Pa Gets His Walden Freak On

It has been a while since I have updated the progress at the farm. Construction was slowed way down this summer due to so much going on with my mom and to the extreme heat we experienced in late July through mid August. This Labor Day Weekend has been wonderful both weather and temperature wise. We have been out working at the land for most of it.

The barn is mostly complete. The lower walls are not on yet, but it basically provides us with shelter to store building materials which is what we wanted. Here are a couple of pictures


Pa has moved on to building a small (think Walden) cabin. He has been working diligently lately and has finished the foundation, the floor joists, framed the walls, and put the exterior sheathing on. Next he will work on the loft floor and then the roof. We plan to use this cabin on the weekends while we work on the farm and build the real house. This way we will have a place to escape to for breaks and meals. Here are a couple of pictures.

This fall we will get the portion of the field we don't currently have leased to a farmer cleaned up and fenced. We plan to plant pasture grasses and get a few goats and maybe a few chickens as well as get ready to plant a kitchen garden, with okra of course, for the spring.


The kids all protested spending entire days out at the land although they quickly busied themselves with filling in holes, cutting a path through the brush to the barn, sawing where Pa needed it, collecting nails, and discovering an abandoned hummingbird's nest and a black widow spider. Here are some utterances I overheard from the kids this weekend even though it was the last place they claimed they wanted to be.

Mr. Garvey: Sam, you didn't play with any of the toys you brought.
Mr. Laura: I know, but this work is just too much fun.

Mr. Garvey: Can we come everyday and do this?

Mr. Laura: This is so nice to have our whole family playing, I mean working, together.

Miss Almanzo and Mary: "It's my turn to saw.", "No it isn't.", "Yes it is.", "No it isn't.", "Yes it is.".......

Mr. Edwards: I am so mad that I have to go out there today. It will be so boring.
Mr. Edwards (after 10 minutes of being at the land): Wow I didn't expect this to be so much fun.


All: Do we really have to go home already?