Dispatches From The Farm

Only the Roof and Door Left to Make

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

There may still be more to put in, but for now, I have all the things I think I want and then some. In fact, the battery tools are definitely coming out off that top shelf, freeing it up for some of the things laying on the floor.

Today I finished the frame for the roof and the purlins but two. I want wider ones for the front at back, since that is where the wind is likely to pull the hardest when it is trying to remove the metal roof. I have built an overhang at the front and extended the one in the back slightly more than the sides, so I can put a tool hanger there for the garden tools. The overhang in the front will give me some shade while working on the mill, and it will shade me from those ever so slight rainstorms that sometimes pass through in the summertime. I also decided the shed would be a good place to put a pack of bottled water when the summer comes round again, and perhaps a dustbin would settle into a useful spot right next to the shed.

I am still thinking about decorative aspects of the shed. I did get the planks for the door cut and laid out this evening, and I did put the moon shape into them, ready to make the shed look just like an outhouse. That hole in the door is also there to allow air to vent as I am using it for gas can storage. I expect I will be venting it further, though I am not putting any blocking under the roofline so to allow venting there, too. I don’t really want any explosions! So to that end, I think some signage would be appropriate for the unknowing who approaches the building with anything sparky or lit!

I am considering putting sawmill blades on the outside of the building. Probably the old ones. Maybe I can hang new ones somewhere inside, like the back of the door? At any rate, we will see as things develop. I need to get the door together tomorrow, and rummage around for some old tin for the roof. There are those two purlins to cut and put up. I also want to remember not to put weight on the front overhang on that roof in case it tips the building. I might use plumber’s tape in lieu of hurricane straps to help hold the roof on, seeing as the two-by-fours are true, and box store straps won’t fit. Besides, I am trying to keep this fairly cheap. So far, it has only cost me the screws and the tools. But you can take the price of a shed like this, sided with true one-inch-thick boards, out of the cost of the tools now. And of course, there is more to come.

There is lighting to consider still. Probably not a candle lantern or other fuel lantern. Maybe battery operated, but not inside as I am sure that is a significant risk. Well, more than I would want to take!

As to the point of more to come, I have been thinking about the design of a farm-stand based on what I have built here and knowing what I can build. I think a farm stand will come about with a greater degree of finish to it, and perhaps more polish. But I think there should be shelves to one side for the free library, a spot to the other for a fridge, and finally a counter height place for other sundries to sell, and a firewood bay below that. I think for the moment that would be ideal. I have all the tools necessary to build it. I am not sure I yet have the logs to do it, but I will know when the woodshed is finally finished. I am still paused on that due to that one log on the mill the other day that was not worth moving just to replace it with a slightly longer one for the woodshed. So, I cut it and started building.

Today was a fine day and I got plenty done. I would like to feel like I got more done, but there was a lot of thinking as I went, and I am still trying to get into the habit of moving about more. Plus, I am still defeated by the tools being in different locations to where I need them. It is in fact one of the very reasons I am building this little shed. Expect some useful tools to appear at the woodshed as well!

Shelves in the Fuel Shed

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

Today I worked lightly on the fuel shed. I brought over all the fuel cans we have, and the grease and grease gun, and some other tools, and put them in. I decided that the shed can go right next to the Sawmill, and put the cant hook in it, ready to use to flip logs on the mill. One of the problems I have when sawing is turning the logs, and I don’t fancy the walk around the property to go and fetch it, so I just do it by hand. It is a bit more difficult, but I still don’t fancy that walk. I think if the cant hook is conveniently put right in a tiny shed next to the mill, I will be happy to get it and use it. So, it shall be done.

There is more in the shed than that, at the moment. I need to put up some more hangers for the various tools, and I am even thinking it might be nice to hang rakes and pitchforks and the like on the outside of it. That will come later. I need to see how I finish the roof and its overhangs before I decide once and for all about that, and if so, where things will go. Best to block rain where I can! Maybe I will keep the scythe and its blades and tool in there, too. Really comes down to the number of tools and amount space there is, doesn’t it?

