Tag Archives: guess what

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?

Guess what?

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whatisthis11

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a guess what post. I’m not sure this one is entirely fair, as the before and after pictures were taken a few weeks apart.

I’m thrilled to have this addition to the farm. Take a guess today, and I’ll be back on Monday with the answer.

In between, I hope that you have a great weekend.

Birthday birdbath

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Everyone who guessed last week got it right. Our new addition at the farm is our birdbath.

As usual, when it came to my birthday last month, my wishlist was pretty short–as in there was only one thing on it. This year, what I wanted most was a top for the birdbath.

Birdbath

The base has been here at the farm all along, but we’ve not seen any sign of the top. It probably broke sometime ago, so we resigned ourselves to having a new top made.

Concrete birdbath

A house down the road has a sign out front for pre-casting and a yard full of concrete animals, fountains and birdbaths. They said yes, they could cast us a basin.

Concrete birdbath basin

I picked out a design that I liked and that I thought would work well with the base. About a week later, they delivered the birdbath (delivery was so helpful, as it weighs about 3 tonnes).

Concrete birdbath

It’s obviously the end of birdbath season here in Canada. So we’ll be tucking this away for a few months, and I’ll be getting my morning bird-watching fix from the birdfeeder.

Nonetheless, I’m thrilled to finally have a complete birdbath. Thank you, Matt!

Do you have a birdbath at your house? Have you ever had anything cast in concrete?

Birthday presents previously:

Guess what?

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Something new showed up at the farm a few weeks ago, but I haven’t gotten around to posting about it yet.

Before I do, I’m going back to an old standby: my guess what post.

Any guesses as to what this is?

Guess what?

I’ll be back on Monday with the answer. Until then, have a great weekend.

Guess what

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I used to do guess what posts every so often. Always on Fridays. And I always revealed the answer on Monday.

It’s been awhile since I’ve done one of these posts. In fact, it’s been more than a year. I’m doing one today, but it’s a bit different.

You see, I don’t know what this is.

Rusted spike

We uncovered it in the garden.

Rusted spike

It’s metal (obviously heavily rusted). It has a hole in the rounded end.

Rusted spike

Anyone know what this might have been used for?

Magic beans

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My husband is now known as Matt of the beanstalk. Or at least Matt of the magic beans. We have a little ways to go until we have actual stalks.

Our fields have been planted with soybeans this year. After tilling the soil, our farmer spread these little turquoise seeds.

What is this?

After a night of rain, they shifted from round beads to a shape more resembling beans.

Soybeans

Then the beans split.

Sprouting soybeansSoybeans

And now, a week after planting, a few sprouts have begun coming up through the soil.

Sprouting soybeans

Fee-fie-foe-fum. Fields of beans, here we come.

Has anyone out there grown soybeans? Or seen them in your area? Are you planting any new plants in your garden this year?

Let the sun shine

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A few people guessed that last week’s Guess What? post had something to do with solar. They are absolutely right. As of Friday night, we had 24 shiny new solar panels installed on the barn roof.

Solar panels on the barn roof

We have 14 more to go before our array is complete. I’ll be posting a full project breakdown once everything is installed and wired, but I’m too excited not to share the news with you now. We’ve been waiting a long time for this day, and I’m so excited that it’s finally here.

The equipment that you saw on Friday is the inverters. The company that’s managing our install calls the inverters “the brains” of the system. Their web site explains, “Inverters… convert the DC (Direct Current) power from your panels to AC (Alternating Current) before feeding it back into the hydro grid.”

What are these?

The panel install started on Thursday. Here’s our empty barn roof on a dim grey morning.

Barn roof before solar panel install

And here’s how it looks currently, mid-way through install on a much nicer day.

Solar panel install on the barn roof

We need that sun to keep on shining. The power generation aspect is obvious, but we have a more immediate need. The panels have to be connected to a hydro pole so that our power can be sent back to the grid. The pole is 300+ feet away from the barn. We need a lot of snow and ice to melt so that the trench can be dug from the barn to the pole and we can be wired up.

Hydro pole for solar panel installation

Say it with me people. Let the sun shine!

Are there any exciting projects happening at your place this spring? Do you have any solar experience to share?