In between all the rain showers Boxes in Fields continued to move forward with the plans for the house box. Beam materials were ordered and delivered, plans on how to lift the box in the air were finalized, and designs for the house were ran for strength and integrity against hurricane forces. First things first a chunk of beam leftover from before Harvey was dug out of the scrap pile. Not being used for any structural purposed, the Planner was…
Global Climate. The other day the Kid came home from school all hot and bothered because his school friend couldn’t understand the difference between climate and weather. He said if his friend can’t understand the basic level between those two then there is no helping his friend for global warming. And global warming is a real deal. Since living here I have been telling anyone who will listen that the scientist need to be recording the wind records for global…
Since before I can remember I knew what my life choices were going to be. I was going to marry a poor farmer, live in a poor house and raise poor children. We would have a garden, chickens, and a goat. We would be happy because we had love, lots and lots of love, and life would be just as I wanted. Well I did marry a poor farmer who then when to college. We do not live a poor…
There are no words to describe how happy we are today. In 21 days we will be even happier.
Have you ever seen a skid-o-can, a port-o-potty, a poly-john? Yes you say at any festival event not held on a permanent location. Have you ever seen one two feet in the air? No, didn’t think so. Every outbuilding over 100sft and any building with electrical and/or sewer must meet flood requirements. For Boxes in Fields that is four feet plus depending upon location. Weeeeeelllll, the outhouse (bathroom outside to you city dwellers) is not four feet in the air…
When Hurricane Harvey blew through in 2017 many local residents were quick to remove downed trees even though all the extension services said to wait until the fall to allow time for the trees to recover. Boxes in Fields followed the experts and lost very few trees relatively speaking. When the Great Freeze of 2021 blew through two months ago the experts were immediately posting the same thing, wait until spring is fully in bloom to remove foliage. Boxes in…
Doesn’t it always seem that by the time you figure something out it is almost over. Like college for example. It was the end of my junior year before I finally figured out what combination of individual study, teacher group tutoring, and extra homework was needed in order to secure an A/B average. Now it is COVID. Just a few months into a new year of living in the world after COVID, Boxes in Fields has finally found its grove…
Well it’s done. Three months from the first ditch being dug stake was hammered into the ground, two months since the last form board was hammered into place, just under one month since the first rebar was laid, the concrete pad has been exposed to its true identity. To remove the form boards turned out to be more work than installing them. All of the sand that was tossed from the ditches out had to be removed. This was bucket…
Sometimes things are scheduled for difficult but in the end are relatively easy. Sometimes things are scheduled for easy but then turn difficult. Sometimes things are scheduled but then the whole thing schedule falls apart. When Boxes in Fields poured concrete footings for the Shop Box with a hand mixer, we were fully aware the work would be hard and time consuming. The work was what it was but in the end was not as difficult as originally thought. When…
UGH. SO. COLD. Eleven days. Eleven days of bitter cold weather. An arctic blast from Canada the weather man said. Just a few days of below freezing temperatures and very high winds. Just a few days they said. It started the last day the concrete crew arrived. By mid morning that Thursday the crew were gone and weather was dropping. By early afternoon all the tropical plants were wrapped in towels and covered in plastic. By mid afternoon the chickens…
And so we wait for rain… And rain it did. Water standing deep enough the waterproof boots were water logged. Trying to keep on schedule despite the weather, the Planner continued with concrete pad preparations. There were end bed plates to make and water lines to lay in the ditch between the two boxes. The plastic wrap did keep the water from soaking into the form boards but it did not hold up to the endless wind and had to…
No better way to wrap up a busy week than with twelve fluffy chicks. The old stock has dwindled down to just a few and they lay eggs very irregularly. Four Ameraucana (no pictures taken) because colored eggs taste better (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it)… two Black Sex Link because even though Squawky McSquawkerson is loud and boisterous she is a good hen… two Buff Orpingtons because they are supposedly docile enough to hold… two Light Brahmas…
