February 12, 2015 - National Plum Pudding Day

"It is not failure that stops most people, but rather the belief that failure is permanent. Failure is nothing more than a storm in the weather forecast for the week—it comes and it goes, and it waters next season’s yield because it teaches us where we can improve" - Jake Ducey

Chicken Chronicles - Day 2

Last Night I checked on the flock right before it got dark and they were still on the ground walking around, after it got dark I went out and found that two of the hens were in the loft and the other five were packed like sardines on the flat platform just outside the entrance to the loft. I was going to leave them there so I went back in and watched some more TV. A couple of hours later I decided that I wanted them inside the loft so I could protect them from any night time predators. I went out to move them inside the loft and I entered the coop closed the door too far and it latched from the outside, WHAT THE @@@@! Oh man I felt so stupid… I had thought about this happening and had stuck sticks in the latch before but this time I didn't give it a thought, well first things first, I got the chickens into the loft, and couldn't close that door from inside so I needed to get out of the coop. Well I'll just kick the door open and fix what ever damage I cause. Kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, WHO made this coop so strong! Think, Think, Think…. I figured since I can't kick the door open and Herc won't help maybe I can punch through the wire, punch, ouch, punch, ouch, punch, ouch, punch, through the wire and I could reach one latch. WHO put two latches on this door? Punch, ouch, punch, ouch, punch, ouch, punch, through the wire and I could reach other latch. I'm Free! Closed the loft door and the flock is safe, now this door needs some help but I have wire left over so all I have to do is fix it. Did I mention that it's 9:30, Dark and COLD! Took the door off at the hinges and went up to the porch where there is light, made the repairs and rehung the door. 

This morning I woke up and looked at the phone, 20 degrees! It was just starting to get light so I crawled out of my nice warm bed, got dressed and took Herc out to made his deposits, I went to let the chickens out of the loft and saw the waterer was frozen, I guess you need to plug in the heated waterer for it work. I busted the ice out and rehung the waterer and plugged it in. WHO wanted chickens? 

Herc was more than ready to go back into the house so I took him in and went back out to let the chickens out, they were in no hurry to come out of their loft so I went in and got warm myself. A half hour later more or less the flock was out and about so I went back out and checked them out, all of them looked fine so I took a look in the loft and nest boxes.

After the day they had I didn't expect any eggs, but I found three, alright, I WANTED chickens!

February 11, 2015 - National Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk day

"Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for" - Zig Ziglar 

It's another beautiful day here in the Ozarks, and I am grateful for it… 

Big News here on the Homestead, I was looking over the local Craigslist this morning and saw a listing for laying hens so I emailed them and went on about my morning, it was just a few minutes later I was contacted and had a phone conversation with Charles about he what had and what I was looking for. As it turned out he lives about 45 miles away but he was meeting some people in Mountain Grove ( 18 miles away more or less ) in about an hour to deliver some chicks to them, so if I wanted to i could meet him there. COOL 

Put the dog crate back together, put some straw in the bottom and Herc and I headed off to Mountain Grove. 

I'll tell on myself a little here, I went down 137 to the main highway 60 and I saw that there was no entrance on to Highway 60 going East, well I'll just continue on as I'm sure the road will cross over highway 60 a mile or two farther east… Well that's what I thought, after driving several miles with out seeing any cross roads I started to wonder if I should turn around, but this is the general direction to Mountain Grove and I'm sure that there will be a cross road soon… I finally found a cross road, after several miles and a lot of time off the clock, that went into Cabool ( a town in between Willow Springs and Mountain Grove ) and I was able to get on to Highway 60 and into Mountain Grove. OK it may have taken me A LOT LONGER but I got there. 

Charles was waiting for me and I was afraid to ask how long they had been waiting. He had picked out six, six month old hens that are laying and a six month old rooster all Rock Island Reds, all good looking birds. Deal done! Yea!

Took Highway 60 straight back to Willow Springs, took a lot less time to get home. I moved the coop over in the yard, hung up the waterer and got feeder filled up and let the girls and guy into the coop. 

Herc thinks he has more toys to play with… I had to let him know that they are NOT for him… lol 

Several of the ladies have found the loft and have checked out the nest boxes, that’s encouraging. Even found the rooster in the loft but he was most likely following a hen around.

New project; a chicken tractor so I can more the chickens around to different spots in the yards, the coop is too heavy for that.

I have been working on my woodworking bench and It's coming along good. I have the tops just about done they still need to be cut to length and smoothed a bit more but the hard parts are done. Still a lot to do but I'm happy with the progress so far.

