Sprucing it up

So many tasks; big and small.

That’s what we have been facing ever since we finished the actual rebuilding of our little home.

While we don’t utilize all of the land here on Six Little Acres, we wanted to make the area around the house more appealing.

We started with The well house. When we heard The Boy’s boys (our grandLittles) were coming, I figured a day of painting might be a memorable thing for them to do.

I have to say, these two fellas were over the moon helpful! They enjoyed their accomplishment and with Momma Bo and Poppa Bo helping. were excited to see it completed in a short while.

I’m so happy to have THIS project checked off the list! Y’all. It was SOOOO ugly. But look at it now! Can y’all say “curb appeal”?

But that’s not all.

I’m not one to crawl around on the ground picking weeds, so I enjoy container gardening. I wanted to start off by creating a sitting area. While my initial plan was to create it at the crest of a hill overlooking Six Little Acres, THIS spot made the absolute most sense.

It’s kinda serendipitous that I had exactly enough of that little wire fence to outline just the right size space.

Ninja Man got a load of pea gravel and he and our favorite son in law dumped them while I raked into place.

Once all the pebbles were spread, we added new chairs, a lighthouse bird feeder and these planters with some cheerful pansies!this little chandelier planter is solar and shines a light at night.

Here’s the finished project- I wholeheartedly love this little outdoor space! It is shady most of the day and offers a great view of the yard. I spend time out here nearly every day. I read, I listen to music and generally just decompress. It’s perfect. I’m pretty sure that little windmill is my favorite thing! (My brother took this picture as we arrived home, hence the purse 🤣)

Those little rectangles under the chairs are just pieces of slate. Ninja Man added them so the chairs wouldn’t sink into the soil.

Where I shopped: Lowes for the rocking garden chairs and table, Tractor Supply for galvanized planter, windmill and chandelier. HSN for the ivy background. Yes, it’s faux ivy! I’m interested in seeing how many seasons we get out of it.

Update on baby Wren: her tumor and neuroblastoma is stable. Please keep her in prayer, of course we want her scans to be clearThank y’all for stopping by and God bless.

Kathy Bo

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Here. Have a chikkin.

Just a quick share of Cherry and Wynonna. They are two of many chucks here at Six Little Acres.

And here’s Wren with Cherry. She and sister hatched her themselves! Thanks for your ongoing prayers for our Wren. She is still in need of them but doing well. Thanks for stopping by and God bless!

Kathy Bo

Tiny eggs

These itty bitty eggs were too cute to not share! They are quail eggs, brought to Six Little Acres by my daughter. Her friend Rosemary of Wholesome Roots Farm shared a dozen of these from her farm.

I just love the colors. Daughter let me photograph her technique of opening the little eggs – because they really are too small to crack. Here you’ll see the quail eggs beside the much larger hen egg. While this is new to me, many of you are way ahead here, and this isn’t news at all. But it’s a first at Six Little Acres, so share I must.

she used them for making breakfast, and I had to leave for Bible study before finding out if it took the whole dozen. I would expect it did.

Here they are again, just pretty as can be.

Please do check out Rosemary’s channel- it’s amazing to see how efficient her farm practices are. Just click HERE and tell her Six Little Acres sent you.

Thanks for stopping by, and God bless!

PS: Update on our little Wren: she’s still doing well on the clinical trial, and enjoying being a very busy four year old. Please continue your prayers.

Six Little Acres gets a new well house!

There are two wells here at Six Little Acres. Each of them have a concrete cap but they also have to have a little house to help protect the pipes in winter.

Here’s one of those charming well houses now. Dreadful.

It’s don’t-even-sneeze-near-it dreadful.

The old man who lived here before us built it maybe 30 years ago. But we’ve been so busy making this place a home that the well houses were way down our list.

Another reason it’s taken so long is that we *ahem* don’t use either well.

We are on county water so there’s no real need, but one day we may get them functioning again.

Either way, that monstrosity had to come down- and down it came in the last storm. Well, the roof did- and we had to replace it because of curious grandLittles. With kids around, we prefer a well to have a house WITH a lock.

Ninja Man got all the supplies and began working on it just two days ago. Here’s the process. Y’all. It’s so ugly. His Saws All helped to take it down.

So much ugly. We do not know what is inside this well house. There was some kind of liquid in gallon milk jugs. I’m saying moonshine (we are out in the country, after all) but Ninja says, “I have no idea and I’m not about to find out!”

Im with Ninja Man on this. After all, there are some things Clorox can’t get off.

Just sayin’.

There was a squirrel living in there, maybe a heavy drinking squirrel- but he’s somewhere else in the yard, gazing at the progress and no doubt planning to move in to his new house.

So Ninja hauled off all that yucky wood and spent the afternoon burning it.

I’m thinking he is enjoying being retired in the country. Demolition one minute, burning the next. By the way, well house #2 has photobombed this action shot. It’s day is coming, for sure!

Even with that old well house gone, it was still ugly. eww.

