Farm Use

JP was almost giddy as the big truck from Knight's drove up the lane yesterday, bearing his new tractor.



The girls were pretty pleased with it themselves, and begged rides.



It's very red and clean and shiny...and BIG!



We have already used it to bring an old bale of hay down from the neighbor's upper field to mulch the garden with.

Barn Raising - Day 4

Today is the one year anniversary of living in the house on Poplar Ridge. How fitting that the barn was completed around lunch time yesterday. Now it appears that we have a compound up here on the hill!

Unfortunately, the crew left the metal siding lying in the mud, so it's really dirty, we'll have to hose it off eventually.

The new tractor is due tomorrow to live in the barn.

So Long Old Red

Our Super-Duper Handy Man came this morning, strapped Old Red on his trailer, and took it away. The thing died over the weekend...won't start. So it appears that JP and my Dad are getting their wishes of having a BIGGER tractor on Poplar Ridge granted. Perhaps it will even be here in time to initiate the new barn (tentative start date 6/23/10).

house cleaning avoidance

It's a hot one today, at least 84* outside, and only the beginning of April! We spent most of the day outside already, at the greenhouse/nursery and at the playground with friends. This is my way of avoiding the house cleaning that I usually try to get done on Friday afternoons. The house is relatively cool, 74*, with all the shades drawn all day.

Today was shrub purchasing day! I bought:


2 Japanese Andromedas and a Cotoneaster



7 little Boxwoods all in a row

and a Harry Lauder's Walking Stick (which hasn't made it out to the house yet as it got lost in my friends' forsythia.)

We bought this yesterday for digging holes.



But today the tractor looks like this.



Bad luck!

Ooooh...shiny!

We recently realized that our 2 year old cookware, while it is stainless steel, is not magnetic, and therefore will not work on our new induction range. We have been scrambling the past few weeks, trying to find a good deal on All-Clad, a brand of stainless cookware guaranteed to work with induction. In the process, we learned that All-Clad is manufactured right here in Southwestern Pennsylvania. This morning we got up bright and early and drove to the Washington Fairgrounds for the annual All-Clad factory clearance sale. We managed to put together what we needed for less than usual, and before it got too crowded! This roasting pan was not on the list, but something I've wanted for quite a while.

The crew was nearly done putting in our shiny new oak flooring by the time I arrived this afternoon.

Our handyman/all-around-good-guy found this box blade for the tractor. JP has been shopping around for one since we got the tractor. This will be used to keep the driveway smoothed out, and to smooth off all the ground before we plant grass.

New tile in our Laundry nook

I also managed to get 2 coats of sealer on the cork flooring in the Library, and take a walk in the woods with the girls. The girls managed to rearrange everything in the van.

Our New Toy

I made it up to Poplar Ridge almost every day this past week, so I don't have much new to report. The BIG news is that on Friday, after nearly a year of looking, hubby finally found a tractor that comes close to meeting all of his requirements.

It is a 1996 Massey Ferguson, with only 500-some hours on it. It came with the front end loader and brush hog. The important thing is that it is 4 Wheel Drive, in order to navigate our hill. It isn't beautiful, but meant to be our "starter" tractor.

The vacuum guys finished up their preliminary work on Thursday. They will be back after drywall and painting to put in the unit and hoses.

The builders have most of the duct work in, and started working on the porch eaves and breezeway. Next week is the week of inspections, as we are expecting to begin drywalling a week from tomorrow.

The well man should be up soon to put in the holding tank, and to hook up the water from the well.

We have had several other visitors to the building site in the past couple of days: Raccoons...

And cows!

We made a very unsuccessful shopping trip to Lowe's on Saturday. Our list was long: light fixtures, kitchen counters, bathroom tiles and paint. We came home with one light fixture, only 20 more or so to go! The choices are overwhelming, and sometimes, as was the case with the tiles, too limited. Perhaps we will try again next weekend, but get a babysitter first!