The scoop on the coop...

 Our chickens bring me a lot of joy. I love to watch them out ranging about the pasture, and of course, there are those delicious eggs. The birds have a very nice custom-made coop that keeps them safe, but it needed a little freshening up. The door was damaged from years of use and needed to be replaced. The whole thing needed a fresh coat of paint, too. 

I have talked to several carpenters over the past two years about making me a new door. I wanted something more attractive. In fact, I wanted something cute. As soon as a carpenter heard that word, they ceased to have any interest in this small project. Until I ran it by Bill. He's the guy who helped me design and then built the beautiful new decks. He walked away muttering, "Cute. Cute..." and I figured I'd lost him. Then, a couple of weeks later, he said," I have an idea for a cute door." Boy, did he! 

I gave the yard around the coop a hard look, and there was a pretty serious problem that I simply didn't know how to fix. Nine years ago, my friend Brenda did some yard work for me when I was recovering from a dislocated shoulder. She built a little retaining wall of stones around the coop, and it worked great. But the stones had sort of sunk into the ground over the years and though they were still holding dirt in place as intended, they didn't look nice anymore. I asked Brenda if she'd come show me how to fix it, and she did today. In two hours, she dug up all the rocks, smoothed the dirt out, and re-stacked everything beautifully. 

I had the finished product happily visualized in my mind, and I knew mulch would be the frosting on the cake. Chris nicely filled my truck up with the stuff. After Brenda worked her stone magic, I got to work hauling and spreading. And here are the before, during, and after shots. 

                                                  

I am simply delighted with every single thing about the makeover. Especially that cute door! To celebrate we are picking up some new pullets this weekend. They will surely appreciate their pretty new digs! 

New for twenty two...

 We moved to Maine 22 years ago this week. I loved this house the first time I saw the realtor's photo of it, and I am so grateful to live here. We have made the place our own over the years, with lots of fresh paint, a roof, a furnace, landscaping, and more. When we bought this house, there was a deck that was part of our main entrance. 

The boards and supports began to get spongy last year, and the whole thing needed to be replaced. Finding a contractor was a trick. I tried for months. This was frustrating, but in the end, it was a gift, because with the help of friends, I realized there were better options for this structure, which didn't really suit our 100+ year old house. 

Another friend found me a contractor who not only wanted to take on our project, but totally "got" me. I'd explain what I was thinking of, and he would add perfect suggestions. About a month ago, he and his team got started making my house dreams come true. I enjoyed having them here and loved watching them create beauty around our cozy home. The end results are a delight. 

They tore off the old, rotten deck and built a beautiful new entryway. This greatly enlarged my favorite flowerbed. They made the prettiest little picket fence and gate. Then they spruced up the entry to the grooming studio, which is on the front porch. 

While they were at it, they replaced the under-house lattice skirting (which I never liked) with something much nicer. 

Best of all, they cut an enormous hole in my dining room wall, removing the small, off-center window and installing a large French door.

 Beyond that door, they built a 16 ' by 16' deck. Chris and I love being in our backyard and have talked about installing a deck for decades. It was a fun adventure to design what we had been dreaming about and then watch as the dream came beautifully true. 

On the twenty-second anniversary of moving to Maine, we gave our house a little facelift. 

I think she approves.