Not much gardening at present. I am sore from trying to rebuild the part of my shed I had to tear down back in May. I did not get much done on it over the summer, partly because I tried to undo a 2x4x10 ft board I had put up wrong, and got whacked on the side of my head and knocked flat on the ground. (DS and two friends insisted that I did it wrong, and had to redo it). Afterward, and I got a dandy concussion from that smack in the head, they said to be more careful! Humph. I will be more careful by not redoing any boards put up "wrong". It can stay unless the critics want to fix it. I did not get much gardening done either. I am in my 60s, and do not need such injuries. I was up on my ladder when I was trying to pry those two boards apart... So, lately, I have been working on said shed. It is no beauty, but it will be functional. It is just for tools anyway. It is crooked in places, but they can stay crooked. However, I did get most of the roof rafters put up. I have two more to do tomorrow or Wednesday after I get back from town, and picking up some of those joist holders from the lumber yard. (I work at my church on Tuesday mornings.) Since I need to do that before cutting the metal to cover it, I am working on taking down the chicken wire on my chicken coop. The wire is good, but the lumber is rotten. I have had to keep my chickens penned in their roosts all summer due to the raccoons trying to get them. They can let themselves in and out of the coop any time they want. Poor birdies. I have several panels of wire removed, but pulling thousands of staples is a tedious task and time consuming. And somehow that rotting chicken coop has to come down SAFELY. DS built it some years ago, and we got the wrong lumber by mistake. He made it 16' x 16' x 8' ... Mine will not be so huge. He is to be home a few days over the holiday, so I hope he can find time to help take it down. I really do not want hit on the head with more boards, even rotten ones. I am trying to figure out where to put my hens and a bunny while that comes down so we do not scare them to death with the crash. Their new roost will be part of my new shed, and it will be closed in so they can keep warm over the winter. I had hoped to have it finished by now. Part of the delay was in figuring out the logistics of building it, since I am not a carpenter or anything. I can build ugly dog houses. Now I will have an ugly shed and chicken coop to match my ugly doghouses. Yes, the corner posts should be put in holes with some cement added, but I cannot dig holes right now. My sprained ankle from almost two years ago is much better, but not enough for digging holes. The 100 year old part of the shed (which ought to be replaced too) is setting on the ground and still there, so the new part is setting on the ground too. But the rafters look pretty good. And it is sturdy.
Oh my, oh dear and ouch! I love the way you struggle to make your buildings match though. And you're right to leave everything crooked for the critics to fix if it annoys them too much. Best of luck with the rest of the project.
Just thought I would give an update on my chicken coop/shed project. It is coming along pretty good so far. I have the chicken coop part framed in now, and part of the roof up. It is turning out pretty good I think. I had a neighbor's grandson show up to help this past Sunday, and he is planning to come tomorrow. (He always liked to come and visit and help me out when he was growing up. I always encourage kids to help out!) We had about 1 1/2 to 2 inches of snow today, but I can work on salvaging wire and a few more decent boards that are needed. I can cut tin and put it up also. I don't have to use power tools for those things. I might be able to cut boards on the front porch if I can keep the mess out of the house. It is to be about 20 tonight, and 40s tomorrow. I would like to get my chickens and bunny in their new home as soon as possible. I need to frame in Bunny's part, and two small windows I want to use. I have some ladder looking things DS made for something else to use for the nest boxes. There are exactly 8 openings to make into boxes for my 8 hens. I can put wire on the bottom, and set it on cement blocks I have, and fill it with straw for them. Later I might add small dividers. I have some dowels handy to make a bar for a roost, and some pampas grass for more straw to cover their floor. I have been trying to think if I have anything I could fasten to the wall for a feed dish. They knock over and spill their current feed pans and waste a lot of feed. I also need to make a door for the coop. I have one I can reuse for Bunny's area. I have what I need to make a ladder for him, so he can have an upstairs and a downstairs in his cage. It will be larger than what he had before, and definitely bigger than the cat carrier. The wild birds and rodents are having fun scrounging feed out of their old bedding that I raked away. My dogs are demanding another walk in the snow... I hope you are all well.