This shed build is an intermission on my woodshed build. It is also a rehearsal for the farm store stand and the firewood stand. I can see the farm stand being a wider version of the fuel shed. I can see the firewood stand being a bit wider and half the height. The farm stand requires a place for a fridge, and a little free library. Not much required of me here, is there? What a lark! But I will be happy to do them. It is a good time of year to do them! The weather is lovely. I hope to have all done before the end of this month with time to spare.

So, that’s the progress for today. I have plenty of things in the shed, which is kind of a sheltered set of bookshelves, really. Only it is built quite durable! I think it will hold up to intended use, and in the location I have set it. It is on cement pavers to keep it more or less dry.

We will see what tomorrow brings. Hopefully completion! I can do the door in the shop, and the roof requires a bit of shop prep, too. Well, I can do it there, and it will be easier. Let’s just say that. Ta for now, from the farm!

Building A Fuel Shed

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

I went to the mill the other day to cut up the log that was sat on it. It was initially set there to add to the woodshed, but I realized then that it was too short for what I wanted. I could either move the log away and find another one, or just get cutting. That’s when I decided that it was a good of a time as any to start working on the fuel shed.

I have been wanting to set up a very small footprint shed out by the milling area of the yard, a place where all the fuel cans can be kept along with some grease and other things required for the tractor and the sawmill and the like. I think even the chainsaws may go in there with their lubricants and the like. But because it was meant to be such a small shed, I decided a while back that it might as well look like an outhouse. Just for a little humor. It will have to be well ventilated, but give shade to the cans, along with shelter to keep the rain and snow away. An outhouse would look just like that!

True two by fours as long as the log would allow. End cracking is to be cut off. The log was very dry through and through, leaving only hard, dry wood. Very useable!

So, I started cutting the two by four’s required for the project. The log was long enough to produce around eight feet, plenty for a building meant to top out around seven! I had some aspen, pine, and poplar planks in the woodpile that I need to organize and restack, so I knocked it over and began pulling from the bottom. I ended up with enough of what I am fairly certain is aspen to do the sides and door. I have spent the last two days on the project now. The roof, shelves, and door remain, and I think those could easily be knocked out today. Then there is the matter of further decorating.

The basic frame standing on the floor. The floor is on true two by fours with one-inch-thick planks put down.

The back wall and one side are done, with plans to add inside braces that will also support the shelves the gas cans will sit on. I waited to get the heights right. I know my own tendencies to make mistakes.

Three walls completed. Each piece cut to length and width, along with any straightening dealt with as I go, this shed is making use of material that was quite literally found in the dump and brought home. It is using what is otherwise determined as waste and offering me good material at a very good price!

I could put more work into the project, such as joining the sideboards and planing surfaces, but as it is meant to look like an outhouse, and it is meant to be well ventilated, I did not want to put too much effort into closing gaps. It is meant to look rustic, and it is mean to not accumulate fumes inside. It is the “No Smoking” and “Danger” signs that will make the outhouse look legendary.

If you live in the area and have a tree that is fallen and cut to at least 50-inch-long logs from around 12 to 28 inches wide, I can help you to get to that wood inside or am happy to take it off your hands if you are just looking to dispose of the wood. Text me!

Lavender Farm Commences

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

We received the Lavender plants on Thursday, the girls and I laid in the landscape fabric in on Friday, and we all put the plants into the ground today. I still have some mulch to spread, but once that is done, and unless I need to buy and put in more mulch, we are done. It’s just a matter of watering while we still can this season, and letting the plants sit in over winter. Then we will see how they take off next year. So long as they do well, we can then begin to propagate the plants and get the animals ready to move across the street. That will clear up this side for a full-fledged lavender farm over here. We have put about $750 into this project so far, excluding a Domino’s order today. It’s cheap wages for the amount of work we got done!

Some of you will already see what is wrong with this picture. It will get fixed, and not just Photoshopped!

