Chicken Coop Remodel

There are so many things that need tending to every spring and poor Hubby's 'honey do' list is growing by leaps and bounds *grin*. This year getting new chicks is high on my priority list as I miss having our own eggs SO much so the coop was the first place we hit as soon as we had a break in the rain :)

I normally raise our baby chicks, geese and ducks in the garage as it's the easiest place to get the heat lamp plugged in but this year Hubby is in the middle of building another new bed for the kids so there just isn't room for my brooding pen.

So I needed to come up with a new spot that was easily accessible but our old coop is really really hard to get into unless you're about a foot tall and covered in feathers. The only solution was to cut out part of the wall :)

We assessed the situation, made mental notes of what we wanted to do and then when it was time to frame in the door we found out just how crooked everything was *grin*. None of the walls or the floor were level LOL. The original shed was built sometime in the early sixties and over time it has begun to sink making everything slightly wonky :)

Once the wall was opened up I could get a good look inside to see what sort of clean up job was needed before the chicks can go in. The floor was surprisingly clean actually but there was some leftover chicken manure that need shoveling and my little guy was more than happy to help out.

He didn't really get much of it out of the house but had a lot of fun trying. At one point though he had a huge chunk of it in his hands as we were all telling him to drop it. Nothing like packing around poo! At least it was good and dry, and sadly that wasn't the only time I had to tell him to drop it that day LOL.

I love watching the kids muck around in the dirt :)
If you don't have enough arm power to push the shovel down when digging then you RIDE it down *grin*.

Next to the new door is an old single pane window and it was just thick with cobwebs and dust so I got the windex and some cloths so that L could shine it up.

I was a little worried about letting her wipe away on the old panes as they are so fragile but the window made it through it in one piece and she was so pleased with herself :) I actually don't remember the last time that we could even see through the glass!

Who knew that opening up the wall could be so much fun :)

With the wall back up around the door frame all that was left was to cut down the door to make it fit and get some hinges so that we could hang it.

Now I just need get the floor cleaned out nicely, give the whole thing a good bleaching and then I think I'm going to white wash the walls with lime :) The lime helps inhibit the growth of any harmful bacteria and it will brighten the whole place up real nice.

We're back to pouring down rain again though so I'm going to have to wait for a nicer day again so that everything can dry out nicely after I get it good and wet *grin*.

Hugs,
Rosina

Gardening in the Rain

The rain continues to fall here but it wasn't able to deter us from heading out into the garden again to get more of the much needed work done so that we can finish planting.

I must confess that while I do like the sun I would rather work in the rain any day of the week instead of the scorching heat *grin*. I'm so fair skinned that I burn to a crisp under it's rays. To give you an example of just how touchy more poor skin is, I actually got 1st & 2nd degree burns on my shoulders at my sisters wedding while we paraded around for hours in the afternoon sun for photos. All I can say is OUCH!!



We bundled up in our coats and boots and headed down to the pond to collect a wheel barrow full of manure so that we could pop the last of our broccoli and cabbage plants into the garden.

Big brother must have been feeling a little sluggish today as he requested a push up the hill from little brother *grin*.

L was quite content to stare over the field below while we shoveled :) I'm not quite sure what she found so intriguing over there behind the flower bed. Perhaps she was just avoiding us so that we wouldn't rope her into any manual labor *grin*.

On our way back to the garden we saved this giant snail from a squishy death under the wheel barrow tire. He didn't even attempt to pull himself back into his shell which gave the kids a good chance to give him a very thorough once over before we placed him safely in the grass again :)

My tomatoes seem to like their new hanging planter to! They perked right up after the shock of transplanting and are already starting to climb upwards. I can't wait to see how this little experiment turns out :)

Hope all of my Canadian bloggy friends had a lovely Victoria Day today and had a chance to take part in some of the many festivities and parades that took place across our great nation today :)

~ Rosina

Veggie Planting ~ Outdoor Challenge Day 13

Boy are we lucky!! The rain managed to hold off and it was just a gloomy day but it gave us a chance to get our cold tolerant vegetables planted :)

Before we could get started we needed to head over to the manure pile and load up. I think that wheelbarrow rides are M's new favorite mode of transportation *grin*.

Look at all that wonderful horse manure. Super food for growing great vegetables!

You know you've got some pretty healthy soil if there are lots of earthworms wriggling around when you start digging and we found quite a few of them :) We usually plant flowers in this bed but thought that we would maximize our vegetable space and fill it up with things we could eat! LOL.

As K dug holes for our broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage I filled up a gallon sized pot full of manure and then M & L would dump it into an empty hole. We had quite the efficient assembly line of digging and dumping going on!

Broccoli and cauliflower love lime so each hole got a big scoop of lime that was mixed in with the manure before the plant was set on top of it.

Oh boy are these going to taste good when they're big enough to eat *grin*.

Do you have photos of your children enjoying the outdoors? Visit The Great Outdoors Challenge to join in the fun and you can also visit other participants and see what sort of nature fun they have been having by clicking on the names below :)

~ Rosina

Fellow Nature Players:lisa, sanders, angelina, phyllis, sarah, christie, jennifer, debbie, dong dong, denise, luisa, joy, stephanie, cori, alex, dawn, kristen, catherine, tricia, becky, christy, ruth, kari, courtney, branflakes, jessica, renee, haiku, brynn, amy, clemencia, sherry, leslie, lise, renee, anet, jenn, marina, amy, ella, marcia, karen, beth, julie, kyndale, kelly, lizzie, eileen, ag, mari-ann, cindy, robin, nicole, debbie, julia, anita, lisa, jenn, montessori, marita, jeannie, hallie, mandy, kangaroo, andrea, joey, carmen, teena, stephinie, gidget, elizabeth, emma, rosina, saminda, melissa, katie, becca, atouria, barbara, ariella, missy, elizabeth, sarah, eileen, lisa, stacy, jennifer, tulsileaf, lisa C, morticia, angela, rana, jamie, lisa c, luz, charley, heather, valerie, kirsten, rachel, annie, kendra, beth s, lindsey, michelle, megan, renee