CATCHING UP

It's been some time since I've been able to post on the blog - it's been a busy summer so far, just finishing up odds and ends.
We finished the brood room inside the bobwhite flight pen.

Big John added a window to the south, with another on the north side planned.

Today, we let the latest batch of week-old birds out into the brood room. They'll be much happier in there than in their box.

We worked quite a bit on the building in the past couple of weeks. Big John has plumbed the sink, and by some small miracle, he and I were able to move the stove from it's temporary home in his shop, on to the trailer, around to the kitchen, out on to the porch, and finally into the kitchen. It was nearly impossible, but we've gotten pretty good at doing the impossible! Here's how it looks at the moment:

The gas line is run, but we're still waiting on the installation of a propane tank. The weather hasn't quite cooperated with us this week - since Monday, we've had 9 inches of rain. In July! Unbelievable! The mosquitos will overtake us very soon, I'm afraid.

The garden is in the process of getting pulled - all but the herbs, hot and sweet peppers and okra. (In other words, I'm pulling cucumbers, tomatoes and squash.)

The stink bugs, cucumber bugs and squash beetles just ate us up this year. We decided to throw in the towel and get an early start on the fall garden. We're planning to revamp the two gardens - take out the middle fence and make them in to one garden - so when it dries up, we can get started on that. Because we just don't have enough projects going on at once right now!!

My Production Reds have just started laying - albeit, not in the proper spot. One of them has decided the outside sink is a perfectly good nesting spot! Silly chicken! I'll have to get her straightened out on this issue.

I've also had a chance to apply the finish to my studio walls. Once Big John is able to get the ground wire run and the gas line checked, we'll be able to put up the last couple of pieces of paneling. Then we'll install the tin ceiling, lay the floor, put up the trim ... and on and on and on! We're almost done - sort of.

In the coming weeks, we plan (hope) to finish the kitchen, workshop, and studio. That will ebable us to clean out the barn and the feedroom, where Big John's workshop has been for the last few years. We'd like to move the incubator and hatchers into a section of the feedroom, and then I'll have a chance to re-work that space. The projects never end around here!