And Then There Were 12.

And then there were 12... Yep, we lost another two-legged girl last week... To what? We have no clue. Hubby just went into the coop to make his usual morning check and lift the coop hatch for them to roam the run... and ol' Hester was just laying on the coop bottom not moving too much. And that is pretty much how she stayed all day long. We moved her into an isolated crate that evening for safe keeping and poor girl was gone the next morning. RIP Hester.

A Small Dry Spell.

So we finally got a break in the rainy weather this past week... for a little while. And the dirt work contractor came back and started back the task again of backfilling the dirt against the walls of the house. This is a pretty large task considering how muddy the dirt is right now.

They started to build up the pad for the drive under "porte cochere" portion of the house so we can prep this pad to be a poured concrete slab when we pour the basement slab.

Here is Hubby standing on the built-up pad for the drive under.

The rock was spread to final elevation in the basement bottom.

And they started spreading the rock for the "porte cochere" slab too this week.

Added temporary plastic to cover all the fresh rock in anticipation of more rain the next day...

Still pushing dirt before the rain comes trying to get the elevations right on the slope down for the driveway out of the back of the "porte cochere"...

Rainy Days.

There's been a whole lot of raining going on around the farm since our last post. That means there hasn't been a whole lot of building going on!

Hubby did manage to get the fireplace bases poured between rain storms this past week.

And the dirt work contractor did start laying the rock inside the basement area in hopes of a concrete floor pour sooner than later...

Meanwhile, during all those rainstorms on the outside... Hubby has been working on the the farm project in the barn!

Very exciting to see the next phase of the barn build-out happening!

Dumpster Fire!

Did I mention someone set our dumpster on fire last week? Yep, "old" ashes from the burn barrel will set scrap lumber on FIRE!

Plumbing and Forming Decks!

We enjoyed our Thanksgiving holiday week last week... as did all of our subcontractors on this house since none of them showed up to work! In the meantime, we have received a whole lot of this since this week started:

But, fortunately the plumber finally showed up between rain storms and got the underground piping/plumbing installed and managed to passed inspection. Unfortunately, Hubby only took one photo of them working... Great shot - Not!

The dirt work contractor did make it out for a little while earlier in the week to do some backfilling of the front foundation walls too. But, rain prevailed so he will be back later to finish backfill and laying rock in the basement space. Later in the week Hubby and a friend of ours put on their tool belts and installed forms and rebar for a couple of small decks to be poured with concrete next week.

This is the deck for our back-to-back fireplaces in the wall between the Great Room and the outside deck. The deck has to be large enough to carry the bases of two separate fireplaces... to make sure the stone work contractor has ample space to do his magic!

Raised Bed Covers.

Hubby tackled another great project in the past few weeks that put his carpentry skills to work once again. The first day we let all thirteen chickens out to free range after we got our second set of seven, we found out the hard way real quick that chickens WILL destroy your garden vegetables. They just would not stay out of the raised beds and they kept pulling chunks out of the leaves of the lettuce and cabbage plants.

So for a temporary resolution we would cover the plants with towels and drop cloths... but, then that was a pain and we thought if we came up with something permanent... that could keep chicken AND other animals (deer, raccoons, etc.) out of the raised beds... then we could take down the perimeter plot saver fence around the summer plot all together for the Winter! And so the designing and constructing began...

First one complete! Now to make four more...

Measuring for the two smaller ones.

All five finished!! Protection from the animals and easy to water. So creative!

Accidents Happen.

Poor TT-Girl managed to hurt herself a few days ago. She ripped her ear somehow on the farm and Hubby had to rush her to the Vet. She had to be sedated and stitched up along with an overnight stay... Just glad she still has two cute little floppy pointer ears!!

Removing the bandage proved to be quite the task especially since part of her hair came off with it! See missing hair in the photo?

Close-up of her artwork. Will have removed later this coming week!

New Street Address!

It has been a long and winding road to get our street number for the farm... Can you say over a year? Holy cow, the mountain of rules and regulations this county has to build a house on your property. Finally, we have a street number and a building permit. So, of course, Hubby built us a mailbox...

Farmer Wilson.

Did I forget to blog that Hubby is growing a beard this month? Well it is "No-Shave November", isn't it? Looking good if I say so myself!

Stripping Forms and Waterproofing Walls.