I was asked why I don't use power tools, as it would be easier. I know that it would be easier and faster and I do have enough money right now that I could buy the tools that I need to finish this project, BUT that isn't what this is about. I want to practice some of the skills that I use to have and use went I was learning about woodworking, first to see if I still have enough of these skills left and to reconnect with a dying art form, I want to make things with my own hands not machines. I find a real enjoyment working with wood and the hand tools. I do wish that I could find better lumber, the places that I have looked have really disappointed me, even #1 grade lumber is pretty sad but that's the world in which we live so I'll do the best I can and keep searching for better materials… 

As I sit here typing this Herc started barking as if there is a monster in the yard, he was very upset, I got up to see what was going on, Mazie and her Mom stopped to look at the chickens... lol  

That's my day here in the Ozarks…

February 7, 2015 - Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day

"What’s the secret to success? There are no secrets. Be humble. Be hungry. And always be the hardest worker in the room." - Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

It is a beauty day here, the thought came to me that the first time that we came to the Ozarks the lady at the motel told us that if we didn't like the weather just wait a few minutes… that seems to tell the whole story, this week the temp. has been down to 0 degrees with a high of 30 degrees, had some rain and even got a little snow and today it's 65 degrees, bright sunshine clear day, not a cloud in the sky. 

I have started work on the woodworking bench that I need to do several other projects I have in mind. Before I could start work on it I needed some saw horses and I could have bought some but I wanted to make my own, so I spent some time looking on the ole internet and I found a design that I really liked. The design I chose is called The Shopdog Sawhorse and they fold up so storage is easy and they can be modified for several uses. The designer also has a good video on youtube if anyone is interested in them. They are not the easiest things to make but once they were done I think they are well worth the effort. I build two according to the plans and I found that they were a little low for what I wanted to use them for so I just added some extensions to the legs and they work very well. 

So I started on my workbench and again the Paul Sellers design I chose is not the easiest to build (good series of videos on youtube) but it has features that I want and I'm only building one so the extra time and expense is worth it to me. Maybe someday my Grandchildren will use it. I find myself as I get nearer the end of my road that I what to leave things behind that will be used by my children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren etc… Things that I make with my own two hands may mean something to them someday, at least I would like to thing so. 

I have laminated the legs, they are almost done just a little more cleanup, planing, sanding, and have started laminating the top together. The weather had been so cold that I brought the pieces inside to glue them up so my living room has become a mini shop. Still another reason to build a enclosed workshop… Still on my project list. 

I found a couple of woodworking vises on ebay that I want to add to the bench so I bought them and they were delivered yesterday they are old Wilton vises that were used in a school wood shop. I don't think they even made these anymore and if they do I doubt if I could afford them. Even these weren't cheap but again they should last for generations and to me well worth it. Along that line of thinking I think it's a real shame that so many schools have stopped have shop classes because of budget cuts…I learned so much in the shop classes that I took and I still use a lot of that knowledge today. Getting off track again! 

One of my neighbors just fired what sounded to me to be a shotgun a couple of times, Herc got down from the bed and is laying next to me, but not on my feet, I guess he's starting to get use to it… lol 

Not much else going on just normal life stuff.

January 20 2015 - National Buttercrunch Day

Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain. - Joseph Campbell

From the office area of my bedroom I can see our mailman, oops sorry mail carrier Scott delivering our mail, I can see that he has a hard time reaching the boxes since they are pretty low. When I installed mine (mine was missing when I moved in) I tried to match my neighbors box the best I could. Later I found out that the Missouri Dept of Transportation had knock them down and since no one was living in this house the neighbor had only put theirs back in and didn't buy the new material to reinstall it the way it was, so it ended up being pretty low... which I not knowing any better tried to match. 

One day I talked to Scott about his trouble and told him that I would take care of raising both boxes, but it may take me a while, I had several other projects going and I wanted to talk to the neighbors about it too, didn't want any trouble over a mailbox.

Well one day Mazie the neighbors daughter came by with her mom Bridget to drop off some cookies (a late Christmas gift), so I talked to Bridget about the mail boxes, she had no problem with me fixing them and offered her husbands help and money if I needed it, I gracefully declined both. Then it got cold and I stayed inside a lot so the project was delayed.

