Autumn continues!
Between recent days of rain and strong wind, there has been the welcome gift of dazzling sun. Clever Piper does not waste an opportunity to bask in the doorway of the screenporch, at a comfortable distance above the saturated ground:
On such sunny days, the few remaining garden plants can be pulled up, and either added to one of next year's garden beds or shared out amongst the goats and hens.
Rainy Day Projects have been getting more attention. Some are routine indoor tasks, like housework (seriously necessary at this point, I'm embarrassed to admit), and, more happily, a little more WIPCrackAway knitting:
But some Rainy Day Projects can be tackled in the sheds or barn. Which is nice, because I can't even see the housework from there.
Months ago, I found the tangled pieces of a garden cart at the dump. My plan was simply to salvage the wheels and axle, then take the remaining odds and ends back to the dump. But once home, I realized many of the metal frame pieces were semi-attached. Maybe...I could rebuild an entire cart?
All summer, I've been using a sadly rusted-out wheelbarrow (lined with plastic feedbags, which actually turned out to be fabulous carriers for loose materials going to the VRB!) and postponing the garden cart project, which had all the earmarks of an endeavor that would require multiple unplanned trips to a hardware store and possibly a lumberyard.
A couple of weeks ago, I decided to admit that the tangle of parts was a bit intimidating, and rather than waste a lot of time trying (and ultimately failing) to reconstruct something, I should simply bite the bullet and buy a new, heavyduty wheelbarrow.
I wish I had taken this step sooner!
Because...
well, have you bought a wheelbarrow lately?
I looked at a few ordinary wheelbarrows. Nothing special.
The prices averaged two hundred dollars.
For a wheelbarrow.
I didn't even get as far as looking to see if they were made in Not China, which is usually my first step in shopping.
The very next rainy day, I completely dismantled the tangle of garden cart pieces, and started the process of trying to cobble together something useful. I may not succeed, but there is now a pretty strong incentive to try. Here in Goat World, $200 = 40 bales of hay.
Wish me luck!
~~~~~
Oh, I do wish you the very best of luck!! You're amazing with what you put your hand to :)
ReplyDeleteClever Piper.
Full of admiration here, and I wish I were closer so I could lend a hand and whatever ideas I might have, too, being a natural born maker of stuff rather than buyer of stuff where possible.
ReplyDeleteAnd I like your approach to your household economy, translating prices into feed supplies, etc. Tons of sense there.
Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI expect you use them, but just in case...Gloves, good solid sturdy gloves for tearing apart old stuff.
I noticed the price on wheel barrows recently and was shocked! That seems like an awful lot more than it should be. Good luck with your wheel barrow find. I hope it works out! Your dog is adorable!
ReplyDeleteThat first photo is lovely, very autumnal. I am looking at my own version of photo number 2 right now -)
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on fixing up the old barrow. $200!! shocking and ridiculous!! Don't despair, and I'm sure you'll figure out a solution on how it all goes together. Wendy x
ReplyDeleteYou're a brave woman looking at that cart ... good luck.
ReplyDeleteLovely end of season feel to this post and especially that top pic.
Good Luck!!! I agree that you are a brave woman, and a very diverse one... from that beautiful knitting, to constructing a garden cart! Wow!
ReplyDeleteI hope the rain stops so you don't have to look at the housework anymore ;)
Your Piper is one clever pooch! I hear you on the wheelbarrow..they are so light and flimsy now that forking out an outrageous sum of $$ strikes me as ludicrous. Best of luck with your project. :)
ReplyDeleteSnow this weekend so outside chores MUST be finished by tomorrow! Lots of rain here, Quinn, and more expected next week; truthfully, I'd rather have snow but with NO wind -lol-. Right now, it's so foggy about the only thing I can see is the fence line, perhaps 100 steps from the window. Leaves are still hanging on, grass needs one more cutting and Lightly, the sorrel mare, and Sam P. Spade both are lame. No broken bones but both are, perhaps, foundered and on meds...Bute for Lightly and baby aspirin for Sam.
ReplyDeletesigh.
It's always something, eh?
You are amazing QuInn so I don't think I need to wish you good luck but you can have some anyway!! Xx
ReplyDelete