The Sifford Sojournal

Our journal of what we pray is our sojourn of life along the narrow way, even the old paths, submitting to the Bible as a light unto both.

Page 41 of 92

Garden – Spring 2016 – Update I

Garden 1

After mulching over the raised beds in Garden 1 over the Winter, and using the mini-greenhouses to start seedlings in good soil, and after some progress of growth after transplanting, sadly many of the plants just haven’t made it.

I’m thinking a couple of things:

  1. I should have planted only one plant per greenhouse and then let them grow much bigger before transplanting.
  2. Planting in newly-laid mulch is probably not the best place to plant — it probably needs to sit at least a year to compress down and help prepare the soil beneath. I thought having the plants in good garden bed soil when transplanted would be enough, but I’m thinking probably not.

But, we always pray for God’s guidance and help and direction to learn. And, there are still some things growing, mostly in the mulch laid down some time before the last section, which sort of helps support point #2 above:

Winter Vegetables

Here are a couple of cabbages getting by:

Cabbage

And one of the beets:

Beet

And the peas are doing the best. It’s nice to have some fresh for a nightly salad!

Peas

Finally, I was able to almost finish laying that thick first layer over where the raised beds used to be:

Finished Full Mulch of Garden 1

Garden 2

I mentioned in our last garden update that I was re-mulching Garden 2. While doing so, and chopping the weeds, we have found turnips along the way that have grown from seeds I planted or scattered several years ago. Here’s a whopper we came across!

Large Winter-Grown Turnip

Same Large Winter-Grown Turnip

And so, I figured it might be a good idea to just throw down a bunch of turnip seeds with the hopes they just come up over the years:

Turnip Seeds

And after about four and a half mulch loads, I was able to finish re-mulching Garden 2, and then I scattered about a pound of the seeds all over. It will be interesting to see what happens over the years, if the Lord wills!

Re-mulching of Garden 2 Complete

Other than what’s already planted, I’m thinking this year is going to be more of a building year, mostly doing prep work, laying mulch, etc.

We are always thankful to the Lord for any bit of provision He grants, and for the opportunity to continue to learn how to go about these agrarian ways, and we pray for His guidance and direction, in all things, both temporal and spiritual.

— David

Providence’s Perpetuation Provisions: First Three 2016 Chick Hatchings

Apparently the memo went out as several of our hens started getting broody this 2016! Sadly, the first mama stopped after 19 days (out of 21) and nothing hatched out. But the next two hens went to completion, and God graciously granted they each hatch out a set of quite a few chicks!

Here’s group 1. Sadly, yesterday I decided best to give a coup de grรขce to one little one barely alive, but all of the rest are doing well it appears!

First Chick Hatching of 2016

And group 2, all present and accounted for!

Second Chick Hatching of 2016

Then, one evening, one hen showed up walking around the open area in front of our barn with four chicks in tow! Surprise! So, we gathered them up and put them in the mini chicken tractor:

Third Chick Hatching of 2016

And here’s a video of all three groups:


We are always very grateful to God for the perpetuation of the flock, and the egg and meat provisions He grants from them! Here are some from the other day ready to be made into some chicken tortilla soup:

Chicken Meat in Pot

Again, we thank the Lord!

— David

A House – Update XLI – Kitchen Counter Endcaps, Bedroom/Library Internal Siding & Fellowship Hats

Kitchen Counter Endcaps

After the kitchen counter top was in place, I still needed to finish the endcaps.

They come in a kit, with a couple of wood pieces to attach to fill out the side, and then the laminate pieces with some kind of heat-activated glue on them.

I attached the wood pieces with a finish nailer:

Kitchen Counter Top Endcap Build Up Wood Pieces

And then you’re supposed to iron on the laminate pieces, keeping the iron at a certain temperature…a little difficult when the iron you have has to be heated up on a stove. ๐Ÿ™‚ :

Ironing on Kitchen Counter Top Endcap

Unable to get a good temperature, I think even too hot to where the glue wouldn’t stick, I ended up just tacking them down with pin nails, which at least for me, I can’t even see:

Pin Nailing Kitchen Counter Top Endcap

Then, you’re supposed to file down the edges flush to the counter top:

Filing Edges of Kitchen Counter Top Endcap

And here they are done! I also caulked around the edges just to make sure moisture is kept out as much as possible:

Kitchen Counter Top Endcap

Another Kitchen Counter Top Endcap

Bedroom/Library Internal Siding

We’ve also been able to continue with the internal siding. On to the bedroom:

Bedroom Internal Siding West External Wall

Bedroom Internal Siding South External Wall

And then the library:

Library Internal Siding South External Wall

Library Internal Siding East External Wall

We’ve also found a new place for the piano: out of the summer kitchen and into the library — hopefully it will be a better temperature environment for it, and hopefully fewer mice will make it a home now ๐Ÿ™‚ :

Piano in Library

And now, all of the internal siding on the external walls, except for the two closets, are done!

