Posts

Doesn't it seem that projects are always getting interrupted by something? For instance, one project we have is to be able to move into the "master" bedroom in the main house. When we first moved in, we found that it was physically impossible to get a full size boxspring up the stairs to the bedroom. The stairs are located in the dining room, and they end about two feet from the wall. The ceilings of this house are also barely 7 feet high, and the opening between the top of the bannister and the ceiling and the short spacing from the end of the bannister (which has a nice big finial on the newel post) to the wall combine to make it impossible to get a stiff boxspring up the stairs. The mattress went up because it's flexible. They must have only put twin beds up there in the past.

Anyway, for a few days we slept on the mattress which was placed directly on the floor, but that didn't last long. We moved over into the guest room in the apartment. But, all our clothes are in the closets in the master bedroom, so it's a lot of back and forth and up and down to get dressed in the morning.

We do have a metal bed frame but it's pretty useless without a boxspring for support. However, last Saturday we went to the Remick Museum's barn sale. The Remick is a historical museum and working farm right in Tamworth village. At the sale they had a lot of different items, from computers and printers to old glass bottles and wooden tools, and everything in between, AND, they had a couple of old wooden bed frames. One caught our eye and we snapped it up for $50. It was marked "chestnut?" and has a solid headboard and footboard. We like it a lot, whether it's chestnut or not, and here it is:

Notice however that the bed slats are not installed. This is because when I went to lay them across the frame, they didn't fit. They're too short. Somehow, somewhere, the bed slats that went with this bed got misplaced. Either we got the bed slats for the other bed frame that was at the sale, or something else happened. I've emailed the folks at the Remick and they emailed back to let me know that the people in charge of the barn sale are on vacation but she'll let them know and maybe they'll be able to find the original slats.

So now we are on hold again until we can find out if we'll be able to get the right slats. Otherwise I guess we will have to purchase some boards and make our own. Then we'll construct a "boxspring" out of 1 x 8 boards and plywood to fit inside the frame. It will sort of end up being like a platform bed, but surrounded by the old wooden frame.

Ken and I haven't had time to do much just for fun this summer. Plus, the weather has been generally rainy and dreary and cool all summer, except for a brief period of scorching heat in late May/early June. The last two Sundays however have been sunny, at least part of the day, and we have taken ourselves over to Chocorua Lake in Tamworth. There is a section that is reserved for Tamworth residents. You can sit by the lake, fish, swim, kayak, or canoe, but no motorized boats are allowed on the lake, and no cooking or camping on the shoreline is permitted. We decided to go over and see how the swimming was.

The first time we went, we got in a short swim before the clouds rolled in with rain and thunder. This last Sunday we were able to stay longer. I think the lake is probably a bit cooler than it normally would be in August, just because we've had so little sun this year. I also brought my camera and took a few photos. Here are a couple. There was a windsurfer across the lake taking advantage of the slight breeze and I zoomed in as much as the camera would allow.

Two Sundays ago a major thunderstorm parked itself over our house, and zapped us with lightning twice (so much for that old saying). It took out two computers, the cable/internet service, the Vonage phone router, both of our fence chargers, and, we just found out tonight, the two GFI outlets associated with the chargers. The outlets were still working, but one would no longer trip if you pushed the "test" button, and the other could be tripped but then wouldn't reset.

The cable/internet was restored by the next day, and Vonage sent us a new box so that was fixed by last Thursday. Fortunately we had two spare fence chargers, but they aren't quite as good as the originals, so they'll need to be replaced sometime soon. Ken is still working on the computers, and he replaced one GFI outlet tonight.

We are getting estimates for having our roof redone, and we're going to include lightning rods in the new roof. And of course now we run around and unplug everything if we think lightning might be close by. What a pain. Ah well.

In other news, I've started processing our broilers. Two were done yesterday and three more today. I can't do too many more until we get a chest freezer. However, we ate fresh herb-and-olive oil-basted chicken breast tonight with roasted potatoes, and carrots, and boy was it delicious. If we were to add up the cost of buying the broiler chicks, and the feed costs, and divide by their combined weight, it would probably be more expensive than buying chicken at the store. But, we know that they lived happy chicken lives, and you can't get fresher chicken than when it comes right out of your back yard.

