What A Week!

 It's been a pretty awesome week. Some ups and downs, but overall, pretty decent. We've been going over to the property every day and just doing different things while we're there. Everything brings us closer to the day when we can say "ok, we're done" and move in ... although money (or the lack of it) means that the inside won't be done for at least a year, maybe two. It is what it is, and patience is a virtue as they say so I guess I need to have it.

Hubby's bees are doing good, although the one hive is quite aggressive. He has to suit up to even do their water tray. They fly around him and chase him, even after he's used the smoker to calm them. This evening one got inside his glove and stung him. The other hive is far more placid and lets him get on and do whatever he needs to.

Our site gleanings are going extremely well (and he's building up quite a stock of wood and boards for future projects) as is his pallet collecting. The latter is re-inforcing the current wire fencing around what will eventually be the goat field. Once it's done, I'm going to paint it black to make it match the barn and bring everything together.

The goats are crazy and smart, and fit in with us well. Little Miss Sunshine just loves to frolic, and kicks her little legs out sideways as she dances around. Solomon is more sedate and just struts around. He, like our darlin' long-gone-but-never-forgotten Rammy before him, has two different cries, one for Mark that sounds like "Daaad" and the other "Maa-ma". Sunshine and Solomon discovered the blackberry bushes and those little munchers are clearing them really well. It seems a lot longer than 2 weeks ago that we brought them home.  In another 3 weeks we'll be picking up another little girl, a Nubian, who my great-grandson is calling Maxie. She and Sunshine will be companions, and I'm looking for a Nigerian Dwarf buckling to be Solomon's companion. I'm hoping to find one that has a white band between 2 black ones, so that I can call him Oreo. We shall have to wait and see how successful I am in that search.

The wild roses are in bloom, out along the hedgerows, so we've taken some cuttings that I hope will root so that we can then plant them over some of our perimeter fencing eventually.

We have 2 pairs of geese with babies, 1 pair appears to have 4 and the other has 3. Sadly, they are not people friendly, they waddle back down to the creek when they see us drive on the property,

The stray mama dog that we've been feeding is also very shy BUT she's sneaky.  The other day she was trying to drag the bag of dog food out of the barn whilst our backs were turned, and then today, while we were down with the bees, she took the pan we had put wet food in, and absconded with the whole pan! Sneaky little madam.  She is very timid though.  Even when I'm talking to her gently, and her knowing we put the food there for her, she runs off.

Hubby's been trying to catch up on mowing - there's just so much space to mow that by the time he finishes it all, the bit that was done first is already a couple of inches high again.

Today I re-mopped in the barn where we had already cleared the dried mud, and mopped, before. Just trying to keep the dust down on that bit until I get the rest scraped, swept and mopped.

Tomorrow, I have a young lad coming to help Mark with the pallet fencing, and then Sunday I'm supposed to have another helper coming. It's just too much for one person to do, and I'm physically not capable of doing so much. Sweeping and mopping, I do sitting and rolling around on my desk chair. I water my outdoor plants sitting on the porch with a hose, and I have to use my upright walker to get from the car to the chair. Moving from one side of the porch to the other, I hook the hose over the brakes to drag it to the chair on the other side. Where there's a will, there's a way, but some things are definitely beyond me physically - hence getting hubby some outside help for a lot of things.

I had a bone scan on Wednesday, and despite more pain and less mobility, apparently my osteoporosis has not worsened and I have not had any further bone loss in the past 5 years or so. That was a relief, to be sure.

Another good week though, such a blessing, for which I am extremely thankful.

Slowly Coming Together

 It's been a really nice day but, boy, did it get hot! We took Brunel and Lightning over to the property today, as Mark was reinforcing the wire fencing around the "field" that we are going to use for the goats.

The reinforcement of choice (FREE!) is pallets and they are perfect. My goal, eventually, is to paint them black (I'm planning on black iron railings and gate for the front and just want everything to match). I think that will make my "farm" look more cohesive, rather than a hotch potch of different colours and styles. I'm even wanting my red shed repainted black and white, before we take it over there for me to get my train layout set up in.

We had a pleasant surprise yesterday, when we found that the geese had 4 babies.

Unfortunately, when I parked about 50 feet from them, they decided to take the babies into the creek and around the bend, so that I couldn't see them. Trying to take a pic from afar, the babies are well camouflaged in the grass, but are just behind the goose on the left.

The privacy trees are growing well, probably 2" taller than when we planted them back in February. This pic makes them look much closer to the barn than they really are.

What's funny is that from a different angle, the row of trees looks so much closer to each other. They are actually spaced 3 feet apart. I was parked by these when I was taking the picture of the geese.

