Where to begin....

I was very mentally healthy this weekend.  I took both Friday and Saturday and worked through a big list.  On Friday I:

Did morning chores
Set up the electronet on the hillside
Tore down old duck house
Cleaned work site
Weed trimmed back garden beds, sided of house, half of garden
Washed and hung up four loads of laundry (I was OUT of clean undies.  Geez.)
Finished cleaning out small chicken coop
Made granola
Bone broth on the stove
Made yogurt

Did evening chores

Happy!

The old gal is getting better!

On Saturday I:

Took three rhubarb plants down to local library for their plant swap
Picked up a pound of local coffee and treated myself to a chai latte
Drove to Home Debt to pick up my part of the duck house project
Weeded two and a half raised beds
Planted edible pod peas
Planted romaine
Planted four types of potatoes (even though I had vowed to only plant two)
Raked the sheep yard
Moved manure
Planted my primroses
Walked the dogs
Cleaned up after the builder
Collapsed

They had lots of supervision

 

Built better than my house

 

Duck House!

The skies threatened all day Saturday, but we were lucky.  The Duck House is not quite finished - it needs the tin roofing (recycled from my neighbor's barn) and a ramp and an end board for the inside of the nesting box.  I also need to stain the front, back and sides of the nesting box.  It's a very clever design - the nest box 'dormer' (you can tell he builds houses) roof is hinged and lifts up.  The right side of the A frame is hinged as well, so that the interior can be raked right out.  Very important when housing ducks.  I have put a hardware cloth screen over the door for now.  They have plenty of room and seem to be very happy with it.  There is a screened vent covered by the door in the up position.  I liked it so much that we have decided to make a Duck Village!  I'll be clearing out a pile of old firewood and moving the small coop.  Another Duck House will go perpendicular to this one some time before winter.

This was a good opportunity to see this builder/handyman/carpenter in action, as I am using him to roof my house.  He brought his 15 y/o son along and I was impressed with the way father and son worked together.  Jeff (father) treated his son's ideas with respect.  Ryan (son) worked right alongside him all day.  They started at 11 and worked until 6:30 with no break.  I had run out to get them sandwiches - they stood and ate them and kept working.  Of course, they had LOTS of supervision hand help from the chickens...  We ran out of time (honestly - if I could have carted them to their truck on my back, I would have.  I was ready to S.T.O.P.) and he/they will be back next Saturday to put the tin roofing on and finish the ramp and other bits.  But the main thing - NO DUCKS IN THE HOUSE - was accomplished.  I am celebrating the fact that I will have, maybe, three and a half days with no poultry in my laundry room.  Woot!