Hay Days & A Barn Facelift

We did hay this year with our neighbours up the road. Their farm, their hay, their equipment, our labour.

Weather was wonky, as usual, and there were some equipment failures in the beginning, but by the end of August we had hay coming in, and still no hay shed.

That worked out ok though, since we were able to stand on the hay while we did construction.  Easier than a ladder when you're weilding large beams.  Skids on the ground for a floor, logs, poles, and spikes for construction materials, and plastic for the roof.

 #2 decided to replace that old board they've been climbing over for the past four years with a real gate.  That'll make feeding much easier this winter.  He's such a good kid, worrying about his mama like that.

The hay kept coming.  Awesome.  553 bales in the end.  We'll need to build another hay shed for next year.  For this year, we have two stacks piled under tarps.  We're already feeding a bit of hay now, as the grass in the pasture is getting pretty sparse.  Most of these stacks will probably be gone before winter really sets in.

The last load was just me and the littles in September.  The bigs had gone back to highschool.

Earlier this year husband used the tractor to push the barn back up on it's foundation.  It's getting kind of old, and, unfortunately, was not constructed well to begin with, made out of 2X4s and pressboard mostly.  It had never been painted, the pressboard was peeling, and the bottom was rotted out.  And the critters knocked the doors off AGAIN!

We added a couple rows of 1X6s to the bottom of each side to patch the holes and strengthen the base.  Then I started on the paint job.  #3 and #4 helped out the first day, cause you know, it's always fun to paint on the FIRST day...


I couldn't quite reach that patch on the top with the ladder I was using.  I had taken the big ladder back to the house to work on the chimney.  I figured I'd just get that later, instead of carting the ladder back and forth.  Wouldn't you know it though- it's rained every day since I finished the chimney.  The patch remains unpainted.

The back side of the barn doesn't have as much slope on the ground, so I was able to get all the way to the top.

I painted the north side of the barn beige a couple of years ago.  That's where the hay lean-to is.  I'll give it a fresh coat of paint in the spring.

Garden Update V - Frosty

Greenhouse 2 went under construction mid August.  Husband, #2, and #3 did an awesome job once again!

We put the plastic on and started adding manure.  This winter both greenhouses will be testing the slope of the roof and the strength of the plastic.  Greenhouse 1 wasn't plasticked until this spring.  This may allow me an early crop of lettuce, swiss chard, and spinach, if the plastic holds.

We got our first dose of frost on September 6th, which is better than most years.  We covered the beans for the first week or so, but the cooler temperatures slowed production significantly.  The last picking yielded only one bucket from the 6 rows.  Not worth the extra work covering and uncovering daily at that rate.

I picked three buckets of seed green beans from the end of the row plants that I had stopped picking earlier in the season.  I still have the greenhouse seeds to pick as well.  I'm pretty sure it'll be more seed than I originally put in the ground. 

Meanwhile, the turkeys have been growing like crazy, eaten every bit of grass and greenery from their pen except the raspberry bushes, and watching me like little hawks in the garden.

I cut the dividing fence and set them free.  They were overjoyed.

Broccoli and cauliflower were quickly their favourite eats.  Both had survived the frost just fine, but I had nearly all the broccoli picked off already, and quickly cut those that remained.  The cauliflower never produced.  Possibly too hot and dry this summer.  We'll try again next year.

And then we started pulling this wonderful harvest of beets.  Our best year yet!  3 1/2 buckets from two rows, with another 3 rows to pull.  Awesome!


There are still carrots, onions, and potatoes to harvest as well.  Tomatoes are ripening in the greenhouse.  Brussel sprouts are coming along.  I'm holding off on picking the peppers still.  There are several peppers on each plant, but they're still quite small.  One greenhouse cauliflower formed a head, and most of the broccoli has been picked.  Herbs need to be picked and dried.


The frost killed the pumpkin and squash plants.  Some of the pumpkins froze, and went mushy, so immediately went to chicken feed.  The rest were brought in the house, but as they go mushy they're going out to the chickens as well.  I don't think there will be any for human consumption this year.  Dissapointing with those huge plants that were taking over the greenhouse.  I had better pumpkins from the smaller plants last year.

