Can A Gal Have too Many Chicken Coops??

This was my original plan....

This is the existing coop, I hinged the windows to open out and wired on the inside to give air ventilation

I made up some goatmilk paint for the walls to brighten it up

and then built in this partition. I also bought cheap linoleum for the floors to make t easy to clean.

The chickens were to go in the middle part, and the feed room where you enter.

BUT, plans sometimes have a way of changing themselves.....

As my turkeys have literally taken over the original chicken coop (pictures of turkeys, when I have a chance), I have been perusing chicken coops online and Craigs*List 

 

My daughter found this one and encouraged me to look into it. It was on skids, was deliverable, and was half the price of other new ones I had seen.

6 x 10 with nest boxes accessible from the outside...

Lots of roosting space, chicken door to outside pen,

Nice nest boxes... and a separate space for feed storage.

Nice enough, however it only provided 6' x 6'for the chickens.

The feed and bedding storage was 4' x 6' which I thought was over-kill. And it did not have the window space as was described to me over the phone. Oh well, it is a start.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Then one day on a country road, I saw an Amish -built one with low sidewalls and stopped to inquire about it. They had built it, and used it one year to raise meat chickens; but were moving and so put it out by the road to sell.

Whew, it was clean.... and I could not believe all he was asking for it!

(my picture is crooked, not the coop)

This is 10' wide and 12' to back, a "sky-light" on the shingled roof, and 4 cut-out openings for either chickens to go out, or use plexi-glass for extra windows. Really solid built! With a little re-vamping I can do ALOT with this coop!

 

Just planning for the future.... Someday, the goats may be more than I want to (am able to) take care of. This will be a hobby I will enjoy and it will still get me outside! Hubby and I always did like diverse chicken breeds, so now I will have a chance to raise some (again) Ha!!

This is how they sit today, after the help of my kids and grands: in place, off the ground , and leveled.

 Awesome job, kids!! Your mom and grand-mom appreciate you!!

 

I will be up-dating with pictures in a new post when I get some fencing up and chooks in place!

Also, new garden lay-out coming soon!

Thanks for visiting!  



Summer Projects -Pergola

This project took place the end of June

The same crew that put on my new garage roof last year. They do such neat work!

Rick, in the orange tee-shirt, is head of the crew, a really nice guy.

Finished!

From the doorway looking out at mid-day....

(with pet-gate#1, found on Amazon)

I had the chiminea, that I brought back from AZ, moved to the deck.

Yes, it will be safe to burn, but don't leave un-attended.

You only want a small fire in these.

and pet-gate #2

My dogs love to go out and sit with me. Well, I sit...... they run around!

Have a wonderful day! I will be back with more projects!



What was I thinking???

So I had to wait a whole year before those 2 little goats would kid and produce some milk???Where was my head? I had been having stomach trouble again and in the past the goat milk had always helped. So back to Craigs*list...

That's when Greta came to live here...

And then there were three!!

Doesn't she have a sweet face?? If I saved her milk for a few days

 

I could make cheese....

and yogurt..... Yumm!!

 

 

Again, I went back to C*L .....

....and brought home Heidi (the one in the middle).

She has a real Alpine temperament,

 but I love her anyway.

She is a beautiful cinnamon brown color and white.

 

So, 2 milkers, 2 kids, and that is the extent of my herd( other than the buck which my friend and I bought together and will share) Jack's picture will be posted soon.

 Meanwhile, Daughter #2 and her hubby came over and trimmed up these pine trees for me so the ground in front of the barn would dry up and I could see the barn from the house

There is a little door up top where hay can be put in the loft. It should hold at least 80 bales of hay.

 Front and left side of barn.

And the saga continues....
Thanks for stopping in!

Auction Purchase

We had to run in to town the other evening for a couple errands and hubby decided he'd like to take me "out". There was an auction across the street from one of our stops, that we had never been to. Oh there was lots of stuff, an old wooden shovel, a set of light pink kitchen accessories from the 50's, a bottle capper and bottle caps, etc. Hubby decided we "needed" this. I said I didn't think so but I was out-bid. Now mind you, I am not one to have stuff just sitting around to have something else to dust. So my guess is this will eventually be put to use :) But it does have a nice nostalgic feel to it doesn't it?? (and I can always do a painting of it to add to my "homestead collection" :) At least I gave the dining room a good cleaning today. Couldn't bring a prestigious piece like this in and give it a dirty home, now could we?

Winter is Alive and Well... but I Must Paint

We had blizzard like conditions a couple days ago. Total 6' - 7" snow. It lasted all day long until about 9 pm.

