Add Trusses and You Get a Roof

Today the trusses went up and the roof boards..I don't really know what they're called. It's all a lot of lumber to me. And the boards around the bottom. So now it's not just a bunch of posts sticking up out of the ground..it actually looks like it might be a building.

Tomorrow the plumber and the electrician come out to do their thing. Even the guy that's doing the trim work will be here to mark a wall for the electrician. It should be pretty chaotic around here tomorrow. I hope it all goes smoothly because this really makes me nervous.

I've ordered the windows and the doors. I think they're scheduled to go in the week after next.

I had to add this picture with the RV in it. In the first picture I was standing on the RV steps looking at the back of the house. So the RV is fairly close to where everyone is working. I got to thinking ...uh-oh... if I had a dollar for every time someone walked up here to the RV and said "I'll bet you'll be glad to get out of there!"...I'd be darn close to having enough money to pay for this house!

Happy Trails...

The Chicken House

The chicken house is finished and here ready for my little biddies! It is awesome and Gary, in Taylor, did an fantastic job. It is better than expected. Now I've been scurrying around today to get it all ready for the arctic blast that's supposed to hit in the next day or two. Nothing compared to what you folks up north are experiencing but plenty cold for this Texan. I see pictures on your blogs of your chickens in the snow and I can't even imagine having to deal with temperatures that low. A strong northwest wind is blowing across this river bottom today making it feel even colder than it is.

Here's the back side of the chicken house. The four nest boxes are accessible from the outside. There are vented windows on each side and then on the front and back.

You can see the chicken walk-thru door on the side towards the front.

Here's the inside...

Even the front door has a little dutch door that opens on the top. I just love this house! And I love my chickens! And I love this life! I am so blessed!!!

Happy Trails...

One of Those Weekends

I've been under the weather all weekend so it's been one of those stay at home, stay in and mostly stay-in-bed weekends with cocktail of choice, NyQuil. I've missed church and my grandson's birthday party for his third birthday. Ugh...

I did walk out this afternoon to see Buddy with his new toy. This log splitter is a dream. This will certainly make the job of cutting up 100 trees much easier.

Since my voice is just about gone, I've gone back and forth from the bed to sitting at my computer reading everyone's blog. I can't imagine living in the freezing cold like Alyson from Canada. She had to go out in temps of -25C to take care of her chickens. That's dedication. I even put in my two cents worth on voting for a farm name at Dream Farm. Thanks to everyone for keeping me entertained today. I love reading all your blogs.

Happy Trails...

Finally! The House is Started

If any of you have ever done any RV'ing, then you will know that a travel trailer is put together pretty much with popsicle sticks and duck tape. There's not much to them so they can be light enough to be on the road full of one's prize possessions. Truthfully, they're flimsy as heck! And with that, so is the plastic bathtub that is not much bigger than a #10 washtub. Ours is a tub/shower combo... I don't know why they call it a tub because there is no way I could get my fat butt down in the tub let alone figure out how to get back up! But anyway, ours, for the second time now, has cracked....gee, I wonder how that could be with our dainty little bodies in there!! Because of the crack, there is no way to take a shower so this morning I had to "bathe" out of the bathroom sink, which is comparable to the size of the tub. I actually felt cleaner because I could take my time. Please understand that the hot water heater in a typical RV holds 10 gallons. That's about 3 minutes of shower time. We've just about got it down to a science. So while the guys were out working on the house, I was here in the RV playing Mrs. Repairman getting high on fiberglass resin fumes. When my daughter called this morning to ask what I was doing, she said "Now, that's living in the country!"

But the day was good because early this morning, the first round of workers showed up to start on the house.
When I first started planning this house in my head, I sketched it out on quilting graph paper. Then it went to the architech for blueprints. It was cool to see my plans all laid out. We visualized a small grandpa and grandma house but when we got the plans back, it was over 1700 sq ft. Now when I walk thru all these exterior posts, it's getting smaller. Buddy said it will go in stages of looking small, then large, then small and then large again. Whatever...I'm anxious to see some walls so I can really tell.
It should start taking shape pretty quickly...plan for the trusses to go up Monday. Can't wait!
Now I'm off to go tuck in my biddies for the night.





Happy Trails...

