4 or 5 snakes so far most of them harmless thankfully. The hubby did mow the areas we frequent and the orchard as well as a path to the creek so that the kids can play down there.
We were able to find some cheddar cheese on sale and I have started another experiment in preservation without refrigeration. I took oak wood ash, sifted it, and buried 10 blocks of cheese in my stoneware crock.
So far we have used 4 and it seems to be working great. The cheese hardens a little but the taste is not affected.
The well house is completed and working wonderfully for shade and rain protection. There are so many things happening around here and so much we are trying to do that we loose sight of whether we are actually accomplishing anything at all. We get down and discouraged looking at all the work and feeling like we are going in circles. But looking at the pictures, we are very slowly making progress. Starting from the ground up is hard and nothing is quick. It takes so much time and effort and each project offers its own set of challenges to overcome but the results are worth it.
At night I have been hand sewing the hubby a new pair of pants and we usually use the solar bulb but I hate the brightness of it but I had no good place to set my lamp and actually be able to see. One morning before breakfast the hubby took some time to cut this log down to size for a table for me.
We are truly blessed and thankful to be living this life. I do hope everyone has a blessed week.
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