Next day almost as bad.

A very crisp, cold morning. yesterday. I had planned to get out and do some plein air painting but woke up to a -5* !! No outside painting today...

(I thought this was KY ... not PA!)

Today it finally warmed up to 17* by 9:30 am, so I got my stuff ready to go and pulled on my wind-suit over several layers of clothing. Paint, thinner, canvases paint rags. Yep... going to do it!

I was back home at noon with this... at Sunny's Studio.

Thanks for visiting!

Yay! We are having a blizzard!!

I love snow!!! Don't get to see it much in Kentucky...


But today we are having a blizzard. See it blowing across the fields?


I am wishing for a sled, a long hill and a young body!



Just for today :)

Decision Update

I really appreciate all who took the time to comment your thoughts on my goat decision. Its always good to get other imput.

So, here it is....

1. The decision on these particular 2 goats was made for me, as they were sold as I was deliberating.... I'm ok with that.

~~~~~

2. My hubby and I talked long about it, throwing ideas around, pros and cons, what would be needed as far as housing, feed, care.... and he actually was quite supportive. When I said we didn't "really have to (have goats)", he'd come back and say "well , we could put the door-way here..." He even told me about a co-worker that makes an alfalfa/grass hay we could buy...

~~~~~

3. Beings as HE bought me my first-ever goat before we were even married, we do have a long history with the animals, and do realize what all it entails, so not like we are jumping off a cliff here.

~~~~~

4.This would be different from our past history with goats; in that we would not be registering, showing and milk testing for awards, raising for export, and not multiplying, as in not having our own buck(s) and not keeping the kids.

