Weekly Update: 7.13.24
As I predicted in our last update, we had an unusual week.
Our brother Jeremiah was on vacation, so we didn't stick to our routine. None of us has had a real vacation since starting this project -- we really don't have time for one. That being the case, we decided it would do us good to be extra flexible and make a little more time for fun this week.
On Saturday, we went to Springfield. A few of us had gift cards to use, so that was fun.
We started with breakfast at Parlor Doughnuts. We had planned to go to St. George's, which has been our favorite for years, but it was closed for the 4th of July weekend. Instead, we ran across the street to try the "famous layered doughnuts" at Parlor. And they were delicious. We washed them down with Starbucks iced lattes.
After breakfast, we went to Bass Pro. Bonnie-Jean had a birthday gift card she used to purchase a survival knife, which she has been wanting for quite some time. After Bass Pro, we went to Cavender's, where Bonnie-Jean spent the rest of her birthday money on some new boots and a hat. We ended the day with lunch at Red Robin and then Costco. The whole day felt festive and frivolous, which we all very much enjoyed.
The rest of the week was a mix of downtime and projects. We worked on running electric in the bunkhouse, finishing up most of the outlet boxes and a lot of the drilling. Grace worked on caulking the blocking between rafters. Jeremiah headed up an outdoor gym project in the woods. He had started a gym near the bunkhouse last summer, but because it was in the sun, it was rarely being used. He relocated and expanded the gym in the shade. Levi had already been clearing the area last year for an outdoor workout space, so it turned out perfectly. The rest of us stayed busy doing all the typical garden and camp chores.
Our dad worked on our wood chipper. We've only had it for about two years. We love it for getting rid of brush and making chips for our garden, dog kennel, compost, etc. We recently ordered some replacement parts, only to realize that there was another issue that needed to be fixed. Sadly, after taking the chipper apart, our dad realized it might be beyond repair. It needs a new fuel tank, but they are out of stock on the company website -- and it appears our chipper was discontinued. We are dialoging with the company, hoping to find parts so that we can get it up and running again.
We had an unfortunate development with some of our bees this week. When our sister-in-law Erin and her daughter Eilley Mae went to check on the bees, they found that one of our swarms had absconded. This was the hive that had struggled to adjust to the frames in the new hive. We had tied their comb to the frames, but some of it had slid lower than we wanted, and the bees had started building horizontally. We had been debating how to repair the problem, but it seems the bees decided they could do better elsewhere. We are disappointed, but also relieved that we can clean out this hive and hopefully do better next time.
As much fun as this week was, I'm looking forward to getting back to into our routine. It should be a good week. Our tractor has been in the shop since April, and it is finally ready to come home. We hope to pick it up on Monday. We have gotten a solid start on our electric, and it will feel good to keep making progress. It's hard to believe July is almost half over. I know the hottest part of summer is still to come, but I feel good that we have survived it so far.