Thankfully I didn’t have to look at it long. In order to get that thing safe for Littles playing nearby, Ninja had already built the walls, so all he had to do was get them over to the well. this is me holding up that first wall. That’s him bringing wall #2 on the “man trucks”. That’s what we call them in our family, ever since our sweet daughter in law misunderstood “hand trucks”. It still makes us giggle. This is me helping again. The wind was blowing this paper up. It’s the layer before shingles.

We will paint it after it cures- it’s all pressure treated wood so it has to sit for a few months. We will paint it the same color as the house, a French gray. I’ll stencil our Six Little Acres logo on it at some point.

All it needs now are some cosmetics, and a trim on those shingles. I’m rooting for the door to get a wood trim.

While I think we can pretty it up, it is already light years better than before, so I’m a happy girl!

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!

Kathy Bo

Nice Things

Although I am well known to say, “That’s why we can’t have nice things!” well, I actually have a few “nice things” here at Six Little Acres.

I don’t mean “nice” as in valuable, ohhh trust me, there’s little of that here. I mean “nice” like it really, really goes with the house, or it is functional, you know, that kinda thing.

Today the UPS guy dropped off some things I was so excited to get; some wooden boxes, personalized just for Six Little Acres!

My friend is a Thirty-One consultant and they carry these great wooden boxes that you can personalize! See them here! Oh, and the cost? Just paid for the personalization because I was a party host (virtual, online). Easy and so worth it!

Yall. These are so well made and so stinkin’ perfect I can’t even. They even have black metal handles that coordinate with the metal on our barn doors! Couldn’t be more perfect than if I’d had them custom made.

This one is on the fireplace (electric, and yes we love it!) and will hold seasonal decor. I can’t wait to fill it for Christmas!

The other one will be a caddy for my table. I put salt, pepper and napkins in it. My salt and pepper shakers were a wee bit too short so I simply added a couple of squares of the styrofoam packing sheets that came with it. Stuffed those in the bottom and voila!

“Nice things” here at Six Little Acres are things that reflect “us”; they may never mean much to future generations, but then again, they may become some of the most cherished heirlooms.

Either way, I’m so happy these nice things are now in my life every day. It makes me smile.

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!

Kathy Bo

Fall at Six Little Acres

While there is vibrant color in and around town, we have “some” color here at Six Little Acres.

Ninja Man suggested we go for a walk down our trail in the woods and I was ready! Well, until I thought about what I was wearing. We have a lot of hunters in the area so this became my “don’t shoot!” hat for the day. Yeah, it’s a rain hoodie that snaps off one of my jackets. I figured it would work. Must have because I am still here!

Oh, I also had to put on my snake boots. Hard to see them here, right? RIGHT? Hahahah This is me in my walk-in-the-woods gear accompanied by one of our precious pups named Winston. He is about to be three years old. The sunlight y’all. Oh my goodness. I’m so thankful to have seen this today. And did y’all know fairies live here? They do- and the grandLittles have made a great little fairy village. That one has had a bit too much honeysuckle juice.

We also saw a mushroom that is actually growing THROUGH a leaf. Either that or the leaf fell, was poisoned and fell around the shroom. Either way it was a cool find. Then we had this red one pop up too. Like snakes, I assume all mushrooms are poisonous so I don’t mess with them. Here are some other pix I took along the way. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I was born on Thanksgiving and was also married on Thanksgiving. The 27th and 25th, respectively. 60 years bold is how I like to say it, and married 42 of those 60 years. I was 17, turned 18 two days later.

Here’s my favorite thing:

Have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving all.

And thank you for stopping by Six Little Acres.

Kathy Bo

So happy even the trees are smiling!

We love Six Little Acres. We really do.

It’s not “much” to look at yet but there are so many things to love about it, especially the trees.

We have a Japanese maple here that is just stunning in the fall. You can see a bit of it here. Sorry it’s a selfie but the magnificent tree isn’t quite dressed for fall yet, so last year’s selfie will have to do. Anyway, THAT’S not the actual tree that makes today’s blog so special. It’s this one.

Ninja Man was cutting wood and he found this! How cool is that?

I named him Otis. I love his crew cut and that little “I’m so happy to be here” smile.

I’m keeping him although it’s been suggested making coasters out of his wee fairy self. Right now he is still a log and he is smiling up at us from a corner in the dining area.

I would love for some of you to comment if you know what (besides of course, LOVE Of Six Little Acres) would cause a tree to do this. It’s pretty awesome, regardless, but if it’s a “thing” it would be great to know.

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!

Kathy Bo

SLA helps others! We are blessed.

When we bought Six Little Acres, it came with not only the exceptionally funky and desperately gross doublewide, but as an added treat, we got this. This is a propane tank. We had one before when we lived in this area way, way back when we were making somewhat futile attempts to raise our two kids. They did actually grow up and are now making somewhat futile attempts at raising THEIR kids. Ninja Man and I almost never giggle about that. Almost.

No offense to the many (?) tank lovers out there, but I never liked it. I thought they were ugly then and I think they are ugly now.

We have discussed this tank numerous times. We thought we would paint it, only because we couldn’t find anyone to take it off our hands. We even had it moved so I wouldn’t have to look at it, but now it’s in clear view of the fabulous fire pit, and a wee bit close to Ninja Man’s private shooting range.

