Rabbit Hutches Day 4 The Sawdusting.

We came, we sawed and we conquered.

Today we did the framing, put the cage dividers in, put the plywood on the roof and covered it with roofing paper. Everything went pretty well.

No, it actually did this time.

Okay, so there was the one bit where we were using a chainsaw because we did not want to drag the generator all the way down there and we didn't trim one post at the correct angle and then we tried to trim it by hand but then we hit a screw that we couldn't get back out of the wood and now we had to drag the motherfucking sawzall down there anyway.

Or the bit where we test fitted the door but then when we came back to install it it was too large. I am blaming that of fucking witches because that goddamned door fit like a dream until we needed to put on the hinges.

Or the thunderstorm that was menacing us and rumbling until it started sprinkling and then we were all like 'oh we had better put shit away now before the real rain starts.' So I ran up and put everything away which involved wrestling the table saw into the shed by myself and then we rushed to throw the roof plywood up and slap on the roofing paper and then it never did rain really and the sun came out.

Motherfucking weather.

Plus I got sawdust both down my shit and then of course into my damn bra. If you are a man you may not be able to grasp this, ah sensation, but it's pretty much like rubbing your nips on sandpaper. Oh and also got sawdust in my eye somehow, despite the eye protection which I am beginning to think is against me somehow.

Yeah. But other then that it went pretty damn well. We just have to put on the metal roofing, make the other three doors, add nest/bedroom/hang out n' party boxes and then paint the damn thing.

So hopefully this project will keep rocking along like this and nothing terrible will happen to it.

Hopefully.

Maybe.

I just jinxed it didn't I?

Fuck.

Want more Rabbit Hutch Adventures? Or course you do Here's Part 5 & 6.

Confused? Here's Part 1.

Chicken Coup Saga Final: Painting the Outside.

Have you ever had a project go well? Like really well? Like maybe you were painting outside and the weather was perfect without a cloud in the sky? And the it was perfect temperature and you had enough paint and paint rollers and there was no running to town in the middle of a job to get anything because you planned ahead enough? But the whole time you are worried because nothing ever goes this well and you are not sure if a tornado can appear from a clear sky but you can't relax because you are waiting for something bad to happen?

Just me?

It was kinda freaky. Everything went well. It was a wonderful day. We did have to cheat the dry time between coats to three hours instead of four, but otherwise it went just fine. There was only a few hiccups. Like when I certain cat, who shall remain nameless, decided to rub herself all over the wet paint and now she looks like a bad tie dye job, or the chickens throwing dirt at the fresh paint because they have no appreciation of hard work, or that fact that we kinda forgot that white paint plus sunshine equals blindness. But those were minor things and all in all it went super awesome. Almost too awesome.

At this point, at the end of project I should say some stuff about what I would change, and what I liked about it.

I know, it's just too pretty for words.

What I would change about it:

Not much. I think we could have gotten away with the building being shorter. It's a full 10ft in the front, and 8ft in the back. We could have 8ft and 6ft and it would have been easier to put up. A lot easier. Also cheaper. My only real regret, my true regret, and you might think I'm crazy, is that we did not build the whole thing out of stone. Just the foundation. With the time limit we had though, (the old coup was in it's death throes) we could not really have done it that way, it's just you know stone.

Yes I put real house windows in my chicken coup. Don't judge me.

What I like:

I am not going to lie. I did my homework on this one. I like the fact we put in vents up high, so fresh air comes in but it does not blow directly on the chickens, or me. Which is great in the winter. I love Love LOVE the tall ceiling. It's like, I dunno, a cathedral. But for chickens. I don't know what to say. A ludicrously tall ceiling in a chicken coup just makes it feel like a temple, like it's more then just a utilitarian structure.* Window placement was awesome, they get sun in the morning and early afternoon, but not late afternoon evening, which will be a big plus come summer. I like the perches we installed, which are made with real two inch think tree branches instead of the two by four they used to have (two by fours hurt their feet).

BOO YA!

