The snow from October 12th melted away and we were gifted several days of 50° weather. Maybe 4. We used them to get started on putting metal on the Duck Mansion. We finished today, working in 32° for a good time.

We started on the East Side, as it had the fewest cuts and shows from the road. The South Side was the trickiest, given the two windows and a door. We will put metal on the doors and drop-down window some other year.

The colors don’t match on all the sides as we used some metal we bought for the house but then didn’t use as our color scheme has changed. Just as well as we learned you have to buy enough metal to finish a project as dye lots change over time.

The North Side doesn’t show from the road. We cannibalized metal left over from the roof of the Mansion as well as some pieces they gave us to protect metal to finish this side. Michael fell in love with the Munchkin Blue and now is threatening to s… — The North Side doesn’t show from the road. We cannibalized metal left over from the roof of the Mansion as well as some pieces they gave us to protect metal to finish this side. Michael fell in love with the Munchkin Blue and now is threatening to side our next project all in blue. Ee. We are counting on some of that driving rain to clean the metal for us.

We delayed putting metal on a little too long, as the plywood began delaminating. This has been the wettest year since 1968.

We also finished the entryway platforms for Irene and the door into the addition. We hadn’t been using the addition door (someday to be the living room door) as 18” is more of a step than my knees like. We had fixed Irene’s particle board steps a number of times as they also succumbed to too much rain and snow.

The platforms are made from 2x6s rather than particle board. Hopefully they will last until we have the wear withal to put in cement walkways.

The chicken coop still needs metal, but it isn’t going to get it this year as it isn’t falling apart yet. The garden may not get turned over this fall. We are hoping to be gifted at least one more day with temps above freezing as we have 5 drakes who need to go to Freezer Camp. They will be roasting ducks, but are still growing out their pin feathers. We got them late as we had our last snow on May 19th and couldn’t rotate the adults down on pasture as soon as usual. We needed their space for the babies, which put everything behind. Now we are fighting cold on this end.
Weather is always a moving target for farmers…even for those of us who practice unsustainable farming!