So, what’s the plan? We think there is an opportunity for a decent profit if we manage a lavender farm correctly and work out some good ways of selling it. We will have to see how it does over the next year or two, then see if we can start out selling in the Farmer’s Market ’till we are ready to have guests on the farm to self-harvest. The next goal is to sort out contracts with buyers and sell to oil producers, or to soap makers, or even florists.

Our one strip has 50 plants to begin with. Missus thinks that by next year we should be able to triple that, then triple that again the next. So, I have really got all of next summer to worry about moving the animals. I’d very much like to have water access put in by then as well, even though Lavender plants don’t require much that way. It would be helpful to that whole half of the yard, which will always have much more than just Lavender in it.

For now, my job now includes to mind those plants and make sure they are doing well!

So, I put down some mulch around the plants, then looked up how much there should be, and the answer is “none.” So, I get to clean up! Maybe tomorrow!

Up close, looking down the row. I had not yet added the mulch that is in the bags on the edge. But eventually I did, and now I get to clean it all up!

Finishing Up the First Bent

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

It has been a busy day today, and not we are in the hot part of the day. But among the unloading of the truck from the Farmer’s Market and setting the dehydrator running, I have nearly finished the first bent for the woodshed. I just need to peg it together now, as I have decided that will be required to compensate for messy joints. I am not very good at my joints yet, but as much as I would like to, I also cannot blame the tools. They feel fine in hand. If there were one I could improve, it would be the mallet I made on the lathe some time ago. It has too much mass along the shaft. I could hit lower, but then there would be too much mass beyond the striking point, and that is certainly not good either. In fact, with such a long mallet head, I have found it is better to hit further up the head. The mass is kind of nice, but it hurts the wrist delivering it to the blow. So, I could do with putting a new mallet blank on the lathe and doing that up with a more striking design!

One thing that has surprised me about the mallet is the finish on it. I put boiled linseed oil on it when I made it maybe a little over a year ago, and that has held up. It is distinguished from the wood inside where it has begun to blow apart quite like it was a layer of varnish.

I think the question now is, do I put up a post and connect it to the bent, do I brace the bent stood up, or do I just make a second bent, then put up a whole bay at once? I am so eager to see something on the shed standing, and to get a real idea of the height of it! But to simplify putting it together, I think I should build the next bent at least, maybe even the next two, then put it up by bay(s). Once it is up, it will be joined and difficult to make adjustments. Putting it up all in one day would be a much greater reward! Then I could tune it all at once and start nailing siding on ready for the wood. After that, I could put the rafters on and purlins and roofing. That would give me the pile of wood inside to walk on while doing that roof part! I am putting beams in lower that will hold it together while I fill it.

Oh! There is the flooring to do, too! Ha ha! I almost forgot that! That could be a bit of a challenge! But nothing that cannot be overcome by owning my own sawmill! If need be, I will just cut the flooring an inch and a half or two thick. The real question about flooring then becomes one of spacing. I could do a shiplap or tongue and groove, or I could leave gaps for airflow. Being that the building is for firewood, I think that is the direction I will go. I am thinking the same for the siding. The place really wants airflow for drying wood. Another thing I could do, however, is to really get a year ahead on the wood, then dry it out of the building then load that in the autumn for winter use, and let the building be more waterproof. So the siding would be closed tighter. Keep the gaps in the flooring, and put some ventilation up top under the eaves, and allow any further drying as air moves through the building between the top and the bottom.

Honestly, I will be interested in seeing how long the whole structure lasts as it is sat on cinder blocks for a foundation. The winter should be great, and the summer and autumn, too! It’s that mud season that some anticipate as ‘springtime’ that I worry most about! The whole pace turns into a mud hole then! If there were ever a time a building would sink into the mud, it’s then!

I’d like very much to work out a nice finish on this thing, and some decorative aspects to it. I don’t know how that will go to plan. I am also not sure if I will tear oud some fencing to make the thing accessible or just access it through the existing gates. I think I will move the woodpile into the shed before I work that out once and for all. I don’t really have a plan, no. Just want to build and see how things turn out. Hey, that’s me! Enough for now. I am needed elsewhere at the moment!

