They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
Last week we re-vamped the first flush diverter on the South side of the barn, and added an outlet for the rainwater tank. It worked amazingly! So much easier than the factory configuration. As set up in the kit there is a small nipple that threads on that is supposed to drip and empty the… Continue reading Odd Jobs
It does not often rain during the summer in Western Washington. This is one of the biggest challenges of farm management in the PNW, the 60-90 days of drought that we get every single summer. However, last week we had rain forecast for Friday, and not just a little drizzle, but a good inch of… Continue reading Prepping for Rain
This has been a very busy week and a lot has gone on, so buckle up. It's time for a catch-up post. Literally. Mommy took Evie and Ellie to the fair last Wednesday. No, the other last Wednesday, the 6th of August. That's how far behind we are. They immediately started winning prizes. Ellie got… Continue reading Catch up post
Tuesday was the easiest day of putting up gutters I have ever experienced. This was true for three reasons: The weather was gorgeous, warm but not hot, with no wind. This side of the roof is low enough I can reach it from the ground. This makes moving back and forth much faster, since I… Continue reading Finishing the Gutters
Weather on Tuesday was what Koreans call 호랑이 장가가는 날. (Ho-rang-i chang-ga ga-nin nal, literally translated means "the day of going to the tiger's wedding" but is an idiom for a day with clouds, rain and sunshine all together). After a rainy morning the sun came out brilliantly at lunch time, so I decided to… Continue reading Guttering.
Saturday was a brief spell of good weather between two rainy stretches. I took advantage of it to replace one of the frost-free hydrants. Taking off the old hydrant is easy. Just pin the elbow on the bottom and twist it off. I took the extra step of cutting the poly pipe and installing a… Continue reading Closing up part of the ditch
Coldest morning of the year this morning. 25 degrees when I got to the farm at 5:30, so of course all the water troughs were frozen. This picture is from about 6:45, not 5:30. We've been having issues with this particular frost-free hydrant, one of the oldest ones I think, that the previous owner put… Continue reading Disappointment
We have learned a few important lessons these past few weeks. One is that Christmas time is really busy for everyone, so very little gets done on the farm. The other is that the project of installing gutters on the chicken houses is long overdue. We recently picked up a trio of sapphire gem hens… Continue reading Gutters
Quick project just to make watering the sheep and cows easier. And by easier, I mean automatic, nine months out of the year.
This is why I like having all the tools for each particular type of job (e.g. fencing, plumbing, electrical, etc.) whenever possible, in some kind of consolidated kit, or at a minimum in a consolidated location. Seppi and I were able to grab the tools and get this job knocked out in about 10 minutes.… Continue reading Quick Job: Check valve on water line
Little Farm in the Big City 