We're back online!
I can't belive it has been so long since I have posted here, it's been a crazy couple of months!
For starters, I replaced the furnace that was causing so many problems. We were quoted a price around $3500 to do it, and I did it myself for $1800. Since the old furnace didn't have a chimney, to install a conventional unit meant I had to install a power-venter.
With the old furnace gone, we were free to have a disaster-cleanup crew come in and get rid of the soot. Teams of 4-6 people were here for two weeks wiping everything down with special sponges that remove soot. Then on the last day, a specialized dry cleaner came and took all of our clothes and bedding as well as all of Caleigh's stuffed animals. That took another two weeks. Next came the electronics guy, who took the computers, printers, phones, microwave, stereos, Direct TV boxes and remotes, pretty much everything that has a circuit board in it because it seems the soot is corrosive to solder and generally fatal to things like computers. Two more weeks went by and this morning he returned with the last of it.
The chickens are all grown up now, the roosters are crowing and we expect our first eggs in about 1 1/2 months, which will coincide with our one year anniversary of our move to the country.
Since I wrote here last, we've added more critters to the homestead. A nice lady from Concord had a better hatch of ducklings than expected and gave us five of her surplus Indian Runner ducklings. I can't think of too many things cuter and funnier than runner ducks.
A cat (we named him Freddie, long story) came to live with us after hanging out here for a couple a weeks and crying all night outside our bedroom window. He's a mouser, but shows absolutely no interest in poultry. When he walks by the duck pen and they quack at him, he only gives them a dirty look as if they have insulted him somehow. He has, however, brought us two mice from the woods. They must be his rent payments as he leaves them on the stairs for us to find. As much as we appreciate the sentiment, I'm not too into mice, they just don't fill me up, so we toss them to the chickens who devour them instantly.
In the middle of all of that, this week 10 little guineas hatched in our "Little Giant" incubator from Agway. It was a very cool experience to hear the little eggs peeping. If you held one to your ear, you could hear the little guinea keet pecking away at the shell from the inside. Five hatched Tuesday and five more hatched on Wednesday. They are cute, fast, and very active little birds. We hope they grow quickly and start eating bugs soon! The mosquitos are pretty obnoxious right now.
To top it all off, yesterday we picked Buster up from the shelter. Buster is a big 'ol dog. He is presumably mostly Husky since he has Husky coloring and two different colored eyes. his head is big and square, possibly a little pit bullish or maybe Akita. He's short haired though, so he looks a little like a Boxer. The long and short of it is that he is a big 'ol dog. Nice though, knows a few tricks. He made himself right at home and is trying to make friends with a very reluctant Freddie.
I have much to write, but I'm going to do it in short segments in case the blogger program crashes (happens a lot) and loses all of my typing.
For starters, I replaced the furnace that was causing so many problems. We were quoted a price around $3500 to do it, and I did it myself for $1800. Since the old furnace didn't have a chimney, to install a conventional unit meant I had to install a power-venter.
With the old furnace gone, we were free to have a disaster-cleanup crew come in and get rid of the soot. Teams of 4-6 people were here for two weeks wiping everything down with special sponges that remove soot. Then on the last day, a specialized dry cleaner came and took all of our clothes and bedding as well as all of Caleigh's stuffed animals. That took another two weeks. Next came the electronics guy, who took the computers, printers, phones, microwave, stereos, Direct TV boxes and remotes, pretty much everything that has a circuit board in it because it seems the soot is corrosive to solder and generally fatal to things like computers. Two more weeks went by and this morning he returned with the last of it.
The chickens are all grown up now, the roosters are crowing and we expect our first eggs in about 1 1/2 months, which will coincide with our one year anniversary of our move to the country.
Since I wrote here last, we've added more critters to the homestead. A nice lady from Concord had a better hatch of ducklings than expected and gave us five of her surplus Indian Runner ducklings. I can't think of too many things cuter and funnier than runner ducks.
A cat (we named him Freddie, long story) came to live with us after hanging out here for a couple a weeks and crying all night outside our bedroom window. He's a mouser, but shows absolutely no interest in poultry. When he walks by the duck pen and they quack at him, he only gives them a dirty look as if they have insulted him somehow. He has, however, brought us two mice from the woods. They must be his rent payments as he leaves them on the stairs for us to find. As much as we appreciate the sentiment, I'm not too into mice, they just don't fill me up, so we toss them to the chickens who devour them instantly.
In the middle of all of that, this week 10 little guineas hatched in our "Little Giant" incubator from Agway. It was a very cool experience to hear the little eggs peeping. If you held one to your ear, you could hear the little guinea keet pecking away at the shell from the inside. Five hatched Tuesday and five more hatched on Wednesday. They are cute, fast, and very active little birds. We hope they grow quickly and start eating bugs soon! The mosquitos are pretty obnoxious right now.
To top it all off, yesterday we picked Buster up from the shelter. Buster is a big 'ol dog. He is presumably mostly Husky since he has Husky coloring and two different colored eyes. his head is big and square, possibly a little pit bullish or maybe Akita. He's short haired though, so he looks a little like a Boxer. The long and short of it is that he is a big 'ol dog. Nice though, knows a few tricks. He made himself right at home and is trying to make friends with a very reluctant Freddie.
I have much to write, but I'm going to do it in short segments in case the blogger program crashes (happens a lot) and loses all of my typing.
posted by MVTCoPete | 9:56 PM
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