January 2021. Here’s to a new year, a new hope, and new concrete pad. As soon as the weather clears out. The New Year came and went and Boxes in Fields was a stuck duck in the work department. Concrete forms a make for a great lake if you are a duck. If you are Boxes in Fields with a concrete window the lake is a major delay. To aide in water abatement, the Planner used the water pump to…
Good grief what a year. Seriously. What. A. Year. And to think it started off on the right foot, too. A ten mile bike ride at the refuge to start off the New Year. It was calm winds, warm, and wonderful. Sadly the doggo could not join us and she sulked at the door of the car as we loaded. In her younger days, just a few short years ago, she would have jumped in the car and rested upon…
Let the forming for concrete begin. Ditch digging was easy work compared to the work that lies ahead of Boxes in Fields. Concrete workers we are not but money tight we are. Needing to save as much as possible in labor costs the Planner was approved to build and install the concrete forms. Of course, being the planner the Planner is, they were built to code for strength, durability, and reusability. Saturday after Xmas, as soon as the hardware box…
Boxes in Fields is the Underground Railroad for lost critters. First there was the Lost Rooster way back in 2017. Then there was the two chickens within a few weeks of each other establishing the Halfway House in November 2018. The first rooster; Chicken; was fully accepted and is still rounding up his flock daily. The hen became an aggressive setter, the second rooster stalked the hens, and they both were chickens in a pot. Last summer was the family…
A working pump arrived over the weekend just a few days after the first was discovered broken. Not wanting to waste warm weather and the list of things to do backing up, the Planner got to work late Monday afternoon after pulling 9+ hours are work. Yes, work that thing that pays the bills. Poor Planner he was doing back breaking labor and I was plucking the last fruits from the box garden. Christmas tomatoes, anyone? Tuesday rain collection water…
Another box. I have reached the point of too much. There are too many boxes at Boxes in Fields. A Rainstream (which is just a box on wheels), the Storage Box, the Tractor Box, the Shop Boxes (2), the Kid Box (1), the Work Boxes (2), the House Boxes (2), and now the Guest Box (another trailer belonging to Grandma but being used by the Doubter). Unlike the previous location of the Guest Box, this box resides on the north…
Concrete! Concrete in the past has been footings for the Shop Box and then footings for the Work Box. Both done by hand one with self mixed concrete the second with a disastrous pump truck. Concrete work for the future pour is for a foundation. And what goes on a foundation? A home, of course. Can’t talk about that too much as my excitement overcomes me. Focus on the now. Now is the work needed for a foundation. Similar to…
Forever and a day ago (that would be the last mid-August to you calendar dwellers), the final producers from the garden were harvested and the beds have been sitting idle since then. Not quite idle as they grasses are five feet tall. Just a few days later after the last chard were plucked from their beds, Sun Gold and San Marzano tomato seedlings were planted in peat pots.. Twelve peat pots, three seeds each. A month after sprouting, the plants…
Nothing, and I mean nothing in life shows the passage of time as a child. This ridiculous kid of mine is another year older. And while he has grown into a bigger version of himself with more sass and more smarts, he also grows more special each and every day. He is something special all right. Just don’t know what end of the special spectrum scale he falls. This kid who has his own sense of fashion. He wears shorts…
Unlike the vast majority of residents living along coastal regions world wide, I LOVE seagulls. L.O.V.E. Everyone I know thinks I’m crazy, especially the Caretaker. She absolutely does not understand my love of seagulls. What is there not to love? From one to hundred they offer the same reward, laughter. They are sassy, indiscriminate, and pretentious. They bicker, they squawk, and they love. Sharing might be a problem, but then again, don’t we all have trouble sharing at time? Driving…
Woke up this morning to a calm cool morning with not a cloud in the sky. With a small bribe of fresh warm kolaches to the Kid, I enticed company on my ten mile bike ride. He may have bitched and grumbled and peddled as feasibly slow as possible without falling over but by the time we reached the break water he was a happy Kid and I was a happier momma. Just look at that smile. Riding up the…
Halloween was my favorite season as a kid. Not the trick or treating. Not the fall festivals. Instead the idea of witches and goblins, dressing up a something you wanted to be but could never be in real life. Fairies, mummies, and Strawberry Shortcake. When I became a teenager, I decorated every room in the house, created homemade costumes to pass out candy at the front door, and took my baby cousins treating. One could be crazy and nobody cared….
