Jazz Concert, Chicken Run, and Making Lumber for Another Shed
At the tail end of Summer, we organized a concert with Peter Brown, an awesome local jazz musician. The weather cooperated and we were able to seat 18 people with appropriate physical distancing.
Peter's wife Lesley joined him for a few songs.
We didn't get a good picture of Peter without the microphone, so to see (and hear) Peter playing, go to www.peterbrown.ca
Chicken Run
Finally, we decided to outsmart the local fox. As he was coming by from time to time to run off with a chicken, we took on the task of building a chicken run around the existing coops.
The first step was to bury heavy screening so digging creatures would be discouraged. The inside will be attached to cedar poles that have been milled flat on the top. The rest goes down a foot or so and up the other side to further deter critters.
After nearly three days of digging, we put up the 2 x 3 in a single day. Here, our workaway helpers from Portugal, Monica and Gustave, attach a brace to stabilize the structure.
Two runs of 4 ft. hardware cloth and the space was enclosed. Gustave & Monicaß are "stitching" the two runs together here.
With a door hung, there is no way in for the fox. Later we will put a single electric wire on a solar charger. Then raccoons, ermine and other climbers will also be totally excluded.
As the season progressed, our focus turned to making lumber. Thanks to a helpful neighbour loaning us his, we learned what a logging-arch is and were able to have one built.
What a difference!
Moving our first log to the mill took three of us more than two hours to maneuver it onto our trailer, move it and let it down onto the sawmill. (See picture mid-page here.)
The last log we collected took two of us only a half hour to pull out of the woods, transport AND saw it into the lumber we needed.
The latest project is a storage shed off the back of the wood-shop. It will replace space we lost when our original shed burrned down.
The light coloured siding is poplar. The darker material is spruce of fir.
The lumber in the pile will finish the third side and provide shelving in the shed.
Before the snow came, with Edward's help, we managed to clear most of the garden beds. Garlic was planted in a few of them.
Leaves are easy to rake off the driveway and now mulch the garlic and other beds. Hay works as well when the leaves are used up. The light coloured material in the main path is sawdust from the mill.
