Fiacré's spade: May23-26 Wind, rain, and a chicken coop

The building inspector came to check the placement of the chicken coop on Wednesday morning and gave us the thumbs up. Terry framed out the front and back walls on the driveway, and we carried them around and held them while Terry secured them to the platform and braced them in position.

Wall #1

Wall #2

I had to go to campus for a meeting Thursday morning. After the meeting, I worked on cleaning my desk until 1:00. . As long as I had the car out, I went to Elgin to visit Jane. I’d been thinking about getting a new camera for a long time. Jane had researched various options and found that the best pick within my budget was a Canon Rebel T3. Canon was offering rebates, and Jane found a really good deal at a camera store in Batavia at which I could get the additional telephoto lens for $100 less than the price of the same lens at competing big box stores. So off we went. I certainly didn’t think the 12 mile trip was going to take 2 hours, but that’s Randall Rd. for you. I had already discovered that it was impossible to get from Point A to Point B by any route without bumping into road construction. Welcome to summer. It was 4:30 when we got back to Elgin, and I still had to get groceries. I scrapped my plans to make spaghetti for supper and bought a frozen pizza.

When I got home nearly two hours later, Terry reported that the wind had blown at 40 mph all day. He had made the rafters for the coop, but putting them up was out of the question. The only work he did on the main structure was to build frames for the door and window. Hilda hadn’t been able to garden at all. The wind blew so hard that it had unscrewed the bottom of the hummingbird feeder, which lay on the ground. The physics of that process boggles the mind.

Wall #2 with window frame and door frame

Friday, in contrast, was a lovely, calm day, although hot. We started by putting up the nine rafters. After each was positioned, Terry braced them in two places with 2 x 4s. He framed one of the side walls, and we held the siding in position while he put in anchor screws. Hilda and I planted 35 sweet peppers and 32 hot peppers. It sounds like a lot. I will admit it is too many, and I will live to regret it. It is, however, the same number I have planted for many years, and I just can’t seem to cut back. As Hilda says, there’s always the food pantry.

Putting up the rafters

Adding the braces to hold the rafters in position

The end wall framed and sided

At 3:00 Saturday morning, I woke to the sound we’ve been so hoping for: rain. We had 0.4” by 7:00 and have had more since then. I’m sure the neighboring farmers are breathing an even bigger sigh of relief. The crops are, for the moment, saved. Perhaps we can get the rest of the garden in this afternoon before it gets unbearably hot and humid.

We have named the chicks. It turns out that the beaks were different for the Dominiques as well as the Brahma. As I often tell my students, the basis for finding differences is in careful observation. Here are their portraits.

The Dominique

Ellie

Sara

Giada

The Light Brahma (the Two Fat Ladies)

Clarissa

Jennifer

The Araucana

Bridget

Ina

Ingrid

Julia

Nigella

The telephoto lens was a good purchase. I have been able to take bird pictures from the kitchen. They are a bit fuzzy because of the window screen, but I like them anyway.