Boxes in Fields needs potable water. It has been stated numerous times since the beginning and four years into the this adventure, water is still a constant source of anxiety. With the Work Box Rain Water Collection System fully functioning and collecting water through eight downspouts, the water that is collected needs to drinkable. We may not be able to control what is blown onto the roof but can control what is leaked into the roof. Protecting against harsh chemicals,…
What a month! From start to finish, painting the Work Box took just close to two months to complete. Technically, it took eight plus months as the blue side developed Work Box Pox way back in December. But to be fair, nothing was done between then and now. Nothing concerned with painting. Lots of work has been done to the Work Box in other areas such as desks, wind reader, and water collection. Starting the middle of July, work on…
COVID , COVID , COVID . Damn you COVID you have broken all the fun things about summer. There were no summer camps for the Kid and no breaks from the Kid while he was attending summer camps and no no summer sailing with local yocals. And while there were no days spent at the beach at least there were days spent at the Doubters where the are acres to roam, a tank to fish at, a creek to wade…
Boxes in Fields would just like to say garden boxes are the way to go. From this point forward, no garden will ever be planted in the earth again. Are garden boxes more work? Only for the initial set up. From that point forward, gardening in a box is SO MUCH EASIER than gardening on the ground. Easier on the growing not easier on the bugs. Horned worm caterpillars still wreck havoc on leaves and stems, stink bugs leave blister…
Having friends is a great thing. They are there to help unwind the day, to have BBQs with on the weekends, to share funny memes to relieve stress, and to bicker about little nuisances that make great friendships. In the case of the Planner and myself, the memes and bicker debates are usually nerdy in nature because well, we are nerdy. Friends are also great because sometimes they come with connections and are happy to share those connections. For example,…
Ending out April with seventeen new flufferbutts was a great. Not five days after they cracked their way into the world, it was clearly evident the cardboard box was not gonna work. They were already confined for space. Needing something small enough to stay inside the Work Box yet easy enough to transport outside, large enough for accommodations until the outside quarters are built, easy enough to clean regularly, and the difficult part: all the supplies had to be on…
All in all it was a very busy month of nesting. Some nesting resulted in cleaner pastures. Some nesting resulted in greener pastures. Some nesting resulted in feathered offsprings for the pasture. First week of the month continued with tree round up. There were invasive trees to dig up and tree limbs to round up, cut up, and stack up. Amazing the amount of dead trees and tree limbs have been collected since Harvey. Seriously have way more BBQ wood…
Spring has sprung but it will not spring. March started out such a beautiful month. Flowers were blooming big, bold, and beautiful. The bottlebrush was fuller than it has ever been. So full, I was worried the branches were gonna break from the weight of the blooms themselves. Honey bees were buzzing in abundance. They were besides themselves with so many choices that they couldn’t decide where to go or how to long to stay when there. Spring Break was…
Back in January during the Dirt+Chicken=Fertilizer grounds clean up day, it was noted the rotting status of the chicken run base boards. Being the coop is constantly under dirt and debris, bathed in water when in rains, and was not high quality weather boards to start, I would say fours years was an acceptable time. Top boards were replaced and wire was reattached. Good to go for another few years or so. While at repairs, a new chicken feeder was…
Almost three years ago to date, the Planner and the Kid planted a garden. It was lovely dirt for cucumbers, squash, peppers, green beans, snap peas and okra. Rooting for Okra was not to be. Winds, lack of rain, poor soil, and gophers all lead to the quick failure of the garden. Since then a lot has happened and there just has not been the time nor the energy for another garden attempt. Over the last several months, above ground…
Ah, the never ending task of completing the RWCS. Back in November, Boxes in Fields had half of the Work Box plumbed for water collection but the project was never completed as materials were lacking. Between then and now, time seems to have slipped away quite quickly with work and other repairs. With the rainy season upon us and the water tanks almost empty, it is time to finish the collection. Last week started the final stage with the removal…
Being an adult can be no fun. Since moving to Boxes in Fields, we have been using our neighbors driveway. Deciding to be an adult, the first step in the long process of building our driveway were started way back in December during Ground Maintenance Week. Not one necessarily better than the neighbors’ but our own. So if and when it does rain and we make a giant mess with trucks and trailers and tractors, repair work can be done…
As part of the Planners sudden need to be more organized in both life, work, and Boxes in Fields, the Planner came to the realization he needed more shelving and boxes for his Work Box. Currently his shelf and floor is laden with 5 gallon buckets, cardboard boxes of various sizes, dimensions, and weights, milk crates, and one wooden 4x4x4 crate. All are filled with random assortment of tools, supplies, left over materials, and other various assemblage. Over time, contents…
It seems sometimes, chickens are more work than they are worth. They have to be cleaned and feed and watered. Since the trees are still lacking most of their leaves, they have to be tarped from the sun both early morning and direct noon rays. Two months ago they had their coop lined with a bathroom liner to ease poop cleanup and last month they had their nesting bars rearranged to ease nightly top bunk fights. All of this done…
