Progress of the Projects

We are of the belief that spring is coming, despite evidence to the contrary. The unrelenting rain and wind and gloominess  makes it a challenge to get outdoor stuff done, but we are making progress, especially on the inside projects. The granary, which  will open as our little farm store in a few short weeks, is really shaping up!

Rog trimmed  all the windows, I painted the dry-walled areas, and Rog installed a masonry half wall behind the wood stove to make it fireproof, more beautiful and to hold the heat.

The electrician finished wiring the granary and installing the  track lighting and the huge ceiling fan. Nearly all the materials used to renovate this building are recycled or repurposed - with the exception of the ceiling fan and lights.

It cleared off enough  on Friday afternoon for me to set up our little greenhouse, although getting the  covering pulled on was quite a trick in the wind!  I have been wondering whether it is even worth setting up, I am so late, but this morning was only 34 degrees, so still too cold to put plants out in the garden.

I moved a few plant starts into the greenhouse - these are ornamental gourds (Birdhouse, Basket, Snake and Swan) that I hope to grow for gourd art.  I hope it is warm enough for them in the  unheated greenhouse in this crazy weather.

The other accomplishment I am most happy about is turning the stall in the barn into a milking parlor. Although I loved the rustic character of the 100-year-old barn walls, it was dark and inevitably  dusty miking in the old stall.
We lined the walls with glassboard mounted on MDF board -much easier said than done. Nothing is square in this old barn and the MDF board must have swelled  in this humidity - It was tricky to work with. If you don't look too closely at our carpentry, it looks wonderful.  The walls will be easy to  wipe clean and the pristine white looks so sanitary, as a dairy should. Maybe it's a bit too sterile-  this milking parlor needs some colorful cow art on the wall.

It was a race to get the milking area finished before LaFonda had her calf and we have to start milking her. As of this morning, no calf- we made it.

This unflattering of LaFonda photo taken yesterday  shows how gigantic her udder is now- with her huge calf-filled belly, lying down is very awkward. But standing and walking are also cumbersome. She never complains, but she seems pretty uncomfortable-- I hope this calf comes SOON!