Happenings at Duke Manor Farm Vol 2

Happenings at Duke Manor Farm weekend edition including project updates, an uninvited guest at the farm, and why I am loving summer this year on the property.

Happy weekend! Well, we are a week into our summer break and so far so good. I think my only issue was the 90-degree temps. Yikes…that’s too hot too soon for this gal….although my ferns on the porch seem to be enjoying the weather.

Project Updates

Last week I showed you our finished plank wall in the kitchen area. See why I love it here.  This week we knocked another project off the list. I put sliding french doors on Lily’s art room and Jacobs ‘game room’. I’ll share more details on how we retrofitted a standard door and all the beautiful hardware next week. For now, here’s a peek at one of the doors. You can also see here where we used this same process using an existing door in our laundry room.

Now that we finished swapping out the middle doors for windows it was time to kick this project into gear. I FINALLY made a decision on the wall color for my bedroom. I chose Alabaster from SW and will start painting next week. I’ll start with the ceiling and work my way down. It’s going to be a lot of work but having the scaffolding will help. This scaffolding that we bought a few years ago has been such a  time saver and worth every dollar.

Uninvited Guest around the farm

For the last few weeks our egg production has been decreasing and we couldn’t figure out why. Then one day Lily comes to tell us that there was a giant rat snack in one of the nesting boxes . The thought of me collecting eggs and that thing right there completely freaks me out. I am NOT a fan of snakes. Like at all. We solicited the help of the kids science teacher who LOVES snakes ( look how happy she is) and she came over to get it and then release it in another environment. Just not mine. Chances are, the snake could have found its way back to the coop if we released it anywhere on my property. Apparently, its belly was so full of eggs ( mystery solved)  and was the biggest rat snake she had ever seen.

Why I am loving summer this year

Moving on to something a bit more enjoyable to look at….my backyard. It’s been many years of hard work in the backyard, and it’s definitely paid off. The marvel zoysia that I planted when we put the pool in is on cruise control.  I recently laid two pallets of zoysia in the upper part ( closest to the house) and it’s doing so well. Next week I will be back with an update on that space along with tips on how to lay sod yourself. You can see more of the evolution of the backyard here.

This summer seems so much calmer and less stressful than last doesn’t it?

Happy weekend sweet friends!

Grateful

for time with my kids this summer

This post may contain affiliate links for products that Duke Manor Farm uses, suggests, or recommends.