Backyard Farm Day 16

Ah, I never blog on the weekend, but I couldn't wait. The HENS ARE HERE! We drove out to sweet, sweet Riverside and picked them up. These gals are about 5 months old, so they're still a month from laying eggs. They're Rhode Island Reds, so we'll get brown eggs. Boy, are they docile. Waylon is thrilled with them and has been wading right in. You're correct, that is our child barefoot in a chicken coop. We're giving him a Silkwood shower now. The gals seem happy, as far as happy chickens go. Next up, we'll build the chicken moat.

Backyard Farm Day 15

Chicken Day is TOMORROW! Chicken Day is Tomorrow! Ok, and now, check out some finds I landed at the Pasadena Antique Center. The Grizzly Faucet Washers tin was too perfect and it's Los Angeles to me. They no longer do this, but it sure does bring back memories of my Grandpa Pug's garage workshop. Also, the Christmas lights make me super happy and they work great. Also, check out the Ice Cream delivery insulater. Saw this and had to have it. Now it houses my small extension cords. I can't get enough of the old soda crates. I have them everywhere.

Backyard Farm Day 14

Ugh! Damn you storm. Anywho...Threw together, and I do mean threw, this, we'll call it "rustic" foundation, together because I intend to put a covered shelter thing in for harboring bikes and other crapola. The stupid rain keeps slowing the progress, but it shall soon pass. It's not great. I know this. It's crooked, a bunch of uncreative lines, but so, it's utilitarian AND, once the silt settles, it will look better. The thing I'm proud of is that I didn't buy any materials. I had plastic sheeting, sand, and bricks hanging out in the yard when we moved in. This was a freebie and hooray for recycling.

Backyard Farm Day 13

Ok, storm for the ages has past and the glorious Los Angeles survived it. Still more storm to come tonight, but in the meantime, I got to work. I started installing paneling in the barn. I got gorgeous tongue and groove boards at Home Depot and I started putting up the radiant barrier on the ceiling. It already makes a difference. The cat spent the night in there last night when he was shut in during a nap in the loft. Pathetic mews echoed from inside this morning. Also, we have a coop inside a coop. Those ladies are going to be safe, indeed. We've decided to up our number of hens to 5 or 6. ALERT! ALERT! ALERT! Chickens are coming home this weekend! This week is a huge week. Our garden is being tilled and the solar panel is going up.

Backyard Farm Day 12

So, we were headed up to our cabin in Lake Arrowhead and stopped off for some chicken supplies in Fontana. As you can see, we got more than mash. My son initially saw this pup and said, "I want the chickawawa!" My wife turned the corner and her lips began trembling. Needless to say, we ended up heading back home with my wife, my son, and our new dog in the backseat while I drove. He's awesome, 2 months old, and his name is Buster. Dub started calling him that, so it stuck. So much for a Border Collie, but I sure wouldn't trade him.

Backyard Farm Day 11

OK, busy Friday. I started the chicken run and this will be the home for some lucky gals. Just to prove I didn't use a get, I included photos of raw materials. Also, I used no schematic. This was freeform. Chicken runs are rural, and, since our barn is a package built thing, I wanted some rough edges to go with it. I put on a galvanized roof to give the hens some shade come the scorching California summer. It will also keep them dry from, albeit few, Pacific rain storms. Wrapping the run with chicken wire over the 3 day weekend. This one is for Dr. King.

Backyard Farm Day 10

Today's project was one near and dear to my heart. To know me is to know that I have a love affair with pegboard. Before I was married, I never put things back, ever, but my creepy, autistic, & ocd-ish side LERVES pegboard. My father-in-law, Roger, God rest his soul, got me hooked. I believe he's got massive walls of pegboard with lots of tools and guns hanging on his cloud. Also, because I'm a freak about it, I insulated. Super easy to do, so just do it. Can't wait to put in radiant barrier.

Backyard Farm Day 9

So sorry, I was down with the flu yesterday and did not blog. Yes, yes, chickens will be coming, but not yet. Today it was raining, so we were confined to the indoors. As a result, I decided to put power in the barn. This is stage 1 of 2, and as this unfolds, you'll see how to put solar power into any space you want. No big mother power, but a simple setup that will let you run a tv, some lights, maybe a record player, and charge a drill. That's all the power I'll ever use. My barn is for hanging out. I simply bought a deep cycle 12v battery from Sears for $70. I bought an AC inverter from Radio Shack on sale for $19.99. Put the two together and there's magic. As soon as I get it, I'll show you how to hook the solar panel to the battery. Suck it, Edison. I also included a video as a trial run. Dig the This Old House music. Suck it, for rolling your eyes.

