Wow! I've been out on assignment for nearly a week and it is amazing what's rolled on....
Sunny, I am SO sorry you had to undergo surgery, but VERY happy you're recuping well. I send you speedy "Get well" vibes across the sands. Take care of yourself and, by all means, delegate!
Welcome to all the new folks!
Eglyntine, that foundation looks SOLID. Any engineering genes in your background?
Funny story: My grandpa was a civil engineer (opted to design and build the Bay Bridge rather than work on Hoover Dam...which is why my family's from the S.F. Bay Area...but I somehow wound up in Vegas anyway, so go figger) and it's kind of interesting that half of his offspring were real engineer/inventor types. But of the grandkids about 75% of us got the put-it-together-better bug. Seems like as a kid I took apart a toaster or two. We're always figuring angles, rethinking the wheel, doing math and just plain counting. When bored we count.... I tend to figure out numbers of ceiling tiles, count knobs and books while sitting there in lawyer offices during depositions. Did you know there are 13 segments to a grapefruit? Dad, Sis and I all knew this.... Mom (married into the clan, not inclined to count) thinks we're nuts....or, at least, a bit odd. One of my favorite pasttimes is planning chicken coops.... I always love watching someone's progress, so please keep us posted with lots of pictures!
re: Hay. Hey! Lots of roadside retail pumpkin patches use hay bales in their construction, so come November 1st you could probably pick some up very cheap. But I've often found if you just need something to fill the nest boxes that feedstores will often let you sweep the hay storage areas for free.
Nevada Ron: So just how much meat does a 200 lb hog produce? Is there a lot of slaughter waste weight? I found with the lambies that a 99-lb lamb was good for about 55 to 65 lbs. of meat. The turkeys gave a real good ratio, though. I had a 75 lb. live-weight bird (long story of delayed processing gone too long, but I actually had two of them that languished in the barn past Thanksgiving until Easter....cost a fortune to feed) who dressed out to 63 lbs. of freezer goodies. Of course, at that size a drumstick and thigh was like serving a ham. Do you have a sausage grinder? The only thing that ever goes to waste with a pig is the squeal....
Aubreynoramarie, you can put straw in the run, but pray you never have to take it out. It will get wet and smelly and it can compact into a nasty mat that's real hard to pitchfork out. There's a reason folks like to put down shavings as bedding in the barn....it's easy to shovel out. Straw is good for an occasional horse bed (great for foaling), but for the long term you'll curse the day you started layering the stuff instead of mucking it out. Just my $.02 of experience.
Now, I loved putting down straw as mulch in the veggie garden because at the end of the growing season (and after lots of waterings) it was pretty easy to turn under for composting. Of course, had all sorts of interesting weedy stuff the next spring. But it was worth it to have soft footing to walk on that looked all neat and pristine and did a fab job at keeping the water in and the weeds at bay.
None of this is *really* interesting, but I bet y'all count a grapefuit next time you eat one!
