Posts

As mentioned previously in another post, we plan on installing a woodstove and using that as our main heat source. We have two kerosene heaters, one in the main house and one in the apartment, but with K-1 at over $5/gallon, we really don't want to use those more than we have to.

In the main house there was already a brick stove hearth. It is a corner hearth with a thimble into the center chimney of the house. We've disconnected the boiler in the basement that was also using this chimney, and now the chimney can be solely used for the woodstove (as it should be).

This is what the hearth looked like when we got here:

The hearth was only about 41 inches deep from the corner out to the edges. It was used previously, we were told, for a small potbelly-type stove. However, when we started looking at woodstoves that were capable of heating the main house, we soon realized that they would not fit very well on that hearth.

At first we were going to just add a hearth extension, using ceramic tile on the floor, to give enough protection in front of any stove we installed (minimum is usually 16 to 18 inches from the door of the stove - note the burn marks in the old carpeting). However, another concern was that the hearth itself is VERY heavy, and we'd already bought and installed jack posts in the basement because of some concern about the support around the chimney. Adding 300lbs of cast iron stove on top of that just seemed a little scary. The more we thought about it, the more it seemed that we should just tear out the hearth and start over. We went to the stove store and talked to the woman there about stoves and clearances and showed her the picture above. She thought tearing it out was probably a good idea too.

Thus, when I got home from the stove store yesterday (Ken went back to work), I grabbed a small steel prybar, and a 24 oz framing hammer, and went to work on the hearth. The base came apart fairly easily, and I thought "this will be a piece of cake". When I got to the walls, however, it became apparent that I was going to have a lot more trouble. I started around 2pm, and by a little after 6pm (Ken was now home and helping carry buckets of bricks and mortar outside) this is where I was at:

Actually, from here on out, it started getting a little easier, for some reason. The lower rows of bricks just started popping out of the cement mortar a bit more readily. By 7:30 we had succeeded in completely removing the old hearth, and had swept and vacuumed up all the bit and pieces:

We removed probably half a ton of material, at least. Most of the bricks came out in one piece so we now have a nice pile of material outside to use for an outdoor fireplace.

The last bit I did this morning which was to pry up all the remaining floor tiles that had been left as a base under the hearth. That only took about 10 minutes.

NOW comes the fun part! We'd already selected and bought some 12 inch ceramic tiles when we were planning to just do a hearth extension, along with the cement board to go underneath (and all the thin-set and grout and tools and what-not). Now we need a couple more pieces of cement board for the walls and more tile to go up the walls to create a non-combustible protected surface. We're going to stay with the tiles we chose for the floor, but are going to pick some coordinating but lighter colored tiles for the walls. Also, you can see where the thimble is that the opening is framed in some dark pieces of wood. We're going to remove those and frame it with tile.

More posts and pics to come as the project progresses!

The older chicks from the first shipment, and the guineas, have been in the new coop for a few days now. They've had to stay inside because we did not yet have any fencing up around the coop to keep them contained and keep other things out. However, today was their big day. We finished putting up the 4 foot fence last night, and today I added the chicken wire to the inside all around the bottom. This is to keep the smaller chicks from simply running through the 2 x 3 inch holes in the fence mesh. It also reinforces the bottom a bit which may help keep at least the neighbors' cats from pushing their way underneath.

Anyhoo, once that was done and I'd also added chicken wire around the bottom of the coop to keep the chicks from running underneath, I opened the chicken door and waited to see who would be the first one out.

They were not in a hurry. I went inside. I came out later. There was ONE chick outside, peeping loudly. It was the NH Red chick, and I herded her back towards the coop from the fence corner she seemed to have gotten herself mentally stuck in. I went back inside. I came out again later. TWO chicks were now out, the first one plus the brown speckled chick (who's breed I'm not sure of). They were behind the coop pecking and scratching. I went back inside and came out later, yet again. The two chicks were back around the front by the chicken door. I had put a feeder outside but they apparently hadn't seen it, so I moved it a little closer to them and gave it a shake, and suddenly they realized what it was and came running. And, three of the broiler chicks saw it and came tumbling out the door and that was the beginning. Soon most of the broilers were outside discovering how to be real chickens. They pecked at the grass, and bits of dirt, and ran around flapping, and generally a good time was had by all.

This is the coop sans fence:

"Should I or shouldn't I?"

Not sure what this one is either.

The broiler chick and the NH Red chick seen here are the same age!

Everyone enjoying the day.

Mt. Healthy Hatcheries sent us some of the replacements on Monday for the chicks that died in shipping previously (see earlier post). I have to commend this business for their prompt response. Even though the fault was with USPS, they have replaced all the chicks and more (I now have 20 broilers instead of the original 12 I ordered). But these below are laying breeds - Araucana, Golden Laced Wyandottes, and New Hampshire Reds. Still to come (tomorrow!) are the remaining replacements - Speckled Sussex, and Partridge Rocks.

This is my favorite chick so far. She's an Araucana and is already showing the ear tufts and beard features that this breed sometimes exhibits, although it's not easy to see from this angle.

Our newest additions to the farm are 8 guinea keets, or baby guinea fowl. They are around two weeks old, give or take a few days. Their main claim to fame is that they eat bugs almost exclusively, along with a few seeds here and there. They also are very alert to anything strange in their territory and will sound a loud alarm call. We are mainly hoping that once they are allowed to free range they will keep the tick population around here in check, as it is very very bad. And I hope that they won't disturb anyone with their funny calls.

Once we get the coop finished, they can move out there and learn that it is their home, so they don't wander off and will come back each night. Apparently it takes a few weeks to imprint them on their home base, so they'll have to stay in the coop until that process is complete, and until they are big enough to safely let outside.

So today we were working on getting the last few details of the coop done. Ken worked on the wiring, and I worked on building a "chicken door", which is the small drop down door that the birds will use to go in and out. The last bit that still needs to be done is using hardware cloth to close the gaps at the top of the coop where the rafters overhang so that nothing can get inside up there. It will be nice ventilation but without the wire, a fisher could potentially climb the coop and drop down inside to have a chicken or guinea dinner.

As the plants come into bloom around here, there are many that I am unfamiliar with. One of my favorite websites is Dave's Garden. They have a forum there where you can post a picture of your mystery plant and usually within minutes you'll have one or more posts answering your question. Here are some of the plants identified for me recently:

Oenothera spp. - Evening primrose

Lamium maculatum - Spotted Dead Nettle (such an odd name for such a pretty plant)

Tradescantia x andersoniana - Virgina Spiderwort, possibly cultivar "J.C. Weguelin"

Valeriana officinalis - Valerian

Achillea millefolium - Yarrow, probably the native variety

Malva moschata - Musk Mallow