Above all other lessons learned over the five years, the most critical is paint. Paint now, not later. Not tomorrow, or next week. RIGHT NOW. If the project doesn’t get painted right now in a heavy coat of primer, it may never get painted. Primer will help ward off the rust for sometime but raw metal is doomed from day one. The Shop Box windows and doors were painted red rust primer five years ago and have never been repainted….
Think back, way back, to another time but in the same place. A time before flooding, hurricanes, freezes, and dumpster fires. A time when Boxes in Fields was more of an idea than an actual living and breathing place of peace and tranquility. Peace and tranquility. Ha! That’s funny. There is nothing peaceful or tranquil at Boxes in Fields. Ok, that is not true. If you eliminate all things human, then the birds and bees, wildflowers and trees, sunrises and…
It is never good to start out a work day when your work partner is already this contemplative at the start of the day. Poor Planner. He must have stood there 25 minutes trying to decide what went wrong. He measured, measured, and remeasured and still there was an error. The last window out of 15 of the same size and shape and grief was given. This was not even an one inch measuring error that has been known to…
Moving the Dwelling Boxes will be both easier and harder than any previous boxes. The Dwelling framework to have the correct floor elevation is lower than the Shop Box and Work Box as the location sits higher on the property. It is only a foot or so less but it will make a huge difference when moving a 40′ shipping container into the air. However, unlike the previous boxes, the footings are located against the tree line on the east…
How many windows should one home have? The house I grew up in was a 1940’s rock home built on pier and beams. It was a three bedroom, two bath both with shower and tub, with an open floor plan living room, dining room, and foyer. There was a front door at the foyer that was only used by unknown visitors, a side door with additional screen door in the third bedroom that opened onto the full length porch, and…
Before you dig, call 411. In the case of Boxes in Fields, before you dig check the PVC chart. Well, check the PVC chart when its completed. When it is completed next year or the year after that. Right now the chart is more like a series of pictures showing where electrical, internet, sewer, and water lines crisscross the property and how deep the lines are buried. And let me tell you these pictures have come in handy more than…
City water is just down the street. Literally can see the connection point from the end of our driveway. In the five years of living without access to city water, city water has come down the side street to a rental house less than 200′ feet away. The water is still on the wrong side of the street and was not offered to the three residences on our side of the street. Not that BIF would have paid for the…
Let’s play a game. When I say a word you say the first word that pops into your head. The first word is done for you.Hot: ColdCat:Down:Brakes: Let’s play a different game. When I say a word you describe the image that comes to your mind. Again, the first word is described for you.Beach: Warm sands, gentle breezes, salty airCairn:Elephant:Home: These games are as old as time and they are great tools for teaching in elementary school. If tested your…
Can’t believe the year is flying by so quickly. On the day to day basis it seems as though nothing ever gets accomplished and it is a good thing I have this blog and my daily calendar as my reminders of all the work being completed. March was busy with work, busy with moving the Doubter, but most certainly not busy with BIF. April on the other hand was busy with BIF, busy with moving the Doubter, but most certainly…
Do you know the yearly season dates? I know the longest/shortest day of the year. I know summer starts on May 26 at 1:10pm and that fall comes earlier this year at August 10 at 8:30am. I know March brings gusty winds, July humid weather, August hurricanes, and October cooler evenings. I know there is always a bitter cold snap around Spring Break no matter how late in the year it is and sometimes there is even a cold snap…
Poor chickees. They have been living the life luxury these last few years in their pent house coop. State of the art design, high tech circulation, and plenty of natural light. Almost five years ago, the first round of flufferbottoms were given the boot from their plastic bucket in the Rainstream to their newly finished 8×4 chicken coop. Then a month later they were allowed to roam free in their newly finished 8×20 chicken run. This lovely bright green coop…
Water. Water. Water. When we started Boxes in Fields, it was not our intention to be obsessed with water. First it was the salt water, then it was the collection of water, now it is the collection of potable water. Two Septembers’ ago, Blinded By The White was the first step to collecting drinkable water. Up until this point all the water collected was simply for showers, gardening, etc… Water collected was not drinkable as the roof was not sealed…
Finally, the fireworks, wind, and, rain (mostly) have stopped. Fireworks banged banged into the wee hours of the morning on New Years Day. Winds howled in the upper 20’s until midday New Years Day and then laid low all the rest of the week. Rain abated for one solid week allowing for all type of work to be done. Late to start the day, once Boxes in Fields was up and moving, the first two weeks of the New Year…
As the saying goes, when it rains it pours cats and dogs. A typical year is about 30″ inches of rain with the heaviest month being June. With this here climate change, 2020 was not a very wet year. In fact, it was recorded as a drier than average year. This year, on the other hand, is being recorded as a wetter than an average year by almost double. Yes, double. To have double the amount of rain is a…