Fellowship Hats

And finally, one of the major reasons we are out here is for the close Christian fellowship. Here is a pleasing sign of one of those times, as we’re gathered together, and we are honored to be able to have those times here:

Hats on Homemade Amish Hat Rack During Fellowship Time

We are always very grateful to the Lord for granting continued progress on the house, and thanks again to those who make that possible, and we are most thankful to be able to live amongst people who seek Christ and desire to be full of His graces!

— David

Garden – Spring 2016

With us coming out of Winter heading into Spring, it was time to start getting the gardens in shape for warm-weather planting!

Weeds and Mulching

Lots of weeds this year — I don’t know if it’s because of the mild Winter or not, but there are a bunch of them. This was Garden 2:

Garden After Winter

However, it’s not all bad! Here is one of several volunteer turnips coming from seeds I planted probably a couple of years ago! I think I’m just going to start throwing down turnip seeds all over the mulch garden beds from now on!

Volunteer Turnip

Sue & I started chopping down the weeds using yo-yos (I looked it up, and apparently that is indeed what they’re called) in preparation for laying down a new layer of mulch across the whole garden area:

Chopping Down Weeds

And here is about half of the garden chopped down:

Weeds Chopped

And then the first mulch load laid down and spread out. Looks like probably four loads to cover all of Garden 2:

First New Mulch Section

Compost

With the trouble last year getting plants started from seed directly in the mulch beds, I really figured I need to get a composting system running well.

In a previous blog post almost three years ago, I mentioned the compost container we have been trying to use. It’s been sitting there full of all of the stuff I gathered I think from the chicken tractor and maybe goat fields for probably a couple of years. Well, I planned to take what was in it and move it to inside Garden 1 so I could start turning it more, as I picked up from a local friend that he turns his piles apparently after each rain; and when I opened the lid, there was barely anything in there! I was quite puzzled — where did it all go?

Cylinder Container Compost Pile

But, in looking close at the bottom, lo and behold, there was nice deep, rich looking soil! Wow! And very nice!

New Composted Soil

Here’s a wheelbarrow full of it, clumped because it’s wet:

Wheelbarrow of New Composted Soil

Excellent! I also have a pretty big pile of chicken droppings/hay and wood ashes going in Garden 1 that I hope now by turning it over it will compost better.

Thanks to the Lord for granting the new soil, and we pray for continued guidance always. And may He help us in continuing to prepare the gardens, and we pray He might grant food from them this year!

— David

A House – Update XL – Kitchen Counter & Sink, & Birdhouse 2

With the kitchen siding in place, it was time to install the kitchen counter and sink.

Kitchen Counter Top

I decided to go with a pre-formed laminate one as it was going to be easier, more cost effective, and I believed better quality than if I were to try to make one myself.

Sue had decided she didn’t want permanent cupboards below the counter top, so my plan was to build bracing that attached to the wall studs, and this is what I came up with. There is a cross 2×4 attached to the wall studs, then the counter top braces extending from the wall on top of that, and then diagonal braces from the top brace to the wall stud:

Kitchen Counter Bracing

For the corner, I just put braces across from back board to back board:

Kitchen Counter Corner Bracing

Once the bracing was completed, I tied the corners together with glue and the provided nuts and bolts in the pre-cut areas:

Kitchen Counter Corner Tied Together with Bolts

Here are the screws I decided to use to tie down the counter top to the top braces. They have a larger, flat head that I hoped would help pull the counter to the brace:

Screws to Tie Down Kitchen Counter to Bracing

I had Sue sit on the counter and push down to get the counter to set against the top braces while I screwed it down, and here is the counter tied down to a brace:

Kitchen Counter Tied Down to Bracing

And here is the counter top installed!