In the Year 2525, if man is still alive… What an odd song, that one. Luckily for us, we do not pick our children from long glass tubes (unless your child is the Kid and he was handed down as space rejects) and little pills do not tell us what to do. In the year 2020, we can still choose to think our thinks and hatch our own eggs. Later this month, the Chinese will be celebrating their New Year,…
Another year come and gone. At the beginning of the 2019, Boxes in Fields stated they did not have any resolutions. As resolutions never get fulfilled, we opted instead for one simple goal. To be happy. Having warm, clear winter days in January was a great way to start the new year. Honestly, who can look across the bay with calm water and blue skies and not be happy. Not I. As the year progressed, I was trying to take…
Holiday projects. As a student in college many (way to many) years ago, I hated assignments due over holiday breaks. Not that there are many since by Xmas in college you are done with your classes and summer break are filled with just more classes, but still. Teachers love their breaks just as much as the students do so why assign more work. Besides work produced will be just enough to complete the requirements, nothing more. However, as a parent…
Ah, family. Nothing says holidays like traveling. Luckily modern times have removed the fun depicted by the Oswald’s. There are no more sticky seats, no more loud un-ACed cabs, and no more 55mph road ways. Traveling for the holidays is made so much easier with cruise control, a quietly chilled cab, and seats and space for all involved. This is GREAT except for the dog. She does not understand why she cannot ride on the bench seat and has been relegated to…
Last week the Planner watched a video about an Australian guy who ran a marathon. Not just any marathon either. This man ran it over the course of a day in one mile intervals every hour. During the remaining time in his hour he completed odd jobs around the home that have needed completion over various states of time. A Mile an Hour, while being about just one man, has set the Planner on a let’s get organized kick. What…
For the last week Boxes in Fields has been in maintenance mode. The work continues as Boxes in Fields is constant maintenance. Working out of shipping containers may have its strong points, mostly they hold up very well during a hurricane. Well at least so far. They do however have their weak points. R.U.S.T. Having used the needle scaler to remove the thick chunky rust, the box has been sitting ready for sand blasting since the end of June. Time…
What a week it has been at Boxes in Fields. Last year winter, we decided that this winter we would spend some serious time on ground maintenance. Not one for day to day or week to week ground maintenance, there does come a time when some maintenance is needed for a healthy ecosystem. Unfortunately, if left to its own devices, the non-natives will take over. Having already made a decent cleared area to the left of the chicken coop, the…
Too old for child, too young for teen. Tween. Some parents would say tweenagers are the worst of the worst years. Middle school, puberty, drama. Too old for toys, too young to not have toys. Children in the various states of wanting responsibility yet lacking the ability to accept responsibility. True to form and definition, you Stinky Feet, are in full tween mode. There are days when your high level of independence and willingness to be responsible for yourself and…
Don’t know about you, but here at Boxes in Fields we hate time change. Dark is for sleeping. Not wanting to be cramped inside the too small Rainstream and wishing to ward off scenes of “redrum” playing in our heads, the Planner decided to be productive at 6:12pm Saturday evening. Seriously? Having still not completed the RWCS and needing to move forward with the final stage, the Work Box desk had to be removed. Why, does the Work Box desk…
Most projects started at Boxes in Fields start one day and finish the next, or the next, or more than likely never. Whatever. Today’s project was started yesterday and finished before noon today. But first there was this… Doesn’t this just make you smile? She always makes me smile. Belonging to the neighbor across the street, Guera (pronounced w-e-t-a) is the happiest dog I have ever met. E.V.E.R. Enemies are unknown and all friends. And not just any friend but…
The hens are molting. Being their second year to molt, I thought I knew what to expect. Unlike last year, this year the hens are really, really molting. Molting as is one day they are loosing a few feathers on their breasts to the next day their tail feathers have thinned to one or two snarky remains. Molting as in a week later the hens have looked like they have been attacked. Some hens are worse than others with the…
It has been so long since any progress has been made at Boxes in Fields that these past few months worth of directional movement has refounded our enthusiasm. Even though the progress has just been made on renovations and repairs to the chicken coop and partial installation to the Rain Water Collection System, it is progress all the same. Much needed progress, too. Over the next few weeks even more progress will be made, hopefully. This while I was in…
It started out last month as just a quick repair job. Harsh Conditions caused a break in the chicken coop roof. After replacing the one corner last month, it was decided the whole roof would need repair before winter came. This should have been a simple one day project. Sadly, as in most projects, this was not the case. Bright and early Saturday morning, I climbed a ladder wanting confirmation for the decay. I had originally thought, due to the location…
In the attempts at not naming this post as an Update to the original post, I discovered that somehow in all the work being done on the Work Box and the business housed within the box, the traveling for the Kid’s sailing, and the general life busyness, I never once mentioned the day the Rain Water Collection System took effect. The system has been mentioned several times in several posts since installation, but never the installation process itself. Such an…
