Tag Archives: DIY

Coop exterior progress

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I am back with another coop update. This is becoming a monthly thing. It feels so good to be making progress.

The progress this time has been happening outside the barn.

We have runs! I hired out the fencing, and I’m very glad I did. Our ground is quite stony and making sure all the posts were secure was not something I wanted to tackle myself. Plus pulling the actual fence taut did not feel like a one-woman job.

The contractor I hired was exactly the right man for the job. I had picked up some used fencing from my Mom’s neighbour, so I needed someone who was willing to deal with that. He was not only willing. He went through his own yard to see what other leftover materials he had, so he could make things as affordable as possible for us. He found most of the gates, top rails and a few other pieces, which was a huge help.

We have three runs, which will correspond with three pens inside the barn. Each run has a gate to the outside. There are also gates between each section, so I have the option of giving one group of birds double the outdoor space if the neighbouring area is vacant.

I plan to add mesh over the top and around the bottom edge, so the runs are as secure as possible.

I popped the plywood off the doorway, started to frame in the opening (it’s taken a couple of tries, and I’m not quite happy with it yet) and am working on building the door. These handprints are on the doorsill. Anyone remember when we made these? (The 2018 might give it away. I’ve obviously been planning this coop for a long time.) I love that Matt is part of it.

My cousin helped me move the leftover siding into the barn, and I added battens to the wood siding. This covers the gaps and eliminates the drafts.

The final progress is courtesy of Matt’s Dad who came out last week and trimmed a few trees for us. There were two small dead trees between the coop and the row of pines. Getting rid of them is another step on my quest to tidy the ground around the coop and mow through here.

I will be shifting the blue tarp over and picking up the rocks and rubble that are underneath it.

Progress is happening faster now, but this coop is a journey not just of this year, but of most of my life.

I look back to 2018 when Matt’s Dad cleared the brush from this side of the barn, and I’m so grateful that he’s still hauling his chainsaws around and helping us. I think about building that doorway, mashing our hands in cement, and how Matt, Ellie and I are together still.

I go back to (I think) 1988 when I went on my first real job with my Dad. We installed a chainlink fence just like this one. Working with my Dad gave me the knowledge, skills and confidence to do things like build a coop (even if I didn’t feel like doing the fencing this time). Or I think of 1985 when my Dad got our first flock of chickens and gave me such memorable experiences that I now want to share with Ellie.

I love looking for the meaning within moments. This project, this place, the people. They come together in such a special way.

Spiral spice garden update

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Our spiral herb garden is the highlight of this year’s gardening. You may recall that last year, we built an herb garden at one end of our new patio. The garden did well in year one, so I was curious how it would make out this year.

At the start of the season, pretty much everything was in good shape. Most of the plants came back, even the parsley. The flat leaf parsley had bolted early in the season last year, so it self seeded and gave us lots of plants this year. The curly parsley held on through our mild winter, but we discovered its roots weren’t very sturdy when a close encounter with the hose in the spring knocked it off its stem. My Mom bought us a new parsley. Fitting, since the start of the garden last year was a planter she bought me for Mother’s Day.

She also replaced our basil. This was not a surprise, as it doesn’t survive in our climate. I cut it all off last fall and made it into pesto. The other nonperennial herb for us is rosemary. I’d tried to overwinter it in the house, but was unsuccessful, so I bought a new plant in the spring.

The chives, sage, lemon balm, chamomile, echinacea, milkweed, thyme, oregano and mint all came back happily in the spring and have thrived all summer. Our echinacea has been a bit sleepy since my friend gave it to us, but this year it finally started to spread.

In the case of the mint, it came back too strongly (again, not a surprise), so I dug it up, put it in a pot, and buried the pot in the garden. I did the same when I added another variety of mint that I got from my brother later this summer.

Another new addition this year is dill. I had gathered some seeds from Matt’s Dad’s dill last fall, and a sprinkle in the spring led to a happy clump this summer. I am hoping it will self seed and we will have a bigger clump next year.

The final change this year was some morning glories, which Ellie planted at the centre of the spiral. They’ve been a nice burst of colour in the middle of the garden.

We did have a few failures this year. Our lavender was hanging on in the spring but did not make it. I’ve also tried for several years now to transplant my grandmother’s poppies from my Mom’s house and have not had success.

