Around The Homestead

All the little things since my last update.

Around the house...

Fall maintenance chores, specifically cleaning out the woodstove chimneys. We bought a chimney brush and extensions at Lowes.

Dan cleaning out the wood heatstove chimney

One of these days we'll finish putting up
& painting the alcove trim.

Probably because our stove has a catalytic combustor, the chimney really wasn't that bad.

Wood cookstove needed one more 12 inch section of chimney pipe.

The wood cookstove chimney is now 12 inches taller.

When we found our wood cookstove on craigslist, the selling price included everything: stove pipe, chimney pipe, caps, collars, etc. Because we have taller ceilings and a taller attic than the folks we bought it from, the pipe came up one foot short. To get a good draft, the chimney needs to be two feet above the peak of the roof. If it isn't, back puffing results, which is the problem we were having. This is where some of the smoke puffs back out into the room when the firebox door is opened. Happily I found the chimney section we needed locally. I'm very happy to have this problem fixed.

Kitchen Dining Nook. I mentioned that I hoped to have the dining nook completed by the time we had autumn's first fire in the cookstove. We didn't quite make it, but at least the table is done....

Having only one leg makes it very easy to clean under.

The chairs are not, because Dan had trouble with the paint sprayer. In the end, I stripped the chairs to repaint them by hand. The stripping is finished, so all I need is a nice day to do the painting. I still need to paint the baseboard too.

Back Porch. Before we got the chairs for the kitchen, one of the things we considered was a short bench. In fact, we found a whole corner booth dining set on craigslist. It turned out to be in terrible condition, having been left out in all kinds of weather. We got the whole 4-piece set for $20, but the bench proved not to be usable in the kitchen. Instead I painted it with a good outdoor paint and set it on the back porch.

My back porch

I love it! It fits perfectly next to the door and doesn't block Riley's kitty entrance. It's wonderful for putting on or taking off outside shoes, or just sitting there to enjoy a cup of coffee. I also hung a clock and thermometer on the wall above; both are very handy when working outside.

Around the barnyard....

Chicken Little...

Chicken Little at 3 months old

... has been growing some rather roosterish tail feathers. Oh well.

Lily, my newest Nubian, decided that Surprise is going to be her best friend whether Surprise likes it or not. Lily sticks to Surprise like glue, which Surprise wasn't too happy about at first. She butted Lily to deter her, but Lily did not give up.

Lily and Surprise

Her persistence is paying off.

And Ziggy?

Ziggy

Ziggy went into heat the other day. She was at the fence, flirting with...

Elvis, the Hunk

I put the nix on that. Because she's a miniature breed and he's a fast growing standard breed, I do not want to risk her having kids too big to deliver. So I put her in with Gruffy. Was she ever mad! She took about three running charges and rammed him with everything she had. He was so ecstatic he didn't care.

Gruffy my Pygmy buck.
A face only a mother could love?

Later I saw them lying together, chewing their cuds, as though they were the best of buds. But when it came time for milking, she couldn't get out of there fast enough. I'm hoping her hormones will help this romance out, but in the end, her preferences may be the difference between kids next spring, or no kids. Time will tell.

I reckon that's it for tidbits and updates. :)

Around The Homestead © October 2012 by 

Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/