According to TAMU, “wet, cold days of winter are ideal times for transplanting plants, both native or cultivated species. Due to cold, the plants are dormant or in a state of rest, and will not suffer the shock of moving and the interruption of growth.” Well, a green thumb I am not. Seeing my last remaining potted olive tree turn yellow and lose all its leaves again this year, I have decided to transplant it. It seemed to have worked…
Living at Plan473 can have harsh conditions. Salt air, salt soil, hot salt, dry salt, humid salt, and wind salt. See where the harsh conditions are revolving from? Aside from salt damage, normal wear tear, and excessive usage, and age all affect day to day routines. Unfortunately, “normal” is not standard across users. As I am typically harder on all products than designed specifications. My normal destroys itself much quicker. Every week a new item is added to the ever growing…
This Doggo! This dog turns 14 human years today. In dog years she is over 70. Her age does not defies her. This doggo is a mess, has always been a mess, and will for the next foreseeable future continue to be mess. Upon deciding all those years ago before actually having a dog, if and when we got a dog, there would be one simple guideline: We go, she goes. If she can’t go, we can’t go. Therefore, this…
All I asked for was one inch of rain weekly for the next few weeks to two months. Just one inch. Rain received in the last two weeks has been close to just over a half of inch each week. Not quite one inch, but beggars cannot be choosy. Besides, how can I be choosy and ungrateful when nature shows its gratitude all around us. Having said this more than once and knowing it will be said again more than…
Two years since Harvey has past and the trees are taking yet another hit. After surviving the winds and the 25-30 inches of rain during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, then the 28 inches of rain in just a few days time during the summer of 2018, the trees may finally have meet their demise in 2019 due to the lack of rain. On average, the coastal bend receives about 30 inches of rain yearly with summer being dry. This year…
The Kid is going to middle school. And after a long summers of “I’m bored”, “its hot”, and general complaining, I can’t say I am sad to see him go. Middle school here is a major change from elementary school as I guess it is in most public school settings. I went to a elementary/middle school where there were two teachers for every grade and less than 50 kids per grade. My middle school years had the same eight teachers. …
On July 25, the Brown Leghorn (Ears, named for her bright white ears) laid her first egg. It was so tiny it did not even seem real at the size and weight of an oval shaped ping pong ball. Despite all her issues with the other hens and Nurple the rooster, she consistently lays her little tiny eggs. As in lays her eggs daily. None of these chickens are daily egg producers, so this must be part of her transition…
Just like the words to a Willie song (with slight modifications of course)“There’s just a little old fashioned gathering coming down Just a little old fashioned barn raising going ’roundA little bit of sweating and a little bit of reapingA little bit of laughing and a little bit of weepingJust a little old fashioned barn raising going down” Wikipedia states a barn raising as” a collective action of a community, in which a barn for one of the members is built or rebuilt collectively by…
After months and months of indecision, the new toy, I mean new tool has finally arrived. Not a lawn mower, not a brush grinder, but a brush mower. Designed to cut brush and woody weeds, the brush mower was chosen because Boxes in Fields no longer has access to the shredder. Well I should say no longer has easy access as the shredder now resides with the Doubter about five hours away. And with no trailer to haul the shredder…
Having spent the better part of the morning enjoying the beautiful summer day at the harbor wall, Boxes in Fields had to return home to spend the afternoon repairing. Again. If major rust control did not happen soon, we will be living in piles of rust. Some of the repairs are due to design flaws such as all of the window hatches. The window hatches are made square tubing and Conex paneling as seen more clearly in post What Light! …
Three months have already come and gone since the Pity Pets were brought home. When released from the coop to free range, the first few weeks they stayed as their own individual unit. It did not take them long to roam with the pack. Being with the pack provided protection as Nurpel (the second acquired rooster) was on the hunt for a hen of his own and the new hens were his target. Just as the senior flock are not…
There comes a time when everyone needs their own space. Living in tight quarters usually promotes this more often than for people living in McMansions. Needing individual space comes more from having a tween than anything else. If you have had or currently have a boy tween then you understand this next statement. Boys stink. Must be a puberty thing cause it is not a shower thing as taking showers is a daily act of frustration for all at Boxes…
A couple of months on one of my many numerous trips across the deck, I happen to glance over and notice a marvel. Another monarch caterpillar chomping away on a tropical milkweed flower bud. Unlike the leaf chomper, this caterpillar was chomping as if his life depended on it. In a way, I guess it does. Also, unlike the leaf chomping video, this video contains no video editing as is filmed in real time. In a little over five minutes,…
In the last few weeks, Boxes in Fields has turned into a nature’s playground. With warmer days, more and more hummingbirds have been seen and heard flying about, bees in various shapes and sizes are always within sight of the Esperanza, and the butterflies are appearing on their migration paths. What an amazing experience!