I am considering removing our milkweed. We are big milkweed fans here for the monarch butterflies. But the milkweed is too tall and too aggressive (it rivals mint) for the herb garden. Due to how it spreads, it will be a chore to eradicate it from the garden, but we have it a lot of other places on the farm.

The garden has turned out to be a big success. It’s super low maintenance and doesn’t need much weeding or watering. I added a fresh layer of woodchips, though there were very few weeds even before that.

Most of the plants have had a thorough haircut at various times throughout the season, as they got so large and unruly. (Except for the massive lemon balm, which Ellie won’t let me cut.) In fact I’ve been able to split lots of them and give them as gifts to people.

I love the big bushy plants and how they drape over the rocks. When we do work in the garden or cut any herbs, they release such beautiful scents. I also love eating the herbs. Having the garden right outside the door is so convenient, so the herbs are used and enjoyed.

It’s amazing to me that this garden has come mostly from gifts, cuttings and transplants. Little sprigs have grown into huge plants, and it’s gratifying to have some gardening success.

What’s been your biggest gardening success this year? Do you have an herb garden at your house? Do you use fresh herbs in your cooking? What’s your favourite herb?

Coop update

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At the beginning of September my Mom asked me what the highlight of my summer has been. I picked three: our cottage vacation, Ellie learning to ride her bike and the coop.

Yes, the coop. Progress has been made.

Here’s where we are at. For the first time in a year and a half we have a wall! For the first time in 13 years we can mow here!

The wall is the most noticeable change, but it’s only one.

Another big task I tackled was grading the area around the coop. Behind the barn was a lumpy, bumpy mess of weeds on top of I-didn’t-know-what. I had covered it all with a tarp last fall, weighing down the tarp with a random assortment of lumber I’d saved when we demolished the old coop.

First step in cleaning up the mess was pulling all of the nails, staples, screws, mesh and chicken wire off the boards. That took a day and a bit. Once I moved all of the cleaned lumber into the barn, I could finally lift the tarp.

The tarp had killed the weeds so I could see what I was dealing with. The lumps and bumps turned out to be a pile of concrete rubble that someone had dumped behind the barn. They only missed the rock pile by about 10 metres. So Wiley the tractor and I got busy and picked up the rubble. Then I raked the ground to level it and seeded it.

This allowed me to work my way around the side of the barn to the gaping hole where the coop was going to be. First step over here was to tar the new foundation wall we’d had built in the spring. Then I laid weeping tile along the wall and backfilled. Thanks to the barn’s newly level backyard, I could drive the tractor to the dirt pile and back without looping around the whole barn.

Finally I could focus on building the wall. The wall took a bit of figuring. It was a big opening and I was building it on my own. After I managed to get the top plate in place, it was smooth sailing from there. Studs went up, then backing for the siding, then house wrap, and then the siding itself.

Fortunately, past owners left us a huge stack of barn board siding, so I was able to use that. In fact, we still have a very large quantity left. I also took the opportunity to move the siding from its original storage spot on the upper level of the barn. I am trying to store all lumber in the basement of the barn, so Wiley and I went to work again and hauled all the siding around to the side of the barn, where it will be easy to carry into the basement.

With the wall (mostly) complete the barn is finally protected from the weather. I am also protected, as pretty much the rest of the coop will be inside work.

Inside work will be starting soon. First, I want to add battens to cover the gaps in the siding. Then I need a door and then I can finally start to build some pens that might someday hold some actual birds.

I also have some professional help coming to tackle some other coop/barn related projects. So more updates to come.

But today, join me in celebrating the coop, won’t you? I am super proud because not only are we making progress, but so far I’ve done it all on my own. (Although you can see Ellie’s been involved as well.) It makes me feel capable and strong to know I can do this and see this long-held dream starting to come together.

What’s been the highlight of your summer? Anyone else working on a multi-step or large project? Do you take the opportunity to tackle other jobs (like moving siding, cleaning up rubble) while you’re working on a related project?

Home Goals 2024 mid-year report

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We are halfway through the year, and it’s time to check in on how I’m doing with this year’s home goals. At the start of the year, I said that I needed a reset, and I planned my projects with that in mind. As I review the list, I feel like I’m doing pretty good. I’ve made progress in most areas. It’s nice to feel like I’m more organized and getting through things.

I also feel like this update might be a bit premature as I have two reveal posts coming soon.

