Upright Piano Morphs into Work Table

My Upright Piano Workbench

 

     A couple of years ago, I got an old upright piano free for the hauling.  With the help of some able-bodied friends, we got it moved into our dining room, and the renovation work began.  I soon realized that years of temperature changes and moisture had pushed this piano beyond the possibility of a decent renovation.  I chalked it up as a failure, and moved the piano onto the porch, a step closer to its final proper resting place in a landfill.

     Three or four years later, it was still on the porch, when inspiration struck.  It still had a good solid frame, and we could use a solid work table on the porch for gardening and craft projects.  So began the upright piano work table project.

Outer Casework and Piano Action Removed

Keys Removed showing Balance Rail and Key Bed

  Let the Construction Begin

Key Bed and Balance Rail Removed

     Removing the innards was relatively easy.  The piano action, the mechanism with all the hammers, flanges and wooden levers, is held with four nuts.  The outer casework is removed by removing the screws that hold them in place.  The keys simply rest on the pins shown in the key bed, and the key bed and balance rail are removed by loosening  about 12 screws.  This then reveals a flat surface at desk height to support whatever surface you choose for the top of your table, desk or workbench.  For the tabletop and the backboard, I used an old discarded computer desk that was in my barn warehouse.  For some of the shelving I used parts of the piano casework.

     As I didn't remove the cast iron harp and strings in the back, whenever you hit the table very hard, the strings vibrate some, and you can hear the distant sound of an angel choir.  If you don't care for angel music, you could mute out the strings with felt or cloth, but I don't recommend trying to remove the harp and strings.  That would change a simple home project into a major headache.

      The Sky's the Limit

     So let your imagination run wild and start work on that old upright that's been out in the granary for he last 10 years hosting several generations of rodents.  Be creative with those old piano parts you remove.  That balance rail with 88 pins must be useful in some kind of weaving project.  How about a clamp to hold down your work operated by foot with the soft pedal?  Or my favorite and possible future project, a combination work table and upright hammered dulcimer.

The Rest of the Farm

    I just walked outside to close up the chicken coop, and saw by the moon it's about time to get the peas in the ground.  That also means that next week is time to plant potato and other root crops outside.  The eggs that Miss Wohlters is setting on should be hatching in the next 3 or 4 days.  Lots going on and I'll be giving a full report in a week or 10 days. 

Super Pooper Scooper

     For now, I'll close with the following picture of my latest splurge in equipment purchases.   $14 for a picker-upper so I don't have to lean over, and my basket-tied-to-a-handtruck so I don't have to walk far to drop the load.  It's been working wonderfully well on spring dog poop removal.  Money isn't everything, but $14 just made my life a whole lot better.



 

Dirt, Llama Poop, a Stern Hen and Footprints in the Snow

 

     I've used the last couple of weeks to get started on outside spring work.  I've done about half the spring tilling, and two weeks ago, in the full moon, I planted some root crops in the low tunnel (the exposed hoops in the back of the picture).    I'm hoping for some early carrots, onions, radishes and new red potatoes.  The plastic covered frame in the front protects the early lettuce, spinach and arugula I planted Saturday.  Both these covers are easily removed on warm days.  More root crops and salads will be planted later, when the weather is more favorable.

 

CENTRAL GARDEN- Cold frame in the front, low tunnel in the back



Low tunnel with cover

EAST GARDEN

     The east garden has been tilled and the strawberries in the closest 4 feet have been uncovered.  Weather permitting, in one or two weeks I'll be planting peas here.  The squash, beans, corn, sunflowers and whatever else will have to wait for warmer conditions.







SOUTH GARDEN

     So far only the chickens have been working on the South garden.  As this will be the tomato and pepper patch this year, there's plenty of time to prepare.  Can't talk about no frost danger until the first week in June.

NEW WEST GARDEN AREA

WEST GARDEN WITH LLAMA POOP APPLIED

     Many thanks to my friend Jerry B for about a cubic yard of llama poop that I put down on this 14 foot by 20 foot section just west of the West chicken yard.  This will be the tomato and pepper patch for next year, 2016.  This summer a fence will be going up around this section, and next summer the tomatoes will be coming in like manna from heaven!

 

OUR HENS ARE KEEPING US WELL SUPPLIED

 

EXCEPT FOR MISS WOHLTERS

     Miss Wohlters is watching over 10 potential baby chicks, due to come in another 10 days or so.  Miss Wohlters was named after my 5th grade teacher, stern and strict, but very caring of her brood.

MARCH 18, 2015

MARCH 19, 2015

APRIL 8, 2015

     We won't get too excited about spring planting.  Pictured above is what can happen after a stretch of warm weather here in the spring.  Last year, we had snow on June 6.  Just remember, if you're in Minnesota and don't like the weather, wait 'til tomorrow and it will change.