But everything is coming together nicely, slowly but surely. We go over every day to feed our chickens and the stray mama, and do the stuff that needs doing with my plants, the bees, fixing the tractor and mower or whatever, and - now - the fencing around the "field". It has the wire fence 

all the way down to the neighbour's house and barn (seen at the back in this pic, which is actually down by the road). My mate, Kwacha, mowed this last weekend and you can see the difference between what's in the field and where she mowed. Mowing is going to be a many day "thing", as we have about 6 acres of what was, once, horse pasture, and it just keeps on growing! Eventually, once we have a full herd of goats, we're hoping they will keep most of it down.

Another Busy Day

Today was another one of those days where we didn't do much but actually did a lot. 

The goats spent their first full day outside in their new pen, and it was a hit! They loved it. 

We had 2 trips, the first was to run errands. First stop - Tractor Supply in Mauldin, to get the feed for the goats, and the stray mama dog. I had a $58 balance with Rakuten, so used that for a TSC gift card and that worked out nicely to cut what cash we needed.

We decided to grab Zaxby's for lunch, I am a House Zalad addict, and I always eat half and put half in the fridge for another meal. Plus, I save calories, fat and salt by not having the bread/toast. After that, we hit up one bank to deposit 2 checks for my book sales, and then the credit union to withdraw some cash. Then it was home for a break before trek 2, and to let the dogs out for a run while we were there.

AFter resting for a bit, my blood pressure was AMAZING! Actually low! 106/58 ... a big wow for me! Excellent! 

My Temu order of Sloth bird feeders (my great-grandson is a sloth fan) arrived so I set up one here so that Daniel could see it every day, and put one in my car to take with me down to Belton.

Next - trip 2 - down to the property, hubby drove his truck with a bed full of gleaned wood from one of the local building sites and the chicken's hutch from their old run. He's been getting very lucky the past few days with raiding the site bins. 

In my car, I had the dog food for the mama dog, a bag of sugar for the bees sugar water, a sloth bird feeder and a bird seed block, chicken feed, cold water and another bowl for the mama dog as another bowl had disappeared, and some stuff for the compost pile.

Hubby got there before me. I almost had an accident where somebody pulled out in front of me. I was on a main road, keeping up with traffic at 45mph, and with maybe 3 car lengths between me and the car in front, a car at a stop sign on the right just decided to pull out in front of me. They didn't even try to whip out either, just pulled out slowly, I had to slam on brakes and swerve so as not to t-bone them. Everything I was carrying shot forward in my car, and my heartrate went crazy for about 20 minutes as my body decided not to calm down immediately the incident was over. UGH!

Once there, he got the chicken hutch inside their new pen and set it up on a pallet just in case it rains real heavy, and maybe puddles in there, at some point. They'll be able to be dry.

Then he unloaded all the bits of wood and put them in the barn.

Mama dog was wandering around so we put out food and water for her, and she snuck in and ate while we were busy doing other stuff. She watches us, and feels safe on our property but is not people friendly, she's very timid. She ate so well that we refilled the pans again before we left! With feeding her puppies somewhere (we've not seen them) she eats more than our 3 dogs combined (and ours aren't starved by any means).

Hubby washed out and refilled the bees water trays, after I made up their gallons of sugar water. Both hives are doing very well. 

While he was at the hives he watered the dormant hummingbird vines that we planted last week. I can hardly wait for them to start growing, I so want the bees to have their beautiful flowers close by, and for the hummingbirds to come.

I got the Sloth bird feeder set up with a birdseed block in it and hubby hooked it up on a post near the side of the building. When I sit on the front porch, we have a few birds flying around, so I figured that would be somewhere they'd easily find the seed.

It was all good.

When we got home, we took a quick rest, and then I set about cleaning the goat pens indoors. Their bedding went in a black trash bag to be taken over to the compost heap, over at the property, tomorrow.

Hubby took the base trays outside and hosed them off, and then swept and mopped the floor under the pens. Once the floor (and trays) were dry, he put the trays back into the pens, and then I re-bedded them with fresh hay, and we put fresh water in each pen, and their evening feed. 

When he went out to get them, he carried Sunshine in, and then went to get Solomon. He decided to run off, leash trailing, but Mark managed to catch him and lead him in. He doesn't walk well on a leash at the moment, he's not used to it so it's a learning process. 

Tonight, we have 2 tired and happy goats. And 2 tired people!

Such A Lovely Day

 Today has been a really nice day. Absolutely lovely, and we achieved a lot. 

We decided to move our 2 remaining chickens over to the property into the new pen, with their automatic feeder and waterer. Hubby loaded them up in a pet carrier to transport them, and they were very happy with their new home. The cover protects them from any stray hawks, and hubby put blocks and other barrier items around the outside just in case the stray dogs decided to give them a look-see. 

The feeding mama (the new one, not the original who we've not caught on camera in a couple of weeks now) showed up today while we were there. She stayed wary of us and retreated every time I attempted to talk to her, even from a distance, but I guess hunger was her reason as she polished off food from both the front and back pans that we put out for her. We refilled them before we left, and the camera shows she came back again for more. UNfortunately, the screenshot is unclear so I can't show how sad she looks.