Before the roof can be coated for water collection it must repaired for rust damage. Of all the shipping containers at Boxes in Fields, the first two bought were also the best in quality. They were bought during a slow time in the shipping container market when sales were in the buyers favor and the quantities to choose from were endless. The third and fourth boxes (the Storage and Tractor Boxes) were almost as good but the Work Box boxes…
Sometimes a project comes about in a rash decision and is implemented immediately. Most of these rash decision implemented projects are the result of an immediate need. IE: holes in the ceiling, new chicken door, new water pump lines. Some projects are thought out in advance and done over a relatively short period of time. IE: storage boxes, work desk, outside shower. Sometimes a project is years in the making. Way back in October 2017 when we were building out…
After a very rough start to the fall garden, one box has been salvaged with a row of carrots and two rows of mustard greens and few mounds of rainbow swiss chard. The second box was supposed to be spinach and more chard but between the bugs and the weather it could never get a good footing and the third box was left dormant for prosperity. Ok, not really. Healthy garden box management states all gardens should follow a box…
It has been a busy year but I did not realize how busy until I went to compile the yearly collection of Kid pictures for his birthday post and came to the realization there are months with only one or two pictures containing the Kid himself. Understandably this is due to his lack of presence at Boxes in Fields as he is required to attend school it still saddened my heart I have less pictures to note his changes in…
Home schooling was my choice of education for the Kid for many years. It was flexible, challenging, rewarding. It was yelling matches, planed activities gone wrong, and time consuming. By the time the Kid went back to school halfway through his fifth grade year, he was reading at high school level and working out of a college level pre-algebra book. If he hadn’t been home schooled we never would have been able to travel for the Solar Eclipse in Aug…
With the Work Box fully completed back in August and four years since anything was done to the Shop Box, the Shop Box has now become the focus for repair work. First and foremost, the 18″x40′ beam. During Beam Me Up Outside the W14x22 flange was installed way back in May 2017 and has been sitting as raw steel on top of the Shop Box ever since. Raw metal in the salty, salty air. It was never out intention to…
A few days after the threat of Hurricane Nicholas had passed, a little home maintenance work was done. First there was the never ending road maintenance. Rain plus tires equals potholes. Potholes in the truck is not an issue, just drive slowly. Potholes in the car causes the airflow shield to drag. Shield replacement is expensive especially when the gravel has already been paid for. Potholes are a never ending chore, one shovelful at a time. Or one bucketful at…
If 2020 was the year of the Dumpster Fire, 2021 at Boxes in Fields will be the year of Climate Change. I’m sure it is just the first of many years for climate change, but climate change it will be. Boxes in Fields started off with rain, then tried to freeze in February, then tried to float away in May and June and July. If climate change is bringing this much rain one year and then no rain the next…
Argh, what a way to start a week. Four years and just a few days is not enough time to prepare for another storm. Even if it is just a category one. Hurricane Nicholas was headed towards Boxes in Fields and while a category one storm is nothing, it is something all the same. Of course, Hurricane Harvey was only a category one storm when it started, too. Then it was a category five less than 36 hours later. Not…
Global warming. Have discussed this ad nauseam on this blog. It is the reason for the swing shifty weather that is either hotter/colder than normal, the rising sea level, the bigger and more frequent hurricanes. To think, these are just the elements affecting Boxes in Fields. Not even gonna discuss globally as there are dissertations written way better than I could ever explain. Read them. Watch them. Dissertations too long? Read books/blogs. Watch vlogs. Climate change is real. Well here…
Can you remember the first time you used the new fandango thing called the world wide web? Was it at school or at home? If your mid 40’s, middle of the road America like Boxes in Fields, it was probably at school. Then if you were lucky within a few years there was dial up at home. Dial up used primarily for school related activities as there were no other pages to view on the world wide web except PHD…
It is a sad, sad day here at Boxes in Fields. Our beloved doggo has given up the go go. So long my furry legged friend, princess of the front seat. We will forever carry you in our hearts….
Being tall does have its disadvantages and working under the boxes in one of those. Just six inches shorter than the Planner still makes me above average on the female height spectrum. Six inches shorter when stooped under the boxes makes a huge difference. Way back at the end of June when the Planner was working on the last of the columns, I started on Work Box repairs. Simple things I could do without the Planner assistance such as rust…
“Honey, let’s buy a boat.” It was really went more along the lines of this. The Planner was cleaning up from the column work in his box when I came bounding up the stairs proclaiming “I found a sailboat!!!!” I have been looking and looking for more than year for a sailboat big enough for the three of us to sail together. Sailboats are a dime a dozen unless you have specific requirements. Such as a mast easily removed and…
Stand back everyone the Doubter has arrived. He has come to raise columns, all eight over as few days as possible. Doubter says he staying for two weeks before he heads back home to the land of air conditioner. When he leaves the taking the Kid with him, too. Week One:First thing he did upon arrival was attempt to fix a cutting torch the Planner was gifted from a friend. Several weeks ago when the Planner attempted to use the…
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…