Odds and Ends

These two.  Simon and Heidi still haven’t figured out what being weaned means, and they come running for a bottle every time they see me.

Heidi and Simon

The herd makes quite a long line when they head out to pasture. This isn’t even the whole line.

Once again, I have a family of red-headed woodpeckers in pasture.  I caught a juvenile on the fence post.  Sorry it is so cropped, but the fence was in my way and I couldn’t get any closer.

juvenile red-headed woodpecker

My back deck steps and patio are being taken over by wild grape vines.  I plan to use it in a project, but I need to do the project or just get rid of the vine.

Popcorn–just because he’s still cute and sweet.

Popcorn

My chickens are still giving me quite a few eggs.  I swear the old girls are more productive than the newer ones.  I certainly won’t get that same breed again.  I might try to get a handful of new hens in the spring.  Someday, these old ladies are going to start dying off.

Miss goose seems quite content in the barnyard.  I try to give her treats. Lately, she’s been getting lots of leftover tomatoes from my canning.

Miss Goose

Because I’m still canning like crazy.  With the HRT, I have the energy to can for my family too, so I am going to can as much as I can so everyone can get what they want.

Tiger cracks me up.  He always looks comfortable.

Tiger

I wish I just once felt as comfortable (arthritis) as he always looks.

The Deck

There’s still work going on.  The shingles are done, but there’s still work on the soffit and fascia.  I’m switching from black, which fades and looks horrible over time, to white.  It isn’t as dramatic, but hopefully it stays white.

Black on the left; original wood in the middle and lower level; white on the top right

After the roof, the next project will be replacing the deck.  You might recall that it was pretty damaged in the derecho also.

Well, in order for it to be replaced, I had to do some weed and scrub tree removal.

Seriously.  I just can’t keep up.

And with the death of the big oak tree in my front yard (and the magnolia that was taken out in the derecho), there’s a lot more sunshine and the weeds and scrub trees grow much faster.

I also have wild grapes growing back there.  I really had planned last year on using the vines for a project and then getting rid of them, but that didn’t work out. Now I need to get rid of them again, and I’m guessing once again I won’t have time for the fun, crafty project.

Anyhow, I spent part of last weekend trying to make the deck accessible to tear out and replace.  I’m working on it.

It will be interesting to see how my dog reacts to all the deck removal and building.

Sky

He’s been good with the roof so far, but it’s harder to go stick your nose in someone’s face when they are on the roof.