My mate, Kwacha, came over for the peace and ended up mowing some of the grass. She said she wanted to catch some sun.

I transplanted Cilantro, and watered all my plants, and gave one of the Cilantro plants to Kwacha as she likes using it in cooking. The 2 Plumeria plants that have struggled over here are flourishing inside over there.

A previous grab of pallets is becoming a second fence around the field that is eventually going to be the goats' home over there. We still need a lot more but we're happy with the folks that let us glean them when they throw them out. They're saving us beaucuop bucks!

On his way home, Mark hit up one of the building sites that we have permission to glean from the trash at, and got some awesome scrap wood pieces that will be useful for quite a few of our ongoing projects.

When he got home, Mark moved and re-erected the chicken's old enclosure for the goats to hang out in during the day. Jel helped him a bit as I was useless.  I changed the waters in their crates, and fed them. Sunshine is very loud when she wants attention, but Solomon nickers so gently.  Methinks he is going to be a sweetheart once he gets used to being leashed to walk in and out. With 2 acres, we can't risk him running off, Mark would never manage to catch him and I wouldn't even be in the game. I need Solomon to learn to love me so much that he just wants to be near me, that way I won't need to leash him to move him.

So, we all had a great day and I'm thankful for all of them.

Our New Little Man

 He has no name yet, but today we went and got a little man to be a companion to Sunshine.

He snuggled under my arm on the way home (he was on Mark's lap). We knew he was bigger than her, because of them being different breeds, but when we put them together, wow, he looked huge.

He was very nervous of her at first. It was funny, she would attempt to go nuzzle against him and he would flinch like she was some monster. He kept backing away and trying to get away from her. He settled pretty quickly, I was talking to him the whole while and she's not nervous of us at all now, so I think that helped.

Then he met the dogs and he's never been around dogs, so that gave him the jitters again for a few.

He ended up with the pink collar on as it was too big for her (it still is on him) but, because he's skittish, we needed to be able to walk him between the pen and the crate in the house. Even as young and small as he is, he is strong ... he pulled Mark all over the front yard. 

We've set up the 2 crates next to each other, and fresh hay and water for now, and a handful of feed. This way, they have each other's company, but they also have their own space.

I just have to ponder the correct name for him. It will come. I liked Ozy for Ozymandias but when I re-read the poem, it was more or less aobservation that things do not last so I kind of decided that was a no.Mark suggested Bucky (because he's a boy) but that's a local BBQ chain so I don't feel right about that either.

Meet Our Newest Family Member

So, today we went and picked up our new baby girl. She's 11 weeks old. We've named her Sunshine. She is a tiny little thing but a bundle of energy and personality. She explored outside and didn't want to come indoors as it got dark outside. You can get a gist of her size - this was her lying across my lap in my car.

The dogs have been introduced to her (through the bars of her pen). Brunel is the calmest and I think will eventually be her best buddy and protector. Lightning, who is nervous of new things (people/dogs, etc) didn't snarl, bark or bare teeth and got whimpery so I am thinking that he will be ok too. Rover is extremely excited, and pawed at the pen, which made her nervous. Because of his prey instinct, I'll be taking more time to make sure he and she are ok together.  

She seems comfy enough in the pen. I got her hay for her bedding, rather than straw, that way she can munch any time that she wants to. I had forgotten how nice the smell of fresh hay was. 

Tomorrow she will be even happier, as she will have a companion. We will be picking up a little boy so she won't be lonely.

We Finally Got Some Rain ... And I Got Stung

I am very thankful today for the rain. We planted the hummingbird vines around the bee enclosure a few days ago, and despite watering them in, it's good to have them get a good soaking naturally. All of my trees also will be happy.

Unfortunately, it would seem that one of the strays that comes to eat is either pregnant or lactating. She is not the one that began our putting food out, this is yet another. We're now putting out double the food. I have no idea how we can trap these as they don't always come at the same time, and not always every day.

As for me, we-ell, yesterday I got stung by one of those bee type flies. Thankfully not one of our bees as I know I'm badly allergic to them. Well, this striped fly stung me on my forehead, and gave me quite a headache for a couple of hours, and then started swelling me up!

It was awful, although the oddest thing was, when the swelling started the headache stopped. It had puffed up my forehead a bit, and the pain had been mainly over my left eye. You could barely see the tiny red spot where I was stung, it was smaller than a nasal pore! As you can see, my eyes aren't sorted yet but I'm doing antihistamine pills every 6-7 hours at the mo, so hopefully this will dissipate soon. My eye itched badly and I had to not give in to rubbling it, then it got crusty and dry and I had to clean it and put drops in to replenish the moisture. 

What a palaver!

A Pretty Restful Day ...

 Except for the fact that we had taken my walker out of my car and forgotten to put it back. OOps! We got to my massage appointment and it was an "oh no" moment. Hubby helped me stagger in and down to the rest room, then back to sit down and wait for my appointment time ... but then, when he went out to get my book for me to read during his appointment, found an old cane that I used to use, which did help although I am much unsteadier than I was. At least I had something rigid on one side, and a human on the other! We don't intend repeating the experience - hubby put my walker back in my car as soon as we got home!

