What I've Been Up To this Fall.............

Since I last posted I've been to the Fryeburg Fair..................

Red & Rusty.......

 Rough day at the fair...............

I soaked in the sights, smells & flavors of the fair.  My favorite fair treat is fried dough with melted butter and cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top, of course I had some fair fries and a few other goodies too! 

I also worked on a few UFOs, here are some photos of them...................

The 1 1/4" squares for one of the borders of the Garden Basket wall quilt, I'm not quite finished cutting them.....

 Here are the blocks for the center of the GB quilt, while trimming these blocks I noticed that I forgot to stitch the stems on one of them, I'll get that done before I finish the top.......


This is one of the quilts from Lori Smith's Fat Quarter Quilting that I started working on last winter!  I have to finished a little more hand quilting and put the hanging sleeve on the back.

I "ripped" the boards for the chicken yard expansion, hoping to get it finished next week,  in case you haven't noticed it's taking me a long time to get this done, I'm not really excited to be working on this project.  The pullets are really in need of more area, we are also hoping this will help with "integrating" them with the older hens and Rudy......it didn't go so well the first time we tried :0(  Hoping it works next time or I may need two coops.  I also showed them what an egg looks like and told them to start thinking about laying soon or else, LOL!

I've also been cleaning up the gardens and getting the yard ready for winter.  Here are the last of the Hydrangea flowers that I cut today before the rains came........

I also harvested 3/4s of a bushel of grapes from my vines and made jelly from them.  Now I am waiting to see if it sets up after it cools, it's been over 6 years since I've made any jelly and can't remember how long it takes to "jell".  



The soap is curing nicely.......I can't wait for it to finish up so I can try it out!  I'm tempted to make more before this one is finished curing so I can use some as gifts.  If I wait, the second batch won't have time to cure before Christmas......something to ponder!  I also am hoping to make a few gifts for Christmas, but I'm NOT going to stress out if it doesn't work out. 

Hope you are having a wonderful Fall!

Guarding the Flock

While working on a few little things around the coop I had the opportunity to take this picture. 

With Rudy and Midnight watching over them I am hoping the "girls" will be safe from harm!

Off to make more relish and some B & B Pickles.

How Much Would You Bid?

I've been busy quilting and binding the Java quilt for a silent auction fundraiser.  The proceeds will help defray the cost of sending the students, that won gold at the state SkillsUSA, to the national competition in Kansas City.  My youngest son will be attending again this year. 

I already had the Java Quilt top finished I quilted it this week and just finished binding it this morning.  I put it in a basket with a coffee mug, flavored coffee and a great book.

The nursery where my son works donated the pottery flower pot, I just added some seed packets, gloves, two gardening magazines and some tools to make this a fun choice. 

So would you bid on either of these, which one............I love them both so it would be a hard choice, LOL. 

It was a BEAUTIFUL spring day today so I spent some time outside with hubby insulating the new coop, we are planning on working on it some more tomorrow afternoon.  I will post photos when there is noticeable progress to share. 

Rudy and his girls enjoying the warm spring afternoon.......

So Far So Good

A quick update on the goings on in the coop area.  Rudy found his way to the food and water I left for him on Tuesday afternoon, he eventually made his way back into the coop area and has been there since. 

It has meant a slight change in the feeding routine to try and keep him from getting too excited when I go in and do what I have to do to keep things tidy.  I did notice that when I put out the "treats" that Rudy was not really wanting to share with the girls.....he wanted his first!  This morning I "smartened up" and sprinkled treats in a much larger area so they could all eat the treats and Rudy didn't get all the best of the goodies!  It is my hope that after a these past few days of establishing a new pecking order things are going to quiet down.  So far the girls are still laying eggs, but I have told Rudy that if he interrupts that process his is "outta here"!   

Have a great day!

Waiting for Spring

I have been waiting for Spring, each day we are another day closer to warmer weather!  The weather here has been cold but sunny the past few days,  we are expecting some snow/rain mix tomorrow and some more "weather" Sunday and Monday.   

While waiting for Spring I have continued to work on the UFOs in my sewing room and keeping the new ones up to date.  I have also been doing a little reading, as I have mentioned before I always have a stack or two or three of books that I want to read, after all one never knows what you might be in the mood to read, LOL.  I have cut back on the time I spend blogging, as most of you know time tends to disappear while blogging.   I am sure that the fact that I haven't been posting much will not help with adding followers BUT that is NOT why I blog......I just thought it would be fun to share what is going on in my little world and hope that I might help someone try something they thought they couldn't do! 

The "girls" are doing well, I am thrilled that they made it through the toughest part of winter.  They have been fairly productive as I have not bought any eggs since Christmas baking and I after I finished my baking I realized that I didn't need to buy any!  One of the girls did molt starting in early January but over the weekend I went to the coop and found not one but THREE eggs so the molt is over!    Not only did the girls make it throught the winter, but I managed to get them fed and watered twice a day as well as keeping the coop fresh.  Oh and I had to shovel the coop roof many times so I could open the top and of course I had to shovel some of their yard so they could spend time outside.....This winter was a learning experience and I will be making a few changes this summer to make next winter easier.

Last but certainly not least, I must thank God for keeping us safe and healthy this winter, that is probably one of the biggest blessings!  Thank you Lord for keeping us safe and healthy. 

