Projects

So I said I would add some pictures, I've kept busy in the unusual spring weather!  The first picture is of my project to save my back from some agony - I am using the concrete from the hog operation to build a raised bed for my strawberry patch.  I am almost done with it, I can only move so many chunks of concrete every - I started last fall and am almost finished.  I just have a few holes in the wall to fix up and then I have to fill it in with dirt and next year I will have strawberries!  I have been trying to think up ways to recycle the concrete and I don't know if I have the time or energy to build anymore, but this would be a nice way to make use of it.

 My other major project is this barn - as far as I can tell it was built in the early 1930s and was originally a dairy barn, then in about 1980 or so it was converted into a hog barn.  What that entails is not all that interesting, but it basically makes it difficult to put animals that are more than 6 feet tall inside (that will likely be a topic for an upcoming post).  Alex is posing to give you some reference how large of a structure it is.

 My current project involves cleaning out all the old straw and pigeon droppings that accumulated in it.  If you look closely at this photo, you can see the little spots which is all the dust in the air.  I have a few more hours of work to do and then I am going to wash everything down with water to stop at least some of the dust.  It's not a real fun place to play in yet, but as you can also see it will make a great basketball or volleyball court.  I'm sort of tempted to open the big door in the middle of the way (which you can see the outline of), but I'm afraid that I will not be able to get it closed again or it will just fall off from lack of use.

I keep hoping to find something really old and cool while moving all of this dusty crap, but so far all I have found is an old pulley and a few old doors with cool doorknobs.  No sack of gold or silver coins, but I'm not done yet!

Spring

I have been meaning to write more, but with the new baby, teaching and work I haven't had much time to do any extra things.  Hopefully with spring on the way I will find new energy to continue posting more regularly.

It has been a very mild winter in MN, I don't mind it one bit after the last three years of moving snow and hoping that my road is passable (not covered in snow or so muddy you get stuck).  Now the grass is green and the trees are budding earlier than I've ever seen them, it's hard to believe that the winter ever even happened!  I have started to get ready for spring, I was very tempted to plant something last week, just to say that I did, but I'll wait a little while longer.

The first thing I am planning on doing is planting potatoes on Good Friday - I don't know who came up with this tradition, but it's one a lot of people in this area follow and for the last 7 years I have ended up with more potatoes than my family (including my parents and brothers family) have been able to eat before spring rolls around.  So I'll try again this year unless for some reason it keeps raining.

One thing that I didn't blog about was the incredible drought we had starting last July, it snowed and snowed and then rained and rained last year and then suddenly stopped in July and the 1st real amount of moisture (more than a tenth of an inch) didn't fall until February of this year.  Now in the past few weeks we've had some good rain and hopefully it will continue and put us past this drought.  Not that I am too worried about it, if it doesn't rain, I still have my job and can buy my food.  Many of my neighbors rely on it though and if there was an extended drought, it would mean tough times for everyone.  What happens remains to be seen, but there this spring is off to a good start to another good year on the farm.

The other project I have been working on is cleaning up my barn - I haven't taken any pictures of my project yet, but I suppose I should just so I can remember the progress.  So far I have ripped out all the old wiring, mainly to make it more safe.  Taken out all the old hog fencing and equipment since it mainly was in the way and was an endless source of cursing when ever I hit my head.  The part that I am most excited about is that I am cleaning out the hay loft.  It had a foot of straw and a couple inches of pigeon droppings in it.  I told my boys I would do that so they could play basketball in the winter or whatever they want to do.  I think it will be a nice area to do thing in when it is raining or when it is snowy, but it will take a lot of work to get it done.  I guess I won't say much more about it, I'll get some pictures next week and that will make it easier to see what is all going to happen.

So begins my attempt at blogging - who ever posted that they missed my blog - thank you, I enjoy writing and am sitting here now wondering why I quit for so long!