A Good Fence

Jason managed to work his 40 hours in four days in order to have Friday off to work with Dad on the fence. The fence. This is the much debated fence: where to put it, how big to make it, how tall, ect. We've been debating all winter and we finally came to a conclusion. The fence will start where the play yard stops and will stop at the rock wall. Then we'd make an "L" shape to leave room for the vine garden. The men decided that Friday was the day.

Friday morning I took Stomper and the other daycare kiddo to the library and then for a surprise picnic in the park. When I left around 10, Jason was getting ready to go out and work with Dad. When I returned I assumed I would come home to find them half finished. I drove past the yard slowly and was surprised to see many tall fence poles!

When they came in for a bit to eat around 1 I asked them how close they were to finished. Jason told me they had three or more poles to go! That's ten holes dug and ten poles set in less then three hours! I am impressed and proud of our men.

The chickens and turkeys are going to have lots of space to roam and peck at. In a perfect world they'd be free range; but with neighborhood dogs and cats, and two busy roads near-by we think fenced in poultry is the best. 

It is fascinating to me how thirteen poles can make us all feel more accomplished and more put together. At least Mom and I feel that way. We were out in the barnyard at the recently relocated chicken coop and we were commenting how good the fence poles were making us feel. What the poles represented for us, a sense of completion, that we weren't winging it. That we do, in fact, know what we are doing.

The photo below is our yard. I am standing at the rock wall the marks the beginning of some over grown fields. To the left (not pictured) is the duck pond. To the far right beyond that row of pine/evergreen trees is the street. In the background you can see a bright yellow slide, that is the play yard, with our house sitting in the back of the photo. The chicken yard takes up the bottom of the "L" shape with the turkeys receiving the "leg" of the "L". I cannot wait to take photos when there is fence up and chickens in!

The Garden '13

Recently Mom and I sat down and made a quick list of what we wanted to plant this year. Then I made her reduce the amount of tomato plants by half. The goal this year; do it well. There is a saying from the series I've been reading ("Rangers Apprentice"). Do several simple maneuvers well rather than one complicated maneuver. Granted we aren't on a battle field like in the books, but I think the principle is sound. We will have a smaller great looking garden rather than a large junky looking garden. 

With that in mind here is our list.

Main Garden

• cukes - one hill of a few plants (last year we planted 4)
• zuchinni - one or two hills of a few plants (last year we planted 4)
• summer squash - one or two hills of a few plants (last year we planted 4)
• beans - two rows (last year we planted 5 or 6)
• beets - several rows, we didn't plant enough last year
• carrots - several rows, we didn't plant enough last year 
• peppers - 6 plants (last year we had close to 20)
• tomatoes - 6 plants (last year we had 24 or more)

Vine Garden - several hills of each. Dad wants to have enough pumpkins to let the daycare kids come out and choose their own pumpkin. 

• pumpkin
• acorn squash
• butternut squash
• blue hubbard squash

My Mom found a garden plan that she wants to base our main garden after from Better Homes and Gardens. It looks like this:

Source

This is what the main garden looks like right now:

This is the vine garden:

As you can see we have our work cut out for us. This is one of the many reasons why the daycare is shut down for the summer. We have a lot of work to get done in a short amount of time. I believe that the changes we are making to the grounds this spring and summer will go a long way to making us less dependent on the supermarket, which is the goal after all.

Ducks or Dogs

We thought we had a pair of ducks, but they act more like dogs. Dogs that won't go away. They snuck under the gate and so Mom had to go and fix the gate. Every time we went outside to play they would come up out the pond quacking and running to see us. 

The mostly white one is called Chicken because it is afraid of new things, the other one still doesn't have a name. Any idea?

Bubbles with Straws

Stomper and I were acting out that childhood song in the tub, you know the one ...he drank up all the water, he ate up all the soap, he tried to eat the bathtub..

Well, okay, not exactly.

Before you think I'm crazy, let me give you a little back story.

Do you remember being a kid and drinking milk with a straw and how much fun it was to make frothy bubbles?

Wasn't it awesome?!

Do you also remember getting reprimanded and told to stop making a mess?

Yeah, me to.

Now, tell me, when you have a drink with a straw do you sometimes sneak in some bubbles when no one is looking?

Be honest.

Me too, every once and awhile.

It occurred to me the other day when I was making bubbles in my soda that I could let my kiddo make bubbles someplace where making a mess was acceptable.

That is why I gave my son a pair of straws to play with in the tub.

Best two pennies I've ever wasted.

Christmas Prep KAL

First some housework.

1. I realized that by calling it a KAL I was omitting a whole set of crafters: crocheters. If you are a crocheter and want to join, please do!

2. Due to a few people expressing the short time frame I am extending the KAL to end June 30th. The contest will end as planned. That way if you win and you participate in The Year of Projects you can look through the book or pattern and add it to your list if you want.

3. In order to participate in the KAL just leave a link to your Christmas Prep Project (blog post, photo or project page on rav) in the comments.

Tonight my husband will be away smelting until the wee hours of the morning so I will find a suitable Christmas movie on Netflix to knit to, or maybe just some Christmas music.

