Concrete work is done

The concrete trucks showed up right on time this morning and we got started. Lisa came over and helped us with this concrete party. The estimates we made yesterday were off. There was supposed to be three trucks, but after the first truck dumped, it was clear that two trucks would be enough. 

We managed to cancel the third truck, as it had not loaded yet. We filled all the trenches and added some rebar to help with the strength. The drivers were very helpful and knew what they were doing.

We poured the barn slab first, screeding it off and leaving it. That will leave a rougher finish on the surface, which is what Heather wanted for inside the barn. We sunk a cattle panel in it for some reinforcement.

All the trenches were filled up to the top and rebar added and tamped down into the mix. 

The finished product should hold up just fine. It will be invisible when everything is done, though.

 With the concrete that was left after finishing everything else up, we dumped out onto the driveway and raked it out smooth. Well, it's not glass smooth. We just flattened it out the best we could. Thanks again to Lisa and Jess for the help.

foundation is dug

Our neighbor Harry came over this morning with his excavator and dug out the foundation for the girls' place.

I had marked it out at the end of last week. All the lines were still quite visible.

I went through afterwards and cleaned up all the loose dirt in the hole so that it doesn't mix in with the concrete. 

It's ready to pour now, as well as the new rabbit barn slab. Heather had put up pictures of that already. The concrete trucks are supposed to be here tomorrow to pour both. Then they will have to sit for a week or so to let the concrete cure.
 

Barn is torn down

 This is all that is left of the barn. I'll be burning these remaining scraps in the next couple of days and hauling the metal roofing to the recycling place in Camargo. Progress on the new place is slow, but ongoing.

garden all planted

I finished up with the planting of the garden this morning when I put in another row of beans. I will can them and be able to store them for several years, if needed. There is also Oxheart and Roma tomatoes and black-eyed peas planted as well.

 The early plantings are doing well. We have started eating the spinach and lettuce already and the onions are looking good.

Tank is in

The guys were back this morning, dug the hole and the new tank was delivered and hooked up. The inspection is still due. We need a few loads of dirt to smooth it out. That is coming from his next job and will be here in the next few days.

While they were waiting for the tank to be delivered, the leaking hydrant was dug up and replaced.            (thanks, Lisa and Jim!)

 

Residence for the girls

The construction for the girls place has finally started. The drain field is put in now. I had pulled part of the front fence down yesterday so the equipment could be brought in.

The tank is supposed to be put in on Monday. They stopped for today because it started raining again, but they had already finished up the leach field.
 

Back from our vacation

 

We just got back from our vacation to Key West. We stopped at Cathryn and Bryan's farm for a couple days to see the sights around in the Florida panhandle. The first stop was the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola and the lighthouse across the road from it.

The view from the lighthouse was wonderful. The pamphlet said there was 177 steps to get to the top of the lighthouse and they were also numbered, so you knew how many you had left to go, and how far you had already come.

Pensacola beach was pretty. The water was cool, but not that bad. We both waded around.

The next stop was DeLand to see some friends. We were parked in Jay and Debbie's driveway. We took the kyacks to the St. John's river by Blue Springs and saw some manatees.

We also visited the Kennedy Space Center. It is a very interesting place.

Then we headed down to Collier-Seminole State Park near Naples and took an airboat and swamp buggy tour of the Everglades. There were alligators present, of course.

This guy was about 6ft long and not in any kind of a hurry. 

Lots of mangroves, too. These are red mangroves and will eventually cover the everglades according to the guide.

From there, we went on to Key West. It was a nice place to visit, but has gotten heavily commercialized. 

There are still a few banyan trees around. I've always thought they were cool looking trees.

We visited Marco Island while we were there, too. It was just a couple miles fron the campground, with a nice beach.

Our last stop on the way back home was in Lynchburg, Tennessee. Home of Jack Daniels' distillery. I have visited it a couple of times before now and it keeps getting bigger and better. We stayed in Tims Ford state campground just a few miles away for this part of the trip.