[Artemis Prime]

For those of you who aren't aware, I'm in the middle of building a barn, which is a rather time-consuming project. I've been trying to use these challenges to stay more or less on track with other things, but this monster project keeps crowding everything else out, so this time around I'm going full-on homesteader. I have a list of next steps for my barn (mostly involving putting the roof on) as well as a list of other things around the property that need done this fall. It's a pretty ambitious list, but I'm not actually expecting to get it all done this challenge. A lot depends on weather and what help I have available, so we'll see how it goes and adjust for next challenge based on how much does or doesn't happen.

 

Barn Stuff:

Roof Stuff:

Cut and hang rafters

Spacers

Cross Bracing

Planks

Panels

Ridge Cap

Drip Edge

 

Wall and Floor Stuff:

Frame end walls

Finish subfloor

Fill gaps

 

Other Stuff:

Chicken Stuff:

Process meat birds

Clean coop

Cut tree off coop

Install A-Frame

Replace roof

 

Garden Stuff:

Clear vegetation

Mulch

Fix fence

 

Miscellaneous Stuff:

Clean old barn

Change truck oil

Make elderberry jam

Mow pastures

 

[Elastigirl]

[starpuck]

Hey hey hey!  Love the title!  

We are twinses!

Following for sure.   We can do the stuff and the thing.

 

[Salinger]

you are so cool!!!

Following along xx

[Artemis Prime]

13 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

I can't stop watching this. It's mesmerizing!

 

13 hours ago, starpuck said:

We can do the stuff and the thing.

Yeah we can!

 

6 hours ago, Salinger said:

you are so cool!!!

 

☺️ Thanks, Sal! You're pretty cool too.

 

 

So last challenge, which I ended up bailing on, one of my goals was reading a book on breathing techniques. That turned out to be a huge disappointment, but I like the idea of having a book to go along with my challenge, so today I scooted over to the library and found Mapping the Farm by John Hildebrand.

[Artemis Prime]

Happy Thursday! I haven't been doing much for zero week. It's been pretty rainy, which I'm okay with because between barn work and having Labor Day weekend company, I was feeling pretty exhausted. Nice to take a couple of chill days to recharge. Also, last night my cat had her annual vet appointment.

 

 

She was not a fan. Might get some stuff done tonight, though, and tomorrow is Freezer Camp for the meaties, so I'll get at least one thing crossed off the list this week. 

So far I've been enjoying the first couple chapters of Mapping the Farm. 

[starpuck]

Oh that poor dear.   Too funny.

 

I hear ya on a few days recharge-chill after things.   I need to learn to do that better.

[Artemis Prime]

19 hours ago, starpuck said:

I hear ya on a few days recharge-chill after things.   I need to learn to do that better.

 

I definitely struggle with this, both taking the days off and then gearing back up again. Usually I go until I melt into a complete puddle of exhaustion and then go into slug mode for far too long. I am getting better at this, though!

 

Got a few more rafters cut last night, so I'm just over halfway there. Hoping to get a bunch hung over the weekend. Freezer Camp nights are always exhausting, but after this I'm done with meat birds for the year, which will mean no more schlepping out to the coop after dark to stuff them all in. I still have to close up the laying hens, but they put themselves to bed so all I have to do is collect eggs and close the door. Silly meaties just lay down and go to sleep on the ground, so I have to pick them all up and put them inside.

[Gemma]

On 9/8/2022 at 9:03 AM, Artemis Prime said:

Also, last night my cat had her annual vet appointment.

 

 

She was not a fan. Might get some stuff done tonight, though, and tomorrow is Freezer Camp for the meaties, so I'll get at least one thing crossed off the list this week. 

 

 

Poor kid! So trauma. 

 

I haven't done a meat bird day in years. How many featherheads are you processing? 

[Artemis Prime]

3 hours ago, Gemma said:

How many featherheads are you processing? 

Not actually sure. I have 17. I don't know how many we're doing for other people. My friend who owns all the processing equipment never wants to tell me ahead of time because he's afraid I won't show up. Usually it's between 30 and 40. Sometimes there's a few ducks, and I would rather do 5 chickens than one duck.

[Artemis Prime]

5 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

Usually it's between 30 and 40. Sometimes there's a few ducks, and I would rather do 5 chickens than one duck.

I jinxed it. Mine were the only chickens, then we had 10 ducks. My chickens went very fast and smooth. The first 4 ducks were pretty good. Those last 6 were awful. But somehow I ended up agreeing to help with next week's batch too. It's easier when none of the birds are mine, though, and since he doesn't charge me to use his equipment when I help with other batches, it only cost me $8/bird to fill my freezer this year. I'm also buying a Thanksgiving turkey from him, and if I keep showing up on Fridays he'll start knocking that price down too.

