July 11, 2012 Brick & Old Wooden Stuff

 

A day trip to Covo gives Jeff a chance to do some easy work. He starts installing a brick patio in the garage, spanning the area from the porta john and wash station to the grill and wooden table and chairs. He also created a decorative railing for the loft to prevent middle of the night accidents.

Marianne's Mom Chris comes to visit

June 16, 2012 Milking Barn Images

The milking barn is picturesque but no longer viable as a safe and functional building structure. Soon it will be pulled apart and and broken up for reclaimed wood pieces.

May 25 - 26, 2012 Mt. Carroll May Fest

Nothing like the small town charm of Mt. Carroll, especially the weekend of May Fest when the town comes out for food, music and crafts. First we take care of business, then we join the fun. 

May Fest: locals waiting for the concert to begin 

Dinner at Bella's, the new place in town 

April 12, 2012 Tree Planting

Our volunteer crew is great at planting trees one by one by hand, but look at the perfect rows planted  by machine.

How fast they grow - 2004 planting 

December 20, 2011 Jungle Gym

Looks more complicated than it is - the stairway to the loft.

Keeping warm by the stove

October 23, 2011 All in a dog's day

Rut Roh! Bella dived into one of the ponds and emerged with a black belly and legs. But boy, did she have fun swimming, running the hills and riding in the back of Dan's pick-up. 

Peaceful spot 

October 1, 2011 Pumpkin Harvest

September 7- 8, 2011 Woodland ladies go country

Me and Cash in the pumpkins. Looking pretty good for September. Jeff's mom Millie and Aunt Nonnie came to visit all the way from California and look right at home on the farm. Lucky Jeff didn't put them to work!

  

August 26 - 27, 2011 Covered Bridge Drives Up

                                                                               Jeff has a vision: a covered bridge over the creek fashioned out of reclaimed wood from the old milking barn. The bridge would preserve a  historical piece of the property and create a dramatic new Covo Hills entrance.

The first step was purchasing a flat bed truck to be used as the base. We spied some old trucks on the way home one day. The owner was willing to deliver it creekside and take off the wheels and hardware. Jeff's brothers Dennis and Kirk were there to witness the arrival, but weren't quite strong enough to position it across the creek.

Covered Bridge

Jeff had a project for the boys before they could have fun. They cut and installed barn wood to cover and customize the lumber beam that spans the building.

A.J.'s Boys

Mississippi