On the homestead we are accustomed to being in good health and working on projects together. The transition from summer to autumn did not feature that this year.
We expanded the family with a newborn girl in September. Momma has been dedicated to making the most of this special time, and it’s awesome. The driving choice behind the Raising Wood homestead is making space for children to grow in a space to develop character. More children means more opportunities, within the farm context and within the family. Jesus is good.
We had a wonderful thunderstorm roll through and drench the land with rain. It featured 42mph winds and took out tree branches all over the property. In the process of clearing branches I thoroughly messed up my shoulder and elbow. Turns out a cordless sawzall can out work my body.
As a result there’s been a great deal of inside the house, lightweight work. I finished building and installing some cabinets, painted some doors, ect. Then some small projects outside with easy objectives. Here are some of them over various Saturdays:
This is a new goat feeder. PremierOne has some designs for sale, I bought the design and modified it for our space. It is higher thank our existing feeder and has a larger tray under the hay to capture more pull through material. Also has wood down low to stop goats from scampering underneath.
A different weekend was replacing the roof on the chicken tractor. Out with soggy wood and shingles, in with sheet steel. Stronger, lighter and more durable. Tiger Lilly the Lady Kitty insisted on having input. I think the eclipse was bothering her so she needed people time. Working outside for the duration of the eclipse was a neat family experience. We also started getting wheels together for a push cart for the kids, everyone got a lesson in using pilers and the power of PB Blaster to break some shafts free.
Next weekend was chipping away at the past 3 winters of build up off the barn floor. A 4×4 and trailer helped make quick work of transportation. We scattered the rich fertilizer material in dead spaces in pastures. The combo was also handy for moving the feeder.
We placed the feeder in one spot. Then reconsidered . Then moved it. Then again. Then we set up a partition wall. This will separate different herd matriarchs from one another and lower herd stress for feeding.
Even better, there’s a secret hiding space for adventurous small goats under the feeder. The feeder which was designed to keep goats from getting under it. Such is the goat.
Small steps add up. Happy to be able to keep moving forward and optimizing work flow. The goal is to make the winter chores quick and easy every night.
Cabinet build and install nearly finished in this picture, it has been well received in its place and fully integrated into the kitchen.
All with a busted shoulder and elbow! Great work, the feeder looks like a fun project. It’s that time of year for us also where we do the outside projects that the summer heat made difficult. The goats are looking healthy! Let us know when you have more beef to sell – we have a fairly full freezer now, with no current room available for another freezer, but down the road…