Mike and I have been doing a combination of things around the house and at the store.
Mike cleaned out our underground water tank and now we need to figure out how we can use it:)
Last week we also got all of the poles and the wire taken down that kept the cows off our driveway. It sure is nice not having to see all the ribbons:
Ah….the first round of mowing at the store. Mike takes over and does the edge for me:
Getting the motorcycle ready to sell:
Back at the store for some inside work. Mike needs to chisel out the area for the shower drain:
Time to get the power tools out:
While Mike works on the shower I spend my time pricing all kinds of things at the store.
I help hold the back of the shower while Mike makes the cuts for the handle:
The base and two of the shower walls are installed:
Yay…our well is drilled…we still have to add the pump and electric but we don't need anyone else to do that:) Thankfully we have a good well. It is a 125 foot 6 inch well at 20 gallons a minute. Whew…that is a relief. You just never know how far a well will have to be drilled:
Mike and his fish:)
Last week I showed you some of my pretty square foot garden pictures….well this week my larger lettuce and peas got eaten. My granddaughter spotted the deer pellets in my garden. The deer fence did not work…grr!!! I am not happy about this. I told Mike he needs to mark my garden, lol. Hey I will do whatever it takes to keep the animals out of my garden. A friend also suggested hanging bars of Irish Spring soap around the garden. I am open to all and any suggestions. For now I put bird netting over everything and put tomato cages around my blueberry plants.
I am watching the weather this week but it almost time to plant. I hooked up the soaker hose in my garden and stapled the black plastic on the mounds to heat the soil up:)
Mike helped me this morning add the rest of the electric fence for the in ground garden:
That's all for now. This week we should be getting our new solar refrigerator. We may also install the toilet and vanity at the store that we picked up on Saturday.
Have a great week!!!
I am sorry the deer got in your garden! I bought my father a "scare-crow" for his garden one year. He loves it. I don't know if you could use this or not.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.contech-inc.com/products/home-and-garden-products/animal-repellents/scarecrow-motion-activated-animal-deterrent
Kats
Funny you mentioned that. Ella has been hooked on the movie Frozen and has been singing "Do You Wanna Build A Snowman" and I have been singing to her "Do You Wanna Build A Scarecrow", lol.
DeleteThank you for the link and it can be hooked up to a battery:):) I'm glad your father likes his.
You can buy them on Amazon for about $55.
DeleteThank you. I love a bargain:)
DeleteAs far as the critters making their salad out of your garden, a friend of mine puts alum on his bean, tomato and potato plants.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I will be checking and trying different things:)
DeleteDid you find any Luffa?
I think you might want to try putting some extra electric fence around the perimeter of the garden. Deer can jump an 8' fence, so I'd recommend actually putting out a 2 or 3 fence perimeter...which would freak out the deer, since they don't want to jump multiple fences....maybe 3' apart. Those rebar fence posts with the plastic insulators are great, and not all that expensive....and you could string the outer fencing a lot further between posts. Hanging some pieces of ribbon on the fence will also bother the animals.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, you could station Niki out there as guard dog...LOL!!!
Thank you for the suggestions. Ha…I'm sure Niki would love being on deer patrol all night…not, lol She would miss her bed:)
DeleteI should point out that the boundary fencing (with electric) won't do much for rabbits and small animals that might go under it....though you could defoliate (weed-wack or dig a row) to keep weeds from touching a low level string of wire.
ReplyDeleteI have the lowest wire about 4 inches off the ground, the next one up is about 8 inches off the ground and then the top wire. I am crossing my fingers as that will have to do for this year:) If I like the in ground garden I will make it a little bigger next year and have Mike help me install a real fence:)
DeleteA question about the store....have you done anything to make sure that things are up to ADA grade? Is that bathroom set to meet the codes for disabled people? I have no idea what the laws/codes are for TN, but it should probably be something that you try and address early, rather than later, if possible.
ReplyDeleteA lot of states have a voluntary program, where you can be audited, to tell you what needs to happen over a certain period of time....a friend of mine is an ADA Inspector in CA, and he has told me about Lawyers who send disabled people in to stores/eaters to complain and sue, to get money.....a scam to be sure, but one that the store owner hasn't really got much recourse, unless they have previously been inspected by the state.
Just saying......Things like the door with into the building or the bathroom, as well as parking access, etc. Maybe even having a paved parking area for wheelchair access (not the whole lot, but a small area for access)....it's the reason (so says my friend) that a lot of small businesses don't last.....they buy & build, then get hit with the code violations, and even with tax incentives, the profits in the first few years won't allow them to make major changes.
Hopefully, this is not an issue......though there is a difference between ADA codes, and building codes...I know you said that there were no building inspections in your county.
Oh, was Mike fishing, or just looking at the fish in the pond? Couldn't tell from the picture angle.
We really just call it the store. We are not opening a business. Mike and I will most likely sell some things out of there on and off for a little while. Then we may lease it or change it into a small house. Thanks for the info…I don't think we have anything like that in our county.
DeleteHe was feeding the fish:)
DeleteYour storage tank would be good for fire suppression. Just toss a cup of bleach in, fill and call it good. Also a portable gas drive water pump with as much hose as you need with a fire nozzle. By code all houses where I live off grid, are supposed to have a 5000 gal. dedicated tank with fire dept. hook-up valve on the bottom so they can back feed their pumper truck.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information. What state are you in?
DeleteOh, that clarifies things a lot about the store. I was going to ask why you would need a shower in a store, but if you might make it a residence at some point, that explains it.
ReplyDeleteThe garden's looking good!
gentlearts
Mike and I always do strange things but there is usually a plan:)
DeleteThank you…I think we are past the cold and I can plant the res this week:)
I live in the southern desert of the once great state of CA, now so over regulated it's hard to recognize..lol
ReplyDeleteA second thought is if you could run a siphon from your storage tank you could use it to water your gardens. I have a water tank on a tower for mine as my ground is level. I just fill it once a week, I have a line that comes off the pump before it gets to my pressure tank. Takes the strain off the pump.
Gary