Homestead mailing list

[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

Morning all..
It's starting out to be a good day.  I got an email from the kid today,
who knows where he is, but he's doing good.  I love getting email from
him and I wonder how the families of submariners coped before email.
The other kid is preparing to go to Denver for a veterinary conference
in a few weeks, and she is excited about meeting Dr. Fitzgerald, you
know, the Emergency Vets doc on the Animal Planet shows.  It seems life
is good for both kids.  As for my job offer, it's still in the works.  I
 received an email this morning from the company, and it looks like I'll
be hired once they work out the details and I accept the offer-if I
accept the offer they make.  I've never really negotiated for a job
before, so it's a new and nerve-wrecking experience for me.  I expect
this process to continue through next week and possibly into the first
week of March. In the meantime, I have to get all my ducks in a row here
on the homestead.  There is much to do before I start working again.
Today, my goal is to get the chicken coop cleaned out so that egg supply
will increase.  Tomorrow, the goal is to get all my seedlings through
their first transplant. I've washed pots and mixed soils, made some
bench space, and I think I am ready to go.  I didn't get quite the
germination I was expecting overall because the house isn't warm enough
I think, but I still probably have 100-150 seedlings to transplant into
larger pots, enough to keep me busy all day tomorrow.  Ron's going to
fix the rabbit waterer tomorrow-we are taking a chance that the worst
and coldest weather is over.  The PVC pipes of the watering system
shattered last month and until now there has been no point in fixing the
system until warmer weather.  Just in case anyone is wondering about
using PVC in a water line, I can tell you that from my experience, above
ground PVC water lines under pressure will freeze at around 20 degrees,
and will shatter at temps less than 15 degrees.  That's just my
observation, nothing tested or scientific about it. Anyway, other
projects slated for the weekend include replacing the wooden, rotting
door on the greenhouse with a metal storm door I got off freecycle,
modifying and upgrading (electrical) the boat trailer to haul the canoe,
and heading over to my mother's new house to take down a huge oak tree
for next year's wood supply.  I doubt we will get the whole job done,
but perhaps we can at least clear an area to fell the tree later in the
Spring and grab a few smaller trees in the process.
While I am on a homesteading themed post, I'd like to get some opinions
on my latest wild hair.  As I have mentioned before, I need to replace
the roof on my greenhouse.  I've decided to go with metal roofing to
avoid UV problems, leaf and snow loads, hail damage, etc.  It will be
cheaper than replacing what I currently have as well.  I can't afford to
just go out and buy metal roofing, and was wondering what you guys
thought about using the metal siding from an above ground swimming pool
as a roofing material.  I could probably find pool siding on freecycle,
and since the average pool in these parts is 4 feet deep and 27 feet
across, that would yield approximately 85 feet of metal that is 4 feet
wide.  Since the greenhouse is 8x21 and the roof needs to be 10x22, one
large pool would roof the entire greenhouse.  Opinions?
And Lee, if you are still there, can you please respond to my question
about public vs. members only archives?  I hate being able to Google
every post I make.
Bev
--
Bevanron of EarthNSky Farm   Sleep well tonight, for somewhere in the
ocean's depths, MY son is protecting YOUR freedom.