Making progress on the first course

We are using clay to pack the tires so the wall should be super solid. Used string line to mark the three tire turns on the back corners. These tires are the 265's so each one takes a good amount of clay (not to mention time and effort!) to pound. About ready to get started on the wings, and then we'll position the culverts and start the second course.

Building a shower

Tom and volunteer Scottie are working on a shower system so we can have showers out here (so much for roughing it!) So far, they've built a shower stall out of pallets and scrap wood. Next up is to hook up the hosing, shower head, and switch to turn the shower on and off. It will be operated by an electric pump pumping water out of our slough. Should be finished soon.

Brace yourself

We put up some permanent braces along the back wall of the rabbitry yesterday just to be extra sure that the back wall will remain upright, and we took down the temporary bracing that was there for the backburrying. We should be able to hang the cages back up within the next few days. Also got chickens from a friend to help with table scraps and give us some fresh eggs.

They survived the first night! Four altogether.

Maghda guarding the chickens from atop her mound of straw.

Lots of updates!!

I hadn't realized how long it's been since an update. We've gotten a lot done in the spring. We just got a cistern behind the rabbitry, which is all backburried now, so that will mean (1) no longer hauling water out every other day for the rabbits, and (2) some temperature regulation for hot summers as well as the cold winters.We had to move the rabbits outside while this was all being done. The finishing touches are happening today, and then we will move the rabbits back inside likely tomorrow. Tom also built a doghouse for the pups. Internet is hooked up, and Tom wired the mobile home so we've got power in all the outlets!

Rabbitry Vents

We've installed two 6" vents in the rabbitry. We put a fan in one. We'll see how it goes. If it gets too hot in there during the summer we can put another fan in the other vent. Tom's wired it up to a thermostat, so the fan automatically turns on when it's above 24 degrees C and automatically shuts off when it's below 24 degrees. Neat!

Outhouse

This summer we plan on living on the property the entire time (last year we were doing days and weekends, but during the week it was nice to come back into town to have a hot shower, do laundry, sleep in our own bed, etc). We'll have at least one volunteer living there too, as well as other volunteers popping in for a day here & there.

So, we've needed to think about the bathroom situation. Tom just finished making a humanure toilet and 4ft x 4ft outhouse shed. It's basically an outhouse just instead of digging a hole (which would be a royal pain) for pee/poop to fall into, there's a bucket underneath the toilet seat. You throw a scoop of sawdust into it afterwards to prevent odour, and then once the bucket is full you throw the manure onto the base of trees.

A couple pics of the shed below. Pics of the toilet are in the previous post. 

Ok, not entirely finished. Still need to paint it and add a metal roof. Tom wants to set up rainwater collection into a small sink that we can use to wash our hands.

Ball bearing closure ensures the wind won't blow it open. There's also a lock on the inside, for when it's in use.

Humanure?

Tom built a humanure toilet today. Up until a few weeks ago, I had never heard of such a thing. We wanted to put an outhouse at the acreage so we and volunteers would have somewhere to *ahem* "go". That would involve digging a hole or having a tank that gets emptied every so often. Instead, we're going the humanure route. We'll have essentially an outhouse but instead of poop & pee just dropping down a hole, it's collected into a bucket that you scoop sawdust into every time you use it, so it doesn't stink, and then when the bucket is full you empty it at the base of trees as manure. A good reference website is here.

 Gotta love the toilet seat! Found at the Restore for super cheap!

The orange you see inside is the 5 gallon bucket. You lift the top hinged piece of wood and take the bucket out to empty when needed.

Now, we just need to build a shed to put this thing in!