Wordless Wednesday: SBF Commercial Kitchen is 99.9% Finished!!

Hothouse Day, Literally

How the heck did we get blessed with so many awesome friends, such as these folks who offered to help work on the greenhouse today? Did I mention that it was  over 90 degrees and tropically humid today while we worked in a space that increases the effect of  heat and sunshine?  Here we are this morning, just getting started - with 15  panels to install (7 of which were installed in April but blew out in a huge windstorm.)

Six hours later, we were  sliding in the final panel!

Interior view of sliding in the last panel. It takes a minimum of six people to safely slide in a panel, including two to hold the ladders steady.

Dave working at the peak, at the very top of the  14-foot ladder.

Ira intrepidly working at the top of the extension ladder tied to the frame of the greenhouse.

Rog atop the scaffolding, viewed through the inside of the greenhouse.

This gives you an idea of how high up we were working.

Admiring our work, after installing the final panel.

Thanks, Randy, for spending your birthday doing sweaty, hard, physical labor!

Cake break.

A toast to Randy the birthday guy, Ira the WWOOFer, and our wonderful greenhouse crew.

Assemblage of ladders.

Significant progress also made on my farmers tan today.

Thanks, kind, hardworking friends!

Wordless Wednesday: July 22

Wordless Wednesday: Summer Daze

Puppy Post!

It has already been more than two weeks since we brought home a new puppy, a rat terrier we  named "Mojo."  It's about time I post a few photos of this new farmhand!

Since we lost our old dog Nutmeg two years ago, we have had an increasing problem with rabbits and rodents. Our current dogs and cats are just not as obsessed as she was about keeping the farm rodent-free. So many people suggested that we need a rat terrier that I finally looked on Craigslist.  On my first search, found a litter of rat terrier puppies with proven farm-patrolling parents. I headed right out to check out the puppies and chose this boy.

Mojo is lucky we have so many WWOOFers eager to dote on him. Kelly introduced him to the ducks.

At first he was a bit hesitant about the turkeys

and now he is learning not to chase them or nip their tails.

It is still a bit scary to pass through a flock of chickens.

The first few days,  Zinnie was very jealous of the puppy and every time she saw him she would run upstairs to sulk under the bed. After a couple days she figured out he was kind of fun to play with. Much more fun than arthritic, old Cocoa.

Zinnie is going to be an excellent farmdog mentor.

Mojo has a cute little black arrow at the base of his tail.

He lies down with his legs stretched out and sleeps in crazy positions.

He seems to be an all-or-nothing sort of dog--either going full throttle or  taking a nap.  Our current WWOOFer Ira and Mojo have become fast friends.  They often work in the garden together and take naps in the sun together.

Even though I have always been a big-furry-dog person, this little fellow has won me over.  Rog likes him a lot, too. He is going to be a great addition to the farm.