The Circle of Life: with life comes death, with age comes growth, with usage comes wear. Repairs are just a natural part of life. Having been potted and re-potted two or three times since its capture from the cow pasture back in October 2017, the olive tree has been officially placed in its final pot. Not trusting the salt laden ground to adequate growth in minerals and nutrients, the olive tree was placed in a scrap sonotube pot. Having been…
Boxes in Fields consists of an acre and half of native grasses and flowers, half dozen potted plants picked especially with hummingbirds and butterflies in mind, and two sugar water feeders always filled fresh and clear from April to October. After almost four years of filming and photo, a hummingbird has been caught on film. Years of planning, planting, and pruning have finally paid off. It was a very exciting moment!
These four new feathered additions really are some ridiculous pity pets. Just ridiculous. Hearing a great commotion in the coop late one evening, the culprit was not four footed and furry nor sneaky and slithery. Instead it was two footed and feathered. Just two days into her new surroundings, a rebel has developed. Just two days and this little brown leghorn was already causing trouble. by wanting to roost in the coop. Much to her dismay, the senior coop residents…
Genetics control a persons characteristics, hair, height, eye, etc. Simple biology everyone remembers from Bio I and Bio II. What genetics does not control is what I refer to as generational characteristics. There is a current field of study called epigenetics, “a term used to describe inheritance by mechanisms other than through the DNA sequence of a gene” researching traits passed from parent to child that are not genetic. In trying to better understand this research I stumbled upon this…
In the last post, I commented about trying to tell the difference between a moth and a butterfly. In furthering up my studies, I have since discovered one can distinguish between the two during the pupa stage (but not always) and only sometimes during the caterpillar stage. So much to learn, so little time to learn it all. Couple of weeks ago I went to the local mom and pop feed store for some chicken nourishment. At the front of…
Spring officially began on Wednesday, March 20, two weeks ago today. However, spring at Boxes in Fields has been in bloom for over a month. A month into springy goodness, there are now more vibrant flowers in more vibrant colors. Blue is my most favorite color and blue flowers are hard to come by. This tiny specimen is the size of a nickel and sadly only appears for the day. Did you know that while there are blue plants/flowers in…
Here it is the week of Spring Break and as I stated weeks ago, you may dream of warm spring activities, South Texas is in a throws of winter. Spring Break started out and stayed funky all week long. To the detriment of spring goers across the state, Funky is the Kids M.O so this random weather did not deter his Spring Break plans: Sailing Regatta. On Tuesday’s practice it was chilly, windy, and cloudy. On Thursday’s practice, the weather…
Here it is the first week in March and while most breathing bodies are pondering Spring Break in a few weeks, South Texas is in the midst of full on winter fury. Winter is the least of my concerns, though because sometimes life throws a punch. I am not talking about making lemonade out of bright shiny tasty lemons, I am talking about trying to make lemonade from bitter rotten lemons. It started two weeks ago on a sunny Friday…
Having some beautifully warm spring days, Boxes in Fields took a break from all things work and went for a ride. A bike ride. About an hours drive away is a national wildlife refuge with the bay on one side and tree filled marsh land on the other. There are miles of hiking paths if one is crazy enough inclined to fight mosquito swarms and all roads are bike friendly. Since this is a Texas coastline, all paths are flat….
