New Roof, Day 1

We are on our way to having a new roof! After the rain delayed the start of the job by a few days, the crew arrived bright and early this morning to begin tear-off. Warning: this post is image heavy, as I updated it throughout the day to show the progress.

 

This is the last picture I will have of my beautiful old chimneys. I agreed to the removal of them simply because I DO realize that they would always be a leak liability. Also, the mortar between the bricks was so crumbly and missing in places, they really needed to go. Rest assured though, true to my genes, I have saved them and will re-use them in a future project!

Removing the chimneys.

All that is left of my chimneys. These bricks will find a new home, most likely in landscaping, somewhere on the farm.

 

All asphalt and shake shingles are now removed from this part of the roof.

With the entire front side's shingles removed, you can now see daylight through the hole in the backside of the roof.

Laying the decking.

There were numerous nests found within the soffits.

While new decking is being laid on the upper roof, they begin work removing what looks like just two layers of asphalt shingles from the 70's addition.

I can't wait to see how it all looks tomorrow!

 

 

They made really good progress today, considering that this was not just a simple, straight-forward, re-shingling. By the end of the day, they got all of this side of the 70s addition shingled, and about half of the front side of the upper story. The upper story is VERY steep, so it was pretty slow going. They also repaired or replaced any rotten soffit and fascia boards that needed it,

and installed soffit vents.

 

Be sure to check out Day 2 for more updates to the roofing project! 

 



Staying Cool: Chicken-Style

Though the temperatures are dropping for the most part, we still occasionally have days that get up into the mid-90s. So, finding chickens cooling themselves in dirt-holes that they've dug is still an ordinary sight around here. This hen found a nice spot at the base of a tree. 

Floor Love

I am SO in love with our Parlor floor. After moving everything but the piano out of the parlor yesterday, we put three coats of polyurethane on it. I absolutely LOVE how it looks!

 

 

Here it is "before". We had decided to leave it as-is. No sanding or stripping of any of the old finish. It was all so worn down and dull, but had a few areas where you could see a different shade of old stain.

 

We used Varathane Floor Finish in oil-based gloss.  

 

The whole process was so exciting to watch! I loved seeing all the rich colors show through.  

All the old blemishes and color-variances show up, just exactly like I wanted. This is an old farm-house, and has been lived in and loved for many many years. I didn't want to strip all that away. It is just one of the beautiful reasons why I love old houses... they have character. 

 

All together we put three coats on. In three days-time we'll be able to move the piano and do that area. I love seeing how this room is being transformed into something beautiful! Below is a shot without the camera flash.



Spring Again?

After the total devastation caused by the grasshoppers this summer, I was shocked to find that our trees that were completely stripped of all their leaves have new growth on them!

 

 

I'm so glad to see life in the trees once again. It was beginning to look like winter, with all the dead, brown grass and bare trees. Thankfully, we've had some good rains in August, and not only are the trees and green grass coming back, but the grasshopper population has decreased significantly.



Furry Friday

The View

As Isaac moves into the mainland, the effects for us *should* only be some good amounts of rain. Hopefully nothing severe. Here's the view this evening as the clouds start moving in.

 

And this was about an hour later:

Barnyard Lookout

Out of all of our roosters, and let's face it, we have more than enough, this one has really caught my eye. I love the spots around his "shoulders."

A Roof Over Our Heads

We knew when we bought this place that the roof was in deplorable questionable condition. And now that we've been here just over a year, we've come to realize the full extent of just how bad the roof is.

But change is on it's way. We're getting a new roof! All new shingles, new decking where needed (the entire original roof has no decking... just old shake shingles nailed into tiny slats of wood), and roof/attic venting throughout.

 

This is a very exciting time in our lives!

Take a look at the "before" pictures, and in a week or two I hope to post some "afters."

 

When it rains, we can literally see more shingles flying off the roof, either in chunks or full pieces. And let's not even get me started on having to use all my pots and pans to collect the leaking water! I cannot wait until I no longer have to worry about that!

County Fair Horse Show

We had such a good time watching our oldest daughter at the County Fair Horse Show on Saturday. The show had a really nice turnout- lots of BIG classes and tough competition! Here are a few pictures of her showing some of my sister's horses:

 

Getting instructions from the ring-steward.



Big showmanship class!

 Waiting in the wings for the next class.

 

 

 

 Tough competition!

 

Overall, she did very well, considering how large the classes were. She even got third place in the championship class- just missing Reserve Champion!



Massacre!

We had some fence failures last night that I was unable to fix, and I knew that I would wake up to some drama this morning. And sure enough, I was right.

 

Two young roosters and a hen... cut down in the prime of life by none-other, than this:

 

Please don't let her sweet face and wagging tail mislead you. Meadow is one cold-blooded chicken killer who literally goes INSANE when there are chickens nearby. She is the most hyper dog I've ever known, and I don't think she can ever be cured of her bloodlust. She was so proud of the third and final chicken she killed this morning. She brought it to me as if to say,

"Look mom! I made breakfast!"



And yet the chickens will undoubtedly continue to fly over the chainlink fence to venture onto the killing grounds, also known as our backyard. Meadow is only tied up temporarily. Once the fences are fixed, I will be letting her go again... and then it's every chicken for his or herself.

All the Pretty Horses

I know it's been a while since I posted anything new about the horses. Well, tonight at feeding-time I took the camera out with me. The lighting was beautiful, and the subjects make it awfully easy to take too many pictures. Here are just a few:

 

Here they are, waiting for me at the gate. They see me come out of the house, and come to the gate

whether it's feeding time or not, always hoping for treats, or attention, or both.

Zander is always the first one to greet me. He's also the first to get fed. He's the alpha horse in this 2-horse herd. And that explains why he's also the fattest.

 

The sky was lovely, with the soft hues of the oncoming sunset and the little moon, high up in the sky.

The horses' attention was drawn by the neighbors Paint mare, who had escaped her pasture to come and visit us on the other side of our fence. Right after I took the above two pictures, Zander and Zorro took off running to greet her....

 

and then they promptly turned back and came running for their food.

These guys just don't miss any meals.



Here they are, happily eating away, while the chickens circle like vultures, waiting for any morsel to drop to the ground. They usually end up pretty disappointed, as the horses do a good job of cleaning their plates.



Prettied-Up Bedroom

"Thrilled" cannot even begin to describe how I feel about our bedroom. It's finally starting to look pretty! I hung our newly made barnwood sign over our bed, and placed some old chippy drawers on either side. I then found some junk knick-knacks lying around to decorate the drawer/shelves and here we go! I am so happy with the way it all came together! Take a look:

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