I forgot to mention that the OLD chicken coop was so rotten that this old lady pushed it over safely. DS helped with the last stubborn corner and removing some of the wire. He did do one panel on the shed roof. When I am stumped on how to do something, I pray about it, and He helps me figure it all out. It is getting done.
Gosh you certainly know how to keep yourself busy don't you? I'm sure your efforts will be greatly appreciated by all. I hope you are feeling back to your old self now, Look after yourself whilst you're busy looking after everyone else.
I'm so glad you got some help with all that building and fixing of yours. I'm certain your chickens and bunny will love their new home. Take care of yourself in all the goings-on. We're fine here, sitting out a storm (again).
The roads were icy and my young friend did not come, but I did not really want him driving on icy roads. He is only 19, and not likely an experienced driver yet. He will be back later I am sure. Plus DS was home with his rig and there was no room in the driveway. DS did do some helping while he was here. I am glad you are all well. We have more snow moving in for tomorrow sometime. But I did get some boards cut for Bunny's cage this afternoon. Maybe I can do more before the bad weather comes back. Hot showers and the heating pad helps the sore achy muscles at least. And some Bengay type rub also helps.
If Zigs and I lived a bit closer we would be round like a shot to lend a hand, but I reckon you're getting there. I can remember a time many moons ago when I felt cross and frustrated about all kinds of things going wrong. I got stuck into a pile of greasy dishes in the kitchen sink, and was singing ''Onward Christian Soldiers" at the top of my voice to vent the anger -looked up momentarily to see our young Vicar at the window - behind the sink - with his nose pushed up against the glass, laughing his socks off. You WILL get it all sorted. Plodding perseverance WILL win. Let us know won't you
I have been out there most days working on my chicken coop. Some days the work piles up faster than we can get it done. Every time I think I am about done, I find some more places that need plugged up to keep the varmints out. I had to take the door apart and do it over. I still need to tweak it and get it just right. It also needs a handle and a latch put on it. I did it kind of backwards, by putting up the board on the hinge side up first and putting the hinges on. At any rate, I need to tweak the other board so the door closes properly. I have to put some 2x4s on the sides of the windows to close those gaps, and a couple of other gaps. My bunny died, so I will finish the bunny cage later and hopefully get a new bunny. An elderly cat was sick and died during the snow. He was 17 years old, and I had him about 15 of those years. Thursday, I managed to bend the saw blade (a hidden nail?) and then could not find the tool to change the blade. I wasted several hours looking for it, and finally brought my things indoors and took care of my pets for the night. I got some tech help online, and saw what tool I was missing--an Allen wrench!--I knew where I keep them. Then my hands are kind of small for changing the blade, so my DS did it tonight when he came home from trucking. I should be ready to go in the morning after breakfast or so to get back at it. I love to sing hymns also, especially when I need some Divine help with stuff. I sure HOPE I can move my birdies into their new home soon.
I forgot to mention that I used one of those ladder type things for the nest boxes, and the other one I cut up to make their roosts. I was going to use a closet dowel, but did not figure where to hang it from. I think I will put it in the play yard when I get that made. I saw a video on you tube where someone had taken an old bike wheel and made a kind of merry go round for his chickens. They loved it! I can come up with a wheel to do that too. Old farms have all kinds of odds n ends of reusable stuff hanging around. A friend is going to loan me his old fashioned post hole digger when I am ready to do the play yard. Right now the ground is too frozen to do that, so I will have time for other necessary chores around here. (If you try to look up post hole diggers on the net, all that came up for me were really high priced gas powered models!) When I did find the old fashioned kind even those were much more than they used to be. I will try to look around at some flea markets if I can. There is one here with all kinds of good stuff, including tools.
So sorry about your bunny and cat, @AAnightowl. Kudos to you for all the things you manage to fix and handle on your own. You're an inspiration.
GOOD NEWS! I got it done enough to move my chicken into this evening. I got the windows done, and the handle on the door, and rigged a way to keep the top closed, and fixed around that too tall 4x4. I put cement blocks in front of that spot under the one window until I can figure out how to fix that gap. And I spread out the straw, put water and food in there for them. I need to put some more foam in a few places, but it should be warm enough to finish that part on Wednesday. I just leave little notes with my Sharpie on the lumber and little arrows pointing to where I need some foam.
