Playing in the Creek

I think all boys play in creeks. Rod has certainly NOT outgrown it. I know this looks like work and he would probably try to convince some it was work... but the reality is it is playing in the creek.

What he is really doing is putting in an additional 17 foot section of 4 foot culvert. This will allow us to drive over the creek within the horse area. He used the backhoe to dig out the creek bed in order for the culvert to fit down in there and then used the tractor to put rocks and dirt on it. In these pictures the backhoe is holding a log up that will keep the rocks and dirt from falling back down. This log will become part of the "frame" so to speak.

I'm pretty sure Laine would tell me that Rod's toys that he plays in the creek with are very similar to the ones that he used when he was a young boy... now just like Rod they have just grown in size :-)

Mollly's Couch

Molly was not feeling well. She has some arthritis. Her and Dolly had a tiff which resulted in Dolly taking over the house and not letting Molly in. Well then the cold weather came and I was trying to figure out what to do...The next thing Rod knew, I was having him help me get Molly over from that part of the land to the house. I was determined that until we got a 2nd house built, that Molly would once again go back to being an inside pig. She stayed in the house for probably 2 weeks until the weather warmed up enough and Rod had enough time to build another house.

We thought it was funny on about the 2nd or 3rd day when we came downstairs (we made her stay in the rec room) and found her all sprawled out on the fold out chair.

New kids in town

We have had 2 new additions to the zoo in the last few months and I have neglected to give them their debut on the blog. The family as well as Zac and Hayley went on a cruise in October. While we were gone, my Dad, came over here daily to check on Maple the momma goat that was going to pop any day. Luckily she held out and the day after we got back, we went to check on her and got over just as she was having the baby. This baby goat is now almost 4 months old and is hilarious. She is the nosiest baby goat I have ever seen and will follow you around any place you go.



Fast forward 2 months and it is the day after Christmas. Unlike Maple, we were not sure when Josie became pregnant so we had no clue when her due date was going to be. The day after Christmas Rod went to go check on the goats and he got over there just minutes after Baanelli was born. It was a terribly cold night and we had to bring her into the house to get her dry from the birth. We heated up towels and put them in their house as well as fresh blankets and hay.




Both kids are doing great and have adjusted to life at our zoo just fine :-)

Certifiably Green!

All the work has paid off. Our builder called a couple of weeks ago to let us know that our certification papers had come in. He made a trip up to see how we have settled into the house and to present us with the certificates.

Our first certificate is from the National Association of Home Builders Research Center. They certified the house at a Gold level (there are actually 4 levels - Emerald, Gold, Silver, and Bronze). The Emerald level costs more a lot more money to try to get certified as so we opted to go for the Gold. Our builder thinks we could have easily met the requirements for Emerald but it would have cost us over $2,000 more in fees to apply. Out of all the U.S. we are certificate # 1726 for Gold level certification. We think that is impressive.



The second certificate is from Energy Star. It states that with a HERS index of 45 we meet or exceed the strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.



The third is a Home Energy Rating Certificate. The highest rating is 5 plus stars. In order to reach the 5+ star level the home has to have a HERS index of 70 or less. Our index of 45 is 55% better than the requirements for a 5+ star!



We are certainly proud that we made the decision to build in the most efficient manor possible.

Tina's Bed

There are things everyone knows who has more than 1 kid. First - is they are certainly going to be night and day different (check ours are). Second - the younger is going to wish she was the oldest (double check on this one). Third - The younger is going to imitate and want what the oldest has (triple check!). So Tori's bed was not even complete before Tina wanted a hanging bed as well. Who could blame her? Tori bed IS really cool. http://tntacres.blogspot.com/2010/09/hanging-bed-finally.html

Rod's list of things to do is still long. Tina's bed has finally been crossed off the list! Tina nudged him in the process by drawing a diagram of exactly what they were to do. She took the tape measure and had it drawn out to all the diminsions that she wanted.

They started by adding the support structure and attaching it to the rafters. On that night, Tina was the "helper". Funny thing is on Saturday when they were building the base, the roles got reversed. It was comical to hear Tina say "Dad can you get me some more screws" as she had control of the power tools :-). After the supports and hooks were added, the base support was built and painted. Then we added the ropes. The finished product looks great and Tina said "I bet there are a lot of kids who would just love my room". I agree with her, but I would add that I bet there are a lot of kids in the world who would love to have a Dad like hers that will not only build something like this for her but include her in the process to teach her. What a great Valentine's Day present it was!

Raised Garden

Rod has big plans for his garden. They are so big that he has been cutting down 60' tall trees for it! There are several trees that needed to be taken down for one reason or another. They are either dying, damaged, blocking the sunlight for the garden, or leaning toward the house. He has taken these trees and cut them into 20 - 30 ft sections and is using that as the boundaries for his garden. He will be able to drill holes in the logs and put up a temporary fence to try to keep our animals as well as wild animals from his garden. The soil is going to be some of the best around thanks to the horses. He has now brought up here a couple of trailer loads full of horse manure. (Since we do have an ENDLESS supply of the stuff, amazing really how quickly that bag of horse feed turns into tons of manure).

A Red Truck

Tori bought my grandparents truck after my Grandfather passed away. It was a good deal, the price was right, and the mileage was low. The cosmetics were a little bad and since she has had it... there have been a few dents and dings...(remember the tailgate incident? if not, you can read about it here: http://tntacres.blogspot.com/2010/06/oh-those-beautiful-steps.html).

For her birthday she asked many people to contribute to her a new paint job for her truck. In typical fashion at our house, if you want something done you often have to help. While Rod was outside working on his garden, he supervised Tori doing the body work on her truck to get it ready for painting. This included bondo, sanding, etc. For a beginner, she did a good job.





When it came to take it to the shop to have it painted, she decided to just go with a cheap paint job (about $650) and change the color to red. As you can see the final product was WELL WORTH THE MONEY! She is so excited and proud of her truck now. The only fault she has with it is the fact that it takes gas and I make her use her money to put gas in the tank. (ok, not all the time, Rod did go fill it up for her just last night :-))