My apologies for being away so long, but this summer proved to be a roller coaster to say the least.  I’ll spare the details, but just about everything that could go haywire did.

Today’s entry is a brief update on the farm.  Yes, I’m still working on it and moving forward, but there have been several setbacks along the way that have made it a much slower process than I had hoped.  Most importantly, it took a lot of work to fix the flooding issue along the back wall.  Even after I installed the drainage pipe, I had to by hand rework the ground slope along the length of building to make water flow to the drains.  That was one of the hardest, dirtiest, hottest jobs I’ve ever done and took many, many days to complete.  However, now, I’m fairly confident that the situation is under control.  There are only a couple of places inside the building that need to be sealed to prevent water from flowing through erosions in the mortar.

Another major issue that has taken much more time than originally anticipated has been repairing the outer wall.  After close inspection, I realized that virtually every board along the front and far side needed to be replaced, so I’ve had to strip the entire area and cut boards to replace what was water or pest damaged.  Fortunately, the treated wood of the foundation is in good shape, but it has still been an enormous job.

Also, after looking at the water issues along the far side wall, we decided to replace much of the old wooden wall with new cinder blocks.  I’m not a brick mason, and it has been 22 years since I last laid block, so that’s coming along slowly.  Tearing out the old wall took a little time, too, but I believe that once it’s complete, the new wall will be much better against the elements.

While I’m not where I wanted to be by this point, overall, I’m pleased with the progress.  The building isn’t too far away from being functional, and we should be able to begin production over the next few months.  Again, thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged me along the way with this endeavor.  I appreciate you more than I can express.