That will not do, y’all.

In a desperate attempt to get it moved AGAIN, I left it up to Ninja Man to call the ugly tank moving guy.

Why didn’t I do this before?

Because being a control freak is in my blood. I’m not saying it always works out, just that it is simply a fun fact.

Anyway, here’s the good news: the tank is getting a new home! The guy who came to look at it said his church needs a bigger tank than what they have, and if we are willing….

“WILLING?” Ohhh, Mr. Ugly Tank Moving Man, we are so very willing.

It’s a match made in Heaven. This tank will help a congregation and we are thankful to bless that congregation with it.

When we first began with Six Little Acres, we asked God to help us glorify Him. As we continue life here we continue to pray over this place. We prayed for many things including that we could bless others here. It’s an exciting moment to know that we are able to serve God in this way.

There it goes! It’s a good day.

Speaking of good days, we did get some good news last week that was encouraging for grandLittle Wren. Her current protocol seems to be working, yet it is still a blessed, but long road ahead. Please continue your prayers for her. Connect with her story on Facebook at Hope for Wren.

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!

Kathy Bo

The Fire Pit: Part One

Is it fair to say this is part one when in fact, I mentioned it on my previous post?

Of course it is.

This is the blogging world after all. No rules, right? And “rules” are just what we don’t want, such as an HOA telling us we can’t do this or that. Fire pit in the back yard? Of course we can! THIS is Six Little Acres.

So here’s where we began.

Just a week ago (seriously!) the excavation guy came and made this. Ninja Man started working right away.

First, he sprayed the ground with weed killer and then added landscaping fabric. Then he put down THREE tons (Correction from previous post) of chips. One ton of “trail mix” (the base layer) and two tons of mini slate chips.

Here’s the delivery of said chips:Ninja Man was a wee bit excited. I mean, he has had a HUGE excavator AND tons of stuff dumped, all in one week.

He worked into the night (okay, about 8:30 pm), but still, a long day for this recent retiree. Lo and behold (as momma used to say), within days it was time to get the bricks for the fire pit.

Ninja Man was in a LOT of pain but he persevered- and after a cortisone shot to the knee, he was back at it.

Those bricks are perfectly level. The guy who, in his career released private jets into the wild, is all about exact detail. The actual construction of the wood fire pit took less than a day, y’all.

True story.

Fun fact:

That is a rawhide mallet. The surface is soft so as not to break things like fancy brick.

Ninja Man’s dad used it and Ninja has been using it for the past 40 (plus) years. When I sent a picture to our son, he reminded me that he has also used it- so it’s pretty much at least a three-generation rawhide mallet.

I needed to take a grandLittle to ballet and about two hours later, I came home to this: Of course we had to get our chairs, a couple of beers and a cigar (Ninja, not me) and fire that thing up.

It is wonderful and awesome and absolutely what we wanted. This is in slow motion because… why not?

https://youtu.be/jUEjrRTOgUA

Part one of this project is finished.

Part two will be to simply add the gas fire pit, a fancy thing that we want to use when we just want an easy fire. Currently that one is riding around in the back of my car, still in the box.

Part three: well, that may take a while. We will add a structure over the biggest part of the area. While we still haven’t nailed down the exact design, we know it will have a tin roof.

I can see us rushing outside to pull up a chair and listen to the rain on that tin roof while a gentle fire glows from the gas fire pit. Every day is a better one here at Six Little Acres.

(For extra content, “like” the Six Little Acres Facebook page.)

Last, but absolutely not least, please keep our grandLittle Wren in prayer. She’s having a great time being four, but still fighting that fight.

Thanks for stopping by, and God bless.

Kathy Bo

A Big Day

Aww shoot!

Y’all know a Big Day at Six Little Acres could mean anything from a new dog fence to a mowed yard.

But today it happened: Ninja Man got his very own, private shooting range.

He’s verklempt. So happy in fact, he has had me out there two, maybe three times today (once in the rain) to admire it.

To be fair, I also went out to admire (drumroll please…) the base for our future fire pit.

It’s a thing, this constant putting together of Six Little Acres. We feel like we are settled, then a project gets underway and we are busy again.

Tomorrow we will get two whole tons of mini slate chips for the fire pit.

Two TONS, y’all.

So here’s an idea of what will be:

The fire pit area is just outside my studio window. We will eventually have both propane (for comfy fireside chats) and wood pit (for burning stuff) and a structure over the sitting area.

This image where Ninja Man is working shows a jut out which won’t be covered- the pits will go there. The big area (16 X 20) will be covered and right now we aren’t exactly sure of the finished design. Most likely, a simple pole barn-like structure with a slanted tin roof.

Y’all know I’ll fancy it up with billowing curtains and decor.

Now on to the private shooting range.

Oh. Ninja is so happy. It’s long, over 100 feet. By the way, our excavation guy is amazing. He’s from New Zealand and has the accent to match. We just thought he was the greatest. He also sent one of his best guys to move the dirt.

At the end of the day, we felt like we did pretty well. Especially when we saw this. Thanks for stopping by!

God bless!

Kathy Bo