May 26, 2018

We have a renegade steer we call Houdini.  He keeps popping the staples on the fence and jumping on it to escape the fence.  Of course, the first place he goes is my flower bed/kitchen garden.  This time I marked him with some purple paint to secure locating him again when it is time to take a steer to the stockyard.    There is only so much bad habit one can take.

Black snakes at their new location

We have split the egg layers from the meat birds since it is time for them to come out of the brooder.  The egg layers went over to our mini coop to get ready to go in with our other egg layers.  This way the others can get used to them while they are growing.  However, our dogs started barking to alert us that something was up.  My husband looked into the window of the the mini coop and could see a black snake inside.  He went to get equipment to deal with the snake and turned over the mini coop to get to it.  When he got in, he discovered that there was also a second black snake in there.  One had already consumed a chick.  He got a bucket with a lid while I ran for the hoe, and we prepared them to be re-homed a few miles down the road to a non-chick location.

Finally got around to finishing the

insulatory curtains for our passive solar great room.  I used black out lining to not only add extra r value and moisture barrier, but to darken the room should we want to watch a movie during the day time (when will we have time for that?)  I made them from floor to ceiling so it will provide a layer of still air between the curtains and the window for even more r value.  They were a big job that I had a mental block about for months.  So happy they are complete.

For the holdbacks, I discovered that I could buy some holdbacks, remove the ends, and replace them with some crystal knobs I had left over from an upcycled furniture project.  I love the new look.

Whether you need some light that is off grid, or you just don't want to run electrical,  tiki type lights are often a solution.  This year, the Dollar Tree had some tiki torches in my colors (purple and green), so I got some for our deck.  My husband helped me install them with some EMT brackets in 3/4" size.  In order to keep water out of the lamp oil should it rain, I discovered yet another use for wide mouth jars in pint size.  They are heavy enough not to blow away (so far).  I am also experimenting with plastic peanut butter jars.