I Learn Something New Every Day

After several days of yucky rain and damp cold, the sun came out and the temperature warmed up enough for me to take the chicks out to their play pen today. As you can see, they are getting way too heavy for me to carry this tub from the barn to their pen, so here comes the wagon. They were soooo happy to get out. I feel so sorry for them being in those boxes but I want them safe. It just so happened that RFD TV had a show that had a segment on Ideal Poultry in Cameron, Texas. That's where I got my chicks. Of course, I was yacking on the phone when they had the part about sexing the chicks. It was about feather sexing. Apparently the primary feathers are noticably longer than the secondary feathers on the hens while the males are basically the same length. I did not know that! But it takes a keen eye to decipher this. On the other hand, there is vent sexing. Chickens have their genitals internally so if you squeeze out some poop, you look for a little bump in the "vent"for the males. I'm here to tell you right now that you will not catch this girl squeezing the hineys of my chickens! Either they are hens or roosters and at some point in time, I will find out. In the meantime, it's a guessing game and I'm guessing that Big Hilda is O'Henry. That's Big Hilda in the bottom right of the picture towering over the others. Time will tell.

Mud, mud, everywhere mud. But we needed the rain terribly. We have been near drought around here so of course it rains when we're ready to start on the house. The trusses and lumber was supposed to be delivered yesterday but it was a welcome downpour. So it's all been put off til Friday.

So the sand on the pad for house awaits the tractor. Hopefully by Friday things will start hopping around here and some semblance of a house will start taking shape.

I still have plenty to do around here to keep me busy...like filling in holes that the dogs have dug. Silly me! What was I thinking that this wonderful fence would contain my dogs?! They have created their own doggy door!

Happy Trails...

Blue Skies and Sunshine

The sky is blue, the sun is shining, the birds are singing and my little chicks are out playing. It's a good day.

I went yesterday and ordered all the metal for the house. It was exciting but a little scary at the same time. Fortunately, those prices have come down some. The trusses and the framing lumber is scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday and I think the builder should start next Thursday. Wow, it seems like a long time coming.

The weather here has been crazy. It's in the upper 70's today. Not sure if we're going to have a winter or not. While I've been out in the orchard the last several days, the geese have been flying overhead. But they are already flying back north! What's the deal?

I think today I'm going to town to look at doors for the house. I've not yet decided what kind of exterior doors I want. I had no idea there are so many different doors. I've three doors to pick out. My kitchen and family room is going to be one big room with the kitchen in the back. There will be a door off the eating area to the carport and then a front door. The other back door is in the utility room. Since we always have a breeze here, I would like screen doors. So what kind of front door do you cover up with a screen door? I'm open for any suggestions...please! I'm including an older picture of the barn. The house is going to match the barn except the house will have great big cedar posts across the front porch. I was thinking of a green front door with a Texas Lone Star in it...but then I don't want to cover it up with a screen door. I keep thinking if I look long enough something will come to me...I don't have too much more time to be looking!

Happy Trails...

GoodBye Ol' Girl

This is a very hard post for me to write as it has been a very hard week. Today we said goodbye to Prissy.

As you might have read in my original post, horses have always been a love in my life since I was a little girl. On April 25, 1987, entered Prissy, a young 13 month old that had my heart the minute I saw her raise her head out of a herd and rear up as if to say "just come see if you can catch me". Little did I know at that time, how many hearts this amazing horse would touch and the effects she would have on our lives.

I sit here thinking about the past with her. She has been through a lot with us. This horse had more heart than anyone can imagine. Anyone that knows anything about horses will understand what it means for a horse to have a big heart. All she wanted to do was please. It's so hard for me to put into words...it is hard to cover almost 23 years. I guess I passed on to my daughter the love for horses because she and Prissy clicked like no others. What a team they were! How they grew together from potato races in little playdays to winning barrels in Bexar County. I can't begin to explain the joy that it brought seeing them fly through the arena. Even when my daughter was off having her own babies, Prissy even spent a few years taking other girls to State in poles.

A couple years ago, Prissy came to the orchard to retire, to live out the rest of her life in pampered bliss. I guess we all thought Prissy would be around with us for years but it didn't go as we had wished. Last Monday morning, Prissy told me with her eyes she didn't feel good. I will not go into all the details of the week, but I watched her deteriorate daily. Last night we left her at Texas A&M in ICU....we got the call this morning at 2:17 that it would be best to euthanize her. So today she came home for the last time. Thanks for being in our lives. Thanks for carrying three generations on you.

Happy Trails, Prissy.

For the real story of Theresa and Prissy, read about it on Theresa's blog.