Read on to see how I’ve done so far.

Driveway

Woman on a small orange tractor dumping dirt alongside an asphalt driveway

Guess what? I can finally say that the garage and mudroom renovation (begun in 2021) is done. Yup. We have a paved driveway. All the details and photos coming soon.

Coop

A new wall being framed for the exterior of a barn

Slowly but surely the coop is moving forward. We’ve had a new foundation wall built and I’ve started framing the exterior wall. I’ve also been working on clearing some of the “yard” around the coop. This long-awaited project is happening.

Vegetable garden

The vegetable garden has been crossed off the list for 2024. I’m a bit disappointed, but I know it was the right decision. We are working off and on in the other gardens, and I’m seeing progress there which feels really good. And despite our neglect, we have had some good harvests. One and a half pounds of asparagus–our best ever–and raspberries, which are starting now.

Clean-up inside

Woman statue lamp and silver box sitting on a dresser in front of a framed photo and mirror

I made a few tweaks to my bedroom, added a craft shelf to Ellie’s soon-to-be playroom, cleaned out a few other spaces and finished off the final details for Ellie’s bedroom (another reveal that is coming soon). I still have a lot to work through, but we’ve made some progress and I can see the future.

Clean-up outside

Uhaul truck in front of a barn

I’ve chipped, I’ve mowed, I’ve pruned, trimmed, picked up rocks, tarped. Our new chipper has been a great addition. I’ve already started rebuilding brush piles, but they’re more contained, and I know I can clean them up again before they become gargantuan. I’ve run the rotary cutter over the septic bed and along the edge of the front field, and I’m confident I can continue to maintain these areas. I’ve “groomed” a few new sections of the property, and getting each of them cleaned up feels like a good accomplishment. I also had a milestone last week when the first big load of Matt’s stuff left the barn.

Personal goals

Earlier this year I also shared some personal goals. Here’s how I’m doing on them:

  • Walking: 290km (48km per month–ahead of my goal of 42km per month)
  • Monkey bars: I still do them every week and whenever Ellie and I visit a playground. I haven’t mastered a chin-up yet, but I’m working on it. I definitely feel that my grip strength has improved.
  • Reading: 19 books (not quite on track for my goal of 50 books this year)
  • 1,000 Hours Outside: 644 (in pretty good shape to hit our goal, I hope)
  • Family albums: I’ve completed 2020 and am hoping to finish 2021 as well. That would leave me with just 2022 to catch up on (and ’24, of course).
  • Rest: Still my hardest challenge. I’m more conscious of my need to rest and I feel like I’m doing a better job of listening to my body. Though I still need to go to bed earlier.

These personal goals are less about making big changes (aside from rest) and more about maintaining a balance for myself. They’re a good reminder of some of the other things that are important to me.

Overall, I feel like I’m making good progress, and that feels good. This mid-year review makes me proud of what we’ve accomplished so far and gives me motivation to keep going.

How have you been doing on your projects so far this year? Is anyone else doing a reset? What are your big goals for 2024 (home or otherwise)?

Firewood and a father

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Firewood is Matt’s Dad’s thing. He heats their house with wood and has a huge, carefully constructed, diligently managed, well-sheltered woodpile. He also has all of the saws, axes, sledgehammers, wedges, and a wood splitter to prepare that firewood–and the experience to use them.

Man in coveralls and earmuffs cutting a tree with a chainsaw

When we ran out of firewood this spring, he immediately committed to restocking us. (He might have been a bit horrified.)

All of the firewood we have ever had at the farm has come from Matt’s Dad’s efforts (and ours). In fact, on our second day of owning the farm he cut his first tree here and one month into the farm we had our first woodpile. There have been lots and lots of trees and cutting and splitting and piling since then.

A few weeks ago, Matt’s Dad and I had a big firewood restocking day. I have always been the gopher when it comes to cutting wood. He saws. I carry, hold, split and stack. He’s offered at various points to teach me to chainsaw, but I haven’t taken him up on it. I finally did.

At first I was uncomfortable. I am very conscious of how dangerous chainsaws are. The saw was also super heavy and felt awkward for me. (Side note: He is much stronger than I realized.) But Matt’s Dad was patient and thorough, and he set me up and gave me the confidence to stick with it.

