Covo Hills Farm

September 27, 2009 The gift of a stove

Uncle Palmer and Aunt Rita surprise us with an antique stove they bought at a farm auction in Michigan. Jeff puts everyone to work. We nervously helped him hoist a large piece of framing to a high spot with a lot of effort and no casualties.

First interior wall

First picked for Cooper and Audrey

September 25, 2009 Framing begins

The framing is built on the floor, then nailed to the building boards already in place.

September 13, 2009 We have stairs

Steamy

This blog would not be complete without a shot of what Uncle Palmer's affectionately calls "cowboy coffee", brought to a boil on the previous night's restoked fire. Once we move on top with a gas burner and generator, cowboy coffee will be a sweet early morning memory and something we savored even in the heat of summer.

Jeff finishes up some trim boards on the floor, sweeps up, then builds a stairway from the garage into the lodge.

New spot for morning coffee?

September 5, 2009 Floor and pumpkins

Dan spreading his wings in joy

Another couple boards and the floor will be done, finished, completed, all wrapped up. Jeff and Dan are pretty happy this first week in September to see the work that has been accomplished in the first phase of the Covo Hills lodge. If nothing else were done, sleeping in here would be better than the camper. (One woman's opinion)

Don't stop now boys

Get back to work

Grow pumkins grow until the Halloween deadline.

August 10, 2009 First Sweep

Work on the floor escalated once the cross beams were nailed in place and installation began on the large sheets of plywood. The front door is now accessible from the deck and the windows are at eye level - quite a change from the down and dirty ground floor.

Katie helps Jeff before heading back to college.

July 19, 2009 Floor posts

Dan

The floor is underway with the recycled barn wood and supplemented with new lumber. The trick is to get the cross boards level so our floor doesn't slope one way or another. The floor boards make the building space look larger.

Mitch and Dan

Jeff

First Covo pumpkin patch

July 11, 2009 What happens at the farm....

Meg and Emily looking like farm gals

Stays at the farm.

Katie invited friends out for a "rustic" country day and camping out, but some were less believing than others. The girls showed up looking all cute but quickly changed into their shorts and T's. Still cute, but less fancy. The guys knew what to bring - or not bring, I should say. Lots of fun, good BBQ and one of those "we'll laugh about this later - talk about it forever" moments.

Noah and Katie

Bruno, Adam and Rex

June 2009 Lodge work begins

Jeff and Dan's goal is to turn this empty shell of a pole barn into a habitable lodge for our families with a garage and work space in the back.
The first step was to dig holes and pour concrete for the floor footings.

Looking out the front door

Looking towards the rear garage door