We didn't go down to the property today, but hubby has gone dumpster diving on the building sites that gave me permission to do so. His last trip, Monday, gave us some sweet pickings: chipboard/asb sheets (2, nothing wrong with them and not even parts, these were 2 complete sheets!), some 2" x 4"s, a very nice shelf length plank, and some odds and sods. Very useful! Brunel has gone with him, it's Bru and daddy time.

We took those pieces over yesterday, and took Lightning to have mummy/daddy time. While we were there, we watered the fruit trees with the soaker hoses that hubby has now rigged up. It's all progress, it may be slow but it's slow and steady, and starting to come together.

The bees, wow! Hive 2 is thriving, they are going to town doing all the stuff bees do.

The pic is from the back side, so hive 2 is on the left. Hubby had taken the water trays off to clean and refill. Hive 1 is slower, but they are working hard and starting to get it together after the messed up start.

They are definitely the calmer of the 2 hives, the bees in Hive 2 are more aggressive in ways. Mark has to suit up to do anything major with them.

They are busier at the front of the hive too, whereas (with less bees) Hive 1 is a lot slower.  They all seem happy though, and that's all that matters. Happy and healthy. They do all seem to be going all over the property and we do have flowers in bloom (roses) and the brambleberry bushes are ablaze with lots of blossoms. There's going to be some awesome picking there!

I'm trying to think of how to make a sugar-free jam (since Mark is now on insulin).  I found one recipe that is just berries, lemon juice and chia seeds, so that's one option I may try. I can freeze some but methinks I'll have plenty to share!

My bee homes for the wild bees came today so we'll take them down tomorrow evening and set them on 2 trees in different areas. Methinks they'll be happy too!

Look Who's Nesting In Our Creek!

We were out at the property today and look who has made a nest in the creek area!

Having seen a mama and goslings earlier, elsewhere, I'm hoping this one will hatch babies soon. It'll be lovely to have them wandering nearby. I don't need to intrude, I can watch from afar.  I just love that I'm being blessed with beautiful blessings like this, over there.

Hubby's bees are doing good; he added more frames to the hives as they are working hard at what bees do. I'm happy they've settled in and like where they are at. We've prepped a lot of plants for them to have a variety of places to get nectar. We want happy healthy bees.

Jel and Mark swept and mopped some more of the building, it is time consuming but we are making headway with getting all the clay dirt out. Still a ways to go before we will be able to say "c'est finis" but every bit done is a step towards not having a mucky floor.

Jel had brought over 2 friends who are going to hunt the hogs for us and get rid of them, so that they don't tear up my veggie plots or the orchard. 

All in all, it was a good day.

Plantings, Plantings And More Plantings

 We've been busy, taking advantage of the nice weather and going over to the property to get things done. So many dreams to come true, but for now, one step at a time, one day at a time, and adding to the garden space. 

Hubby planted the gladioli bulbs down by the creek netween and either side of the 2 calla lilies (that he discovered were actually 3 as there was another a short distance away). That should look very welcoming when they are all in bloom.

Yesterday, I pot planted a grapevine and 2 plum stumps (saplings), well watered in seed starting mix ... and the pots are composting ones so there's no real transplanting to be done.  Once they start growing we can just plant the pots in the ground. Today I had another order delivered, 2 plums and a kiwi, and have done the same. I need to get a couple more kiwis, and then will need a pergola/lath house for them to vine up. Hubby is going to work on the grapevine supports this weekend so's we can get all our grapevines transplanted along it, in a row.

We checked the bees yesterday and both hives are doing fine.  The one is still busier than the other, but the other is doing well, so we are happy (and so are they!).

Hubby's also been moving mulch from the piles and using them to fill in ruts along the driveway, and to cover some of the red clay before we get rain again and end up with mud, mud, mud. He's putting some  up the front where our ground is uneven and where we'll be adding soil and planting the rose bushes soon. 

Just so many places for it to go, and so much to do and he's just one person.

Yesterday, as we were leaving, we saw the little stray mama dog. She was a bit skittish but we both stopped and spoke to her, and we'd left food out for her at at the barn. I just wish she'd be on the property when we are there.

We'll be heading over again later, after we do the school run, amd my grandson and Miss Lily will be coming over to hamg out with us for a little while.

So, We Are Still Learning!

So, despondent about our bee loss, I called the Carolina Bee Company   to try to see what we may have done wrong and if our depleted hive stood a chance at survival, and were given some awesome advice ... and learned something we didn't know.

It seems that, when you have 2 new hives (or more) close together, that one Queen may give off stronger pheromones than the other, and that bees from the other Queen may just decide to migrate to her hive rather than stay in their own. Apparently, it's called "drifting". Hmmm, who knew! We hadn't had that problem last year as we only had the one hive.

