Kiln Planning.

Nothing like a deadline to get things going. We set the date a couple of weeks ago and this weekend we're gonna build a kiln, with a little help from my clay friends, Jo, Trish and Vicki.

I built it in my head a couple of times and laid it out on paper, then I read in a book to use legos to build a model. At first I thought it was a little goofy but I found some legos up in the attic and gave it a try. I soon realized it was a really good idea to work it out in legos instead of 8 pound bricks. Next thing you know I was ordering legos online because I didn't have enough. I built and rebuilt this little model three times now. I'm basically going with the same kiln as last time except a little bigger so I won't have to fire as often, and I'm changing the ports a little to make the soda more even.

So far we've got the pad laid (Gertie took a little stroll through the wet concrete), the shed area cleaned out and gravel down so it isn't so muddy, and the hole cut in the roof for the chimney. And I've started moving bricks over to the site, that's going kinda slow. Here's a picture of one of the pallets of new bricks, you can see the big floor bricks on the corner there. The big pieces are supposed to be more stable according to the brick guy, man they're heavy.

Cherry Pie

Just a quick post. Yesterday after Aaron got home we realized the cherries were ripe. They were still tart but they were soft and some were starting to split from the big rain storm we just had. I figured they were as ripe as they were gonna get and are just tart cherries, the kind you use in pies.

So we picked them, and pitted them and baked a pie. I'm not the best baker but here are the pics. Oh and in the middle of all that a young bull from the pasture next door got into our yard and didn't want to leave. We had to get the owner over here to lure him back in with feed.

Birds & Fences

This weekend was pretty busy here at the Ward compound. We put up a picket fence out back, Saturday we put in the posts and Sunday we put up the panels. Never having put up a fence before I think it came out pretty good. We're gonna have a lot of painting to do.

I had been reading that Guinea hens are really good for gardens because they eat bugs but leave plants alone. I was pretty excited to get some because they are supposed to keep tick numbers down, too. And since we've moved here I've been finding ticks like crazy on the cats and the dog. So Saturday I took a ride down to Holly Springs to Sumner-Byrd Hatchery, that's the place I bought the 2 chickens we already have. It's a really clean place and the guys that own it seem to really love what they do. So anyway, I went there with the intention of buying the guineas and somehow walked out with 6 adorable little chicks! They're the cutest things you've ever seen.... or heard. They were only three days old.

I'm not quite as in love with the guineas but they're growing on me. Catching them to take home was a bit of a harrowing experience. I was standing there with my boxes ready and the hatchery guy was trying to catch them while they ran around like crazy, flapping their wings and making this hideous scream. I was definitely having second thoughts at that moment. Oh and I got scratched in the process. He eventually had to use a net on one of them and grab it by it's feet so he wouldn't get mauled. Let's hope I never have to catch them. I'm hoping they make up for it with their bug-eating. Another upside is that they require almost no care in the warm months, since they run loose and sleep in the trees. They seem to be settling in now and are kinda cool to watch, and they have really pretty feathers.

Last week I took a trip down to Durham and stopped in at my favorite thrift stores, I found this little metal firetruck toy, not sure what I'm gonna do with it, and these metal ceiling tile things. I love thrift stores.

Strawberries and Carpel Tunnel

We dug up and brought these strawberry plants from the old house, they are full of red berries but they're not quite ripe yet. Mmmm. Oh and now you can see fruit on the cherry, apple and pear trees. I've been reading up on how to keep birds out of fruit trees. I think it would be cool if we actually got some fruit from them.

So Aaron had his appointments with the doctor last week and they confirmed that yes, it's carpal tunnel, no, he doesn't have nerve damage, but yes, he does need surgery. They say with the surgery he will be able to make a full recovery. So he's going to go ahead and do it as soon as school is over so he can use his hands pain-free again. It sucks but at least it can be fixed.

Last weekend we gave the deck away!! Yay! Thanks to Katya for setting that up. Now there's a big empty dirt area on that side of the house that's just screaming for some plants. I never quite started a garden from scratch before, it should be fun. I'd like to put plants in to attract hummingbirds and butterflies since this area is visible from the living room. And herbs. There's lots of room to work with and no hurry.

Last week I started the planning on the kiln. The concrete pad has been laid thanks to Aaron, the bricks have been ordered and new blowers are sitting in the living room ready. I just need to figure out how to replace them on the old burners. This time I'm making some adjustments to the design so the kiln lasts longer and I don't have to fire as often. Hopefully I'll get as good or better results from this one. I spent a bunch of time last week on the phone talking to the brick and burner guys, well worth it, because I had forgotten a bunch of stuff from last time.

Here's a couple more shots, Ted and the barn next door-