Sundy Morning Update

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

It was a quiet day on the farm here in the valley yesterday as far as I know. We were gone by 8:00 AM. We took our daughters and grandson down to Hill Airforce Base to have a look around the museum there. It was amazing to see in person the B-52, the C-130, the Wright Flyer, and the many other aircraft in between. There was so much history there! We walked around two building full of aircraft, including the P-51, which was amazing to be able to see up close. But when we walked into the third building and I pointed out to Missus that the SR-71 was in the back corner, she looked at it, then looked at me and smiled and said, “We can go home now.” That was all she wanted to do. See her favorite plane of all. It’s the lines, the color, and the design that she loves so much. I love that it’s the fastest piloted aircraft ever made, that it is made of Russian titanium from a time when it was a feat to get hold of it, and that the plane changes temperature so much in flight that while it leaks fluid like crazy, it all expands with the temperature and stops leaking in flight.

We got home late in the afternoon and did our chores and kept our feet up for the most part. For me a day of walking around after a day of helping Missus to clean up the granary and shed and other chores would have normally killed me. But since going on a diet, I have been able to keep at it, then go to bed feeling as good as I did when I woke up in the morning. I cannot think of a time in my life when I have been able to do that! Even as a teen, I would do a day at school then a shift at work in the grocery store, and that was more than enough to leave me sore as can be. It’s come as such a surprise to me that a change in diet could accomplish such a massive change in how I have been feeling! I have always suspected that other people have had it much better than me on this score, but not knowing first-hand what “normal” feels like, I could not have ever been sure. I just knew I could not keep up, and that I have been called lazy for it. That hurts. But there is no point in being bitter for it. Best to just keep at work and get things done and make this farm look the way I want it to. It’s a far shot from it now, so there is plenty to do this autumn.

Today Missus has our daughters and I for cleaning up some more around the house. She has more art supplies than anyone I have ever heard of. So we are trying to break the back of some cleaning and get her better organized and set up for success. She has a hard time finding things now, and too much stuff out to be worked on too. It’s difficult to move around, and we need to get some breathing room in the house.

I’d like to get the posts stood up this week on the woodshed. I was wanting to get the posts prepared and dressed for it, but the weekend has had other things in store, and that’s just fine. I figure the week is mine.

It’s Farmer’s Market week this week. It’s been getting darker at the Market with the winter sun on its way. I bought some lights for the stall, and a cord to plug them in with. I put them in an extra aluminum box I had sitting around the shop wasting space. Now the shed is clean, I can store it in there, and clear one more thing out of my shop!

A clean shop has been one of my side goals while working on the shed. I will work on the shed while I can, then if it gets too hot in the sunlight, I go into the shop and clean a bit. I have genuinely made progress at that, and I think this winter will be the best yet, as the shop will be usable, rather than stuffed with junk dumped into it for the season. It’s not much of a shop, especially for show. I don’t even have anything like drywall in the building. Bare studs face into the building. I am pretty sure that if I do cover them, I will do it with shiplap. After all, I can make that all day long.

So, that’s where things are at here on the farm for today, Sunday, September 22nd, 2024. Well wishes to you, dear reader. Thanks for stopping by!

Cleaning Up A Bit, Feeling Good!

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

What a perfect evening out! I was out to close the gates, and the light and temperature were absolutely as I could want it. I am inside now, and Missus is watching Shakespeare and Hathaway on the television. Scenes are filmed around Stratford Upon Avon, including outside the house Shakespeare was born in, and in a pub with deep ambiance of old England. It’s called The Mucky Mallard. The Tudor houses and the bricked roadways sure add to a certain feeling of the beauty of the world.