Our chimney had seen better days. Last winter it had caused us a lot of trouble with no draw.  Smoke backflowing into the basement.  No heat!

It was crumbling in spots when we moved in, and of course, it's gotten worse over the past four years.

I started by breaking the bricks loose from the mortar with a chisel and a hammer.  In some spots- no hammer required.  It just crumbled.  The upper portion here was the last repair done by the previous owner.  I cursed him as I took it apart.  There were broken bricks, and huge chunks of mortar where bricks should have been.  I figured that was the cause of the decay.

Once I had it all apart I cleaned the old bricks to see what was reusable.

Then I mixed a batch of mortar and started rebuilding the chimney.  Then I understood the problem.  The newer bricks from the last repair were all too big.  There was no way to fit them around the chimney tile without leaving big spaces.  What a mess.

I went to Home Hardware with one of the original bricks.  Who knew buying bricks would be so difficult?  They had "nothing that size".  I went out to take a look.  They had no bricks at all.  Stupid square patio stones.  I needed to fix the chimney, not a walk way.

I asked them to order me some bricks.  The lady didn't know what kind of bricks they were.  Just regular clay bricks.  The size is what's important.  She measured my brick and called her supplier in Quebec.  After several minutes on the phone, they established that I was looking for Ontario Standard bricks.  They should be in in a week.  Two weeks later, when I hadn't heard from them, I went in to see if they had my bricks.  Different lady.  I wasn't listed in the computer.  There was no brick order, either arrived or pending.  She called the other lady.  They broke my bricks.  When they were unloading the truck they dropped the skid and smashed them all.  Do I want them to reorder them?

Are you freaking kidding me?  My chimney is ripped apart, winter is coming, and it didn't occur to these people to at least call and explain?  Yes, reorder the frickin' bricks.

Another two weeks passed, again no phone call, but this time when I went in, they had my bricks.  Yee haw- home to fix the chimney!

It took about 5 days - 3 to 4 hours a day to get it done.  #3 and #4 worked diligently, lifting an old paint can tied to a rope, one brick at a time, half a bucket of mortar at a time, from the ground to the chimney.  We dragged the hose up on the roof so I could mix the mortar from there.

I added a piece of old stove pipe around the top, where part of the tile was broken off.  Wore the skin right off my index finger filling in the chinks at the end, but it's all done now, and ready for winter!

 The view from the ground, with the cap on.

Gone Fishin'

We managed to get out on the water a few times this summer and do some fishing.

We had one very good day on the Montreal River.  #3 caught the biggest fish of the year, so far. #4 hasn't caught a fish yet.  The rest of us did ok.

The boys all went swimming in the river.

And back at home...

Everyone helped prepare the bounty for the freezer.  5 meals of fish safely stored away.

While the Boys Were Away

The mom will play...

Or work.  Definitely work.  When we bought our house we had these lovely chunks cut out of the walls in the older boys' room.  The ceiling was falling- slanting...  The previous owner cut through the wall and installed beams in my room to hold it up.  Then he stuck the cut outs back in and taped them up.

It looked even worse with the cracked and peeling tape ripped off.

Many, many layers of poly filla ere applied.  Four days worth, with sometimes three coats in a day.

Then I started painting.  Home mixed paint, once again.  It may not turn out the perfect shade of "Norlandic Ice Blue", but if your tastes are less specific, and your wallet less thick, you can achieve a nice shade of blue for little to no cost.

A five gallon pail, the mixer attachment for the drill, and 5 one gallon pails of assorted shades of blue latex paint.  Most of these I picked up at the township paint swap last year.  One can was a mistint that cost me less than $10.
 

Surprised and happy boys returned from camp.

Now I just need to finish the younger boys' room.

Garden Update IV - Beans!

Two buckets of beans from the first picking.  The beans are phenomenal this year.  The year of the bean!

