Portage River Farm
Notes on our struggles and successes on our family farm in rural Michigan.
(Pinckney, Michigan)
05 May Tue 2009
Part Time Projects and the Coop Foundation
Weekday evenings can be frustratingly short. Lately I have been working at my company's headquarters which is a 50 minute drive away from our farm. I turn into the driveway each evening with so much anticipation for my projects that I'm surprised that I don't jump from the car while it is still rolling. This can be a bit of a problem in a number of ways including the fact that Janet is often anticipating my arrival so I can help with things around the house such as dinner, the dogs, kids' homework, home repair issues, etc. I do my best to keep things in perspective and remember that my part-time farming needs to be balanced against my full-time roles of husband, father and engineer.
As soon as I can, I head out to the yard to begin my daily losing race with the sun. Most evenings will find me up as late as I can stand trying to make good use of the time. More than a few nights this has resulted in me being reprimanded for making noise while others are trying to sleep. I creep around as quietly as I can, often doing work outside by moonlight or with a headlamp strapped to my head. As long as I make some progress each day, I mostly manage to keep my frustration at bay.
After three days of messing around with dirt, rocks and cement, I'm pleased to report that the coop construction project can finally move on to the building phase. I'm sure I'll regret it soon, but I've really been looking forward to grabbing a handful of nails and beginning to swing my hammer.
As you can hopefully see from the photo, I now have ten little cement piers with anchor bolts prepared to support the building. The children added the final touch by writing their initials into the last pier before the cement hardened.
Last night I picked up a box of nails, forty 2"x6" boards for framing in the floor and carriage bolts to attach it to the foundation. I added them to the big pile of 2"x4"s that a family friend donated and called it quits for the night. As always, I was sorely tempted to keep going, but I know my family and neighbors would not have been willing to endure my hammering and sawing into the night.
As soon as I can, I head out to the yard to begin my daily losing race with the sun. Most evenings will find me up as late as I can stand trying to make good use of the time. More than a few nights this has resulted in me being reprimanded for making noise while others are trying to sleep. I creep around as quietly as I can, often doing work outside by moonlight or with a headlamp strapped to my head. As long as I make some progress each day, I mostly manage to keep my frustration at bay.
After three days of messing around with dirt, rocks and cement, I'm pleased to report that the coop construction project can finally move on to the building phase. I'm sure I'll regret it soon, but I've really been looking forward to grabbing a handful of nails and beginning to swing my hammer.
As you can hopefully see from the photo, I now have ten little cement piers with anchor bolts prepared to support the building. The children added the final touch by writing their initials into the last pier before the cement hardened.
Last night I picked up a box of nails, forty 2"x6" boards for framing in the floor and carriage bolts to attach it to the foundation. I added them to the big pile of 2"x4"s that a family friend donated and called it quits for the night. As always, I was sorely tempted to keep going, but I know my family and neighbors would not have been willing to endure my hammering and sawing into the night.
John_3
12:00 AM EDT
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