Painting

The color decision was made and I have started painting the farmhouse!  Rosemary was kind enough to volunteer her help and we began the project today.  We were able to paint three sides of the house (none of the garage) with one coat. Right now it looks like lipstick red which is not what we wanted.  With a little drying and another coat, it should look like this beautiful color:

Behr Dozen Roses

Tomorrow... a second coat, maybe some trim paint and possibly some red on the garage!

Narrowed Choices

Now that the siding is almost up.  I am getting serious about our paint color for the exterior.  We have narrowed our choices down to two.  Which do you like best?  The samples on the house are just one quick coat, so you don't get the best visual but you get the idea.

 

On the left is Country Redwood.  A little orange and with a bit of a faded barn feel:

On the right is Cottage Red.  A bit deeper and less rusty looking:

What is your vote?

Farmhouse update

The farmhouse is coming along.  It is amazing how things are really starting to come together. 

The siding is going up and the outside is quickly being transformed.

The kitchen cabinets are installed.  Or at least installed as much as possible until we get the counter tops.  Kirk is installing the bathroom vanity today.

I have been busy painting and I am really pleased with the colors.  Light yellow for the living room and kitchen.  A darker yellow for the bathroom.  Blue for the master bedroom.  The second bedroom is yet to be decided - possibly a creamy white.

Living Room/Kitchen:

Bedroom:

Bathroom:



Second Bedroom:


Trim & Ceiling:

Choices, Choices, Choices

The farmhouse is being sided right now so I am busy choosing paint colors.  I think we are settled on painting it red.  The Little Red Farmhouse.  What do you think?

Here are the paint samples I am narrowing down. Do you have a favorite red? Which one would you choose?

Here are some fun red photos I have been collecting for inspiration:

Oat Farmers

When Vern and Rosemary were visiting us this spring, Vern was kind enough to plow up the horse pasture.  Following the advice of our local extension agent, we planted it with oats and... they actually came up!  We don't know what we'll do with oats, but at least they are growing.  Hopefully it will help keep out weeds and help to revitalize the area.

after plowing:

 new oats:

 revitalized field:

Farm Update

There has been a lot going on at the farm these days.  Kirk has been busy totally re-doing the electrical and plumbing.  The exterior of the house is being insulated and siding should go up in a few weeks.  I can't wait to see that!  For now, we are the pink house on the street.  That's Daniel putting up insulation.  We've kept him busy for the last few months with all of the remodeling.

Rosemary and Vern have been here for a few weeks.  We have loved having them and they have been hard at work.  Rosemary helped me move the old raspberry patch to new rows.  She is also helping me plant blueberries.  Three rows of raspberries and three rows of blueberries should be enough to keep my fruitarian children happy.  I suspect we will have to invite all of our friends over to help us keep up with all of the fruit.  Davidson U-pick anyone???

While we have been doing fruit - Vern has been busy plowing the old horse pasture (sorry, no pictures).  We will re-plant it to get rid of weeds and revitalize it.

I don't think I've posted a photo of the new garage doors that were installed over the winter.  Even without siding, the front of the garage is really looking better!  Pretty soon we'll have concrete poured inside.  After that some new windows and siding and it's transformation from a dirty carport to a fully functional garage will be complete!

Fruit

We were lucky enough to have the Whitby's visiting us this weekend.  They were nice enough to help us at the farm with our overgrown, neglected orchard.  

They spent Saturday pruning and cleaning out more than 20 trees! Thanks to their experience, knowledge and (most of all) muscle they were able to accomplish something that Kirk and I could never have done on our own.

I wish I had some 'before' photos so you could see the amazing transformation. Believe me, it is truly a HUGE change and we are so grateful for the help. The trees look a little naked now, but I'm sure they'll appreciate it in the long run and I can't wait to see them this summer with a little green on top.

Farm House Remodel

The farm house remodel is in full swing.  With some sunshine and nice weather this past week, Kirk was able to replace most of the windows in the house.  The old siding is coming off and new windows are going in.

Framing for the Bathroom Window

New Living Room Window

The kitchen cabinets were removed and new ones are on order.

Before

After demolition

Earlier this month, Kirk framed in the carport and we are picking up new garage doors this week.

Before

Waiting for Garage Doors

First Snow

We saw the first snow on the mountains last week and a little more this morning.  No snow at home yet, but we are getting ready.  

We have been busy at the farm trying to get some things done before winter sets in.  Kirk replaced all of the poles and some siding on one of the barns so it will last the winter.  Good thing too, because most of the posts were totally rotted at ground level and I can imagine a good wind or snow storm would have sent it crashing down.

Last weekend we all worked on clearing a trail from the creek up to the forest.  Kirk worked the chain saw and the girls cleared it out.

The fall leaves are really beautiful right now.  There are some western larches on the property that are especially beautiful.

The girls also enjoyed a little frolicking in the forest.

Today we spent some time clearing out trees to make a sledding hill for this winter.  Kirk cut them down. Paige and Maren ran the quad and pulled the smaller downed trees and branches to the burn pile. I drove the tractor (for the first time!) and pulled out the bigger trees.  We are hoping to have a nice sledding hill so all of our friends can come and have fun with us. 

The Harvest

It's harvest time at the farm.  Some things we have planted (corn and sunflowers).  Everything else we are discovering as it comes.  There is an orchard with at least 20 trees.  It's kind of like 'The Secret Garden' and we are in the process of clearing out the weeds and overgrown vegetation to discover what lies underneath.

Kirk's field of dreams (a.k.a. the corn patch) has given us lots of corn to eat and share.  The girls like the corn so much, they will munch on it raw while we are at the farm.  We planted yellow and red corn.  FYI... red corn looks interesting, but doesn't taste nearly as good as the yellow.

My 'frutarian' children love all of the fresh fruit and are great helpers when it comes time to pick.

  Plums, apples & pears from the fruit trees.

 And, after all of the work, there is time to play. 

Hannah has found a friend next door (Lindsey) who has horses... perfect!