Help

Thanks for all the suggestions and comments,

It looks like the winner is Button.

Say Hello to Button!

Button eats poison ivy! Hurray for Button!

On the flip side, Button rolls in poison ivy.

Conclusion...Pet Button with Caution. :-)

Rain Barrel

Now that's a rain barrel!

275 gallons of rain saving splendor... now all we need is some rain!

More details were requested. We obtained what is refered to in industry as a tote from a local ink factory. It once contained acrylic ink so after thorough rinsing it is fine for water for the garden. We were put on the track of this beauty by a local pig farmer who has half a dozen put to as many uses.

Chicken Coup

The New Chicken Coop is Complete
06/23/08

I am really proud of our new chicken coop. We finished it up this weekend. Now the chickens are outside where they belong and have plenty of space and fresh air.

Plenty of roosting sites

Gang-plank door gives free access to gather bugs during the day and security at night

The coop is built from 2x2's that we ripped on the table saw from 2x24's that were milled in Waxhaw from the dead yellow pine that Matthew cut down in our yard in Charlotte last winter.

At the mill

Pigs

Say "Hello" to Bar and B-Que our two new pigs.

5/12/08

We picked up the pigs about a week ago and installed them in the pallet corral / future garden. In the last couple of days they have started to eat like pigs. We can hardly keep the trough full. We feed them 16% protein pellets- the same than the adult ducks and chickens get- and they are happily digging up worms and roots.

They haven't shown much interest in vegetable scraps but they did like the watermellon rind I tossed them last night. No 'oinking' yet. They bark like dogs!

1 Month Later 6/23/08

One month later Bar and B-Que have rooted out the future garden and are loving the muddy hole they have left behind. I know the mud is healthy for them... but ugh!