Introducing: The Cuddle Coop

Introducing: The Cuddle Coop

Per usual, Sam and I are involved in about a bajillion different projects at the same time. So here's a whirlwind of photos so you can see what we've been up to. 

A couple weeks ago we did a lot of yard clean up. Sam borrowed a pole pruner from a coworker, and we went to work trimming trees all around the property. Any tree that had low lying limbs that Sam couldn't mow under got a trim. We probably didn't trim a few of the trees along the driveway as much as we should have, but it's better than it was. Now we REALLY have a giant burn pile. And I mean giant. If we light this thing on fire, you all in Kentucky can probably still see it. Just kidding. But really. We should have a bonfire and roast some marshmallows in the fall. 

While we were cleaning up, we found this little guy. Turns out he's not the first we've seen. We've seen several of these over the last few weeks. According to the internet, it is a caterpillar of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly!

That same weekend (I think), Sam decided to get started on staining the deck. Despite some minor hiccups, I think it turned out great. We plan on putting down a clear poly coat several months from now to try and smooth out the stain a little more. 

While Sam was doing that, I was brave and decided to try and tackle the fireplace cover! We had recently bought black spray paint from the store that was resistant up to 1200*F. I taped up the fireplace, tested out the spray on a board outside, then went for it. It looks so amazing. I'm so proud! I did it all by myself (if you ignore the fact that Sam had to go back and touch up a few spots when he came back in). 

Pippin was being really cute that weekend, too! 

We also did another harvest so that we could can more of the pepper mixes that Sam loves so much. We picked a TON of peppers and we didn't even pick half of the some of the spicier peppers. 

Final count...33 pints of spicy peppers and 7 pints of banana peppers (ish). 

Later that week when Sam was letting the chickens out before work, he discovered that one of our chickens was crowing. Remember me bragging to you about how Red was the most beautiful chicken I had ever seen and that she was my favorite? Yep. She's a rooster.

Cue the several days of what are we going to do with a rooster? Sell him on Craigslist and hope to get around $10 off of him? Give him away on Craigslist (who knows how long that could take)? Kill him and eat him (such a waste of a fancy breed like his, in my opinion...he's an Easter Egger)? Keep him and try and breed him to Blue next Spring to make lots of little baby Easter Egger chickens? I think you know which one I preferred. Though for about half-an-hour it was a 50/50 shot whether he was going to be eaten or kept. 

In the end, Sam wanted me to decide because he had too many other things to worry about (and I never make decisions). With the help of the best neighbor in the world, Cynthia, I started building an A-frame chicken coop out of scrap materials we had around the house. The boards are the old deck boards that Sam and I took off of the deck, so every board you see had to be carried back over to the house and the nails removed. Our goal was to finish the coop before Sam got home, and we were so close! We were about seven boards away, and man were we pooped! Georgia is hot! 

Over the next week, I tackled one small part of the coop a day so that I didn't overwork myself and Rylee. I finished one side of the coop, then the other, then built the door, and this weekend I worked on building the run. 

Once the two sides of the coop were built, we were able to move Red in by catching him when he was sleepy and popping him in his new home. He stayed in there for a few days before I got around to building the run, and he got many visitors during his stay. 

The run was probably the hardest part to build, only because it involved so much bending! I had to take a lot of breaks, so it took me all day to make. 

While I worked, Sam supervised (to make sure I wasn't overdoing it) and worked on his own project. He wanted to finish digging the footers he had started on for the deck steps and pour the concrete. 

Yay, again, for old deck boards. Who knew that we would be getting so much extra use out of them?

He had to dig 12" (ish) deep holes that were 14" x 82" then build wooden frames to sit down inside of the holes to form the concrete. 

I kept joking with him that they looked like mini coffins and that we should barbecue the puppies and eat them for dinner. Just kidding, look how cute they are!

He mixed the concrete together with water in our wagon. 

Scooped the concrete in with a shovel, leveled it out, and then left it to dry. He put boards down over top to try and dissuade the cats from stepping on it. (Despite our efforts, we saw paw prints this morning). 

This morning, Sam woke up with terrible allergies, and we are both tired from all of our work yesterday. So the only thing we focused on (aside from the housecleaning I have to do after writing this) was moving Red to his final living location. 

In case you've always wanted to see a trapped rooster. Here you go. 

I made the coop so that three of the walls are removable, and it's a good thing that I did because that thing was heavy! Sam managed to get it onto one of those rolling pads people that work under cars have, and we pushed it most of the way across the yard before he had to drag it into the woods. The run was much easier to move with the wagon. 

We attached the run to the coop, refilled his water and bedding, put in several weeks worth of food, then stepped back to admire our handy-work. Despite all of our hard-work, I don't think he likes his new living arrangements as much as his old. His sister Blue certainly misses him and is always trying to figure out how to get in to see him. We named his new place the Cuddle Coop!

(far left: Bantam Fleur d'uncle with no name. For those who are not color blind and can see her bright red comb, it means that she should start laying eggs soon. in the run: Easter Egger rooster named Red. far right: Easter Egger hen named Blue.)