[Artemis Prime]

Had a very productive Saturday, cutting and hanging rafters. About halfway done! (with the rafters, that is. Still lots to do.)

 

 

I also made elderberry jam last night, but I'm not crossing it off the list because I have another quart of berries and want to try again tonight. It still tastes fine, but I overcooked it, so it ended up way too thick, plus I didn't get nearly as much as I should have. So take two tonight.

 

List spoilered since it's so long. One thing crossed off as of now, but progress made on some other things. Not bad for zero week.

 

Spoiler

Barn Stuff:

Roof Stuff:

Cut and hang rafters

Spacers

Cross Bracing

Planks

Panels

Ridge Cap

Drip Edge

 

Wall and Floor Stuff:

Frame end walls

Finish subfloor

Fill gaps

 

Other Stuff:

Chicken Stuff:

Process meat birds 

Clean coop

Cut tree off coop

Install A-Frame

Replace roof

 

Garden Stuff:

Clear vegetation

Mulch

Fix fence

 

Miscellaneous Stuff:

Clean old barn

Change truck oil

Make elderberry jam

Mow pastures

 

[juliebarkley]

That's quite the task list for one challenge! Best of luck ticking things off!

[starpuck]

Man it is SO cool watching you literally build a barn.   I uh... I kind of fan girl over you.  Sorry not sorry!!

 

[Salinger]

That barn looks SO COOL already  

 

Are you enjoying the process? xx

[Artemis Prime]

15 hours ago, juliebarkley said:

That's quite the task list for one challenge! Best of luck ticking things off!

Thanks! Although I don't actually expect to finish it all in one challenge, probably just going to roll stuff over to next challenge.

 

14 hours ago, starpuck said:

Man it is SO cool watching you literally build a barn.   I uh... I kind of fan girl over you.  Sorry not sorry!!

 

Hahaha! Not to worry, Puck, the fangirling is definitely mutual.

 

14 hours ago, Salinger said:

That barn looks SO COOL already  

 

Are you enjoying the process? xx

Thanks, Sal! I am, mostly. It is frustrating at times when things aren't going smoothly or my dad and I are having trouble communicating clearly, but for the most part it's been really cool to learn how to do this stuff and really satisfying to have this level of ownership over my new building.

 

 

Sorted through the rest of my 2x6s last night. The good news is I have enough long boards to finish the lean-to roof without having to piece rafters together. The way I typed that up makes it sound like there should be bad news, but no, it was all good. Weather's a bit iffy today, but if it's half decent when I get home, I'll try to finish cutting for the main roof. Not feeling super motivated, but I won't have time to do it again until Saturday, so really going to try to just power through.

 

Did my second batch of elderberry jam last night. An improvement over the first, but still not sure I'm sold on this recipe. Probably going to test out a different one next time, although at this point that won't be until next year. Either way, another item crossed off the list!

 

Spoiler

Barn Stuff:

Roof Stuff:

Cut and hang rafters

Spacers

Cross Bracing

Planks

Panels

Ridge Cap

Drip Edge

 

Wall and Floor Stuff:

Frame end walls

Finish subfloor

Fill gaps

 

Other Stuff:

Chicken Stuff:

Process meat birds 

Clean coop

Cut tree off coop

Install A-Frame

Replace roof

 

Garden Stuff:

Clear vegetation

Mulch

Fix fence

 

Miscellaneous Stuff:

Clean old barn

Change truck oil

Make elderberry jam

Mow pastures

 

[Artemis Prime]

Got the rest of the rafters cut last night. Weather's looking good for the weekend, so I'm hoping to get them all up, although I do try to avoid doing too much on Sundays, so maybe just settle for what I get done on Saturday. I'm helping my neighbor tonight, so I might end up coming home with another quart of elderberries, although I'm pretty sure we're past peak season for them. If I do get more, I'm just going to throw them in a pie, I'm done with jam for the year. I've also discovered that my hot peppers are exploding, so I'm going to have to do something with them. And despite a terrible spring, it's actually turned into a decent apple year, so I might be canning some applesauce too. I'd rather freeze it, but somebody filled the freezer up with chickens. I guess I'll add the peppers and apples to the list, even though the point is to be crossing things off. Moving in the wrong direction here, guys.

