It's Coming Along

We may just make move in day before the end of the month

this is what the back of the cottage looks like thus far

once we are in...

the herb garden will be started outside the back...

and will be a little courtyard in itself with a roof to let the sun shine through...

but keep us dry if we are in the herb garden

I realize it is hard to picture it right now...

but in time, you will see how we put the garden in

***

I took a tour around the property to get a sense of where things will be...

and this here spot will hold the chicken area

the chickens will still be free ranged but...

a covered coop and run area will give us options on where the hens lay and roost...

and if we need to be out during the day to keep them safe

of course, whenever we are near the spring creek...

the dogs do quench their thirst and take a wade

 and although the photo turned out fuzzy...

you can see what pretty creatures hang out by the creek

I do believe the chickens will get fat off some of them

this white egret isn't so curious about us as she is keeping an eye on our cow

a great tick and fly eater...

which is of great benefit to our livestock, pets and us homesteaders

***

the atrium doors have been put up...

the iron work and screens for the woodwork area around the doors are coming

towards the bottom left is my laundry facility

a outdoor sink and washer will go on the spot where the concrete blocks are

solar power should run the washer while the water for it will come from the rain barrel...

which you can see by the shed in the previous picture

and the guys finally put down the pavers for the atrium

I just wanted one color scheme for that...

which would work well with the green on the cottage

we will have one step up into the cottage rooms...

something I had tried to avoid but it didn't work out due to not being there...

when the concrete outline for the atrium was put down

my mistake, but it won't be a big deal once the wooden step is put in

we left a space at the top of the wall on the atrium side for heat escape

 we get a lot of cool breezes here and the cottage stays cool with no need for air conditioning...

natural air cooling system is the best way to go, I say

***

here at my kitchen window...

I will get to look at the kitchen garden my husband will be putting in for our vegetable supply

the gate you see in the distance will be the gateway into the woods...

with my morning coffee walk with the dogs

the dogs will be able to run freely through there while I enjoy my cup of coffee...

listening to birds and enjoying the woodsy nature

and we have been busy painting the furniture for the den and kitchen

soon, we will put up the shelving throughout the cottage for linens, pantry and such

the Lord willing

I realize that all our plans are only tentative, for...

Go to now, ye that say,

Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city,

and continue there a year, and buy and sell,

and get gain:

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.

For what is your life?

It is even a vapour,

that appeareth for a little time,

and then vanisheth away.

For that ye ought to say,

If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

James 4:13-15

May your day or night be the glory of God's will.

Gettin' Close, I Think

Well, we got the cows over to the new homestead

our neighbor used his truck to help us get them over there

the cows were a bit bewildered by the change in scenery...

but, from what I understand...

they gave no trouble getting up on the truck and doing what they needed to

that's pretty good considering they never had that experience before

I think the secret is taming them from a young age and keeping them that way

less apt to become frightened and be more cooperative

and because the area is more lush than our current location...

Ms. Ruthie Moo Moo's milk is richer

and yeah, when I went to take this photo of my husband milking Ms. Ruthie...

junior bull side stepped from his post and got into the picture

I was happy to see this...

The Fence going up

this ought to keep both our chickens and dogs inside our cottage compound area

you are seeing a lot of bush in there right now...

but, as soon as we get our goats in there after the gates are put up...

they will do the hard job (easy for them) and mow that all down

we will just let them free range in there until we see the dirt ground...

then take them on up to their own pasture grounds

yep, still working on the cottage

soon, soon, it will be completed

the kitchen and den side are completed...

and so, some of the guys walked in with the kitchen furniture

about a half mile walk over the river and through the woods

I gotta hand it to them...

they are strong men

even my hard working husband took something in...

the screen door to the kitchen back door

and while it is a "plain jane" door...

I do have some ideas to spiff it up with

we counted the cost of having a local man make the door...

versus buying an imported one

imported doors cost more than the locally made one...

even while having to put the hardware on ourselves

so, of course, we had our kitchen carpenter make one

so much better to give the job to the local people

and yes, while the painting has been accomplished...

the blue tape on the windows still need to be taken off

and there, you can see some of the kitchen hardware

the one on the far left is for my outdoor kitchen

and yes, we get to do the painting on this furniture

we will not have regular cabinets on the wall

I will talk about that later

so much for that March move in date that is long past

ah yes, so close and yet, so far away

I brought the dogs with me a couple of times to get acquainted with the new homestead

it seems to help settle pets in sooner...

and more comfortably if they are familiar with their new home

they did enjoy the spring creek water

in the meantime at the old homestead...

we harvested a big bowl of coffee beans and got to work cracking the shells open

I used the side of a light weight hammer and gently mashed them open

and there below, you can see the pulp that covers the actual coffee bean

once all the beans are out of their shells...

they are fermented for about a day or two and the pulp washed away in water

I put them on a tray and set them in the sun until they are good and dried...

and the hulls pop open so that the skin can be taken off

then they can be stored until roasted for the grinding into coffee powder

roasting the coffee beans in the pan takes some time and patience...

ideally, they should be a dark brown to almost black

it took about 45 minutes to get there as done in this photo

and it must be stirred almost constantly to keep them from burning

it shouldn't take that long and I'm pretty sure the heat wasn't high enough

next time, I will try the oven method and see how well that works

because I like pretzels and because I must be gluten free...

I made some home-made gluten free rod pretzels...

which turned out good enough to keep the recipe

only I misplaced the recipe and can't find it

bummers

we have so many citrus of all kinds on our trees...

they are falling to the ground

we have grapefruit, mandarins, tangerines, oranges, limes and lemons

we sell some and eat as many as we can...

but, the trees are still loaded

mandarins, anyone?

this used to be where our cocoa beans were drying...

but, this sweet hen decided it was a good enough place...

for laying her eggs

not so sure sitting on cocoa beans is so very comfortable

she obviously doesn't mind because she keeps going back to the same spot

an egg is an egg is an egg

better than traipsing through the bush looking for eggs laid by renegade hens

after this last photo, I took up the cocoa and put a towel down for her

she nestled it into a nice little cushy pile

Except the Lord build the house,

they labour in vain that build it:

except the Lord keep the city,

the watchman waketh but in vain.

Psalm 127:1

May your day or night be kept by the Lord's grace.