We started with three smaller trees that had died or blown down. Then he spotted a huge dead ash tree. As I kept cutting the smaller trees, stopping now and then to load the trailer, he went for the big one.

It ended up being a full day of cutting–for both of us. Three trailer loads and some very, very big pieces of wood. It was one of the best days I’ve ever had with Matt’s Dad.

Man with a wheelbarrow looking at a large fallen tree
Man and woman smiling while standing behind a pile of large logs

Last weekend, he came back and finished the job, splitting all of the big pieces while I stacked the logs in the woodpile. We are now fully restocked with enough firewood to last for probably two years.

Man splitting logs with a wood splitter in front of a pile of firewood
Man splitting a large log in half on a wood splitter
Stacked firewood

For Father’s Day, I want to celebrate Matt’s Dad. He does so much for us. Just like Dad’s are supposed to. He watches out for us, considers us, helps us, makes sure we have what we need, teaches us and spends time with us. I am very grateful to have him in our lives.

Trees from my Grandpa

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Farm driveway lined with evergreen trees

I have always wanted a tree-lined driveway. Big maples arching over the lane making a tunnel of green.

Matt and I planted 6 trees along the driveway (5 maples and 1 linden) to try to make that happen.

At the bottom of the driveway, there are already some well-established trees. These ones were evergreens. Not what I envisioned, but they provide a great windbreak and snow break around the gate. However, there were some gaps. Whether trees were never planted there or the trees died, I don’t know.

Evergreen trees at the edge of a gravel driveway

This spring we unexpectedly had the opportunity to fill in some of the gaps.

It started when we were helping my Mom in her garden. There were two little saplings that had grown from cones from the neighbour’s trees. The neighbours used to be my grandparents and my grandfather planted the spruce trees that shed the cones.

My Mom didn’t want the saplings, so I dug them out and brought them home. They have happily taken root amongst the evergreens around the gate. I’m hoping they’ll fit right in once they grow up.

Small evergreen tree surrounded by woodchip mulch

On the other side of the driveway, we planted 4 more little evergreens. These ones are even smaller than my Grandpa’s trees. They had popped up on the barn ramp, so I decided to relocate them. It turned out they fit perfectly in the gaps on the opposite side–or will once they grow.

View across a field of tall green grass

Diana Beresford-Kroeger (please read anything by her) says that if everyone on earth plants 1 native tree per year for the next 6 years (48 billion trees), we can reverse the effects of climate change. I’m trying to plant more trees around our property as a small way to help.

Small evergreen tree seen from above surrounded by woodchip mulch

Even though the evergreens are not part of my vision for a tree-lined driveway, they are a practical choice to shelter the area around the gate. I also love that I have two trees from my Grandpa here at the farm now.

Have you planted any trees this spring? Is anyone else relocating trees from one home to another? Do you have any family heirloom plants?

Coop progress

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It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to share any progress on the coop.

For me, a big part of a project is often figuring it out. I sometimes need time to think about how I want to do things or how best to do things. The coop has been that for me.

We took down the old coop. We cleared the old foundation. But then what?

Half-demolished chicken coop
Excavator and track loader removing stones and dirt from an old barn foundation

I had a big hole in the side of the barn and a vision for how I wanted the finished coop to look and function. But how was I going to get from the hole to the vision?

Back in January, I had the contractor who worked on our garage come out and take a look at the coop. The barn had been open for more than a year, and I was making no progress on rebuilding the wall. I was considering hiring out the project just to get it done.

In the end, talking through the project with the contractor was enough. He went over some of the options, and I came out of the meeting feeling like I knew what I wanted to do… and, even better, that I could do it myself.

My major stumbling block was the ground outside the coop was too high. Removing the old foundation last spring included scraping down the grade, but our landscapers didn’t go quite far enough. Going down further would create its own issues with how the ground is sloping around that corner of the barn, so regrading that area was not something I wanted to do.

Tractor outside of a large opening in the barn wall
Shovel in front of dirt

So I decided to raise the coop. Step one was building a small block wall. This would be a foundation that could be up against the exterior dirt. It would also support the new wood wall that would finally close the hole in the barn.

I called our mason, and he agreed that a wall was an easy solution. I cleaned up the opening and a few weeks ago he spent the afternoon laying two rows of block. While he was here, I was able to ask lots of questions and he talked me through a lot of other details of the project.