The remedy, since neither Queen is yet free of her "box", is simply to steal a frame or two, from the now overloaded one, and then seal the "weaker" hive for 3 days so that the bees cannot come out of that hive, and they - apparently - will bond with the Queen in there and strengthen that hive.

So that's what Mark did.

When he opened the tops of both hives you could immediately see that - yes - the one was definitely overloaded, as you can see in this pic and the other had no frame activity going on, as you can see in the pair together, in the pic below. 

Mark suited up since the stronger hive was the aggressive one on Saturday, with the bees that actually chased him! Today, though, they were actually quite docile and well behaved so he really needn't have bothered. We're just glad that the man at the Carolina Bee Company was able to help us remedy what had been a very distressing situation for us.

Mark also planted my one Calla Lily down by the creek near the one that is already there, and we have Gladioli bulbs that we're going to put between, and either side of them, to add some colour (and bee food) down there.

I ordered 2 wild bee houses to put up near the house, so that the Carpenter Bees, bumble bees and wild bees all have places to stay as well. I could probably have made them myself but easier, and possibly even cheaper, to buy.

I guess, soon, I'll have to look for some gourd bird houses too.

I love how things are coming together over there.

At home, this morning, the great grand-puppy was ill with diarrhoea so I had to dose him up with some Probios and a pill from the vet. He has a very sensitive stomach so I'm so careful with his food but apparently, last night, his mama gave him some pork off her plate ...poor baby paid dearly for his treat but is ok tonight and much happier for feeling better.

Not A Good Bee Day

 Today we went to check on our bees and hive one was devastating, so many dead bees, only a few trying to eat their way through the wax box to free the Queen. It's very sad, there are maybe only 20 bees in there. We don't know why, but obviously it will be a weak hive for awhile, if it survives, because there are so few bees trying to do the work. I'm just praying they survive and thrive, I hate to see this happen.

Hive two was a hub of buzz-iness, looking very healthy and settled in. They seemed happier, too, as nobody was interested in buzzing Mark while he changed their sugar water. Yesterday, they were the aggressive ones that chased him and hive one had been the happier friendlier lot.

Mark put together another planter for me, and I planted some bulbs he had bought. I don't know how they will do, they seemed very dry to me. We shall see. Everything else is flourishing, and the clematis - I swear they've grown another couple of inches since yesterday!

This evening, I've been propagating gardenia and rosemary cuttings. I hope they take. I didn't have much success with the last batch that I did, not sure why as I've usually got a pretty green thumb.

My computer has started acting up, the battery won't charge (and - of course - now the batteries are locked in) yet runs ok off the cord but at 0% battery. UGH! I'm going to have to take it to Geek Squad at Best Buy tomorrow and have them put me in a new battery, I guess.

That's about it for now, I'm done. Lying on my bed, relaxing, and may well be asleep within the next hour. Blessings all.

We Have Our Bees!

We finally have our bees, and they are settling into their new homes. Hubby drove to Travelers Rest to The Carolina Bee Company, to get them. It was a hot day, so they were a bit rambunctious, and the second box was def more agitated than the first.

They chased Mark and one stung him on the forehead. We left them for about an hour, after he put their sugar water in, and they had quietened quite a lot, and were going in the hives. 

He doesn't have a problem working with bees, and some had got out in the truck while he was driving them "home". The first box was calmer and just buzzed around him gently, as he did what needed doing.

They were slow coming out at first.

Then, once almost all of the first box were out, they started crawling around the open hive. While they did that, Mark popped the sugar water into their water tray, and then put that on top of the hive and then put the cover on. He expected the second one to go as easily, but they were not happy, and were fussing from the get go, and chased him off a few times. We left them to settle and figure out that their Queen was in her hive, and to go in there with her. Even then, when Mark went back to add their sugar water tray, and pop the cover on, they still weren't happy with him invading their space.

Amazing how 2 lots of bees can be so different.

We set the hives up between the orchard and the creek.  Mark had mowed in the area yesterday, between the rows of fruit tree saplings. We brought over 2 troughs from our house, and I've ordered 6 hummingbird vines, so I'll plant 3 in each and then let them grow up and over the chain link.

Up at the front porch, the clematis in the planters (attached to the entrance arch) have sprawled even more. They are entwining themselves around the wire frame, I'm excited to see how they will look in a few weeks.

I love how everything is coming together. God is so good!

A Productive Day

Today we got quite a lot done. 

Hubby got his bee area together, inside an old chain link enclosure that we had.

We're going to find some honeysuckle, or something similar, to plant so that it runs up the sides and will add some protection from winds and night time marauders who might fancy some honey. Methinks when he picks the bees up, on Saturday, that they will be quite pleased with their new home. We aim to please!

He also started mowing but ended up running out of gas, no worries, tomorrow he'll get on and do some more. There's plenty still to do ... about 6 acres of our property is grassy. Probably 2-3 acres is the creek and marsh.