Brooding: showing deep unhappiness of thought. Setter: a person or thing that sets something. Truer words have never been spoken about brooding hens, especially this hen. Brooders. Setters. One in the same in the world of chicken as they both have the same end result. A brooding hen can either be good or bad depending upon if 1) the hen is knowledgeable in this matter and 2) your desire to have little peppers. Having thought I had a broody chicken…
Groundhog Day. Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, and Weather Prophet Extraordinary has been predicting the spring forecast since 1886. People have been planning their crop plantings and livelihoods on the decision of a rodent with a brain the size of a cashew. A rodent whose batting average is less than 40%. A rodent who is given credit for something he has no control over as it is really his “handlers” who determine if there…
Raising chickens in warm humid environments can be challenging. Especially if the hens are egg layers. The longer they sit in the nesting boxes, the hotter they become. To ward off heat, hens will pluck off chest feathers. With extreme heat, hens pluck off feathers under wings and from around backside. Add an additional hen inside the nesting box with the high heat and anger issues arise. Angered hens pluck feathers off each other resulting in naked hens. Plucking feathers…
There is always something a little off at Boxes in Fields. Sure the majority of the oddness comes from the residents, but to be fair, we came by it naturally. Genetically even. Today a packaged arrived from my mom. The outside box was addressed to me but I let the Kid open it. When the inside package was discovered the Kid muttered something along the lines of what a dork, my whole family is crazy. As it was under his…
Holy moly, the new year already. Can’t believe how quickly time flies. Every year people set crazy new years resolutions. Boxes in Fields has fallen victim to this in the past. Not this year. If 2017 and 2018 have taught us anything, it is that plans are not set in stone, rules are made to be broken, and laughter is the key to happiness. Boxes in Fields has only one goal for 2019, to be happy. If what you are…
Look it, look it. Conex one of two for the house has arrived. One half of the house is visibly sitting at Boxes in Fields. This is not to be confused with the Halfway House as in a previous post. This is just half of the total house. Having been purchased many many months ago, the two Conex boxes have been sitting in storage at the Doubter property. At the end of February, the Doubter is retiring and moving to…
When the Kid was a toddler and his age was asked, I was NOT one of those parents who held onto the month’s stage. Oh, he is 18 months, 24 months, 36 months. No, the Kid was a year and a half, two years, three years. Last year he was double digits and being a deal to kids I did not steal this moment from him. However, from this point forward he is now just 11, 27, 57. He is…
There are several modes of thought when it comes to job completion. Depending upon the situation Boxes in Fields has used all of them. Everybody has used them all unless you are a freak of nature. Even still, I bet there is that time. That time that is hidden deep in the dark corners of your personal skeleton closet. You can lie to others but cannot lie to yourself. Get It Done. The job may be done but it probably…
Have you ever seen the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie? The original movie, before Disney went crazy with sequels? There is a scene where Miss Elizabeth has been left on an island and she burns the rum in order to be saved and Jack Sparrow keeps muttering about why the rum. That has been my line for the last three days. WHY THE BOOT! Why! After weeks and weeks, no maybe even months and months of rain, the last…
Holy moly batman. Boxes in Fields has gone from cooler fall days to full on winter! Last week the Kid and I worked up a sweat on our 5mile bike ride. The weather was cool enough to warrant a long sleeve shirt in the AM but nothing more. This week the doggo is demanding her electric blanket for her old bones. This week, it is dark and gloomy, cold and windy, and wet. Temperatures never reached above 60’s and the…
Somethings in life fall into the never again category. When summer is beating down, the mosquitos are ramping up, and the relentless winds are blowing away your resiliency, one being to ponder if fall is never again going to come. This pondering always leads to the whys. Why does anyone voluntarily live here? Why did I move back again? Why do I live here now? Why, why, why? But just as you are debating the ramifications of moving away to…
The last week of September started out as such a beautiful week. Monday started clear and remained clear as the off the shelf windows were installed. Tuesday was equally as fantastic. Wednesday was Simpsons blue sky and white puffy clouds. Add the with little wind and less than hot temperatures and it was weather worth dreaming about. Writing about. Living about. Then the rains came as predicted on Thursday. More than predicted, actually. When you look outside to this, all…
