I will admit I prayed pretty hard and regularly for better weather as the forecast was for 80% chance of snow/rain/ice on both Saturday and Sunday. Not nice weather for the guys to be working on the roof, way up in the trees! Saturday dawned sunny and bright although heavy frost was on the ground. David went out on stand to wait for the frost to melt off. He did see five deer but they included a doe, twin fawns, and two yearlings. He won’t shoot a mom with fawns and the yearlings are too small. We much prefer to harvest a big, dry doe or a fork-horn buck as there is more meat. Sure, a big buck would be nice but we really aren’t antler hunters; it’s more about the meat. After four hours, David came in. The frost was going fast and we needed to get to work while the weather was nice.

David cleaning up Saturday morning before work starts.

Due to my bum knee, I’ve been designated the official gopher-gal. But that’s okay as with Will and David up on the roof, it sure saves them time and lots of climbing when I can run for nails, screws, tools, batteries, and hand up sheets of OSB and Rex synthetic roofing felt. The work went nicely without a hitch and by dark, we had all of the roof sheeted and covered with Rex-wrap. Just the three dormers were left to do. (Oh please don’t snow or rain on Sunday…) Sunday dawned cloudy but no rain or snow. David only hunted for an hour then came in saying there was a big weather system moving toward us. Meanwhile, Ashley came over, bringing with her a gallon and half of vegetable beef soup she wanted to can up. She has never canned by herself, so I stayed home to help her while Will and David headed for the cabin. After the soup was in the pressure canner, Ashley went over to take my place as the gopher-gal. After an hour, she was back; she wasn’t dressed for cold weather (yoga pants and Crocs) and the weather was getting worse. I didn’t dare leave her with the canner, which was processing for 90 minutes. But Will and David made out okay, despite a cold drizzle that made walking on the OSB and Rex-wrap difficult.

With David on the roof, nailing down sheeting, Will was kept busy cutting OSB.

Ashley warmed up and drove her car over to the cabin so she could warm up in between gopher-ing. I finished the canning and went down to water the horses and cattle which Will had shut in his new corral.

By nightfall, the guys came in, cold and damp. But the entire roof was weather-tight! Yea! While I was watering the stock, I watched two bucks chasing around in our pasture! Yup, they’re out there…

The insulated pipe from the house to the boiler is in. Will laid pieces of insulation board on top of it to guard against freeze-up during the winter.
With everything underground finished, Will filled in the ditches with the tractor and will grade it smooth with a rock rake soon.

Meanwhile, Will has finished the plumbing/wiring for both the new-to-us wood boiler and the solar array. Now the ditches are filled in and the area rough-graded. Our friend has a landscape rake that goes on the 3-point of the tractor and Will is going to use that to rake off the rocks and smooth the driveway. I’m already planning flower beds below the solar array! — Jackie

14 COMMENTS

  1. We just get a lot done because we keep at it. No daytime TV, video games, eating out or naps for sure! I’m glad I can blog and keep in contact with my BHM family.

  2. Hurray for the progress made on David’s new place and for Ashley learning to can up soup! Hoping for some more good weather for you.

    • Thank you Miss Iris! We’re so glad, too. That was the biggest job and now that’s done. Onward…..

  4. Hi Jackie,glad David and Will got the roof finished. What source of heat is David planning for his home? I know there is a lot of work yet to do, but he is making a a big headway.

    • He’s going to heat with a wood stove but also have propane as a backup, as we do. Just in case they have to be gone for a longer period of time.

  5. Whew! The roof is on on David and Ashley’s cabin! Such a relief for all of you. And so many chores accomplished before the real winter weather kicks in. You are truly inspiring. Thanks for letting us experience your life second hand through this blog and what is possible with ingenuity, thrift and hard work!

    • And we are constantly amazed at what CAN be accomplished with these three things. We are so thankful.

  6. Winter and it’s approach makes us all scramble–trying to get it all done. Some of the things I’ve neglected and now bang the weather is going to change. I have our outside stove going and it’s supposed to snow here this weekend. I finally got all the tires fixed/replaced on our feed wagons. The hay processor is ready to go. There will be something I forgot. I’ve been keeping a log book of the annual things that MUST be done before winter–so hopefully I miss less items. Congratulations on getting the roof done and no one hurt.

    • Thank you Everett! Yep, we’re in that mode too. And snow came last night and we think it’ll stick around till spring. Boo hoo. But we’ve got about everything handled (until we remember something that wasn’t done…)

  8. You all get more done than anyone I know! Glad you accomplished so much this weekend, especially getting the roof on. Lots less to worry about for you. Thanks for taking time to blog. Always look forward to seeing what’s going on with you all.

Comments are closed.