...soon! Very soon!
Photo-taking will accompany their arrival, of course. I can't wait to bring them home!
The shed is currently the repository of unwanted junk left there by previous owners, and it is beginning to lean...but a couple of burrowing animals have taken up residence underneath it, so it seems a shame to bring it down. Restoring it, on the other hand, is a project for which I simply do not have time.
I suppose the wood can be reclaimed for some purpose or other...it is silvery and shot through with sienna, and not in terrible shape. Picture frames? What else can be done with splendid old wood (besides the obvious)? I love old stuff, and really don't like the American tendency to knock everything over and pulverize it into dust simply because it has gotten a few years (or miles) on it.
The shed would also make a somewhat wistful painting, with the great dead pine trees behind it. Maybe once the weather warms up again...
However, we did finally make it to the sawmill and discovered that a truck bed full of sawdust for the stalls is only $8 (and we don't even have to load it).
And...I scored BIG last night at an architectural salvage yard where I found the doors pictured above - solid wood, both pieces (four panels) for a grand total of $14. I had actually gone in search of loose table legs (I was recently given an antique solid wood exterior door, perfect to make into a new dining room table - but it needs legs). Table legs of the appropriate style and size were in short supply, but lo, I turned the corner and found these cool doors...and what a deal!
I am thinking about sanding them to a silky smooth finish, applying some really interesting (possibly ethnic) designs, and using aniline dyes to add some subtle color...the usual sand-stain-and-polyurethane doesn't seem to be...well, the right approach.
Add hand-forged hinges and latches, and voila! instant room divider or large window privacy screen.
What do you think? Good plan?
Edit: The glazing is working out pretty well and is adding a lot of depth to the color. Will post an update in a few days.
Also working on two portraits and a mandala, so I should have some new stuff to post fairly soon - or at least more "in-progress" pieces.
I think I may try making crock-pot yogurt today. There is a small, family run dairy farm near us that sells raw milk. I also have a recipe for making butter - wonder how that will turn out? However, with butter approaching $5.00/pound in the stores, I think I ought to negotiate the learning curve.
Plans are tentatively in the works to plant an orchard next year...
Lot of work to do today. It's cold, but we need to get outside and get going.
The ladies, for their part, made themselves quite at home. They moved in, redecorated a bit, took over "S's" favorite spot on the roost and even pecked at him a little. By evening everyone was in the run, playing and running about and "S" was busy overseeing his new charges.
So far, so good.
Beautiful bird, though - social and gregarious for a nine-week old chicken.
There are some additional details to attend to, but hardest part is finally complete. I am beyond sore and extremely tired; however, I fell asleep too early in the evening (napped, really), now I'm awake and annoyed with myself.
The only remedy for this state of affairs is a good book.
The photo illustrates that we couldn't make up our minds whether to pound the fence posts into the ground (Method 1), or use an auger to drill holes and pour concrete to fix the posts (Method 2).
So we took a chain saw and shaved off a bit of each post, anticipating that, yeah, Method 1 was the way to go. However, when it became clear that we were not going to be able to obtain the necessary equipment (an apparently Herculean task) to have a go at Method 1, we decided we liked Method 2 better anyway. Hence the pointy posts turned upside-down in the post holes, and a paddock that is somewhat reminiscent of a medieval encampment, surrounded by pikes.
Anything potentially dangerous to the horses will be removed before they even lay eyes on their new digs. Safety first!
(More art to come, btw...I've been gourding, and two new drawings are in the works. Studio time - tomorrow, absolutely, even if I have to drag myself up there, which seems rather likely.)
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