Color!

When we picked up paint on Friday for our remodeling project, we weren't sure when we would start painting. After cracking open one of the cans Friday afternoon out of curiosity, we didn't stop painting until Sunday evening. It was a tiresome weekend, but we are thrilled to make some colorful progress on our project.
Here is Zachary on the kitchen beams, doing the ceiling trim. He is the brave one.
Queequeg was amused by us the whole time, wondering why her humans were doing such silly things.
This is the dining room. The color is called Golden Fleece.
This a view from the kitchen, looking towards the dining area and bathroom door.
Kitchen. This color is called True Penny.
Bathroom. Smokey Topaz is the color. This room was easy, we just had to paint the top half. The bottom will have wainscoting.
With this painting project, we had our primer tinted, just a shade or two lighter than our final color. We just had to go over the walls twice, once with primer and once with the final. We never did that before. We'll be doing that for all future projects, it worked out great.

Feats of Strength

The leaves are rapidly changing color and falling around the farm. We've had our first freeze.
In the past week, Zachary and I completed chicken coop #3. I don't know how we managed it, but we were able to load the beast just the two of us into the pick up. This one was delivered to Cedarburg, about 100 miles away. I guess Craigslist unites people from all distances. Due to a last minute schedule change at his work, Zachary wasn't able deliver it with me. I asked my parents come along and help with the delivery instead. Thankfully they could and I didn't have to make the trip alone. Some lucky urban chickens in Cedarburg just got a new home. :-)
Next up... a pigeon coop. This one is going to a local family, one that already purchased a chicken coop from us about a month ago.
And then maybe, we can get back to that kitchen project of ours...

oddness

It is that time of the year when we start digging up carrots for meals and preserving. As usual there are always a few odd ones. I found this one this morning. (Never mind my own odd thumb joint behind the carrot.) Sort of reminds me of a bird's foot.
After enjoying my find, it promptly went into the crock pot with a pork roast for dinner tonight. I got to use our own fresh sage and rosemary as well. Slow cooked meals always sound so good when the weather grows cold. It makes the house smell wonderful, with the smell slowly building all day long as a delicious crescendo. Yum!

Wool for Newbies

Here is the washed and carded wool we got back from the carding mill about a month ago. Not bad from 3 sheep. The lady blended our Border Leicester wool and Shetland/Icelandic sheep wool together and kept our black Merino/Corriedale/Southdown sheep wool separate. The black wool is incredibly soft. I have been starting to do some reading, in books and the Internet, to learn about our options for our wool. There are so many techniques and projects I want to try. Felting, spinning, dying, knitting, weaving... Stay tuned for all the future struggles (and hopefully a few successes) in the months ahead. I am positive I am already over my head... :-)

Water Wheel

All summer Zachary has been plugging away on a water wheel project for my parents. Today we assembled it, after getting the roof done this morning. My parents aren't sure where they are going to permanently install it, but we set it up in their driveway to make sure everything fit well before winter comes.
Zachary and his water feature.
Later on, we stopped by Mystic Springs Ranch. It is an alpaca ranch near my parents' house. This weekend they were hosting an open house to visit the farm and see the animals. Their store was also open and they had fleeces, rovings, yarn, and finished handmade goods made from the alpaca fiber. It was very nice. I got a free sample of yarn. I am looking forward to learning more about the fiber arts. We have 4 rolls of cleaned and carded wool to play with this winter. :-)
(I reckon I should post a picture of those soon)

gathering

Yesterday a few of us cousins from my Grandpa Sorenson's (my dad side) side of the family got together for lunch, catching up, and photo sharing in Winneconne at the Fin 'n Feather. It was nice to see everyone and get re-acquainted. It has been a number of years since the last get together.
Good food, good times.
Afterwards we paid a trip to M. Schettl Sales since we were near. It is quite a collection of "stuff" for sale there. There is normal items like building materials, furniture, and housewares. But there is always some interesting items sprinkled in between too.
Hmm... where can I put that in our house? That would look fantastic next to the couch! :-)

Daytrip

A few days ago Zachary and I both had a day neither of us had to work. We drove up to Door County, to take in the sights and explore some parks. We traveled up the Lake Michigan side, staying on roads that hugged the shoreline. An US Coast Guard base caught our attention in Sturgeon Bay. A long concrete pier lead you near a red lighthouse
The water was so clear, you could see brown trout and other fish swimming along the pier.

While snaking along the coast line, we passed a lot of bicyclers. A lot of them. After a while we realized it was the Door County Century event. You can ride up to 100 miles on the peninsula. That is impressive. My butt is pretty sore after 10 miles.
The first park we took in was Whitefish Dunes State Park. The beach was filled with swimmers and sunbathers, soaking in the last few days of summer.
Zachary and I hit the trails.
Next we meandered to Newport State Park on the peninsula. Newport was quite a bit quieter than Whitefish. Door County is a tourist driven destination, but these state parks allow for the peninsula's natural beauty to shine and be preserved.
Wildflowers on the shoreline.
The sandy shoreline gives way to a rocky face as the coast bends.

Finding a suitable rock that looked free of sunbathing snakes, we had a picnic. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and bananas.
Mr. Seagull noticed our picnic on the rock. Keeping about 7 feet away, he waited patiently for us to leave to inspect the rock for tasty leftovers.
I think I took about a dozen shots of this Monarch, trying to get a clear shot of it with his wings wide open. Between the breeze and the bees, it didn't happen. But I like the way this one turned out anyway.

A day well spent.