Squeak in Peace

A somber Sunday evening graveside.

There was a small fenced off area on the edge of Gopher Hill that has become our personal family (pet) plot.

Humphrietta the Hamster was discovered to have passed in her sleep of natural causes.

(Only a visual autopsy was performed)

The mourners took a moment of silence... to revel in it.. to remember her constant squeaky wheel running through the night.  Her finger nibbling.  Her cage stench.. her gratitude for veggie day.  Her attempts at escape... freedom.

The headstone was ordered and erected.

Then we went inside where it was warm and had lemon meringue pie.

We planned to have pie anyway.

Miles is taking a culinary class and had to whip egg whites to frothy peaks... so.. naturally they needed to be used after that. 

What better use than as comfort food after a funeral service.

The grounds crew arrived the next morning and have been doing a commendable job keeping the small cemetery looking 'pristine'.

Forced Progress

The greenhouse has a few minor issues.  The plastic siding had a few cracks in it and the door doesn't latch so it's constantly blowing and banging in the wind.  It's not a top priority project.  After all it's an extra building.  It won't make us cold this winter or cause things that are stored to be damaged.  

But unlike some of the other outdoor projects we've worked on it wasn't temperature sensitive like the painting.  

I've been watching the weather closely.

NOT because I'm eagerly anticipating winter's chill or a white wonderland.

I've been looking for a day with temperatures above 55* so I could get the garage door painted since I'd already scraped all the paint off and now it was even more important to protect it from the winter moisture and wind.  

I had one afternoon and was distraught.  It was a lovely afternoon.  Almost reached 60* even.  But I was practically home alone for the entire day.  It was an excellent day for writing!  But I didn't dare miss my opportunity.  So paint I did.  

One coat.

And now this is happening.

I hope one coat will protect enough.  I don't anticipate another warm spell long enough to dry it out and let me do another coat!

So... the greenhouse became a project of interest.

The lack of temperature regulation and the free metal we found in the junk pile we've been sifting through behind the garage made it a possibility.

Now all the buildings have uniformity.  They are either metal or painted a charcoal grey.

Well, except the house.  It's still white. 

The new look from the front porch.

Speaking of the front porch....

Since I had the black paint out on that 'warm' afternoon...

The brush was still wet...

Why not make the house match the other buildings ...  in trim at least. 

The shutters only received one coat like the garage door but I made everyone put up with the cold while I propped the door open for it's second coat.  The fireplace is just a few feet from the door so I considered that enough to keep it warm.

Maybe I should build a bonfire by the garage door.

Project Procrastination

Sometimes when there is much to do, it's important to take a moment to reflect and do something completely unrelated to jump start the creative juices.

Or procrastinate...

This afternoon it took the form of, 'Feed the Birds'.

There were bird houses on about 6 of the fence posts around our house.  I assume this means that birds will show up... maybe... at some point.

Personally I think they'd like some trees...but we're not yet at tree phase.

So, on a jaunt to town, (so on a Wednesday), we stopped at the thrift store looking for something we could use as a birdfeeder. 

We left with a dinged up brass chandelier.

An obvious bird feeder choice!

We also picked up a can of spray paint and a bag of bird seed.

Since we don't return home from our day in town until bedtime, our project needed to wait for the next semi-clear/warm, afternoon.

This is the finished product.

We had to change the hanger from the top to the bottom so that we could fill the lampshades.

We also removed the wiring and bulb receptacle.

Doesn't that look inviting.

We should have birds, flocking to our porch in no time!

We also found this little bird bath/feeder, behind the garage when we were doing some clean up.

It weighs a tonne.

I rolled it across the grass with Emerson.

This is sitting next to the porch within the view of the kitchen windows.

Cue birds...

It's been two weeks.

Not a single bird.

Since we had a can of spray paint...

Sarah gave the boys these cacti when we were in SLC.

They needed repotting.

We painted the cans from our peaches after breakfast.

When finally dry, we repotted the cacti and tied a rope around them for that little finishing touch of xeriscaping, je ne sais pas.

we had one more can...

This is the new coin can in the laundry area.

Our barn runneth over

 Within our barn there is a room.

This room has stalls.

This room has hooks.

This room is meant for tack (equipment like saddles and bridles for horses)

We don't have any horses.  

We don't have any tack.

We do however have BICYCLES!

Our bikes have 'tack'.  Helmets, pumps, lights, seat covers, baskets, bells, and patch kits.

So now we have a full tack bike shed within our barn.  

Our barn is more of an activity barn than an animal barn.

Since we don't have any animals.

We do have hammocks, a cardboard box fort, a trampoline, an air hockey table, an archery/wrist rocket range, and now a bike room.  

We aren't sure what to do with the other half of the barn yet.

Maybe some swings, or a dance floor.  (you know, so we can have a barn dance)