Category Archives: DIY

(Ugly) Supplemental Hay Storage

Admittedly, our cobbled-together hay storage won’t win any beauty prizes, but we were able to build it in about an hour and a half using stuff we had laying around, and it lets us get a few dozen bales out … Continue reading

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Hollow-core Door Worktable

Some 2x4s, hollow wall anchors, and a landfill-diverted hollow-core door — a nice big worktable for the newly cleaned-up workshop: I ended up taking off the casters visible in the 3rd shot – the table was simply too wobbly. The … Continue reading

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Lumber Storage

With the basic cleanup of the workshop done, I set out to build in some lumber storage.  I wanted to be able to keep both 4×8′ sheets and 8′ lengths without using up a lot of floor space. I don’t … Continue reading

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Workshop: Cleanup and Paint

The building we call the “shed” was originally built as a 3-car detached garage for the original house on the property.  Two bays were left as garage bays, and one walled and insulated.  When we first saw the place, all … Continue reading

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Process Improvement: Poultry Scalding Water

Preparing to process the turkeys in chilly mid-November (high around 20) forced us to think carefully about how we handled getting the scalding water to temp and keeping it there. We made two changes that I think were massively helpful, … Continue reading

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Small Hoops for Row Covers

We want to keep some greens in the garden going a bit further into the cold months, so are going to try using a row cover over the kale, chard, and lettuce. We’re trying to keep this very cheap and … Continue reading

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Quick DIY Hay Feeder

We’re not quite sure how much longer the goats will be able to get their primary sustenance from browsing in the woods, but it can’t be more than 4 or 6 more weeks, at the most. We got a delivery … Continue reading

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Miscellaneous Winterizing

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Still Not Cool

The saga of the slightly-too-warm root cellar continues.  After propping the door open during a cool night failed to work, I tried runnning some 4″ flexible drain hose from the open cellar door through the shed and out into the open … Continue reading

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Tree Swing!

Since even before we moved in, Amy has wanted a tree swing. Actually, Amy wants lots of tree swings, to be used for various photo shoot locations (and also for fun, I suppose). We decided to start with one, though, … Continue reading

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