Sunday = Fun Day

Sunday was another clear, blue, 60-ish degree day - just right for staining the picnic table.  You may recall that Scott and Carl built the world's best picnic table a few weeks back.  The treated lumber has now had time to dry so Scott first sanded (no rough edges) then treated the table with some weatherproof, protective (and colorful!) stain. 

This table has a lot of surface area!  

He used nearly a half gallon of stain.

Finishing touches!

Sunday Afternoon Turkeys

We arrived at noTTafarm around 1:45 Sunday afternoon.  A group (flock? gaggle?) of turkeys greeted us with a happy chorus of gobbles* as they sauntered through the yard west of the house.

*The turkeys may or may not have spoken to us.

Dig, Tote, Stack, Repeat.

While Scott played with the oversized Tonka toy, Carl and I dug bricks out of the front flower bed.  I started at around 8:30 AM Saturday and by 12:30, I was pooped.  I toted 357 (actual number!  not an exaggeration!) old pavers which Scott guesses weigh 5 pounds each.  Carl got "lucky" and moved the smaller pavers, totaling an impressive 312.  On Sunday, I found and moved 87 more from the flower bed north of the house.  Why would anyone bury pavers in the flower bed, 3-deep?

They're all stacked neatly next to the barn, ready for a future landscaping project.

Saturday Morning Cow

Of all of the neighboring longhorns, this one is my favorite because of its color.  He greeted us with a happy moo when we arrived at 8:15 Saturday morning. 

(He may or not be a he . . .nor did he necessarily make any sounds . . . but wouldn't it be neat if he did?)

Wild Dingo Sighting!

My effort to bring back Meryl Streep's infamous line "The dingo ate my baby!" from the classic 1988 movie, A Cry in the Dark, fell on on deaf ears Friday afternoon.  The mighty roar of the rented Toro Dingo filled the air as Scott and I took a few hours of vacation to enjoy a beautiful October day at noTTafarm.  The Dingo was the perfect tool to use to begin grading the corn crib site, the first step toward total corn crib rehabilitation.

Scott rented the Dingo for 24 hours/8 hours of running time.

 

Luckily, Scott is a Dingo expert! He used his instinct and knowledge gained from his Toro mower to get it working.



Scott and the Dingo moved so much dirt . . . if he had just used a shovel, it would have taken a week.



Dumping the dirt in the new pile behind the barn.  Anyone need any dirt?  Come and get it!



The Dingo was also handy for transporting big chunks of concrete to a new concrete dump.  Anyone need any used concrete chunks?  Come and get 'em!

Another pile of dirt was created on the north side (back) of the corn crib.  Scott pushed out about 8 inches of dirt in the crib's center bay.



The Dingo easily knocked over three tree stumps that were behind the corn crib.



Grading complete!

Scott used the Dingo from about 2PM Friday til it was dark...then we were out at noTTafarm bright and early Saturday to finish up so he could return it by the noon deadline. 

  



A Weekend Spent Down in the Dumps(ter)

Chapter Two:  Sunday

Scott headed out to noTTafarm early Sunday.  While I slept in a bit and went to church, he delivered his folks home from an early flight arrival.  He took advantage of the time by rounding up a few odds and ends (like empty trash barrels).  I journeyed out for lunch around 12:30 - and was happy to hear from my baby brother Tim.  He had been granted a kitchen pass for the day (thanks, Teresa!)  His stories, brawn, and beloved Chevy truck made the afternoon fly.  Before we knew it, the dumpster was full.

Tim came to help with the right attitude and a rockin' shirt.



The wood pile on the north side of the barn was our first target.



Hey, Look!  A partial skull!  How cool!
<ish>

Voila!  The wood pile was quickly dispatched to the dumpster.

Tim and Scott survey the barn.  Who will be the lucky sibling to pitch in and help clean?  I vote for big brother, Mark!

Thanks, Tim and "Shirley"! 
They both worked really hard, and we appreciate it!

Stay tuned for our next adventure!

A Weekend Spent Down in the Dumps(ter)

Chapter One:  Saturday

No, we weren't depressed. 

We were thrilled when the 30-cubic yard dumpster was delivered to noTTafarm on Saturday morning!  It was larger than we imagined but we knew we could find enough to fill it to the brim.  The weather was perfect for such work:  cold, damp, a high of 54 degrees - far below a normal Omaha summer day.  We suited up, put the Husker game on the radio, and got to work.

  

Before Abe's Trash Service arrived with the dumpster, we had time to
tackle the removal of the worst kitchen hood ever. 

  

 



Scott loosens a few of the screws inside the hood.







The folding chairs helped catch the hood as it came loose.



Scott used the sledge to knock down the drywall box housing the vent duct.

The duct gets a nifty Target hat (it's temporary, I swear).



The dumpster arrives!









I made Scott stand next to the dumpster "for scale".



A couple of hours in and we've made good progress!  We started with the 17 bags of corn crib trash, the kitchen hood, and the wood pile behind the corn crib.  The pile was about 90% rotten, surrounded by weeds, and had a base of logs that we had to dig out of the dirt.

Scott rolls a big log to the dumpster.

In our ongoing effort to rehabilitate the corn crib, Scott removed most of the wood floor on the east side.

Ever wonder what lies beneath the floor of a 90-year-old corn crib?  How about a mummified opossum!

And so ended day one.

Huskers victorious over Washington, 56-21

The Camps victorious over lots of stuff.