Monday, July 2, 2018

It's Been a Week!

 The chickens are chickening. These are the younger birds. They're having a turn in the orchard and loving it! This apple tree branch is a favorite daytime roost.

I made a batch of soap -- lemongrass, coconut mango, and chocolate/coffee.
 This is Ethel. She's two and a half years old. She's never gone broody before, but she is now! I'm allowing her four eggs -- all four from the only other hen in this coop, an Ameracauna (Punkin, remember her?) And Bernie the Roo is also an Ameracauna, so these chicks will be "full-bred" supposedly. (Ethel herself is a Barred Rock.)

 I did a little pre-natal visit this morning, and all is well. Adam will be putting metal sheeting along the base of the walls in this coop to keep out all the mice and very-scary rats. The barn is full of them. (If you have chicken food, you have rodents.) 

And for the past week our roof has been worked on!
 These fellows are doing a great job. I love the color. The metal roof is the same price as an asphalt would have been. We are thankful. We've had to live under tarps a bit, but they are dryer than our old roof, haha! 
 Lots of nasty old metal lies in the yard. The roof had a manufacturer's date on it: Feb. 2, 1923. Wow!
 Nearly done! I think they are finishing up this morning.
 And earlier this week we learned that our boat had sunk in the slip. It was sitting high two weeks before. But the scuppers plugged up, and it filled with rain water ... 21" of rain in June.
 Adam inquired for someone to help raise it, not wanting to pay too much. He found a very hard-working, responsible young man (14 years old) who lives locally and has been messing about in boats all his life. He came, he diagnosed, he implemented, and the boat was raised. Adam was so impressed he paid him more to clean the outside. It's good to encourage industry in young people these days.

I enjoyed the Croakerfest (July 4th) Festival parade in Oriental on Saturday.



Local sailing camps pulled dinghies around.
They even put a wheel on the tiller so they could be steered!


The "Cooligans"


 That evening we watched the fireworks from the marina where our boat lives.
 This is the little marina store, such a quiet, sweet place. We sat on the porch on the backside of this building. The fireworks were shot from the top of the bridge, which you can barely see far away to the right of the building.

An aged live oak tree shades a patch of grass there, with ferns and Spanish moss dressing it elegantly. The elderly lady who owned and ran this marina for many years, died in early June, and now her son will run it. May it remain a peaceful place that feels more like 1960 than 2018 :)

I'm contemplating my life. I worked at a challenging part-time job for 2 years, and stopped because it was killing my legs and veins. I've now been home for a year, and it's been fun painting and writing and weaving and being a chicken lady. But I confess to sometimes being bored and needing more to DO. I am a doer, not a sitter-and-thinker. So I'm toying again with finding a job nearby. I have neither the patience nor energy to teach full-time now. I cannot stand for hours, but I also should not sit all the time. (Fussy, I know.) I'll get back to you on what I decide to do. I can be irritatingly indecisive at times.

Have a Happy July 4th/Independence Day! I will be inside in the air conditioning!

8 comments:

Pom Pom said...

Your roof looks lovely! I love it!
Sounds like jobs are an issue for the whole fam. I hope you find one you love (if you decide to look).
Isn't Julia going back to school?
xoxo

Granny Marigold said...

I hope Ethel will be successful with those 4 eggs.
And I hope you find the perfect job for you. If you're patient it will turn up eventually.
Your town parade is nice. We had ours yesterday of course but the fun was marred by the death of an old man who seems to have fallen off a float and got run over.
We had the clan over and much as I love them all I find myself exhausted after a family do.

melissa said...

Beautiful roof. Congratulations! Perfect color choice. Seems a new roof makes the whole house feel better, least in our case it has.

Henny Penny said...

That new roof looks really pretty. I love the red. It's so country. Looks like a fun parade and fireworks. We have nothing planned for the Fourth. Probably will watch the fireworks on TV...as usual. Have a happy July 4th!!

happyone said...

That looks like a great branch for the chickens to roost.
I like metal roofs and we almost had one put on the new house, but I felt with the vertical siding it would look odd having the lines all going the same.
It will be nice for you to hear the rain on the metal roof!!
The 4th of July parade was a bit early! : )

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

I love your new roof. It is so-o-o-o farm looking. Just great! God will supply all you need.

What a great looking parade.

Sorry about Adam's boat, but glad he found a great local young man to do work on it.

Your chicks look great.

I think about part time work also, but so far God hasn't provided one. He has given me things to do though and for that I am thankful.

Have a great week and holiday tomorrow.

Love, hugs & prayers ~ FlowerLady

Carol Blackburn said...

Hello M.K., so nice to see your new roof being put on. Now all that hard work you and Adam have done is safe from a disaster happening. And, how wonderful that 14 y.o. boy is so smart and a hard worker. You don't see that much these days. Most 14 y.o. are glued to computer screens. I smiled when you said he had been "messing with boats all his life" because he is only 14 after all. It's been a very productive life. Enjoy that roof and stay cool. It's very very hot here, should reach 100 today. Of course this is the year we opted out of installing the air conditioners because it is such a chore. The jokes on us.

Lisa Richards said...

How did I miss this post?!? I'm so excited to see that you got your roof fixed!! I love metal roofs. We had one on our log house. I had wondered what had become of your boat. Glad all is well with the help of that enterprising young lad. Your parade was so small-townesque. We have a similar one, but our town isn't as picturesque as yours, lol. I LOVE the little marina store. I'd love to sit on the shady porch with a cold drink. Enjoy your dry house! :)