 

Spoiler

Barn Stuff:

Roof Stuff:

Cut and hang rafters

Spacers

Cross Bracing

Planks

Panels

Ridge Cap

Drip Edge

 

Wall and Floor Stuff:

Frame end walls

Finish subfloor

Fill gaps

 

Other Stuff:

Chicken Stuff:

Process meat birds 

Clean coop

Cut tree off coop

Install A-Frame

Replace roof

 

Garden Stuff:

Clear vegetation

Mulch

Fix fence

 

Miscellaneous Stuff:

Clean old barn

Change truck oil

Make elderberry jam

Mow pastures

Make pepper butter (it's actually more of a mustard, but the recipe calls it butter.)

Do something with apples (very specific, I know)

 

[starpuck]

You're such a cool country-girl-nerd and I love it!

You got me thinking about baking now or something.

Except... I can't.

[sylph]

On 9/13/2022 at 2:11 PM, Artemis Prime said:

but for the most part it's been really cool to learn how to do this stuff and really satisfying to have this level of ownership over my new building.

This part of homesteading stuff really resonates with me.
 

I've been getting really invested in doing a lot of our yard work and being the point person for a lot of service calls, etc since we moved into our new house and I really appreciate knowing how things work and what's being done (even if I'm not the one who's doing it)

[Artemis Prime]

On 9/14/2022 at 2:36 PM, starpuck said:

You're such a cool country-girl-nerd and I love it!

You got me thinking about baking now or something.

Except... I can't.

Thanks, I love it too! And baking's easy if you want it to be. Do you have a bundt pan? A pound cake in a bundt pan is literally dumping ingredients together and throwing it into the oven. If not, you could use a different pan (have to check different recipes, though, because the baking time would change I think) but a pound cake in a bundt pan comes out so moist and delicious and Imma gonna have to go back me one of those now.

 

On 9/14/2022 at 2:55 PM, sylph said:

This part of homesteading stuff really resonates with me.
 

I've been getting really invested in doing a lot of our yard work and being the point person for a lot of service calls, etc since we moved into our new house and I really appreciate knowing how things work and what's being done (even if I'm not the one who's doing it)

I just commented on your thread about how we seem to have similar workout philosophies, now here we are with meshing home ownership philosophies...

[Artemis Prime]

Happy Friday, Nerds! Let's see here, what have I been doing? Did some neighborly stuff on Wednesday, did not get any more elderberries, but came home with a bucket of tomatoes. Luckily, my mom does those, so no extra list items there. We currently have 20 quarts of tomatoes canned, plus whatever she gets out of the bucket, so no need to skimp on the tomato sauce this winter. Yesterday I had dinner with my sister and we watched the first episode of Rings of Power. It's not great, but it's not nearly as terrible as some people made it out to be. My biggest issue with it so far is Elrond. As in, he's not really Elrond at all. I'm not sure why they would try to shoehorn him in here, since I don't think he was a huge fan favorite, and for those of us who are Elrond stans, you're just ticking us off by changing everything about him. Give that guy a new name and you have a totally original character with no baggage attached.

 

Tonight is another chicken night (and ducks too, I think, *sigh*) but I'm hoping to get my coop cleaned out before I go, although I won't have time to sanitize everything. And tomorrow I'm not going to have as much rafter help as I had thought, but that just gives me time to knock some of the other things off the list.

 

So, the goal for the weekend is:

Hang some rafters (hoping to get 8-10 up)

Clean the chicken coop

Change the oil in my truck

Make pepper butter

 

If I have time, I'll also work on clearing the garden and filling some gaps in the joints in my barn.

[Artemis Prime]

Oh! P.S. We opened up the elderberry jam this morning. It is stiff, but still spreadable. I was honestly a little afraid we were going to have to chisel it out of the jar. And it's pretty darn tasty. I like the crunch, but my dad's not a fan of all the seeds, so making a note for next year: one batch of jam and one batch of jelly.

[Elastigirl]

Elderberry jam sounds amazing!

 

Agreeing on Rings of Power, Watched the third episode last night, and it was pretty good. I'm  mainly just trying to see if I enjoy it as its own show, and given up on its' trying to stay true to the characters.

[Artemis Prime]

Decided to just chill a little before heading out to do the birds instead of trying to clean the coop, which turned out to be a fantastic idea. We did 80 birds. Half of them were quail, so that made a big difference, but it was still a lot. Didn't get home until midnight and I'm dragging a little this morning. Still looking good to get things done today, though, saving the pepper butter for tomorrow.

[Salinger]

Hey AP... hoping your Saturday is going well, whats the weather like over there these days? Lots of love xx