Barn wall covered in white tarp
Opening in the side of the barn with ladders
Mason building a wall with concrete blocks

Then Matt’s Dad dropped his trailer off at the farm and said, “Figure out what you need for the coop and go get your lumber.” So I did.

Trailer loaded with lumber parked outside the barn

Now I have a foundation. I have lumber. I have a plan.

I don’t have a schedule yet of when I’ll actually put the lumber to use and construct the wall (or the floor or the stalls), but I feel like I’m making progress.

Who else needs thinking time when you’re working on a project? Anyone else feel like you’re making progress on a project at your house? Anyone else feel stuck?

A new tool for the farm

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Last week Ellie and I put a new-to-us tool to work for the first time. Our own wood chipper.

You may recall that two falls ago (2022), I borrowed our farmer’s wood chipper (and one of his giant tractors to run it). A little while after that, I was at our tractor dealership, and our sales guy said, “Hey did you ever get that brush pile cleaned up? We have a used chipper here, and your tractor could probably run it.”

Well, the brush was cleared, but I knew there would be more to come. After thinking about it for a few days (and with some encouragement from my sister), I bought it.

But up until this spring, I still hadn’t used the chipper yet. Though I had been rebuilding the brush piles.

So finally I asked our sales guy to come out, and he helped me hook up the chipper and made sure everything worked properly. And then we blasted through the branches.

The chipper worked so, so well. It handled big stuff, small stuff, green stuff, dry stuff. The chips are nice and small (our farmer’s chipper let a lot of sticks through). And it gives us great mulch to use in the gardens–much better than burning the brush as we’ve done in the past.

For anyone interested in the details, the chipper is a Wallenstein BX42. It can handle branches that are up to 4 inches, though at our farm that’s firewood. I probably chipped a few 3 inch pieces, and they went through just fine. Our Kioti CS2410 (24hp) tractor runs it easily.

The chipper is a useful attachment, and I’m glad that we have it. It’s a good way to clean up branches, which we always have here at the farm.

Do you have any new tools at your house? Do you use mulch in your gardens? Who else buys something, but then takes a while to use it?

Guess what?

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Has anyone been around long enough to remember the guess what posts I used to do? In the early days of the blog I would occasionally publish a picture of some part of something and say, “Guess what?”

Blogs have changed so much. This blog recently turned 12. Incredible.

The answer to today’s guess what is that some progress is being made on the finishing details in Ellie’s room.

It’s also that we had a great March Break, so not that much progress was made.

(And if you guessed that I am reweaving a bamboo blind by hand… that answer is also correct.)

How is March going for you? Have you taken any breaks? Are you working on any projects? Do you have any hobbies you’ve been doing for 12 years? Is anyone here who’s been around since the beginning of the blog?

A new pillow palette in my bedroom

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One thing leads to another, as is often the case with home projects. My plan last month to take the old headboard out of our room led to little unintended refresh.

First I bought new pink pillowcases. Then I started thinking about accent pillows. I quickly realized I had some small pillows that I use every night, but I never displayed them on the bed because their covers weren’t coordinated and they didn’t look nice enough. Instead, I piled them on the dresser every morning–which wasn’t a great look either.

So I went fabric shopping. I had planned to buy some pink velvet for one large accent pillow and navy fleece for a pair of smaller pillows. But browsing the velvets, I had a brainwave. What about sage green? I like sage and pink together. I like sage and navy (the colour of our walls). I was already planning on navy and pink. So I mixed in some green for new palette.

I also downsized the king size pillows that didn’t fit properly on my double mattress. I considered modifying my king size shams to make them fit, but then I remembered some simple white pillowcases I had in the linen cupboard. I’m sure one of my relatives knit the lace that edges these cases. A soak in some Oxiclean and a spin in the washer cleaned them up fairly well.

Now I have a fresh, pretty pile of pillows on my bed. They look pretty, and they’re useful too. Every night I construct a cozy nest of pillows all around me. One of the little green pillows even goes on my head (weird, I know, but it helps me sleep).

I feel proud that I put some effort into making my space nice for me. I also enjoy having a home project. This was a small update that felt manageable with the other things that I’m currently juggling. And now, I have a cozy, beautiful space for myself.

What’s a colour combination that you like? Anyone else have a pile of pillows on your bed? Do you sleep in a pillow nest?