Project Of The Day: Tack Room Addition

We had this room added onto the end of our barn awhile ago and I've been waiting to get a door cut through from the main barn and a floor and door added.  

Yesterday, Amish workers came and got the job done.

My son asked me if this was my new "she shed".  I guess it is... albeit still quite rustic!

Project Of The Day: Braid Onions

The onions are braided and hung in the basement for winter cooking.

Yum!

Project Of The Day: Harvest Onions And What Is This?

Onions have been harvested.  I'll let them cure for a couple of days and the braid them and put them in the basement.  This is Copra onions - a storage onion. 

On my walks I see this strange growth on this dead hemlock.  It's rock hard and I wonder what it is.  I always think it kind of looks like some sort of french pastry...

Does anyone know what it is?

Sunday: A Day Of Rest, Relaxation And...

... a nice long, leisurely walk with Anna Belle and Ladybird.

(old boy Petey can't go because he becomes confused and tends to get lost)

Something Beautiful: Spider In Web

Project Of The Day: Meat Chickens

These cute little puffballs came in the mail yesterday from Ideal Poultry.  They're cornish rock chickens and in six to eight weeks they'll be much, much bigger, have lost their cuteness, and be ready to go in the freezer. 

I moved a group of teenage egg-layers out from the barn and into the chicken coop.  More about the chicken coop later.  We've strengthened it to keep critters at bay.

I know this is a gross picture.  It's one of the odd things I've seen around here lately.  It's a dead bat I found in the driveway.  I can't imagine that the cats got it.  It makes me sad because I find bats to be very interesting.  

I also found a dead snake in the driveway - I don't see snakes around here very much.  It was small - like a garter snake.  

And finally, a coyote has been making daytime runs back and forth across the field next to us.  One of the guys here thinks it's a scout coyote.  

Strange.

Project Of The Day: Bear Control

My neighbor let me know that a bear had got into his round bales and torn some of them up.  Bears and bees go together like peas and carrots so I thought I better take some precautions. 

We charged up the bee fence battery so it was nice and strong.

And then we mowed and weed wacked the bee yard to make sure nothing was grounding out the fence. 

As an added deterent I hung a little bit of ham on the wires.  It gives a nice strong shock when a bear (or other critter) touches it with their nose or tongue and hopefully encourages them to run the other way!