I like the fact we installed a full size, metal house door on the front. Most people make little chicken houses. You know, chicken sized chicken houses. NEVER DO THIS. Oh it might be darling to have to bend over ninety degrees to get inside for the first week, but anytime after that you will hate yourself. It's sooo nice just to walk the fuck in and not have to crawl inside through a fucking Umpa Loopma door.

The chickens love it too. I have never had so many eggs. So many eggs.

Hey anybody need some eggs?

Hello?

Anybody?

Damn.

*Yes this is unabashed love for my chicken coup. Shut up.

Confused? Here's Part One.

Backhoes are Awesome.

We have decided to name our backhoe King.

We used King to remove some fence posts from along the drive way. The non-backhoe method involves using a chain and large jack, You wrap the chain around the fence post and hook it over the end on the jack. The you heave and curse trying to jack it out of the earth. This usually takes two people because the jack will want to keel over sideways at the first sign of a struggle.

The backhoe method of fence post removal is as follows. Wrap chain around fence post, loop other end around the hook on the bucket and take the bucket up.

Having a back hoe is like going from a level 2 to a level 50 overnight.

We also used King to dig a drainage ditch next to the driveway that eats vehicles. Having dug lots and lots of things by hand , and knowing how much that sucks ass, I was overjoyed to see king dig this one. Now granted we did have to go it and scoop out some loose dirt and shape the sides by hand, but it was super easy. King was all like, oh you want a ditch well here you go SHABAM!

I think I fell in love just then.

After a while it was a lot like working with a large benevolent dinosaur instead of a huge metal machine. I had to only gesture before King would lower his magnificent claw arm and rip out huge chunks of earth for me. At the merest gesture he would rip out saplings and rip up enormous rocks. It was like every thing I had ever wanted out of a imaginary best friend when I was a kid come to life.* My new best friend can rip up motherfucking trees. Do you know how awesome that is? Can you contemplate the awesomeness of this thing? ARE YOU CONTEMPLATING IT!?

Ahem.

So now when ever I watch Where the Wild Things Are and there is that scene where all the Wild Things are chanting King! King! King! I am going to assume they are talking about my backhoe. Which is really the only redeeming feature in that entire shit fest of a movie.

Seriously that movie sucked.

Hard.

Don't watch it unless you are thinking about my backhoe, okay?

* Imaginary best friend operator sold separately. Seriously though Scott ROCKS at driving that thing.

Painting Part 2

Surprisingly the living room wall painting went well. The stripes don't look hideous and I feel comfortable painting the other wall with stripes. I love the look, even though it kinda makes my living room look like a hotel. I get a little surge of pleasure every time I look at that wall.

Which means that I am winning, in your face shitty mobile home walls. WHOO! YEAH!

Ahem. It looks nice, is what I'm saying.

Unfortunately, they worked so well I decided to paint horizontal stripes in my office. This was in retrospect, a bad decision. It wasn't that the stripes look bad, or even that they are crooked or uneven, but that trying to fix the original color with white stripes was never going to work. I had painted the room a really unfortunate bright greenish blue. It matches nothing in that room. I really do not like the color, but it was the only light color I felt I had enough of. So I used it.

Don't get me wrong, I like the stripes, I just wish I could have had a better color scheme.

Also, while vertical stripes are easy to do, horizontal stripes became a nightmare of taping and cursing. Since I was measuring my stripes off the ceiling, I came to the conclusion that the ceiling is not level. Plus, the walls were bowed and warped in odd ways, making the tape look off, even when it was not. I had another nasty surprise, in that when I peeled the painters tape off, some of the original paint would peel off as well. I attributed this to the smooth, almost too smooth walls, since I had damn well sanded the walls before painting. This was easy to fix though, I just used a small paintbrush to repaint the damaged bits, but it was still sort of defeating.

Technically the stripes are great, they are level, even around the room, and the lines are clean. I am really good at painting stripes, and not so good at being rich enough to afford real colors.*

Someday, we will build that goddamn house and I will pay someone to mix paint for me and it will be beautiful.

Now, I just have to paint the other wall in the living room, and Scott doesn't know this yet, but I am going to repaint that god damned kitchen. Possibly while he is on a business trip.

Love you honey.

*Real colors: colors I actually picked out and had mixed. Or alternatively, colors I actually like.