Walls

I've been really busy with work and haven't posted in a while. But tons of work has been going on.

Rick looks over the floor after Rick C sanded it a bit. In the background you can see the door we'll use on the east side.

Then Catherine models it after Rick C painted it with epoxy paint. Rick C also picked up the windows from Habitat. They'll work beautifully. We plan to use two in the front to make the bar opening, then one in the back up high like a clerestory window.

We put the lights up and I have fun taking artsy pics.

Now the first wall is built. Rick C has been just cranking on the framing. Rick J is supervising here.

Double checking the measurements. You can see another wall frame bit in the background.

We used a lot of recycled lumber. I think this piece used to prop up the chicken pen wire.

Now we have three walls. Rick and Rick do some more framing.

Rick brought over sawhorses so they could set up a real shade-tree operation under the apple tree. Batch made a dump run and got a bunch of the scrap out of the way.

This is the wood we'll use for the dutch door sill plate. Rick C is building the door, in full farm-grade style.

Floor Installed

We had a productive weekend. There was no croquet, so we had lots of time to get stuff done. Rick and Rick work on the last of the footings.  

Mixing and stirring the cement.  

Catherine's friend Carol came over and joined us for an impromptu feast. I'd been to the farmers' market, and brought bread, cheeses, apples, dipping sauce, and leftover ribs.

One of the things we  bought on the last Lowes trip was a heavy duty extension cord. Rick J braved the jungle and ran the cord to the washroom. That allowed us to use some fairy lights to light up our beer garden.

Then Sunday morning, we set to work on the last footing.

We noticed this pretty butterfly.

The footings are all done and the floor has been reinforced.

And... it fits perfectly! The Ricks inspect the fit while Buddy looks on.

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Weather Note

It rained last night, the first rain of fall. It was a good solid rain too, not just a sprinkle. It really cleaned out the air. I'm predicting a long wet fall, and this early heavy rain seems to support this. Normally we wouldn't expect rain this early. Of course, we had just brought the chairs with cushions over to the farm. So they might be a lil wet today.

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Pepper Sauce

We'd picked a bunch of peppers from the farm.

Which I then roasted in the oven.

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What We're Eating

Pepper Puree

Rinse fresh peppers, place on a baking sheet, and drizzle with olive oil. Roast at 350 for about an hour and a half.

Peel and seed the anaheims and any others that look tough-skinned, and remove the stems from the hot peppers. After roasting like this, the stems pop right off.

Put the peppers in the blender with a little water. I also added the juice of two limes, just because we had them left over from yesterday, when Catherine brought us a feast of avocados with lime.

Add more water if needed, and a pinch of salt.

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This made a huge bowl of pepper puree that filled three pint jars. I figure this is a "pepper concentrate" that we can thin with vinegar to make tabasco-type sauce, or add to other dishes.

We worked on the footings some more. It's a good thing Rick C. has plenty of supervision.

Rick and Rick check the measuring.

Catherine shows off the newly dug hole for the third footing.

Rick and I had gone to Lowes and gotten lots more cement so we won't run out.

Footing Poured

Sunday was busy, and Rick and I never made it over to the farm. On Monday, we were thrilled to see that Rick C. had begun pouring and forming the foundation posts for the clubhouse. Here, he plays in the mud to get it just right.

He even carefully inscribed the cement.

Here Rick provides some supervision.

And here you can see more boards in the background.

Floor!

We've been very busy. Yesterday Matt helped us move the floor from Rick and Catherine's house to the farm. I had called Matt and told him that he was the only man I knew who had a big enough one for me. I meant his truck of course! The floor was just a little too bulky for any of the small trucks to handle easily. It happened so fast that I didn't get any pics of the actual move, but here is the floor. It's lying next to where it will go

These bricks and boards sort of outline the area that it will go. Rick repurposed a bunch of lumber that we'll gladly use.

Rick helps prep the area by doing some privet uprooting.

Rick J even exorcized "the scary place"--the old chicken pen. Here Buddy peeks inside. We're going to cut it down so it just goes as far as that doorway. That will give the apple more room.

Bill helped move the floor, and came over after croquet. Now that he's working swing shift, he doesn't get to hang out as often.

The other day we heard this chirping and tapping. This crazy little bird was fighting with his image in the gazing ball. He and his opponent were evenly matched!

The starts are all thriving. By the next day after planting, they had grown noticeably.
 

Chinese cabbage

Red cabbage

Cauliflower

Broccoli

We found a nicotania blooming among the beans. Yay!

And sometimes, despite all diligence, good squashes go bad!