The plants are big and luscious, and producing at an alarming rate.  I'm picking every third day, and it takes about 7 hours to pick, cut, wash, and blanche them.  My back is not loving the beans!  Thankfully the blueberries are easy picking this year, and I don't really need a lot of them, so that provides some relief.

I planted a variety of beans, after the bean failures of the past three years, hoping to find the magical variety that would love my soil, rain, and short growing season.  mother nature decided to play a big trick on me though, and give us a hot humid summer.  Isn't she cruel?  lol.  So my data is a bit skewed, and I plan to plant a variety again next year, in hopes of similar results.

McKenzie stringless green pod-  good germination, slower to start producing, smaller plants, production increased mid season.
McKenzie tendergreen improved-  good germination, good production
McKenzie classic contender-  ok germination, smaller plants, ok production
McKenzie greencrop-  poor germination, small plants, long tender beans, excellent taste
Pike dwarf green stringless-  poor germination, long slender beans
Pike labrador-  poor germination, lower production
Matchless tendergreen improved (Dollarstore!!)-  excellent germination, excellent production, very large plants, sure didn't do that last year...
Saved seed-  excellent germination, excellent production, huge plants!!

I get almost as many beans from the matchless and saved seeds as I do from the other four rows!  Fascinating!

Three buckets of beans on the last picking.  I have 21 bags of beans, about 5 cups each, frozen for winter so far.  We've eaten another 6 meals worth.  Once I get 36 bags frozen, I'll start shortening my rows, allowing the last two plants of each to go to seed.

The broccoli is also doing well this year.  Five small bags frozen so far, plus one meal.  Not enough for a dish of broccoli by themselves, but nice sized servings for chicken rice casserole or stew.

 No heads yet on the cauliflower.

The beets are doing better this year than in the past, onions are doing great, potatoes look good.

Carrots are still buried in the weeds.

Peas are sad, mostly due to escaping turkeys, poor germination, and total neglect on my part.

Lettuce is still small, though we've been picking away at it.  Turnips didn't germinate well, and aren't growing well either.

In the greenhouse, the corn has tassles!

The tomato trees are loaded with big green tomatoes.  Please turn red!  Please!  Please!!

And something weird is happening at the base of the crazy pumpkins.  They almost look like they got hit by frost, yellowed, wilted, missing leaves.  But that's the part that's in the greenhouse.  The part outside is vibrant and healthy.  And the temperatures dropped before this happened, so there's no way it got too hot in the greenhouse and fried them.  At any rate, I can now see in and around them.

Cucumbers are just starting to produce.  Swiss Chard has been eaten again, and again, and is ready for another meal.  Broccoli is starting to develop heads.  Brussel Sprouts have tiny little heads all up the stalks.  Cauliflower is big and leafy, but no heads.  If I could find my herbs, they would probably be ready to start drying.

To be continued...

We Have a Bull!

A bull calf, that is.  i'm not quite ready to take on a full size bull.  Dorie greeted the young fellow playfully, putting on all of her girlish charms.

Let's bang horns!  He looks just like her, but smaller.  He's about 14 months old.  Same colouring, same shaped horns.  He's supposed to be a charolais cross.  we're calling him Steaks.

He looks so tiny beside her.  He's got three months or so to get the job done.  Then he'll go in the freezer. 

Casper tried to tell me this new bull was not necessary.  He mounted Nelly.  At 5 months, and hopefully castrated, I don't think that's going to work.  Hopefully castrated, because we did the bands, but nobody can catch Casper, let alone flip him over to take a look.

My little herd, relaxing in the sun.

Until I disturbed them.  "How close do you plan to get with that camera?"

Relax, ladies.  You've got a man in there.  I'll be keeping safely back BEHIND the fence.  'Cause I'm a big chicken.  My boys are making fun of me.  "He's just little!"  Yeah, that's right.  Just little, and calm, and gentle.  Until he decides he wants me out of his pasture.  I'm old and fat and short.  There's no doubt in my mind that he can outrun me.  I'll stay on my side of the fence, thank you very much.

Next year's bull?

He doesn't scare me so much.  Yet.