We Finally Found Some

I was getting frustrated all weekend looking at the Giant Bird Hotel (Aviary) I built the wife a couple months ago with nothing in it. A lot of time and materials went into that thing and there it sat, empty.
We put a couple of little hens inside just to keep the grass down plus the rooster was using them way too often and tearing them up so now they have refuge.

The wife and I both have looked all over this part of the country for dove and pigeons and although we found some, they were either way far off or way too expensive. I came to the conclusion I wasted my time and money building this thing when the wife came walking in from the store yesterday evening holding a potato sack and wearing a smile.  

Meet Tammy Wynette and George Jones.
(Laugh all you want, I didn't name them. It was either that or Johnny and June)
They are Fantail Pigeons and are a welcome sight.  

George felt right at home and took his place on the nesting boxes.

Tammy on the other hand decided to hang low strut her stuff.

Even though they are pigeons and they are nothing but overhead, they made me smile when the wife let them loose. Finally, the aviary is being used for it's intended purpose.
We spent all that time looking for them and they were just down the road the whole time. 


All work and no play this weekend folks. Too much playing has put me behind on the Mini Farm. It was non stop doing this and that until I could not do it any longer and headed to the bath house for a much needed shower and shave then off to bed. I took a bunch of pictures of the gardens and will posting them tomorrow.

Until then,
MDR

Another One Completed

I am in aw over how long it took me to complete the Aviary for the wife, but it's finally complete and ready for birds. I chose not to stain it. Instead I am just going to water seal it.
I don't think I will ever build anything like this again. It took way too much wood and time. I do like the look and the way it turned out though. It makes a great focal point and fills in the back yard.  I just need to find some dove and pigeons to fill it now.

After I cleaned everything up and got the yard mowed we had a scheduled tour of the Mini Farm. The first thing the people walked to was the new Aviary.
So there you go, it has already drawn a crowd.






It is good to see everything green and the gardens growing again. The tour group strolled the gardens and talked about how they wished they could have this set up. While that was going on I had the kids feed the baby goats that are still on the bottle. They also got to watch the baby geese and play with the pet pig. I think they really enjoyed their time here.

Here is a quick garden update. The soil-less potatoes I am experimenting with are growing. So far five plants have came up and I really think this might actually work. They are slow growing because I don't think they are getting the nutrients they need that they would get from the soil.
The idea is for the roots to grow down through the newspaper and into the dirt. So far that has not really happen.
Time will tell.

These are some of the garden beds. On the left is one bed of tomatoes and on the right is one area of peppers. All these were started from seed in the greenhouse months ago.
Since the pictures were taken, cages and supports have been added to the plants. The beds are under the shade I built last year. The shade will keep the summer sun from burning them up and I will be able to extend the growing season by a month or two.




Other than that it was all work and no play this weekend. I started the Hydroponics project yesterday and I have two more ongoing projects I am currently working on. Instead of boring you with all the details I will post about them when completed.

I also wanted to say a welcome to a few new readers of MDR. Thank you for hitting the the little button and becoming part of the family. If you need anything just let me know.  

This week is all about getting ready for the trip we are taking to the Caribbean .
Y'all take care and have a great week,
MDR

My Cute Little Helper

I can say this about the wife, everyday she is out helping in one form or the other. More often then not I need a hand and it really makes a difference.
It's kinda funny, I will be looking at something trying to figure out how I am going to set up jigs or what not to hold a board when she pokes her head in and asks if I need anything. "Well as a matter of fact I do, hold this."

I only had a few hours on Sunday this past weekend to work on her giant bird house (Aviary). I was able to get the copula finished and got it in place along with the rafters of the structure. It looks kinda funny right now but imagine the roof all the way done and I think it will look pretty sharp. It almost reminds me of one of those carousels or something.

I will never build one again that is for sure. It is a pain in the butt. 

A little work will be done when I get home each night. I can only give it a few minutes each day, but at least it's something. I really need two more people so I don't have to climb up and down the ladder as much. Each roof board takes at least four trips.



Anyway, the wife came out to help me hold the rafters and I had to stop and take this picture to show just how cute my little helper was.

I was hoping the pink fingernails stood out more than they do in the picture, but you get the idea.

You see that eye ball looking me? That's the look. The look of "What the hell are you doing?"    

Staying Busy

I don't think I spent much time in the house this weekend. I even missed the race yesterday because I just wanted to hang around in the shop. There has been a lot on my mind this week causing a lot of stress and worry so I just wanted to escape it all get my mind on something else. 