I was at work with Missus shortly after getting up today, and I have kept busy with her and various projects around the farm for all day till dusk. From cleaning in the shed and granary to cleaning in the yard, feeding animals, and repairing some siding on the barn. In spite of all of it and being on my feet for most of the day, I never got sore or felt tired. A month ago, I would have had a day like this, but it would have taken me four days to do it all, and I would have been sore from all of it. Since my change in diet, I have been feeling so much better. I think this must be what normal feels like, and boy, what a difference it’s making in my life! Today was simply amazing. It will sure be hard to go off my diet. I suspect the thing that I eliminated that eased all the pain was the sugars, or even the bread and grains. Whichever, I don’t want it back at any price for the sake of how much pain I am not feeling now.

The workshop is cleaner today, too. I did a bit of work in there, then I also got some wood out when I patched up the barn. Maybe this coming week while I work on the barn, I can take some time out to put together the wood for the kitchen island and put a flat surface on it. I have got my head around what is required to do this job just well enough I think I can go on and do it. That would clean a huge bit of wood from the shop, and that alone would make it more than worth doing. I suspect the wood is more than dry enough by now, and certainly settled with the humidity.

I am feeling good about the woodshed right now. I have the corners morticed and temporarily pegged together. The permanent pegs will be the tenons on the bottoms of the posts. I have to cut in the mortices for the top beams before I can get the posts stood, and the tenons for the beams to hold them in place, proper. I also need to put in a couple of dovetailed floor joists across the center to keep the long run of the floor from spreading apart as the sills are joined in the middle because none of the wood was near the length required to make them up.

I have also got a signpost in mind to hold up the signs for the farm and or Antiquary Artisan. I think if I put in a fence post set in concrete then build basically the flagpole I saw on New Yankee Workshop, then bolt the metal sign hangers together through it. It doesn’t need to be terribly tall. Ten to 15 feet ought to be more than plenty. It will make the post square in shape rather than round. That suits just fine given the age I am going for in the decorating of the farm. I’d set the whole place up Colonial if possible.

So, it’s been a busy day, yet an easy day. Our grandson is here for the night, and we have been enjoying his company since he arrived this afternoon. A good day is always a little better with him by. He’s just off to bed now, and I need to wrap this up soon and get a shower.

Last thing: while cleaning in the shed today we found a few of the stained-glass tools and made the glass supply accessible. I want to get some practice in with that soon and add a little something to a wood project in the near future.

Goodnight!

Woodshed Progress

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

I have moved on a bit with the woodshed, arriving at a point where I need to cut a few more timbers, and consider the final design that I am going to go with. As much as I would like it to resemble an old English cottage, it has to be open on one side, and it is best if it is breathable on at least one more. Since sunlight will help to dry the wood inside it as well, the south wall needs to expose the interior completely. It is positioned for that, as that is where it will need to be accessible. So it looks like it will look like an animal shelter when it is done. I will be able to just squeeze about eight and a half feet out of the top height of the tall side, the one facing south, and the back, or north side, will probably come in around seven or so. Even though the longest I could do in sills took the length of the shed down to about 17 feet four or so, I think the final shed will still be able to fill completely and hold enough wood for the entire winter, using it as the primary heat source.

So, I am foreseeing a two-bay shed that will stand on a whole bunch of cinder blocks for a foundation. I would love to be able to close that off completely, leaving the bottom as just an empty cavity, but of course there are not enough to finish fully closing it in, so I will have to be able to do with what I have got here. The idea is to build this as cheap as possible. I only anticipate buying a bag of nails to keep the purlins on and the siding on the purlins, and places like that; the flooring and such. The frame is meant to be timber framed. Every bit of wood will come out of logs and off my sawmill. As such, the wood members will be robust. I am cutting the siding at an inch thick, and even though a good deal of it will go on green, I think it will still come in at over three-quarters of an inch thick when it is dried.

When it is finished, I expect I will put up a place to hang a lantern so I can see alright when I go out to get wood. Seems like a good idea, as long as it is secure, and the lantern cannot fall and set the winter’s wood on fire!

