Farm Life

[Spiritwind]

I have always enjoyed watching the sun come up. For me, it is a special time of day as it is the between time. We live about a mile or so from a chain of small lakes and a mist often forms and tends to rise off the waters as dark meets light. It feels like the earth energies are very strong at this time, with your eyes even playing tricks on you. When I looked out early yesterday morning a bank of dark clouds hung low over the horizon in a perfect line, so that it looked like a light sandwich in between the clouds and the tree lined horizon. It is very easy to imagine all the animals that live in the forests here, from moose, deer, bear, cougar, and coyote, to turkey, porcupine, raccoon, skunk and others, almost as if you can feel their living presence. Their energy permeates the very air I breathe, as I sense the meeting of spirit to spirit, as they too become aware of me.

Sitting in reverie I feel humbled at the immensity of it all.

[Spiritwind]

Don't have time to write much, but we got the barn mostly done. I also harvested about 10 lbs of potatoes today. Not bad for such a small space. So amazing what the earth provides us. So far it's been a very productive week. We extended the well house four feet too, so it's now 8 x 12. Next up is the wood stove. Yippie!

[Fred Steeves]

This seems a good time Laurie, to tell you how much I appreciate this thread. I like hearing about the challenges and things y'all are forced to learn with farm life, because it's quite similar to our own experience here of 4 1/2 years out in the woods in Tennessee now.

This is not farming by any stretch of the imagination, no animals need tending besides dogs as of yet (although we hope to finally get some chickens next spring), but there have been things like learning how to chop down a tree without maiming yourself or crushing the house, how to properly grow a garden, learning to use and maintain all the equipment it takes to keep the property and ever encroaching woods tamed down, stuff like that. Quite the full immersion into a brave new world as it looks like y'all have done.

I also enjoy reading the Spiritual introspections you have by way of this new and back to basics (and nature) way of life, as it has been quite similar here as well. Often times I think to comment, but I'm leary of taking the thread off topic.

One last thing, something that struck my contractor's eye with your latest pictures. Did you spray any water sealant on all of that composite plywood? If not, you might want to think about doing that right quick, before winter sets in even. That stuff exposed will rot out from under you before you know it if you don't. It's obvious how much work has gone into those buildings, and I sure would hate to hear of that becoming a problem. The sealer would truly be an ounce of prevention

[LostNFound]

Laurie, I have to agree with Fred, Your telling of all the adventures on the Farm are so wonderful. takes me back to the days and times of living on a farm and tending animals. Whenever I read your experiences and see the pictures, I get to be right there. WOW!

Now this other thing that Fred mentioned That his Contractor friend stated. You really need to get that OSB covered with some kind of sealant before the rains and snow hit. I know you and hubby have so much to do but your barn is beautiful and would hate for all that work to go to hell in a handbasket.
I can only speak from experience. I was a carpenter and builder for 25 years and While in the State of Washington I was a General Contractor and yes that OSB will go bad within one season of winter without a sealant of some kind. I would recommend going to Home Depot if you have one and possibly getting some 15lb or even 30lb felt building paper and covering the roof and walls with that. That can be a relatively cheap way to protect the OSB. Don't know what the cost of a sealant that has to be painted or sprayed on is these days. That might be the cheaper way. So If you can afford the building wrap, you can use roofing nails, the shorter ones and nail the piss out of it. Lap the courses by at least 3 Inches as you roll it out horizontally on the roof and the walls. Another way to attach is use staples and I would suspect that would be better on the walls so nothing sticks through to the inside. Once the paper is on you can take 1x2 or whatever you have available and tack that over the paper either vertically or horizontally so the paper can withstand winds through the winter, until you can find some cedar boards or some cheap siding to cover it all and then paint. That can take time but for now you can do either the sealant or paper wrap whichever is cheaper to keep that beautiful barn in tack.

One more thing. Do you have Holes of some kind up in the gable ends to provide ventilation. Don't have to be large just have to provide some sort of cross ventilation so the OSB does not rot from the bottom or inside. Some window screen can be stapled from the inside to keep birds out. I only say this because ventilation can be one of the most important things to do with buildings of any kind. I helped a friend build his house in Granite Falls one year and he neglected to provide ventilation in his Garage just because he didn't drywall the ceiling, so he didn't think he would need it. Ha, Within 8 months the bottom of the plywood on his roof was all black with mold and rot so he wound up removing almost the entire roof of the garage and replacing it.
That was not a cheap lesson for him to learn. So needless to say he did provide the ventilation after that.

Sorry for rambling on here, Just talking about experiences. Your farm, your barn and the well house look very cool. Bet the goats are going to be happy this winter.

Steven

[Spiritwind]

Hey, just have a few minutes here, but wanted to thank both of you, Fred and Steven, for your concern and suggestion to paint and or roof all the out buildings. You are quite right that the OSB will not hold up well to winter weather. The barn we built is actually partially what is left after not roofing it for three years due to several moves and having to take it down and rebuild it. About half of it was rotted out, and, unfortunately some of it may end up having to be replaced next year as well since it's not looking good to get it done in time this year either.

We had a building budget after selling the tractor. When we made that budget OSB was still $8.95 a sheet for 15/32 and, presumably because of all the fires and storm damage, it literally doubled in a little over a month, and it is now $18.95 a sheet at either Home Depot or Lowes. That kind of shot the you know what out of what we were able to do with that budget, not to mention the time factor. Plus my husband just went back to work today and kind of forbade me to go out and work on the roofs by myself, which I can sort of understand being out here a long ways from anywhere. So tarps it is for now, unfortunately. Getting all the outbuildings painted and roofed is at the top of our to do list for next year though, so I decided to just let it go and not stress over it. Won't do any good, and we are still in better shape than we were, so for that I am grateful.

[Spiritwind]

Oh happy day! We started our first fire in our little stove today, and my oh my, she works like a dream come true. Already sitting here with the door open. Took all day to cut the hole in the ceiling, make it all fit together right, but well worth the effort.

[Sandy Clark]

Well now that is a cute Pot Belly Stove .......May it keep you toasty warm through the winter ahead. Have feeling you may have to open your door to cool off more than once this winter as they do work like a damn....

[Spiritwind]

Well now that is a cute Pot Belly Stove .......May it keep you toasty warm through the winter ahead. Have feeling you may have to open your door to cool off more than once this winter as they do work like a damn....

We did have to leave the door open, especially because my husband had to paint it (that's why it looks brand new) and the first fire did smoke it up in here. We got a little fan that is powered by the heat of the fire, and it works great I must say. And, we have so much brush and trees that have blown down or died in drought years that has never been cleaned up we'll have wood for years, and small pieces are just what we need. I did ask for a blessing from the fire spirits when first lighting it, and expressed my gratitude.

[LostNFound]

WOO HOO! you gonna be sitting around, listening to the crackle of the fire and feeling the cozy warmth of this little baby this Winter. Watch your kitties find the spot closest and mark that territory while they lay in the heat and purr. Kind of hard to see from the angle of the picture but is there enough room to place a pot of water, A coffee pot or Tea pot on the top? When I lived in Sequim back in the early 70's we all had wood cookers and heaters in our home built cabins and putting a pot of water on one would always keep the air fresh and it had duel purposes. Oh the remembrance of getting up in the middle of the night to keep the fire stoked. Those stories are way cool in my random brain cells that rove around my head looking for a door to give the memory a blast of "Remember this".

Enjoy that so much, what a totally neat part or your lives.

Steven

[Christine]

Adding my Woo HOO! I would so enjoy sitting on your sofa again with the pot belly blazing. Now the warmth of your little home matches the warmth of both of your hearts. Such good company we shared.