The official start of week 2 is knocking on my door with more demo progress being made daily. The icing on the cake? The weather has been beautiful for May in North Dakota (70-80 degrees). This has allowed for as much outdoor work as indoor; which along with the nice weather came far too much tick picking for my liking.
The dogs love the freedom 25 acres brings, but between you and me, it has made chores tough to complete. Until they learn their boundaries they must be constantly watched and reminded to stay close. Fortunately for me, I was able to repair and put together our second-hand dog kennel. It’s such sweet freedom to have the ducklings AND the dogs outside at the same time. Hallelujah!
I now had the time to give the yard some much needed attention! One look at the above after-shot of our raspberry row and I bet you can imagine how long these delicious little babies were neglected. Cane after cane of old, dead growth was removed. I elected not to cut the growing shoots down too far in the hope that we could have some degree of harvest this spring. Too much trimming probably would have been a shock to these old plants. Next year at this time they should be happy and healthy!
Once my husband and son were home for the day we trudged onward to demo a few things in the house. Carpets and padding were pulled along with random sections of old linoleum. I spent a good chunk of one day pulling staples and tack strips up so the floors would be ready for hardwood…eventually.
In the meantime, we still have plenty of work to keep us busy before our contractor comes in to do the big jobs (you’ll read about this as it happens, why ruin the surprise?). Taking one step at a time sounds easy but the logistics of this project is truly mind boggling. Somehow, amid all this mess, we still need to get a chicken/duck coop built, a garden dug up and an animal pen put in. I’m exhausted just thinking about it!
One thing I do know, for as tired and as sore as we’ve all been, we are thankful for this opportunity. There’s something to be said for working hard and knowing you are creating change…now if only our aching backs can keep up!
Dirt On My Plate 