As for my work on it today? It is raining, so I am not. Documenting the ideas and progress instead! The rest of the week shows a small chance of rain with the temps falling in at the low seventies, so as long as it is dry, it ought to be great! More progress! I’ll start with some milling tomorrow.

Interesting. There is a tree trimmer on the road cutting back trees that are encroaching upon the power lines. The truck just drove past the tree that arced and set in motion the truck coming out here in the first place. Ain’t that typical?

Mindless Cleaning

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

Since seeing the doctor, and him helping me clear up some diet issues, I had a whole week of no pain from my arthritis. But last night, and today, I had a lot of pain in my hips. Did having some peanut butter ruin my diet? This I do not know, but to be fair, it could just be the workload I have put on myself while the pain was cleared up. And with a whole week of no pain. I surprised even myself at how eager I found myself being at all times to get up and do some work.

I started off doing some cleaning in the shop. It was not a lot to begin with, but by today I got after a lot more, and finally put what is left to be done on the workbench along one wall. This means there is just the one wall of stuff to do any hardcore sorting out on. It is the worst part of the shop; don’t doubt it. But with all the rest done, and even some really dramatic cleaning done already, the remainder does not look intimidating at all. In fact, aa fair chunk of what is in front of the bench is just wood that is in for a couple of future projects. I have another pile in front of the kiln, but that one just needs me to get at it. That one is for the kitchen island worktop, and I want to be sure it is as dry and stable as possible before I get to cutting and gluing it. It should be fine by now.

I put in a few magnets to put my gentleman’s saws against in the saw till today, too. It is time to get a few tools put up that don’t yet have a home. I also decided to put some back in drawers rather than keep them out. They are too much laying around on worktops, even though they are absolutely beautiful.

My mind keeps drifting off today and thinking about the kids and my siblings who are spread across three states from Washington to North Carolina. We’re kind of a mess. It also keeps wanting to drift away and think about mom. Mom is buried in far eastern Utah. The thoughts keep wanting to be sad, but then I quickly remember what a spark she was and let that rule my mind. I need to get this cleaning done and get on some projects that will be complex enough to take over my train of thought and keep me from floating away on dreams of togetherness. After all, I know that’s what I am really longing for.

First Frost of 24-25!

Posted on by The Lord of The Manor

And Some Problems with Our New Llamas!

I was out today feeding the animals when I went past the gourd plants and noticed there was something amiss with the leaves. They were blackened and shriveled up.

Oh yeah! August 29th, and we have had frost already! This in the place that had its last frost on the 17th of June this year, and the summer temps were quite warm!

The weather station recorded 0.5° F warmer than frost, but it sits nine feet or so above the ground, and around the front of the house. I guess that must have been enough to make a difference.

While I was feeding the animals I noticed a truck slow down in front of the house and honk its horn out of sight around the willow tree. I checked that out and found it was one of the new llamas we received late last night while we were out to the Farmer’s Market! I barely had time to see the new llamas at all yet, and suddenly one is out in front of our house. The llamas are called Kyle and Sheldon. The brown one, Sheldon, was the one in front of the house. Luckily one of the neighbors came up and stopped just in time to help me get Sheldon into the yard and caught. He was easy to lead and seems a very well worked llama. But I needed Missus to come out to help mind him while I set up his pen.

After getting Sheldon sorted out this side for a minute, I went over to see how Kyle is doing and found him in the canal. That required me getting Missus to help me get a rope on him and throw it to the other side of the canal so we could lead him away from the Russian Olive trees that are everywhere on the north side. We ended up walking him all the way down to the East Gate trying to find a place he could climb up, but never found one better than the embankment next to the gate. But that had deep mud under the water there, so it took me finally putting down the embankment ever so slightly with the tractor bucket, then pulling him WITH the tractor to get him up to the top of the embankment. This was about two hours of work, total. We did try not to pull him up with the tractor, after all.

We finished up pulling him out just as the alarm for me to get the girls sounded. Yeah, it was that kind of day!