Concrete is in

So the concrete is in and has cured! So far only a wedge ramp and slider bar are built and in use, but the boys seem to like the open space better anyway. What an amazing addition. It's been nothing but the boys biking, walking, crawling, chalking, skating and playing in the pole shed. Life really is great when you have your own slab of concrete.

SCHOOL?!!

School is back in full swing and my son's photo couldn't capture most kids feelings any better. However, amid all the change and return to schedules and early mornings, I can sleep easy at night knowing that the final slab of concrete is getting poured tomorrow! Photos to come soon.

Where'd summer go?

So August is waxing its way to the half-way point. It is 68 and rainy. Wonderful weather for an early April day. Not for August. Seriously, what is going on? Well, what can a person do? The concrete is going to get poured soon and then the skateboard will be dusted off and I'll have my own park. Things are looking up already. Photos to come.

Hay Time

So my neighbor has been cutting and bailing hay for the last few days. So far we have put 1,200 bales up in his barn and we will be doing another 300-500 today. His goal is always to have 3,500 bales in by the end of July.

It is the best work out in the world. Hot, heavy lifting, dusty, slightly miserable. And think, some people pay a lot of money to sweat like that and get their skin "exfoliated" by grass blades.

Back from Canada.

Here is a sampling of a wonderful wilderness river (The Manigotagan) that is only 2 hours east of Winnipeg. Why doesn't everyone know about this place?

junk for gold

So I started cleaning out my pole shed these past few weeks. The stuff collected in there is a history of sorts. My stuff, my wife's stuff, stuff that came with the place, etc. It really is a long and enjoyable process to go through it. But the really strange thing is that the stuff I have deemed "junk" and want nothing to do with, is worth something to someone. I posted my junk on Freecycle and within minutes, people lined up to take it off of my hands. I think it is the spring. People everywhere are cleaning out, but looking to fill in. Funny. Odd. America.

Green Thumbs

So we broke ground today. My three year old and I tilled and raked and planted one of three gardens today. The funny thing is that I don't really have any idea what I am doing. If the one sentence directions on the back of the seed packet is correct, we should have some quality pumpkins, watermelons, corn, and carrots in approx. 75 days. The garden looks beautiful today, and we'll probably weed it at least once. Once June comes, I'm sure all green-thumbed dreams will be long gone.

Chickens

So the birds came via Lars Long today. Together we have 45 chickens. Currently, 20 are "brooding" at my place and the rest are at his house. This first week is always the challenge with making the transition (both for the birds and for me). In honor of their arrival, here is a "chicken" poem by Kay Ryan:
The chickens
are circling and
blotting out the
day. The sun is
bright, but the
chickens are in
the way. Yes,
the sky is dark
with chickens,
dense with them.
They turn and
then they turn
again. These
are the chickens
you let loose
one at a time
and small—
various breeds.
Now they have
come home
to roost—all
the same kind
at the same speed.

Audio Links

Just a quick note: The audio files for the song Somehow have been temporarily removed. I'm looking for a better and faster way to have new songs posted on here. Until then, go listen to Bon Iver's newest release, Blood Bank.