I was thrilled to see that my peas have already started sprouting.  

As far as my beans ... 2 tiny shoots popping up, one bottom left and one near the top on the right hand side.

Out front, the clematis (that I planted in the side bases of the outdoor archway) have started winding their way around the supports so they are happy in their new home as well.

I transplanted one of the air purifying plants that needed a bigger pot, watered all the others, watered all the outdoor plants and felt very content today.

Tomorrow, we'll take some more spider plants over, and I'm going to plant some rosemary cuttings (my last batch all failed to grow) and take some more gardenia cuttings to pop in water to try to get rooted. Hubby will take the gas can, and mow some more.

A Good Day

 I can only say that I really didn't do much today but help hubby put together 2 plant stands ... he however set up the chain link pen, fought the weed barrier that kept trying to blow away as he was trying to lay it down, and then covered said weed barrier with mulch to get the pen ready for the beehives. We get our bees this Saturday, so wanted to have everything ready. He then set blocks up and put the hives on them, but tomorrow is doing a bit of finagling to put a tabletop surface across it, to make it sturdier. We are thinking of putting honeysuckle vines around the outside to give the bees a less stark enclosure (and make it look prettier than just being a chain link square).

We took over a lot of my indoor plants out of the bathroom here, and put them in the barn by windows to get the light ... thus enabling me to get more started here from cuttings. Sadly, my last lots of rosemary and gardenia didn't do well, so I need to start some more. We alos took some of my grow bags over there, so that I can plant some root veggies in them in the next week or so. 

My snow peas and runner beans are already starting to shoot up through the ground, and the bulbs in my planter tables are doing the same.

Unfortunately, last week's "cleaning" sent out more dust than it picked up, and so now everything is covered with red clay dust ... the table, my train model drawer chest, my shelves and books, the portable loo and the camp bed mattress. I was so disheartened. I started trying to clean again, and my mood went downhill so fast, I thought, "no, just leave it alone now until after this place is fully swept, shop vacced and mopped THEN redo it" because the simple truth is, it'll be doing the same thing the next time I shop vac, and I'm going to be doing it a few times before that side is not throwing up that dust. Physically, it took me a few hours when I cleaned everything as I set it all up when we took it over there. My body just isn't up to doing it all again only to have to do it over and over.

Mark is trying to cover the clay dirt outside so as to make it less of a mess when it rains, so that once we have the pad clean, it won't be getting an more clay mud walked in.

However, today WAS a good day for what we did accomplish, so I'll focus on that and forget the downside!

Slow But Steady

 It may seem lazy but little and often works for me, and not doing anything when I don't feel like it, works for me as well.

Thursday, when we went down to the property, my mate, Kwacha, came with us. She needed the peace that surrounds that place. We jammed to 90's songs as we rode down and, once we got there, we sat on the "porch" and I watered all my plants as we chatted. 

Then, inside, she swept some more of the dried mud, and I shop vacced it. 

Today when we went down, I did nothing. We'd taken one of my mobility scooters down to store in the barn. Mark fell in the dirt getting it unloaded, and thankfully it stayed on the ramps and didn't fall on him. 

I'm thankful for the rain, it means the trees, that I usually have to water with a jug, will get a good soaking.

Next Saturday, we get our bees. Mark is going to set the hives up in an enclosure (it's a 10' x 10' chain link dog/chicken pen) to stop unwelcome visitors from disturbing them.

We did grocery shopping today, I loaded up on salad stuff, fruits, and BOGOs since I'm trying to help Mark eat less carbs to help lower his A1C and his diabetes and health, in general. I had to start rearranging one of the freezers, as his stuff took up more than the one shelf I'd allocated way back when. That's going to have to be another work in progress, I'll do some more tomorrow ... and on a few other days, methinks.

For now, a few more minutes for ye doggies on the bed, and then, time for them to go out, and me to go to bed. I need my beauty sleep, saith she. 

Ye great grand puppy sleeps on nanny's bed, he is a nanny's boy. He is such a darling, and lays down by my feet.

 

Our 2 boys like to take over daddy's bed. They sprawl. It's why they can't sleep with us ... there's not enough room! 

Have a wonderful Easter everyone.

We Didn't Do Much But We Did A Lot

 "We didn't do much, but we did a lot" seems to have become our most used saying, of late. It's come to mean in a  roundabout way, that although we only did what we felt like doing, and gave up as soon as we started getting tired (hey, we're old!) we are accomplishing stuff over at the property, little by little, and measurably. Were we twenty years younger, we could do a lot more, but we aren't and so we do what we do, and appreciate that we've been able to do whatever we've done. 

Monday, we went over and hubby moved more mulch and put along the dirt track/driveway to fill in some of the ruts for now. 