Well enough chatter from me for today, I will update on how I did this month with keeping my paperwork organized soon. 

Teamwork......

Today hubby and I decided to brave the chilly garage (the space heater was out of fuel and I didn't want to go out and get more) and get the roof for the chicken coop made.  This is what the coop roof was like this morning before we started.......

Their roof was a tarp with a thin piece of wood over the top, of course the temperatures are getting colder and  I also wanted a more secure roof that could be easily opened for cleaning.  So today was the day.....Hubby and I work together, he isn't able to physically do the job so he tells me what to do with the tools and materials and hopefully when we are done we have a finished product.  Thankfully we have been married for 26 years and have learned to work well together!

We had to buy a sheet of 1/2" plywood,  already had the hinges, roofing paper was leftover from a few years ago, and the rest of the wood was from "around" the house and yard.  Nails and screws are a "staple" at our house so we didn't need any of them either.  

We wanted the top to fit sort of like a box top, with a lip around the edges.  After measuring the top of the coop and adding a little for overhang in the front, we needed to cut the plywood, thankfully, "middle" son was over raking leaves (thank you) and came into the garage just in time to save me from having to use the skil saw (I have never used one before and really wasn't looking forward to it).



Now we need to mark where to put the first part of the "lip" for the top, after marking where to place it we started the screws then clamped the wood and finished screwing in the screws (sorry for lack of photos).  After getting the first board for the "lip" done we did the two sides the same way and carried it down to the coop for a "test fit".  It fit like a glove (after pulling out the nails from the top of the coop that were making it wobbly) then back to the garage to set on the hinges and put on the roofing paper.  Earlier this week we brought the paper inside the basement so it would be warm and easier to work with, but we had to work fairly quickly as it was cold in the garage.  The hinges are on the back side, we left extra paper to "overhang" the back and protect from possible drafts and tried to cover as much of the rest as possible. 

Then off to place it onto the coop and screw the bottom part of the hinges, oldest son helped with this part, thankfully because by this time my body was cold and stiff.  Voila a beautiful roof just in time for the yucky weather that is on the way for the weekend!  What do you think?? 

Of course while we were working on the roof I had to section the girls into a corner and somehow they managed to "get out", they sure do think the grass is greener on the outside, LOL.  I had to grab the dog and get him inside, I opened the pen so they could get back in but let them wander for a while....then later shooed them back into the coop!   I am making progress......I actually held one of them today, sorry I am still not quite up to speed with their names yet! 

I want to add a window to the left of the coop door so they will have some natural light on days that they have to stay inside, since I really don't plan on putting a "light" inside the coop, unless you think I should Peggy??  I was hoping to get the window done today but the roof took longer than expected, if there is a delay in the rain/snow tomorrow I will try to get it done in the morning.  I also want to figure out a better "yard area" for them, but not sure if it will get done this fall.....I will talk to hubby and see if we can build it in the garage and move outside when complete.  I would like a hinged door to get in and out and I would like to make fencing over the entire top (they have flown out several times before I covered the top).  Right now I have half chicken netting and half tarp because I ran out of netting.  If we redo this we will reuse the netting we already have and I think I will only have to get some strapping for the frame. 

One Step Closer to Finally Makin' It.......

Today I ran errands and didn't get much done, but I did round up this stuff...............

 The bag contains alfalfa meal, the rest are the parts that will be added to..............
this blue plastic container.  I also had to "shop" from the backyard scrap wood pile for the frame for this project.  Hubby found a free "how to" on the web to turn all of this into a Rotating Compost Bin, he is having us add the wheels to make it easier for me to rotate it.   When it's all put together it will help me make some wonderful "gold" for my garden, the one I hope to have within the next 2 years.  I gathered all the stuff into the garage so hubby and I can be in nice and warm in the garage while we put it together, not sure when, but soon.  I will try to take photos as I make it so if you are interested in making one you can see how "easy" it is to make your own, LOL

I took this photo yesterday before I started working on the improvements I made to the inside of the coop.  The girls are peaking out wondering what I'm doing. 

Last night when they went inside I was expecting them to be using the new roosting pole I added.......instead one of them decided to roost on the waterer, I went to Tractor Supply and picked up a hanging waterer, that should take care of that problem! 

Introducing the Ladies..........

Here are the lovely gifts that I receive every morning, sometimes one, but most days I get two!

Here are the ladies responsible for these gifts..................

They have been here for a week now and I am still tweaking their yard, we are also going to have to make a few adjustments to the coop before winter really gets here.  They both got out the second day they were here, I thought they flew over the fencing, but I think they slipped out a small opening in the fencing.   That was a little scary 'cause Hunter, our German Shepherd, was trying to get them, luckily they were in the bushes on the side of the hill and he couldn't get to them.  One got out yesterday and I think I have fixed the problem.

If Hunter was not unleashed we could let them free range, but he roams the yard and would surely get them.  I never thought that I would get chickens, I had a traumatic experience when I was very young and have always been afraid of them ( no laughing), but they have "pecked" me yet!  I hope that I can make everything warm and cozy for them during our cold winter, I have been doing some reading and I am up for the challenge, I will also be bugging Peggy with questions.  I am hoping that they will continue to lay eggs all winter!  I have not named them yet, they really belong to my son, but I am sure that he wouldn't mind if I named them.   So there you have it the "ladies" are chickens!