A great weekend

I spent the majority of the weekend working on the little shelter and the gate for the small lot. Friday evening, I cleaned up at the back of the shop in order to uncover some metal siding I thought I could use for the shelter. In doing so, I moved a lot of scrap wood to the burn pit in the patio. It was just about dark when I called It quits and lit the stack of scrap wood on fire. It made a beautiful fire. It was too chilly to sit outside and enjoy the fire, so Mama and I sat I the sunroom and watched it, talking late into the evening. It was a very pleasant night.

Saturday, I started out by welding pieces together to make a latch for the gate hung at the new lot. Mama and I have been using a bungee to keep the gate closed, but I did not feel like making that a long-term solution. It took me only about an hour to make the latch, but it was an hour well spent. now we can open the latch with one hand versus needing two to use the bungee. And the gate is more secure. It took quite a bit longer to get the siding on the little shelter. I did not finish that until about 2 pm. But other little chores were done as I located the siding needed to cover the shelter.

I took the tractor and removed a useless pear tree from the garden. Hauling it and a lot of other branches to a pile at our little pond. While in that area of the farm I rummaged through a stack of metal siding that has sat there since we moved to the farm – almost six years. In that stack I found the rest of the pieces needed for the shelter. I had to make a few cuts but for the most part, the leftover pieces fit as needed to cover the shelter. In the process, I terrorized the little girl goats all day long with my welding, metal cutting and impact driver attaching the metal to the pallet structure. By the time I quit, they were worn out.

Meanwhile, Mama started a new business Saturday. She is selling the nail coverings. She seems truly excited about getting going. She already has her own website and is working hard to learn to use it. That tells me she is actually excited about doing this. She has avoided anything and everything to do with computers in the past, so this is a first. A long overdue, but a welcome change. By Sunday, her mentor had people registering on her site. The lady who will mentor Mama is excited for Mama.

In preparation for her being gone, Mama and I cleaned the coop late in the day. I also had to move a pile of hay out of the way of the barn doors on the goat barn. I opened those doors with some difficulty Thursday evening and did not want that refuse to get wet with the rain we are anticipating over the next two days. We put a large round bale in the goat barn but a lot of it gets wasted as the goats pick through for the best pieces. That discarded chaff is what had accumulated in the opening covered by the rolling doors. I am not sure if using the large bale of hay is the best idea, but it is cheaper and less trouble for me and Mama. So far, the goats have eaten 2/3 of the bale. I am impressed.

I finally took the time to varnish one of the hives very late Saturday. That chore was long overdue. I will apply a second coat of the marine varnish this evening. A third coat will be applied on Friday evening – if all goes well. That hive will be ready for the bees we are purchasing from Donny in mid-April. I should be able to finish the second hive in stages next week as I am home. Later in March, I will make new hive bottoms and covers so that Mama and I will have four standard hives to fill with a top bar hive on standby. Hopefully, we will fill those extra hives with caught swarms of bees. I have one trap out now. Others will follow.

But the most exciting news of the weekend came Sunday night with the arrival of Audrey. She was born a little after 10 pm. Mama and I knew Brittany was at the birthing center. She had called Mama early in the afternoon. We all decided it as better for Mama to wait until this morning to go to Brittany versus leaving yesterday and driving well into the night. Mama does not do well driving after dark. She is packed and headed out this morning after she finishes the morning feeding. She will be gone all week.

The hardships of grandparenting.