So today, I somehow became motivated to take on some backyard projects.  First I cleaned out a cider carboy.  Then I put up this cool face I received as a Christmas present from my aunt and uncle.  I then moved a parts hay elevator Tom brought home into a more out-of-the-way place.  I started cleaning up the area beside the barn, moving wood, trailer, posts, fencing, back-blade, gates, etc.  Then I decided to move the tin that we took of the barn to an area next to the barn so it would be more out of the way.  We are going to use this when we replace the walls, but since that is likely not to occur anytime soon, I decided to move it out of the way.  During this process I was cursing Tom (just a little) for doing projects and not picking up the stuff afterwards and for bringing things home where there is not space to store them nor time to work on them.

At this point Tom came out.  He had been helping get our pellet stove working again.  So we came to a truce about the “junk” or “treasures”, depending on your point of view.  Then we finally moved the scrape wood from the barn project out of the barnyard.  Tom then brought the tractor in, and we finally moved the llama stanchion back into the barn and out of the rain.  As it is getting a little mucky behind the barn and the tractor was out and about, Tom brought some gravel from near our driveway into this area to minimize the muck.

In this process he ran into our neighbor who is a long time local farmer to get advice about our government woes.  She provided really good advice about minimize the intrusions.  First she said she threatened to throw him in the creek.  I did not think this was a good strategy, but she then said he has no rights to come onto your property so she won’t and he hasn’t.  She also has a form that any government official who comes by wanting to inspect her property has to fill out first.  Apparently  they have to write their name, badge number, supervisor name, etc.  Apparently this form scares a lot of them away.  She will bring us a copy.  She was had senators and representatives out to her farm trying to influence these policies.  They were standing to loose 100 acres of cattle grazing land to these setbacks.  She has strong beliefs that human septic systems are the problem, not cattle grazing.  In the plan, there is supposed to be fecal coliform PCR testing done by next August to see if it is cattle and/or human source bacteria in the river.  They are only testing these two species which makes me think that even the Department of Ecology doesn’t think it is goats, sheep, llamas, donkeys, poultry sources (the animals we have), or they would be testing for these species too.  Anyhow, our neighbor’s advice is helpful.

Finally I found an ad on Craigslist for old large barn doors in Bow, just down the road from us.  (You have to love Craigslist!)  So Tom went to look at them, and he brought them home.  They appear to be old growth tongue-and-groove cedar doors.  They will be perfect for finishing our barn doors (and now we don’t have to build them).  Plus it’s nice to save parts of the old Skagit barns.

So once again my back is sore, and I am calling it a day.  I will start up again in the morning! (Trying to be enthusiastic)