The Lord of the Chipping... or Chipping Impossible

 

Berry Patch Raised Bed Construction

This week we are going to discuss the details of our raised beds in the berry patch.  These raised beds also act as retaining walls to prevent soil erosion, so there are actually a lot of structural considerations that we had to think about when designing and building these beds.

 

A Guy Named Bob

 

Happy Fathers Day, Lumberjack!

 

Turkey and Peafowl Area

 

Fencing and Raised Beds for Berry Patch

This week we are continuing with the berry patch.  We put in the fencing and two of the raised beds which also act as retaining walls for the two levels in this area.  It has been a lot of work but it should be a big improvement to the homestead.  We are already seeing berries start on what we have planted.

Retaining Walls and Rough Grading for Berry Patch

This week we are continuing with the berry patch.  The past 3 months we have been working on retaining walls, grading, and pulling out rocks to get ready for fencing off the berry patch area.  It has been a lot of work but it should be a big improvement to the homestead when finished.

Breaking Up A Giant Boulder

We had a giant boulder in the middle of where we wanted to put our berry patch.  So it had to go.  It was too big to move, so we had to break it up into more manageable pieces first.

Solid Wood Kitchen Countertop

This will probably be the last big indoor project that we do this season.  The weather is starting to warm up and we have a lot of outdoor projects on the list this year.

As we mentioned in an earlier video, we moved our refrigerator to the other side of the kitchen to improve the traffic patterns in and out of that room.  In the space where the refrigerator used to be, we installed a solid wood countertop to better utilize that area.  This was a quicker project that actually improved the kitchen quite a bit.  It is amazing how much three extra feet of counter space will do for a kitchen.

2025 Year End Review

This week we go over the results of what we were able to produce on the homestead in 2025.  This has been the third summer in the new homestead and we are starting to get some things in place, so we want to talk about where we are and little of where we are going.  We also go over some of the the issues and problems that we encountered.  You won't get this kind of transparency from the government!

Small Projects During the Holidays - 2025

This week we want to talk about the projects that we completed during the holidays.  Each of these projects were smaller and did not justify a video of their own, but we did do a lot over that week and a half.

Chicken Coop Ease of Use Improvements Pt 2 - Watering System

This week we will continue with improvements that we have made to the chicken coop since the initial build.  We have already talked about a number of security and access improvements.  This week it is ease of use improvements, specifically the watering system.

The goal with many of these improvements is to make keeping our chickens a easy as possible and as low maintenance as possible.  This watering system definitely checks both of those boxes.

Chicken Coop Ease of Use Improvements Pt 1 - Access Improvements

Woodworking - Rocking Llama

Now that we are getting settled and have some of the major projects done, we can spend time on some other things.  So this week, we are doing a woodworking project: making a rocking llama as a Christmas gift for a friend.  The rocking llama is a fun project and baby bear still plays with hers a bit even though she has really out grown it.  

The shed allowed us to get some of the clutter out of the garage so I can more easily do some larger woodworking projects.  This is the first project in the last 3 years where I didn't spend over half of my time just moving things around so I could use a tool.

Sorry for the delay in getting this posted.  It was a challenge to edit down about 10 hours of video to less than half an hour.

Processing Rabbits for the First Time

This week we are processing two rabbits before the weather really turns.  This is our first time processing rabbits, although we have processed chickens and turkeys before.  There is an excellent video on the details of processing rabbits here that we used as reference.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K9obs_MSt0

We did not have as easy of a time at it as they did in the video, but we got it done.  We are planning on using these for Christmas dinner, so we will let you know how they turn out.

Neighbors

Chicken Coop Security Enhancements

Making and Preserving Homemade Salsa

We are harvesting the garden and preserving as much as we can for use all year long.  Our tomatoes and peppers have done well this year, so that means salsa.  When we have a good crop of something we try to preserve enough for the upcoming year plus a little extra in case the next year's crop doesn't do as well.  This year I think we were able to can a year and a half's worth of salsa.

Here is the recipe that we use for our homemade salsa:

https://www.delishknowledge.com/the-best-homemade-salsa-for-canning/#recipe 

Freezing Corn

Billy Goat BC26 Outback Brush Mower Review