An Update for Nathaniel

Because what 13 year old boy puts his mom's blog on his iTouch as an app? And he has been nagging asking me to update this blog (mostly because I have some really cool pictures of him!) I am finally going to get a quick update here.

We have been really busy here on the T Homestead. A quick review of all that has been happening here for the past month or so.

WARNING: This will be long!

A new chicken coop:

Frank and Nathaniel converted our old shed in the back to a 1/2 shed - 1/2 chicken coop to house the new chickens (which have grown ridiculously quickly) The side where the chickens are now used to be the goat area. We decided Delilah needed to be with other goats and she is now back at the barn with other goats.

the shed

the storage side
whoa, this pictures illustrates just how much my baby boy
is growing and becoming such a wonderful young man

my our growing chickens

using the pneumatic nailer to help build the
roosting boxes

 
A patio fix-up:

Our patio covering frame collapsed during the last snow storm. That last bit of snow was just too much for it to handle. Frank and Nathaniel decided to take it down and get a new one. I don't have a picture of the new one, yet, but I did manage to get a picture of Nathaniel using a very large electric hacksaw to cut the frame apart.

I did ask Frank why they just weren't undoing the bolts; his response: "Why have cool tools if you aren't going to use them?" During which, my Frank clone Nathaniel kept nodding and giving me poor pitiful looks as if I had no clue; which obviously, I don't when it comes to boys and their toys.

A wonderful gift for me:

My new clothesline - the complete story here

Garden additions:

I got grapes! ok, that was really not how I wanted to say it. This is more like it:

I GOT GRAPES!!!!!

 

Yes, I am that excited. A wonderful friend of the family brought us some grape vines from his garden and then planted them for us and even said he will come back in the Fall to trim them for the winter. We are so blessed!

Frank and Mr M planting a vine

 

My very happy boys!
(but not as happy as I was!!!)

After the M's left, Nathaniel said the planting reminded him of when he used to help Frank's dad work in the garden. Mr M is from the Acores as well and has the same accent and way of talking as my father-in-law did. It was a great day for Nathaniel.

 

A new Garden

 

Frank and I had discussed putting in a new garden for the winter squash in the back behind the pool area right before you get into the woods proper. But, we then decided it would have to wait because the soil wasn't that great there and we would have to ship some in and we just couldn't justify that expense. Then, a friend gave me some left over seed potatoes to plant and try this year. I then mentioned we could put them into the area behind the pool because I wouldn't need a lot of space.

 

I got home this past Wednesday and found my son on this:

 

 

 

"I LOVE THIS THIS MUCH!!"

"MOM! I HAVE GOT TO GET ME ONE OF THESE!"

Taking the little brother for a ride



Happy, happy boys

Not only did they get most of the stumps out of the area, but Frank discovered that all the grass clippings we had been dumping in the woods for the past eleven years had turned itself into a most wonderful bit of soil. He used the machine to move a bunch of great soil from the deeper woods to right behind/next to the pool area. No importing necessary!!

Yesterday, Frank and Nathaniel got a very large roto-tiller and turned the back area into a new squash garden. The tilled the area over, then surrounded it with a fence and made it pretty with rocks and stuff to hopefully keep all the critters away. I am very happy, happy.

 

 

So, now the new back garden is all set with Butternut, Acorn, Spaghetti and Hubbard squash. Nathaniel is going to help me build some trellis for some beans in the spaces between the squash rows and the front area is going to have cantaloupe.

 

Now that the boys have got a taste of all this machinery lately, they are talking about digging a root cellar for me. I don't know if they are serious or not, but I am taking them serious. I will be getting the books from the library on planning root cellars!

 

I am pretty sure that is it for now. Thanks for sticking around this long!