A little spray paint makes a big difference!

/ strivingacres / Leave a comment

Last week, I grabbed the spray paint and headed outside to work on some yard furniture.  Gramma Izzie gave me this little table and chairs set when she got a new set for her back patio, and I’ve had it for over a year and meant to paint it but just never got around to it.  I went through all kinds of color schemes in my head, and I finally settled on bright and bold because I want to set this around the pool and make a few other things in a little tiki theme to go with it all.

Here are the before pictures:

0620171416 (1)  0620171428_HDR

And here are the after pictures:

0620171416_HDR  0620171444

I LOVE the bright glossy blue color!  I am not so happy with the pink.  I love the color itself, but it just isn’t as glossy and shiny as the blue so now I’m going to have to grab some type of clear glossy sealant and spray the table with that.

Here are the paints I used (one can of blue per chair and one can of pink for the table):

0620171435

Now to decide on a color for the little yard sale fire stove I picked up and find the umbrella I’m picturing in my mind and sew some comfy seat cushions, and this will be ready to use for summer picnics by the pool!

Coffee and chickens

/ strivingacres / Leave a comment

Every morning, I have a fairly set schedule:

  • Get up
  • Let Smidge out
  • Unload the dishwasher
  • Load the dishwasher
  • Start the coffeemaker
  • Feed and water the living room chicks
  • Check the incubators’ humidity and add water if needed
  • Let the chickens out
  • Feed and water the outside chickens and chicks
  • Feed the dogs
  • Feed the cats
  • Fill up the outside water for the dogs and cats
  • Enjoy a freshly brewed cup of joe on the porch

This is usually my morning view as I have my coffee:

0623170944

What could be better than coffee and chickens every single morning?

NOTHING.  There is nothing out there that’s better than coffee and chickens!  Every. Single. Morning.

Visiting buddy

/ strivingacres / Leave a comment

0623170947

Just about every morning, we get a visit from our little buddy who lives down the driveway, across the road, and up the next big hill.  He makes the short trek over just so he can pee on my farm truck tires, sniff noses (and butts) with DG and Puppers, and have a drink from the washtub.  He’s a funny little dog, and he doesn’t chase the cats or the chickens so I don’t worry about it too much (especially since my dogs are all spayed so there’s no chance of puppies!).

He has a little chihuahua friend who hasn’t ever made it further than our cattle pasture fence line one time (and Ted saw him and took him home because he said he was afraid he’d get hit – I think Ted was afraid I’d want to keep the chihuahua!).  I haven’t ever seen the chihuahua (only heard about him from Sahara and Jake).

This little guy has made it about half a mile down the road before; a neighbor posted on her Facebook that she’d found the dog and was trying to find out who he belonged to.  I let Gramma Izzie know, and within a few minutes, the guy across the hill showed up and had this little guy back.

0623170949

Evidently though, he’s a wanderer.  He loves to visit everyone.  I’m really tempted to staple a note to his collar to let the owners know that when he disappears every morning, it’s because he’s over here to say hello to the ladies (and my farm truck tires).

Best fertilizer around

/ strivingacres / Leave a comment

We expanded the pig pasture to include the hens’ pasture last year in September when we brought the pigs home.  It was somewhat grown up and covered in patches of daisy-like wildflowers, and there was some grass, but there were bare patches, too.

By February, the pigs had cleared the entire thing; it looked like a mud pit, and Ted bemoaned the fact that I had “ruined the yard” by allowing pigs in it.  I told him repeatedly that I was assured by other pastured pig farmers that the pasture would spring back to life come summer.

Here’s what it looks like today:


We planted nothing at all in here.  Whatever this is (I’m assuming it’s from the hay and grains we fed the pigs all winter), it is HUGE (as in at least four feet high)!  Oh, and there are volunteer pumpkins in there from where I fed the pigs donated pumpkins daily for about three months; we can see the orange blossoms here and there, low to the ground.

I want to say, “I told you so”, but I won’t…

Who am I kidding? I told you so, Ted! Too bad we can’t feed pigs pennies; I bet that poop could grow money trees if it was possible!