 All day Saturday the rain spoiled my plan to complete the wife's aviary this weekend. I did get the eight walls completed and installed during a brief weather window. I built every piece in the shop during the week and assembled it outside. I was impressed it actually worked and all fit together.
Trim work still needs to be done at every panel joint and that will be done through the week. Now that the time has changed I will be able to work on it two or three hours each night, when it dries out, if I want to.


















This view is the door. You can see in the back where the solid piece is, that is where the nesting boxes will be. 

Sunday was cold, windy and soggy so I spent it in the shop making a mock up of the roof. Being this is the first time I have built an octagon I did not know what angles were needed to make the roof point. I studied it and even calculated what the cuts needed to be, but soon found it was easier to just Hillbilly it and cut each piece until it fit.

With that much effort given to practice and the octagon point actually turning out so good I decided to alter the design where I could use it. Now there will be a "Pop Up" roof on top of the main roof so the mock up will not go to waste. This point will sit two feet above the actual roof of the aviary and a bird perch, of sorts, will be up in the little round area. I don't know what it's called so I call it a "pop up"

The new design caused me to hang around in the shop and build the frame work for the "pop up"    

 I think this is turning out better than I figured. I wanted to do the best I could with this and take my time. I am sure I could have thrown something together in a day but this will be a focal point in the yard so I wanted it to look like I cared.

What good is this you ask, it's not. It has no prepper or homesteader function I can think of. Sure it could be used for rabbits, quail or whatever, but you know, everything I have built has been for that reason. I wanted to build something for the wife that did not have anything to do with anything except her happiness, that's it.


Have a great week,
MDR

At Least It's Started

Even though I am not getting home until late every night I still go out to the shop and try to put in an hour or so on the wife's project.

I picked up a stack of lumber earlier this week to build the wife's aviary. I decided to go new because all the scrap and junk I have stacked behind the barn would not look good enough for this build. This structure will be right in the middle of the back yard and will be a focal point so it has to look good.




This is my first octagon build so it took a little time to lay out and get right, the first time. The only thing I hate worse then buying lumber is wasting it. I did do some smaller practice cuts on scrap wood just to make sure the angle was right.
Holding the boards at a 22.5 degree angle and trying to screw them together needed more hands than I had.
I quickly found out my shop is not big enough. I could only assemble half at a time and then finish putting it together outside. Even at that, I am not set up in the shop for big builds.

 There you have it, the top and bottom plates to the aviary. It's 8' feet across and will be 10' feet tall.
This only took an hour or so to build and the rest of the days this week I have been building the eight sides, one at a time. I only have three done at the moment. I don't have a picture of those yet because it's always dark when I am done for the night.
I should have all the sides built and installed this weekend, I hope.

I am already planning the next build, I plan to make a Rabbit Tractor. Almost like a chicken tractor but for rabbits. I have been wanting to get back into the meat rabbits again and I didn't want a bunch of cages to take care of every night. Plus I really don't have the time to weekly clean their room so a Rabbit Tractor, I feel, is the way to go.

It's Not On The List

Just like many of you, I am a list maker.
I know I have posted about my obsession before, but this is different.

I am sure you agree that your project list is a never ending and always growing list. Once one project is complete three more are added. It's job security as well as very frustrating.
With my OCD, I continually check my lists and see what projects can be started next. The order of importance on that list changes about as much as it's content.
The list is important because if a project is not on there, it has not had the chance to be thought through enough. If you are a long time reader of MDR then you know I think through every detail in my head, building and deconstructing it over and over again before pencil ever hits the paper. By looking at the list I can see the finished product of each project, in the it's location and it's functionality. Then in my head I tear it apart piece by piece until it's gone. I make notes the whole time I do this. this way when construction starts it is smooth and every problem has already been thought out.
Sometimes a item will sit on the list for a long time until every detail is worked out. Then one day when I have it, I start it. You may think this is weird but it works for me.

I know that was a long introduction but I needed to say all that to say this,
The wife came to me the other day and said she wanted a Aviary.
"But it's not on the list" I told her.
"Then put it on the list!" she said back without even looking over her shoulder.
 "I am not putting that on the list and that's that!" I mumbled back where she couldn't hear, putting my foot down on this idea.
Maybe she is not aware of the process of placing something on the list.

So anyway, this is the design of the walk in Aviary that is now on the top of the list.
Construction should start this weekend.