Backyard Farm Day 8

Ok, so I went and saw the chickens, but I have no photos for you. My friend Mark was good enough to take the time to answer my questions and I didn't want to impose any further. We're ready to rock and roll. In the meantime, I build a ladder for the lofts in my barn. It's construction was very simple. 2 (2x4) rails and 1 foot wide steps in between. Very fast and very easy. For safety sake, I added hook and eye latches to make sure the ladder stays in place and fell asleep patting myself on the back for the ingenuity.

Backyard Farm Day 7

OK, I said I was going to build a porch. I'm not, but I did build a spiffy ramp. The porch was too hard. The screw wouldn't go through the metal and I haven't figured out how to do that yet. I will and it will be gorgeous. I did make this awesome ramp, though. It took 1/2 hour to do. As you can see in the pictures, I cut three 2X4's and angled the ends. The boards were just leftover redwood fence panels. I just cut the dog ears off. The barn now has wheel chair access. We're going to see chickens tomorrow! Can't wait.

Backyard Farm Day 6

Hodge podge of shite today. First, please admire our Blue Chip Stamps sign. We got it at the Pasadena City College Flea Market this last Sunday and the side of the barn seemed perfecto, no? Next, I'm going to build a front porch for the barn out of cedar planks that I have. That's getting done tomorrow and you'll enjoy the finished version, I swear to it. Last, here's the drip irrigation. My friend, Miguel Lopez, and by friend I mean a dude from Canoga Park I pay to work on my stuff, is gonna prep the ground for our chicken run. Here's a photo of the drip irrigation he installed. I supervised. Can't wait for Alabama and Texas folks to leave Pasadena. I've noted, Texas fans are the worst and most inconsiderate of ALL the folks who have taken over our town.

Backyard Farm Day 5

The barn is in thanks to the good folks from tuff shed. I made them put their logo inside because I didn't want to mess up the outside. 2 lofts and a 15 foot work bench. 7 foot walls of bliss. Planning on putting in the solar power soon, but Mrs. Backyard Farmer wants chickens now! A good friend of mine, Mr. David Hitchcock, has directed us to a fellow who lives a stones throw away and has 8 hens. He's invited us over Saturday morning to take a look at his setup. Oooh, I can't wait to pegboard this barn!

Backyard Farm Day 4

Okie Dokie. Today, for the first time in my life, I mowed a lawn. Maybe, because I'm a priviledged snotty pants, I was giddy as a toddler. I was fortunate enough to score a lawn mower from my brother-in-law, Marc (Thanks, dude), and away I went. The reason being, despite asking the gardeners over and over again to use a higher setting, I took business into my own hands. I'll still pay them to do the other crap, like blowing and edging, but I'm gonna hit this. Grass needs to be at least 2 inches thick, in my opinion, if not more. We're not going for a speedy surface. This lawn is for falling down by both toddlers and tanked up parents who hit the sauce heavy at our place. I admit, it's not powerwheels friendly, but keep that off my lawn anyhow.
For those of you who have been following, the barn goes in tomorrow. We ordered and extra foot of height in the walls and double doors. On my way to pick up my workshop stools. Fancy Craftsman ones from Sears!

Backyard Farm Day3

Today's task was to put a mural up in Waylon's room. We've had it for more than a year, but we're just getting to it now. A while ago, my mother offered to help, but she always took me shopping instead. We just decided to do it. It was harmless, I gotta say. Took about 2 hours. My advice, be liberal with the glue. The instructions say to be sparse, but they lie in every way. Also, wait to cut the edges. If it's not dry, you're going to tear the paper. As you can see, yes, we did give a 2 year old a bunk bed. Don't care what anyone says, it was a stroke of genius for us. This is a kid who won't go down the back steps unassisted. He wants no part of the upper bunk and the lower bunk makes him feel like he's in a crib. This kid won't even leave his room through an open door unless we give him the ok. Anyhow, I think he's got a nice lodge feeling in there and we both envy his room.