Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Back to normal blogging

I am at the laundromat right now catching up on laundry.  I didn't feel like listening to the generator for loads and loads of laundry time, so I took Hannah with me to do laundry.  She is having fun running around and eating a chocolate chunk cookie while letting me know that the machines are still going.

Husband, Charlie, and Bethany are cutting trees and clearing brush.  The barn cabins are due Monday and Tuesday next week.  They will be side by side with a 12 foot space between where we will build the kitchen and "great room."  each barn cabin is 12x32 and the 1000+ feet of clearing that needs to be done at 14 feet high and 20 feet wide is so the truck and trailer can get through. 

So, while we will not have our "Hobbit House" the basic design has not changed, how we are doing it has.  There is no way we would have been done before winter.  This way, we still get to design our own home, still live off the grid, and still live simply.

So, the good news is by this time next week, we will be living in our cabin and I will have phone and internet service right there!  YAY!

When I asked husband about timeline, he said in about a month we should have the roof and floor of the center area done.  The wiring and plumbing shouldn't take too long.  In either July or August, we will order our first windmill.  We will continue to add solar panels as we can.  We already have some, so we have a start on that. 

I am very excited about all of this. 

Other good news.  Frenchie is up and walking of her own free will.  I am cautiously optimistic of a full recovery, but she will never be the same again.  I also don't see breeding her again due to the damage to her udder.  I will have to see how much scar tissue there is and how much weight her leg can hold with severed tendons.

Patches is not wanting to get up.  I don't know why.  I will do a full exam on her again when I get home.  She has always had a bit of a lazy streak so it could be that with no need to get up (food and water are where they can get to it laying down if they want) then she just doesn't feel like it so she won't.

5 comments:

Laura said...

Oh, how cool!!

Lisa A. Goff, writer, stained glass, homeschooler said...

Too bad about the "Hobbit House". That was interesting. Still would like to see pics of your barn houses. I'm not sure what a barn house is.

Well, if you mountain-dwellers or whatever it was she called you hear one of the kids calling, "Here, Kitty, Kitty!", look twice! Ha, ha. (Seriously, too.)

Tara said...

Do the barn cabins come completely assembled? What will need to be done to them on the inside? It's very exciting that you'll be indoors so soon.

Lisa A. Goff, writer, stained glass, homeschooler said...

I copied this from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission site . . . in case it might be interesting or useful:

While it is possible that occasional sightings of free-ranging mountain lions may occur in Arkansas there is no evidence that there has been a reproducing population of this species in the state since the early 1900s. Individual mountain lions are most likely escaped or released pets though it is possible, but unlikely, that individuals could disperse to Arkansas from their nearest existing population in southern Texas.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is not currently asking the public to report mountain lion sightings. If you have lost livestock to what you believe is a mountain lion and have fresh evidence, such as a carcass or tracks, please contact the nearest Commission regional office for assistance in determining what animal is responsible for the incident and the best course of action to prevent future problems.

Anonymous said...

Auntie Barb says... Also went to the Fish and Game website only for Missouri. They even have the sounds the Bobcat and the Mountain lion make both normally and when they are feeling "frisky". They also had the difference between the Mountain Lion, Bobcat, domesticated dog and a wolf's footprints. You live so close to Missouri anyway thought it still be applicable. Love to all...