Since we have no irrigation down that far, I watered the privacy trees using gallon jugs ... and since I can't walk, I drove Serendipity close to the row and watered with my arm out of the car window.  Where there's a will, as they say. Mark watered the fruit trees using the jugs as well. I had bought soaker hoses but we've had so much "stuff" put away that - as yet - I've not found them all.  When we do, we will have them running down by the fruit trees. We are looking into putting a pump in the creek to water the privacy trees and the (eventual) roses and gardenias up front (currently in buckets and pots, as we have to build up the front area a bit beforehand).

Today, we went over with 2 goals in mind.  To sweep, vacuum and mop some more of the concrete pad in the building, and to move all the plants we've taken over previously, to the front porch area and get them all well watered. We were over there a couple of hours and achieved both. You can definitely see the difference between the areas we've done and what's left to do.  It's a work in progress that will not be completed any time soon.  It wears me out, rolling around using the shopvac, and hurts my shoulder after a while. Hubby does the sweeping, I do the vacuuming, then I wet mop and he dry mops over just to garner some more of the wet mud dust. Cleaning both mops is fun too, whilst trying not to create a mudpit when emptying the mop bucket. Ah joy!

But it's coming together slowly.

I took a picture from behind the privacy trees, looking up towards the building. Yeah it looks wonky as I am NOT a good photographer, and where I was at was on a slope anyway. The row of privacy trees will grow 3-4 feet a year, they say, so in a couple of years, should be at least like a decent hedge.

The weird looking black thing about 1/3 of the way in from the left, is the table with the water barrel on it, and is at the end between the 2 rows of the orchard trees (that you can't really make out in this pic) and that is actually about as far from the building as it is from the row of privacy trees (although it looks like it is right up on it). 

We are going to situate the beehives close by there, so that our bees have access to the blossoms, as well as blooms farther afield. We've decided to put the beehives in a pen to protect them from unwelcome visitors who may visit in the night.  We'll be picking up our bees April 11th, only a week and a half to wait. We learned a lot last year and are better prepared because of what we went through. Nobody had explained to us about the moths, and we lost our bees because of it.  We won't make the same mistake twice.

The journey continues (and I'm thankful we got my gas at $3.41 this morning before it went up again this afternoon). The property is 26 miles away, so it all adds up.  I'm glad Serendipity gets such great mileage. She is a great little car, and i've had her now a whole year!

 

Busy Weekend Beginning

 

The dirt up by the barn being so easy to mud as soon as it get wet, I decided to utilize it this year for growing some of my veggies. Hopefully, at the end of the season, the churned in leftover greenery will boost it somewhat and make it more soil like. Today, after planting planters full of bulbs (tulip, daffodil and wood hyacinth), we planted snow peas and put up frames for them to climb up. Tomorrow, we'll do the same with some runner beans.

I'd started the planters of bulbs yesterday, but once my body had had enough, it was time to quit and do another day. I have so much to do, but my life is ruled by my body and what it lets me do at any given time. The bending, stretching, and lifting yesterday wore me out (and I do it all from a seated position, I'd be falling all over the place if I were trying to stand to do it). 

Mark slipped yesterday, in the red mud, as we were watering everything in, which was what gave me the idea to use the area for ground planting this year. It's already bare, gets well wet when it rains, so it makes sense. 

Being promised a frosty morning, we put everything that had shoots on, inside the building. It's well insulated, so they should be ok. If there's no more frost risk tomorrow, then they'll all get put back outside when we are over there in the afternoon.

I'm hoping to have a couple of helpers, and if so, I'll have them sweeping the dirt up in the building, while I vacuum it up with the shopvac. Little by little, it is getting done. It's a large area and there was a lot of mud to begin with! The weather was definitely NOT conducive to a clean build, but it is what it is. I see the progress every time I'm in there.

Mark, meanwhile, "dropped" a piece of his tractor yesterday, and today figured that it was a welded part where the weld failed, so ... it will be getting re-welded sometime in the next couple of weeks. It hasn't stopped him though, he's been moving mulch from the piles down onto the dirt track, filling in ruts and making it less slippery when it rains.

All in all, our weekend has started well, and hopefully tomorrow will see more progress over on the property. 

Exhausted - What A Week! And A Bit.

 Finally, my brain is getting to rest after the stresses (good and bad) of the last few months. My body, not so much. We've been going over and cleaning it up, moving bits and pieces over and just getting on with "stuff" that's needing doing.

The build finished a week and a half ago. 

It rained.  The guys couldn't clean up the mud on the concrete because ... they were having to walk through the mud to get into the barn. I told them we'd do it, and we are still working on it.

It is a major job! Mark sweeps some (Kwacha did the other day) and I use the wet/dry vac to vacuum up the dust. I scoot around on a desk chair to do it, since I can't stand or walk. Where there's a will, as they say.

Once we get it all down to no real dust, we'll double mop and get it - finally - dirt/dust free.

I set up the front porch.  Hubby put together the archway planter and I'm waiting on climbing clematis plants (that are due to be delivered tomorrow) to make it more cosy. 

