The Chicken Coop

On the morning of Kate’s surgery, it came to me.  A little voice.  It said:

Taylor.  Paint the chicken coop Sea Serpent Blue.

And I just could not ignore it.

And then the voice suggested I also paint the door of the coop Sage Gray, which was my most favoritest color at our rental house.  Here’s a picture of that gem of a color:

Anywho.  The boys were supposed to remove all decor off the coop and pressure wash the coop and then I would paint it.

So, I got home, got Kate all set up, and went outside in 103 degree heat to paint.  Because I am foolish.  Here is my before picture:

Ok.  The coop needs TLC in a big bad way.  And weeds are the bane of my existence.

So, I started to paint and realized there were literal chunks of mud on the coop. And the decor was not removed.  So I summoned my boys who had the audacity to lie to me about completing their chores,  and I informed them that they were going to get to bond with their mama and paint in the 103 degree weather at 2 in the afternoon.

Yes.  Sometimes my kids lie to me.

We removed decor and we painted blue.  We could not get one side of the coop because even though a voice told me to paint the chicken coop that morning, the voice forgot to remind me that one whole side of the coop was in a pen holding 22 gigantic pigs.  So we only painted three sides.

On Saturday, I touched up all the white on the three sides and painted the door.

On Sunday, I gave myself the day off from painting and cleaned the house for many hours instead.  And don’t let me ever tell me that I don’t matter around here because man oh man, if I take a few days off of housework, things look mighty dismal around here.

But, I digress.

Today.  Today, I had a plan.  And I needed help from three children.  Kate was excused because she is still recovering from her ordeal of being maybe murdered.

Hadley had to work and only had a bit of time to help me.  First, I started Hadley on touch up painting and the boys were tasked with moving all 22 pigs to a different pen.  This new pen would not have their water tanks, so I was wanting to get this job done quickly so the poor disgusting creatures would not die of thirst.  I despise the pigs, but I mean them no ill-will.

So, here is the coop with one side red and many pigs next to it.

It is hard to see.  But trust me.  Front is blue, side is red.

After the boys moved the pigs, HD was supposed to go and use the Bobcat to unload the trailer full of hay.

The astute reader might remember that I said David was finished getting SMALL bales of hay for the year.  Now, we must get LARGE bales of hay.

LD was in charge of removing the cattle panels that were stretched across the coop so Hadley and I could paint.  And then he had to completely tear apart a wooden feeder David had made that the disgusting pigs broke this weekend.  He had to use all of his muscles and he was very sweaty.

Painting on that side was nasty gross.  Very pig poopy and smelly.  Would not recommend doing that.

Hadley had to ditch me for work, and I finished painting blue and then the white.  The boys repaired the fence and the pigs returned and not one perished of thirst.

We accidentally spilled one of the waters and created a giant mud puddle.  But pigs are fans of mud, so it all worked out swimmingly.

I bought a new light fixture and am waiting for David to install it.  My cute hens and chicks sign was too warped to go back up.  I made that years ago with my sis-in-laws, Lisa and Amy.

The dudes helped me rehang the faux window.

HD was sad to see my chicks and hens signs go.  He wanted to keep the sign with the stenciled on hens.

HD:  Let’s put that above the fake window.

Me:  Maybe.  Or let’s put it on the back of the coop.

HD:  That’s dumb.  No one will see it.

Me:  I will see it when I am returning from my walks to check on the cows and it will make me happy.

HD:  Ok, I will go and get the drill.

He is very accommodating.

He may have been able to hang the new light fixture, but I have a poor understanding of how electricity works and was afeared that he would electrocute himself.

So wait for David it shall.

The chickens do not actually live here anymore.  It is an incredibly long story that involves David tearing down things and rebuilding things and things not being high enough and the chickens made themselves free range.  The weaner pigs have been living there since May, so it was definitely time for a freshen up.

David and the boys plan on rebuilding the fence so the chickens can come back . . . someday.

Chicken Coop.

Check.