Kitchen Counter Right Side

Kitchen Counter Left Side

Kitchen Sink

We decided to go with a stainless steel kitchen sink, to be placed between two braces. When I initially measured, it appeared it was going to fit nicely, but I eventually ran into some issues…

When cutting on a laminate top, you’re apparently supposed to put tape down to help keep the laminate from cracking as you cut:

Tape Laid Out for Kitchen Sink

Then, you lay the sink down upside down, trace around it, then draw a cut line inside the trace line, the width according to the instructions that come with the sink:

Kitchen Sink Cutting Marks on Tape

I used a jig saw with laminate blade to cut out the main section:

Kitchen Sink Main Cutout

Then used a coping saw for the back part as I couldn’t get close enough with the jig saw to the back cut line:

Coping Saw Cutting Back of Kitchen Sink Cutout

One issue I ran into was the sides of the hole ended up going over the bracing, and so I used a skill saw set to counter-top depth to make the initial cut of the sides, and then needed to chisel out the rest:

Chiseling Out Kitchen Counter on Top of Bracking

And here is a side completed:

Kitchen Sink Side Chiseled Out

Sadly though, on the right side, I apparently didn’t chisel down far enough in the corner, and it slightly cracked up the laminate. I ended up just gluing it and caulking it, which appears to have worked ok:

Laminate Crack

Another problem I ran into was that the sink tubs wouldn’t fit completely between the braces, so I needed to cut off a little of the brace siding:

Kitchen Counter Trimmed Bracing

And then, another issue was how to clamp the sides of the sink to the counter top. For that, I drilled holes and chiseled out a hole in the brace, and enough underneath to reveal some of the counter top so the clamp would have something to grab on to. You can see here at the top of the hole a little of the counter top exposed. Given the design of the brace, I could only really use one clamp on the sides even though you’re supposed to use two — I just hope that ends up being enough ๐Ÿ™‚ :

Kitchen Sink Clamp Cutout in Counter Brace

Once all cutting, etc. was complete, I put down the caulk bead:

Kitchen Sink Caulk Bead

And then placed the sink in place, and clamped it down in a star-like pattern, starting from the inside clamps outward according to the directions:

Kitchen Sink Counter Clamps

And then I added more caulking from the outside, stuffing it under any slight gaps between the sink and counter top, and then tried to smooth it all out. And I put a couple of jugs of water to try to help keep pressing it down with the caulking cures:

Kitchen Sink Installed

To finish, I put in caps with caulking to plug the faucet holes:

Kitchen Sink Installed

And added the plumbing, which we plan to run into a bucket, at least for now:

Kitchen Sink Installed

So far after several days of the caulk around the sink curing, without using it yet, it seems to have sealed up. I guess we’ll know more over time and usage. ๐Ÿ™‚

Birdhouse 2

Last but not least, young Abram Stonger made us another birdhouse, and here it is in place. Thanks to you, Abram, and a fine job!

New Birdhouse

And both birdhouses from the boys:

Both Birdhouses

As always, we are grateful to the Lord for granting the resources, designs and abilities to continue to work on the house! We always pray our place will be one of worship to Him!

— David

Musical Roosters

A couple of times now, we’ve had roosters at some point in their lives have crows that sound like familiar human tunes! It brings a smile to my face when I hear them, in just how much their crows sound like a snippet of a familiar song or piece of music.

Anyway, here is a video of them in action — the two music compositions being the standard Bridal March and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony! ๐Ÿ˜€ See if you can hear the similarities:


We are always grateful to the Lord for His continued provisions, both spiritually and temporally, and we thank Him for these little gifts of farm fun He grants out here!

— David

Garden – Winter 2016 – Update I

We thought we’d give a little update on the progress in our Winter garden this year so far…

We’ve been able to start transplanting from the mini-greenhouses. Basically, I would take my pocket knife, cut down the middle of the dirt in the mini-greenhouse, trying to separate the soil between the two plant sides, and then just use my fingers to dig in between, scooping out one side, and planting it in the mulch garden bed.

And by God’s graces, so far so good! I was a little worried about how the transplanting process would work out, but I don’t think we’ve lost one yet, which is nice, although I don’t know if the unusually warm Winter we’ve had has been a major factor.

And so, things are starting to grow out on their own…

Winter Garden 2016

The peas seem to be doing the best:

Winter Garden 2016 Peas

More Winter Garden 2016 Peas

And here is some cabbage:

Winter Garden 2016 Cabbage

And broccoli:

Winter Garden 2016 Broccoli

And beets:

Winter Garden 2016 Beets

We’ll see how things continue, but we are thankful for what the Lord has granted thus far, for the recent rains, which really put a spring in the plants’ step (so to speak ๐Ÿ˜€ ), and we pray God might grant food in the end!

— David

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