Today the sheep are helping to mow the lawn (hey, if I don't have to do it, why should I...) so I was able to get some good photos. Here are a few:

Remember that old camp song? One group would sing with another group echoing the lines:

The other day,
(The other day)
I met a bear,
(I met a bear)
Away up there,
(Away up there)
A great big bear!
(A great big bear!)

The other day I met a bear,
A great big bear a way up there!

He looked at me
(He looked at me)
I looked at him
(I looked at him)
He sized up me
(He sized up me)
I sized up him
(I sized up him)

He looked at me, I looked at him,
He sized up me, I sized up him.

He said to me
(He said to me)
"Why don't you run?
("Why don't you run?)
I see you don't
(I see you don't)
Have any gun"
(Have any gun")

He said to me, "Why don't you run?
I see you don't have any gun."

And so I ran
(And so I ran)
Away from there
(Away from there)
And right behind
(And right behind)
Me was that bear
(Me was that bear)

And so I ran away from there,
And right behind me was a that bear.

Ahead of me
(Ahead of me)
I saw a tree
(I saw a tree)
A great big tree
(A great big tree)
Oh, golly gee!
(Oh, golly gee!)

Ahead of me there was a tree,
A great big tree, oh, golly gee!

The lowest branch
(The lowest branch)
Was ten feet up
(Was ten feet up)
I had to jump
(I had to jump)
And trust my luck
(And trust my luck)

The lowest branch was ten feet up,
I had to jump and trust my luck.

And so I jumped
(And so I jumped)
Into the air
(Into the air)
And missed that branch
(And missed that branch)
Away up there
(Away up there)

And so I jumped into the air,
And missed that branch away up there.

Now don't you fret
(Now don't you fret)
And don't you frown
(And don't you frown)
I caught that branch
(I caught that branch)
On the way back down
(On the way back down)

Now don't you fret and don't you frown,
I caught that branch on the way back down.

That's all there is
(That's all there is)
There is no more
(There is no more)
Until I meet
(Until I meet)
That bear once more
(That bear once more)

That's all there is, there is no more,
Until I meet that bear once more.

The end, the end
(The end, the end)
The end, the end
(The end, the end)
The end, the end
(The end, the end)
The end, the end!
(The end, the end!)

The end, the end, the end, the end,
This time it really is the end!

Well, we sure hope it is the end, but we suspect that it is not. Today I had my first up close and personal bear encounter. At about 5pm I looked out our laundry room window, which faces the chicken coop, and there was a black bear inside the fence, with a chicken in his mouth. I said "Oh, SHOOT" and ran out the back door yelling. I shouted at him and he picked up his chicken and went toward the back of the chicken yard. I had to go around the fenced yard to get to the back and when I got there, he was already in the woods. I walked over that way to see where he was, and he had stopped (with my chicken!) about 30 yards into the woods. I shouted and waved and jumped up and down, and he just looked at me. I picked up a stick and threw it and he turned to leave but then turned back because he'd forgotten his dinner! I found a good sized rock, moved to my left a little where I could get a better view, and shouted and threw it at him. That got his attention and he turned and trotted down the hill.

Sheesh!

Luckily, he must have just gotten into the yard and killed the chicken when I saw him. The rest of the birds were still in the coop and some even out in the yard. I had left the big door open so fortunately he was not actually in the coop, which I'm sure he would have been before much more time had passed.

At about that time Ken happened to call as he was just leaving work and wanted to know if we needed anything from the store. I said "bear repellent?" and told him what happened. It was our fault really, because while we had fenced the yard, we had not put up the electric yet, and so the bear basically just crushed the fence down and climbed over. So while Ken was on his way home, I started attaching insulators to the fence posts. After Ken got home, we replaced the fence post at the back corner which was bent inwards at the bottom, and added two more fence posts to reinforce the mesh fencing in a couple spots. Then I started stringing wire. We have one at the top and one on stand-off insulators about half way down. Ken mounted a 3-mile charger inside the coop, attached it to the ground, and ran the wire to the fence. It's providing 2000V per a voltage tester, which we hope is enough deterrent. We may have to put a stronger charger up if recommended - we need to contact Fish & Game and see what they say. I'd prefer about 5000V myself...

Oh, and it's time to get out the shotgun and give it a good cleaning. ;-)