~~~~~

5. So.... we will work towards (get ready to) have our 2 goats by early spring, for our milk, cheese-making, yogurt and a once-in-a-while awesome batch of goat -milk fudge! Just our do-it-yourself preference over consumerism.

~~~~~

I could post many, many pictures, and write alot about our past goat ventures; starting a goat 4H club in our county, then on to showing in 3 states through ADGA santioned shows, and once nationally, a wall full of ribbons, trophies, top-ten-in-the-nation milk awards for the Saanen and Nubian breeds, grand champions, best of breed winnings, top bloodlines, you name it.... those days were exhilerating! I'll just show you one here, lol ..... but.... that is in the past. And I prefer to go forward. So I choose to be content with not trying to do all those things and just enjoy two ( 2 ...... only two) goats for our use and purposes.

Again, I really appreciate the imput offered. It helped me think with a clear head, not just react. I appreciate all of you and count you as my friends!

A Delema or A Blessing??

I am about to do something either very exciting (to me) or something very stupid. Please help me out with your imput.

I have been aware for sonmetime that I cannot drink/use cow milk even from a raw dairy without some stomach upset. Ice cream has also been making me sick as well (I CAN do without the ice cream though). I can do ok with yogurt.

I have just found I can purchase 2 goats (wow! honest-to-goodness dairy goats .... in KY... amazing!! ...... ) (we have raised goats previously for 20+ years in PA) and have fresh goats milk again... YUMMMM! These goats will be fresh early in the spring.

Question.... do I want to go this route again? The 2 x's a day milking?

1.Would probably mean no trips to PA unless the goats were dried off (where my kids and grands live) but then have only been once in 7 yrs anyway...

2. Would be a poss thing for me to look forward to each day. Loved my goats!! plus the milk !! Goats milk is good for you!!

How does one choose what to do??

Well, I did it! I finally made the switch ....

My original blog "Sunny's Place" is now "Sunny's Studio", new design and all, dedicated strictly to my painting.

"Hen Party" unfinished

Everything else, such as happenings, homesteading, frugal living, and just good old down-home friendly chit-chat blogging will be here on this blog.

(A girl's gotta let her hair down sometime, don't cha think??)

Most of you visit both blogs anyway, and you are all listed here on this one, so I can quickly get from this blog to yours to keep up with all your happenings. Check it out and let me know what you think. ..... and don't forget to check out my paintings from time to time.

Christmas is coming, and even though I don't take part in alot of the commercialism that goes on any more, I do offer paintings for sale, and do do custom orders. So if any of you are interested just contact me privately through email listed on my profile. I will not be making a habit of sales pitches on this blog. Just letting you all know....

Thanks for staying with me through this switch-a-roo and ya'll come back now, ya hear??

Do I NEED another "project"??

While my oldest Dd was here in July, she got me started knitting again.... just to "help me recover" after my knee-scopes (as if I didn't already have enough projects going ;) I already had some yarn and all I needed was needles. She had me try these new-fangled ones that have 2 tips on either end of a plastic wire. I thought I'd never remember which way I was going ....



So here is my project, well underway I might add. I remembered how to knit and how to purl and that was about it (30+ yrs since my last attempt), so after deciding to make a shawl, I had her figure for me how many stitches I needed to cast on, and decided on a wide rib-knit pattern. As I got further along I was glad I had chosen that pattern, as it is real stretchy. I decided it could be dual-purpose; wear as a scarf, with my winter coat to church, and when I take my coat off ..... it is stretchy enough to wear aross my shoulders and pull down across my back to keep me warm, as I am never warm enough at church in the winter. Now, the youngest Dd thinks it would make just an awesome sweater! (is this a hint??? I have been told I am pretty thick-headed)

Also Ihave been following Rhonda's "down-to-earth" blog, and had been interested in all the ways she saves $$'s. Don't we all like to do that?? I saw where she had posted about making these neat dish-cloths with cotton yarn. Great because they last so long and would make nice Christmas gifts! So I checked out the price of the yarn, added it into my budget for this month, and here is my hand-knit dish-cloth .....



Oh, but you see, I had to get the BIG bolt of yarn (cheaper that-a-way, .... just sayin').... plus a couple colors, of course :) .....and different size needles than my shawl needles.
But isn't this neat???

And it looks so pretty all folded up.....

You can find the pattern here, at "home-spun living", another really neat blog.

I have posted before about the socks Dd made me and the tea-pot cozy. So do some of you knit? What do you like to make?

Sometimes I still miss...

SGCH Honey Acres ClassicKaraoke 5*M
as a 2 yo she was
~Permanent Grand Champion
~Top Ten for her breed nationally for milk and bf
~LA score of 90
~National All-American 2 yo Sable Saanen doe

20+ years of breeding and raising dairy goats, for milk, show and export..... some of the best times in my life.

I miss the days I could sit down to milk one of my goats, lean my head on their side and relax...

Organization .....

My goal for this week is to turn my Sun-room into an organized room for a painting studio/sitting/guestroom. (well..... maybe two weeks) It is located off my dining room and leads to the deck off of which used to be a swimming pool, which we felt no need for (they are expensive to run) The room is 10'x 21'.





When I dug out my long-neglected oil painting supplies this spring, the only place to set it up was a cardtable in the dining room, using my old wobbly easel....

Then a month ago I found THIS....
on Craig's list for half what a new one would cost!



It was very barely used... and has a drawer for paints and brushes, adjustable canvas holder, and adjustable , foldup, legs.... all with a strong handle to carry, making it compact to take for painting anywhere.

I was so blessed to be able to get it! (and it came in handy, making it possible to take my painting supplies on vacation with me to PA) But, it does take up more space than I am wanting to part with in the dining room.

So one thing leads to another, and it is a good excuse (interpreted, reason) to get this job done! The sunroom has been the "catch-all" room since we have moved here. It holds all the memorabilia (as in ribbons, trophies) from past goat shows, and honey and beeswax candle displays and awards; the remains of my candle making supplies; old milk bottles and gallon jugs to be painted and made into cute lamps; old crosscut saws, handsaws, round saws, and slate, from my sawblade painting days; an old roll-top desk, file cabinets, table and a bench; and boxes of what-not.

After it is cleared out, I am hoping (please, please??) hubby will go ahead and put another double window in the east wall, as has been the "talked-about" plan. There is room to have a daybed in there as well, (I love daybeds), for over-night guests that visit and who have a hard time going upstairs to the guest-room. What do you think?? Can I make a welcoming room out of this chaos?? Any suggestions? Do any of you have a daybed and do you like it?

Strawberries! and Daffodils! and Clematis! Oh My!

Yep... I see GREEN! NEW Green!

and YELLOW!

LOTS of Yellow!

CLEMATIS is waking up after her winter's nap!

and the HENS are out in their yard ... peeking over the board....

What on EARTH are they LOOKING at??

.... oh! COMFREY!

They LOVE comfrey!

How does YOUR SPRING GARDEN grow?

Just in time for St Patrick's Day!

From this...



to this, in a couple days!



and, BTW, looking at that empty garden plot and that green grass, reminds me ....

This came in the mail a few days ago...



They sure have me pegged!



Wish it were that easy...



but there are some good ideas in this book. I think I will get it from the library and save my $39.95 + shpg and hndlg charges :)