All of that was said to say that the last three days have been warm, Saturday was in the mid 50s, Sunday and Monday in the mid 60s, so I have been busy working on stuff outside. Worked on the chicken coop and got busy with the mail box project. I have got the chicken coop done for all intents and proposes, I may change the way to get into the nest boxes, the way I have it now is too hard, but it is useable. So it's time to email the lady with the laying hens and see if she still has some for sale…

The mailbox project went easier than I thought it would, I wanted to try making the post without using any metal fasteners, no real reason just leaning towards the old woodworking ways and wanted to see if I could. Well it turns out that I totally enjoyed myself and the project turned out good not perfect but I'm real happy with it. I did learn that a real woodworking bench and a lot more clamps would have made it easier and even more enjoyable… 

It was so nice on Monday that I really wanted to finish it and install it. The big problem as I saw it was going to be digging the hole, I found a manual post hole auger at the local home improvement center which I thought would be easier on my back than the kind you drive down and spread and lift. 

I dreaded the hole digging but I  had to have a hole to put the post in so I went out to the road and got busy, much to my surprise it went well, there is more dirt there than I expected (not as many rocks) and the digging or boring went well. 

As I was working on the hole another neighbor Nathan came walking by on his way to pickup his son from the school bus stop, I have seen him for a long time walking to and from the bus stop in the ditch in front of my house, one day several weeks ago I told him that he was welcome to use my driveway which runs parallel to the road it would be a lot easier for him and it doesn't bother me at all. He has been using it since and I'm glad. He stopped both times he pasted by and we chatted for awhile. 

Since there was no mail delivery yesterday day I can't say if it works better for Scott but I sure think it will and in my opinion it looks better too…

As I was cleaning up the stuff from the mailbox project Richard (Bridget's husband) came home and complimented me on the job and let me know that he thought it was a lot better… neighbor happy, I'm happy two down one to go…

I was so sore by the time I came in that I had a hard time getting out of the chair to do anything last night but I got a lot done and am happy I did…

Herc woke me up around 2 am and wanted to go outside, REALLY! 

I got up and took him out and then was wide awake laid in bed wondering why I'm not asleep, after awhile I got up and here I sit writing this, and I feel a lot better now not hurting much at all maybe I'll go out and dig another hole tomorrow, maybe not.

I know I keep saying it but I so glad to be here, I know more of my neighbors here than I ever did in California or even Phoenix and people here seem more real. I love it here. 

Another Awesome Week Here In The Ozarks!

January 12 2015 - Debbie's Birthday

NATIONAL CLEAN OFF YOUR DESK DAY - Second Monday in January

"Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results." - Willie Nelson

(Last Night) As I sit here watching TV their scrolling a list of schools that will be closed tomorrow, so I checked the forecast on my phone...Freezing Rain tonight... this should be interesting... 

Well it turned out to be no big deal, glad it wasn't too bad but a little disappointed that was one reason I moved here, for the weather good and bad, so far haven't had much bad… Maybe that's good? 

Well it has been too cold for me to work outside on my projects so I'm not getting anything done on them, waiting for warmer weather…

Made the trip into town to get a new battery for the Mini and got a real shock, batteries aren't as cheap as I remember them being… But got a battery, it's sitting in the back of the pickup waiting for it to warm up, too cold for me to go out unless it becomes a real need. 

Finally used a half of tank of gas in the pickup so I filled it up, the gas prices are nice…

That's about all that's going on here on the homestead...

12/29/2014 - National Pepper Pot Day

" If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money cannot buy. " - Dean Bunn

Awoke this morning to 25 degrees and a layer of frost on everything, around 9:00 am it was 24 degree, lol I had to go get dog food and stop by the bank…burr, well I got ready and we went into West Plains. When we left home and drove over the hill on the way to Willow Springs we came upon the little valley that was covered with frost, the first thought that came to my mind was Winter Wonder Land, it was so beautiful, I wanted to take a picture but there is no place to pull over on this narrow highway and I chose safety over a few picture. As I drove on I noticed that the little farm at the junction of county road 3780 has a pond that was frozen over, way cool!

I also saw that there are signs up showing that the ALCO store in town is going out of business, so sad,

I liked that store sorry to see it go…

Stopped at the grocery store on the way home and along with the other things I picked up one of the deli made chicken pot pies, I never been a huge fan of chicken pot pies but something made me get one, oh it was the best I have ever had…SO GOOD! TOO BIG! But I ate it all…lol I'm so bad!

I was watching a Youtube video about photography and the room was starting to get dark so I went to the windows to close the blinds before I turned on the lamp and this is what I saw so off I went, 

I thought I knew what was going to happen next…I was right! I was spell bound it was so beautiful…

That was my day........