You can’t even tell last Monday there was standing water after Boxes in Fields attempted to be washed off the face of the map. Hurricane Harvey winds was last year. Flooding 17+ inches of rain in two days was last week. Can’t even tell. Look how dry the sand is. Good ‘ol Texas heat. With things drying out the Work Box had windows installed. Unlike the windows in the Kid’s Box, these are new construction windows. The local hardware box…
By Monday afternoon after the weekend’s rain, water was receding. Again. This time in its wake, it left a mess. Sticky mud. Water rushing across the flat and peoples yards washed mud into the roadways and low spots. Mud here is not mud of most places. It more sand and clay with salt and marine debris mixed together. But for some reason, it is super sticky. Sticky like bog mud. It is fun. It sticks to shoes and dries like…
If you follow this blog, then you know there is already a post with this title. Water, Water Everywhere the first time (almost two years to the date of this post) dealt with our lack of drinkable water. This post will deal with our lack of catchable water. Wednesday morning dawned wet and sticky. After a night of thunderstorms, the day cleared out to a fantastic blue sky clear of haze and summer dust. No, the above two pictures are…
Let it be said when referring to Cyberdyne this is in reference to the Terminator movies, not the real life Japanese based company. Cyberdyne as in the idea of machines/computers taking over the world. If it suits you better, then refer to the title as the Matrix. That is probably a better title, anyways. We think only what the computer wants us to think. Hmmm…. Food for thought… See this is how it starts. You take an innocent picture on…
It’s Labor Day, let’s get laboring. After taking a few days off from ALL work, I woke up this morning and decided today was the day to get back at it. There is a list of work to do that grows longer every day. Remove one, add two. However, not wanting to overdo the holiday and the weekend, I settled on installing the Work Box man door. It is an easy job and not having to open, close, and lock…
It all started so innocently three years ago. The in-laws took the Kid to their house for a week to participate in a summer sailing program. My father in law sailed off and on again since before he could walk and thought the Kid would like to sail. Heck, we live on the bay and getting a small sailboat is cheap. Yes, the boat is cheap. It’s the rest that adds up. If it weren’t for family and friends all…
In the last post, I promised you an update on Boxes in Fields. Unfortunately, there has not been much going on as all the time is devoted to the Work Box and it entails. There have been so many trips to the Big City #1 and #2 over the last six months I can’t even keep count. Miles and miles of Texas… Or how about this one: the sun has risen, the sun has set, and we ain’t left Texas…
Stress. What an amazing experience. The last post about the Work Box left you with the framework that needed sandblasting and painting. That was at the end of January and today it is the end of April. How did it happen three full complete months have passed with little to show for it? Stress. That is how. It is not as there was not plenty of work accomplished and completed in those three months. It is just that there are…
There is nothing more spring than colors. And this spring is becoming more springy than last year and Spring Has Sprung was nothing shabby. I am not even going to attempt to name these fantastic beauties. That would require a degree in plantology. Yes, plantology. A botanist I am not. Nor a Master Naturalist which I would love to become if I had 500 hours of time to devote to class and field study. Okay, not 500 hours but more…
I never want the Kid to grow up and say all his parents did was work. While there is plenty of work, there is plenty of play too. One just needs to redefine the word play. There has been plenty of time for mad knot tying skills on end bed plates, LEGO building… tree stump removal via the Tonka truck… some electric spider thingy build and modification… and don’t forget sailing. Yes, practice sailing is still fun. Now, if you…
Yes, you may have noticed that the first post of 2017 was the Shop Box Outlined and that the first post of 2018 is the Work Box Outlined. No, it was not planned that the first post of 2018 would also be about box outlining and footings, it just happened that way. With things as they were in the last part of 2017 I am truly amazed we are pouring footings for yet another two boxes at all. Now here…
Oh, what a year…2017 turned out to be…A freeze and heat and in between…As I reflect, it was a year… What did you think of my Four Seasons “December 1963” impression? Not bad for being not musically talented. Every year thousands of people claim the past year was a year to remember. Well, 2017 at Boxes in Fields was most definitely a year to remember. A year to remember for years to come. Years… This happened and that happened. Things…
Here today, gone tomorrow. Truer words have not been spoken about Texas weather. Two weeks ago it it was 33℉ and snowing. Two days later it was sunny and upper 60’s. Crazy. The last couple of weeks of November and the first week of December have been busy, busy. According to the schedule, the next coming weeks are going busy, too. Not busy, busy. Just busy with some hiccups along with way. With the ground prep work done on the…