The lamps are solar, and looked so neat. I leave my walker behind the "gates" under the arch.

The wind the other night decided to blow one over and broke one of the panes, but it doesn't really show. Thursday, I'm taking bulbs over to put in the bases.

The trees in the orchard are beginning to leaf out, they look so pretty. 

Hubby had a fun time with the mower. NOT! It ran out of gas the other day and we left it overnight, down by the creek.

When he tried to restart it, after filling the tank, it decided it wasn't going anywhere.  He ended up towing it up to the barn, with the tractor. He still hasn't managed to get it to start but he'll figure it out, it's mechanical and that's his bent.

I managed to set up a corner (after we'd swept and mopped it) with my fold-up modelling table (but I haven't found my tools yet), my drawers of modelling "stuff", a camp bed and air mattress for me to lie down on when my BP goes up over there (big fail on that one, but hubby is going to make a frame for the mattress) and he put together a metal shelf for my garden and herbal medicine books. 

Although we haven't seen them, we've been putting dog and cat food down for the strays, and it keeps disappearing so we hope they still feel the property is a safe space after all the noise, hustle and bustle of the well dig , concreting and the barn erecting. I'd like to be able to catch the female and get her spayed before she gets pregnant again.

Just still lots to do but tomorrow we have massages with Roger at Studio Rejuvenate, so it's a day of rest from the property. Then, Thursday, it'll be back to working on it.

A Smashing Couple Of Days

Yesterday and today have been pretty awesome. I'm quite content with how they've been.

Yesterday started with my doctor visit for my 6 month check up, and all my labs were good, and I made a fool of myself trying to get "up" on the table. I DID manage to (with help), but getting down proved way more difficult, looking like some slapstick comedy skit as I twisted this way and that, foot hovering a few inches off the floor, even lying OVER the table to try to get back down. I felt bad for the nurse nad Dr Smith, I was in pain trying to do it but their faces were horrified. She asked me about why I was having so much trouble and I told her, my hips and knees just don't do stuff like that any more. So now she wants me to have a bone density test, so I have to schedule that (once I get everything sorted with the stuff going on at the property). I was more achy last night because of teh effort, but am doing ok today.

We were late going down to Belton, but "my men" had been getting on with it really well, and had started cladding the outside some more, and working on the porch (and yes, I'd figured out that what they ahd lain at the bottom actually needed to be at the top, so all is good on that score).

Mark had found a Bradford Pear down by the creek, and started to cut it down. He did some and got quite a pile of branches, but it's bigger than it looked, so today he went back with a long handled saw, but even that failed in making much progress so he's going to look for his chain saw and then attack it with that. They sterilized pear trees, and I lost some here when I planted when we first moved in, because I didn't know that. I'm not losing ones in my orchard over there.

We stopped by on my grandson, Dylan, on the way as he lives close by, and gave him the Easter eggs I'd got, from England, for him and Miss Lily. Today, we stopped by again as his birthday present was delivered today (a week after it was supposed to, but better late than never). He loved it, proving yet again that nanny gets it right. We also got to see our other great-granddaughter, Zayleigh, who was down for the weekend, from Tennessee, with her mum.

At the property today, I used my upright walker, and went inside the building. My builders had needed to go back to NC to pick up more supplies, and will be back tomorrow. The cement pad is a mess, because of all the rain, the guys have been having to trudge through mud a lot. I'll have to shop vac it after they do their final clean up. There's no way they'll get it all by sweeping up. 

I love the space inside. We'll have a lot to do with getting the inside how we want it, but that's fine, we'll take our time. 6 months ago I was not expecting to be doing this rush, rush, rush to get a building up. I'd said, "over the next couple of years" and then things just gathered speed and shot ahead of me. I'm ok with it, but the next few months are going to move MUCH SLOWER!

I love how it looks at dusk!

I took pictures, from where I sat, through different windows, and everything is perfect. All of the views are (or will be after tidying up/clearing) perfect. 

This is the view out of what will be the kitchen window, and it looks down over the creek/wetland (which we still have to clean up quite a bit). 

From the side window in what will be the kitchen, we have a view of the well (which will eventually have it's own pretty little house around it).

The view from the front door, where they are still working on the front porch. It looks down towards the orchard we have planted, the privacy trees and the main road.

As you can see from all of the pics, the surrounding area is still pretty muddy. It really is only just now starting to dry out after the 2 weekends of snow a few weeks back and rain every weekend since. 

I sat by the door at the creek end, and this is the inside, to the right from there.

And this is the view to the left. Yes, the mud is real!

Sitting inside, with the wind blowing outside, it didn't even sound like wind against metal, it was pretty gentle sounding which was quite surprising since, here, when the wind hits my metal awnings, they rattle quite a lot. 

The crew still have a lot to do to finish off everything, they still have the trim to do all around, the front porch and the garage door. I'm hoping it all gets done tomorrow but there's such a lot that I think it may possibly end up being Sunday. We shall see.