A Little Backyard Homestead Project

[sumi]

@sumi, You've really been busy. Is the slide usable? Or is it really rusty? If it's not safe as a toy, it might make a great trellis for beans or peas or even flowers to grow on. I can imagine that as a trellis for your wild roses... Your chickens are lucky! Mine would love all that grass, but here, I'd be afraid of snakes. Looks like you're finding lots of firewood though. It's always great to find free wood.

The slide is amazingly still useable, though it's coming apart here and there, minor repairs needed. And a coat of paint. DS wants to paint and use it, he told me, so I'll let him.

 

[milkmansdaughter]

That's terrific! I bet he will also be digging in the grass to see what other treasures he can find!

 

[Britesea]

teaching him early that one man's trash is another's treasure! Great!

 

[sumi]

I raked up some more of the dried grass and for now, moved it to the heap right in the back. Worryingly this time I found some bones NO idea what they could be from, a bit too big for a dog and intact and burned

I also moved the wood DS and I pulled out of the pile in the back close to the shed, so I can cut it up. And then if course it started raining, so it's now soaked again. Oh well… Was out most of Wednesday and busy and tired yesterday, so didn't get anything further done and it's raining today. Hoping for a dryer weekend, so I can continue cleaning out there. Will take some pics soon.

 

[NH Homesteader]

That is kind of a creepy find.... Maybe it was a pig roast? That's better than creepier explanations!

 

[sumi]

I bumped into my landlady this afternoon and mentioned it. She looked a bit alarmed and couldn't offer any clues as to what they are from or where they came from, except the neighbours burned rubbish in the back here, which is close to where I found the bones. Only two so far, thank goodness, but those creeped me out enough! I'll just keep thinking it was remains of a roast or something, unless something more sinister comes out of that mess.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Yikes - gotta agree on the creepy part. Hopefully, it really was a pig roast!

 

[milkmansdaughter]

Don't dig down TOO far!

 

[sumi]

Don't dig down TOO far!

I'll try not to, but it is more or less where I'm thinking of putting part of the vegetable garden, so digging that patch over is going to be interesting..

 

[sumi]

My landlord dropped in yesterday. He cannot figure out a safe way to get the pen into the back here. The problem is the immediate surrounding properties are jungles and he doesn't want to cut back trees etc, to give us access, as that would take away my privacy in the back here, which is very nice… The pen itself is quite big and very heavy, which makes it awkward and difficult to move. I may just find an alternative housing solution for the hens soon, so I can get my shed back. Oh, he said there is an old shed in the back corner? We walked up there and had a look, but it's so overgrown, neither of us could find it LOL

I asked if he has a pair of secateurs I can borrow to cut back some of the plants along the fence line and he said he has two pairs and will drop them off today. He's very happy to see the progress I made out there so far and said I seem to "like a challenge!" I do I love it!

It's sunny today, so I'll see about getting pics… Here goes:

What I raked so far:

I need to go over there again with the rake some time, but for now I'm after getting all the dry grass and moss gone, then I can level the soil. Excuse the rubbish on the left, I'm still picking up and collecting it there for removal. (Thanks for burning trash in my backyard, neighbours! )

This is going to get cut back and raked up, today if the weather allows:

And somewhere in that corner there may be a shed….

You can see the start of the compost heap in the last pic (in the back corner) and just in front of that, the wood pile we pulled apart. There are still some sticks I need to pick up and move to the shed for burning later.