My first project will be a Christmas Stocking I am making for myself using this pattern. Its a rather ambitious project for a Christmas Stocking I think, but it will be fantastic I'm sure.

I don't have any WIP photos, but I do have some signs of spring!

I'm looking forward to see what you all are knitting!

The Helper

Photos Courtesy of Grandma

He likes to help. The week before the chicks came he helped fill the brood box with shavings, clean out some buckets, and fill the clean buckets with grain.

He also has a daily chore. It is his job to call the ducks in at night. He takes his job seriously.

Looking Forward

Todays final prompt for Knitting and Crocheting Blog Week fits perfectly with what I have been dreaming about the last few months .. Next years list for my Year of Projects. I have nearly completed this years list and when on Wednesday I cast on for my KAL I'll be pushing through the remainder of my list.

My project list for the coming year will be a little more vague as I want to focus on some skills, hurdles, and fears I have with my knitting.

• A Vest for the Hubby -- he has been asking for a sweater ever since my knitting really took off. He believes wholeheartedly that I can do it, despite the fact that I keep telling him the yarn will be a lot of money and it will take a long time to complete. His answer to that: "The quality of the vest will be worth the price and time it takes." Oh, he really knows a way into a knitters heart doesn't he? I haven't decided on the pattern yet but it will be something with cables so I don't get bored. Most likely all one color so he can wear it all the time in a yarn that can be tossed in the washer with out causing me fits of anxiety. The last time I knit a vest for an adult it was for my sister and it went rather well so I have hopes that this will too. It just will take so much of my knitting time, but it will be worth it.

• Participate in Two (or more) Test Knits -- this is such an affordable way to get new patterns and it helps out designers. Last summer I was tester and tested, I really enjoyed the process and since I am finding I'd rather alter the wheel than re-invent it when it comes to designing fits my life much better. It is also a good way to be pushed to finish something since the designer wants the project done by a specific due date.

• Crochet My Mascot Project -- I am assuming I will be working on squares when I get frustrated or bored with the vest project, it will give me a break with out picking up a new project. I don't like having more than one project on my needles and I am hoping I can finish a few squares when I need a break from the vest.

• A Sweater for Me -- If I haven't died from boredom knitting the vest and the vest goes well I will finally knit myself a sweater. I have spied a few that interest me: Hearth, Charlotte,  and Centripetal to name a few. Are there any Plus Sized knitters out there who have had success knitting a flattering sweater, I'm in the market for a pattern. 

How about you .. am I the only one who has been thinking about the next list?

Don't forget to tune in on Tuesdays to participate in my KAL!

~~~

This post is part of Knitting and Crocheting Blog Week. Please take a moment to check out other bloggers who are participating by searching: 4KCBWDAY7

New Arrivals

You know that you crossing over towards farm enthusiast when you get excited about a fence.

Thursday after work Mom and Dad put up a fence 3/4 of the way around the pond (the rest will be done soon) to keep the ducks from wandering away. A few years ago when Little Sister had a pair of Peking Ducks they managed to waddle out from behind the house, across the busy street, and to the trailer park across the road. Dad is afraid, rightly so, for the ducks safety. The fence will go a long way to keep the ducks and a certain little boy who likes to help with chores safe. This Mommy worries every time he goes out beyond the daycare yard to "help" with chores; I fear him falling in. With the fence up everyone can breath a little sigh of relief.

We got the call today that our chick order had arrived at the farm store. We picked them up this afternoon. The final tally: 1 White Barred Rock, 2 Silver Laced Wynodettes, 3 Araucana, 25 Cross (meat birds), and 10 Turkeys. The porch is quite noisy. 

Something Different

Today's prompt for Knitting and Crocheting Blog Week stumps me every year. Something different? Like what? I'm not comfortable in front of the camera and I hate the sound of my voice so a vblog or a podcast is totally out of my realm.

I finally came to the conclusion that one of my silly little doodles might work.

Color Review

Yarn may be red,
Violet and blue,
I'd rather have green,
But any color will do!

My favorite colors right now are gray, green, brown, and blue in any shade. 

I took a look through my posts, my raverly projects, and at my Photo Finish Board on pinterest to see what has really been knit.

• May: Gnome Knot in orange, aqua, blue, green. A one piece jumper in cream and brown, and a sweater in green.
• June: The sweater ate up all my time
• July: Pinks and greens while I worked on some clothes for a bunny, and a pair of mittens one black, one blue.

• August: More of the black mitten, one blue and white sock, and a hat and sweater set in purple.
• September: Rainbow colored mittens
• October: I start knitting Christmas Presents with blue and cream
• November: More Christmas Presents: a farmer with blue overalls and a green dress for a bunny while I toil away at Duplicating a Christmas Stocking (total Monkey project!)

• December: Ornaments for a special Advent Calendar in green and white.
• January - April: pink, green, blue, rainbow, brown, and gray

It is clear to me that I don't stick to a color palette. I knit with colors that suit the pattern or the person, or what I have on hand. I'm not sure if that could be considered a "monkey" trait or not. Only a few times have I ever chosen yarn and then the pattern, for me the joy is in figuring out a new pattern not in using a new yarn. Although, I did buy striped sock yarn and chroma for the joy of using it, but those were the exception not the rule.