So as fall is quickly fading away and winter is peaking around the corner I have been scrambling to finish my outside farm projects. It was a hectic, fly by the seat of your pants kind of summer and I was shocked when I realized my last blog was posted in June. How did this happen? My resolve to blog at least on a weekly basis was ineffective to say the least.
There seems to be a bottomless bucket of projects to be done on a farm. I’m not complaining, just saying. I feel like the list, for now, has become manageable. One of the projects I was determined to complete was the addition of a lean-to off the boys stall. Last winter the snow slid off the roof and successfully blocked the boy’s door every time. Not this year! With the invaluable help of my sister, we successfully kicked that project down the road. By also adding an extension of the outer wall on the north side of the lean-to, the frigid north wind will be blocked.
I completed the addition of a temporary stall for Sting Ray. He will soon need to be separated from the girls as he is a yearling now (think teenage boy). I had Comanche gelded in August so he could become Sting Ray’s buddy. Though Comanche’s attitude hasn’t caught up with his lack of hormones. Hopefully soon. Because of his size, Comanche would probably still bully and beat up on Sting Ray. I’ll have to do a trial run and see how things go. I have been feeding Sting Ray in his stall away from the girls. All alpacas involved seem to appreciate the change.
I posted no trespassing, no hunting signs today. It is something that should have been done two years ago. We live in an active hunting county. In the morning I frequently hear rifle shots. We have not had any problems so far and I want to keep it that way.
I also got the chicken coop cleaned and rebedded with fresh pine shavings today. It looks and smells, well, clean. It will be short-lived but I feel better going into the winter with a clean coop.
Over the weekend I was able to get the wind break up on the girl’s side of the barn. Without it the southwest wind howls through their stall door in the winter. Next summer I would like to make it more permanent with siding and a window. See I’ve already got my bottomless bucket list going for next year.
Earlier in the fall I explored hand dying with some of my white skeins of yarn. It took some experimentation but I was able to create the colors I envisioned.
Finally, I put my garden to bed and in the process found an intriguing friend. Hope she fares well this winter.
Whew, my fall went so quickly, I didn’t even get any fall color photos this year. I’ll have to settle for yet another stunning sunrise. I never get tired of them. Batten down the hatches, sadly winter is crouching outside the door!
