May 2020 – The Surly Farmer

It’s Infrastructure Week! (Month . . . Quarter . . .)

May 27, 2020

After finishing the new chicken coop, I found I was somehow still in building mode. So please give a warm welcome to . . . the Woodshedrack!

It still needs a roof and some slat walls on the narrow ends, but that’ll have to wait for the sunburn I got while building it to fade some. Ah, that Northern European/English/Irish pigmentation.

Naturally, it did not go up without issues. See the pile of wood in the lower right corner? Yeah, that was right where the middle of the lefthand bay now stands. And the stack on the middle right? You guessed it. It was where the righthand bay is. This wood is from the tree that hit our Charleston house in November (I did mention that previously, didn’t I?), which means that I moved it five times already, and I’ll have to move it again into the rack, then again into the house. Please let me know if you’d like some efficiency advice.

Yesterday we finished planting in Ft. Bountiful. Ready for the inventory? In addition to the beets (two varieties), lettuce (three varieties), Swiss chard, collards, squash, daikon, carrots, tomatoes, and eggplants we had already planted, we added corn (three varieties, okra, squash (two varieties) pumpkin, beans (two varieties) watermelon, and cucumbers. Now to see what comes up. We’ve already had failures of radishes, broccoli, and cabbage.

Next up: new stairs.

Full Occupancy

May 20, 2020

We took delivery of the new chickens last week. I didn’t finish the coop a moment too soon; those little dinosaurs have GROWN. The big girls were shocked by the new arrivals and spent the first day complaining at the top of their lungs. They calmed down some by the second day, but then transitioned into bullies. They chase the little ones around and peck at their hindquarters (I swear I raised them better than this). I’ve warned them that the little ones will not be little forever and they are vastly outnumbered.

Early this morning I saw the motion detector light on the coop had gone on and looked out to see a raccoon testing the defenses. It sniffed at the door, then went underneath only to come back out within a minute and wander away. This is a developing story.

Dr. Evil gave me a fancy drone for my birthday, so naturally it’s been raining since I got it. I managed to take it out twice, but only for a few minutes. It’s thrilling to fly. Hmm . . . make that thrilling combined with stressful, kind of like when you first get the training wheels off your bicycle, or the first time you lead a marching formation.

Speaking of Dr. Evil, she has not left the compound since March 14th! Big round of applause. Me, I’ve been to the grocery store for curbside pickup, to the feed store, and to Lowe’s for building supplies. In other words, not much different, save for no meals out. I miss someone else cooking. How are you folks dealing with life in the ‘rona?

Covid Champs!!

May 1, 2020

Of course delineating infection rates of a global pandemic county-by-county is a pretty fruitless exercise, but friends, I am here to tell you that our tiny slice of Appalachia was the last in the state to have a covid 19 infection. It was good while it lasted, but as of today, we’re up to 5 cases in a county of 13,000. Not NYC numbers, I know, but it’s still a bummer.

Zeyda and I have been working on the new hen house over the past few days (Festung Henne, as I am now calling it). It’s shaping up nicely, but it’s also reminding us of why we are not builders by trade. As I used to say, “Every time I drive a nail, I am reminded why I’m a cop and not a carpenter.”

More photos are coming, and I hope you are all well.

The Surly Farmer

Month: May 2020