Creation in the Spring

 Onions and Radishes Started



Radishes and Onions started in the greenhouse

     During the third quarter of the moon last week, the time for planting root crops, I started some onions in the house, and some radishes and bunching onions in boxes in the green house.  The boxes have chicken wire stapled to the bottoms and a layer of straw under the soil, so they can be moved outside when I'm more certain of higher temperatures.  I've found boxes 2 foot by 1 foot a good size to be easily moved. 

Chores in the Chicken Coop

Sturdy new bed for my friends in the coop

Remains of the Old Roost

     Our chickens must have gained weight over the winter, as my make-shift chicken roost made out of tree branches collapsed Friday night.  On Saturday I bought five  2 by 3's, and started building a new, stronger roost.  As the battery on my drill gave out before I finished, I ended up tacking it together so the chickens would have a place to sleep for the night.  Luckily it held up for the night, and the next day I finished screwing it all together good and tight.  Barring an earthquake, this one should stay together for at least 50 years.

     Fourth quarter is for clean-up and tilling among other things, so after I finished the chicken roost on Sunday, I started doing the spring clean-out of the coop.  After hauling about 10 or 12 wheelbarrow loads of manure out and spreading new straw in the cleaned half, I decided I could finish the rest on Monday.  Before the new moon comes on Thursday, when it's time to plant the lettuces, broccoli and cabbage, the coop will be cleaned, and I'll have a small area tilled for early outside planting.  Hopefully some of the other clean-up chores will also get done.  Did I say anything about the mountains of dog poop in the yard?

     In case you are wondering about my references to moon phases, clicking on lunar guide on the right side of this page under labels will give a brief explanation.  As the song says, "there is a time for every purpose under heaven."

     Well, Monday did come around, and I did finish cleaning out the rest of the chicken house.  Never put off until the day after tomorrow what you can put off until tomorrow.  And on Tuesday I picked up 500 pounds of layer mash for the chickens.  Much cheaper than buying 50 pounds at a time.

Starting Plants in the Dining Room

 

These lonely onions will soon be joined by other plants.

       I also hung my grow light over a table in the dining room that I'm using for starting plants this year.  I only have the onions I started last week on the table now, but in the next two weeks it will start to fill up with greens and herbs in the first quarter and tomatoes and peppers, maybe squashes, cucumbers and melons in the second quarter.  I'm using the dining room instead of the basement this year because it's warmer, and the plants should get a better start.

The Canvas of Earth is Being Prepared



Last year's Radish House and this year's Central Garden ready to start anew.

     In this view of the Central and East Garden, you can see the Radish house that failed last fall.  I'm going to use it for a cold frame this spring, but I don't yet know what will go into it.  Way in the   back on the right hand side are the conduit semi-circles that will soon make another mini-greenhouse for early plant starting.

    

Some of the Crew going to work to prepare the South Garden for this year.

      In the lower picture, the gate is open between the chicken yard and the South Garden, so the chickens can help me with spring soil preparation.  Of course the sun is helping me along, gently warming the soil, rising a little earlier each morning and going higher in the sky each day. 

 

     The gardens are now like a canvas with a black and brown base coat of soils.  Soon the greens of new plants and weeds will be added, followed by the greens, yellows and browns of mulches.  Then comes the multiplicity of colors in the fruits and flowers of this year's production, until it's all covered with a final coat of white this winter, resting before next year's creation begins anew. 

 





Wake Up! It's Spring!

Granary with attached poultry shed

     Last week it was 29 below at night, and only in the teens F above 0 during the day.  Last night's low was 26 F above 0, and today is predicted to go into the High 40's.  From this photo of the guinea shed, you can see the snow is beginning to melt.  There wasn't a bare spot in the whole yard 3 days ago.

One brave adventurer

    This was the first day I let the guineas out this year.  They're a little leary about it, but one brave soul is checking it out.  The others will soon follow.  All 6 of the guineas made it through the winter, but sadly we lost our 4 peafowl. Life goes on.

Enjoying the Spring weather

      The chickens seem to be enjoying this spring weather too.  Although I gave them no extra light or heat through the winter, they all made it through and kept supplying us with some eggs into January.  They stopped laying completely for the month of February, but we had enough for the family to last until now.  We only have 2 eggs left in the fridge, so they better get started again.

New nesting boxes

     Yesterday, I made five new nesting boxes with plastic bowls from the Dollar store.  Below them are the four old nesting boxes made from old dresser drawers.  Of course I put in new clean bedding for them.  I'm trying sawdust for bedding instead of using straw like I did last year.

     Being plastic they'll be easier to clean.  The bowls are screwed onto a wooden removeable platform so that I can take the whole unit outside to clean it.  I can see that when I give the coop a thorough cleaning this spring, I'll have to whitewash the whole inside of the building.  Maybe I should hang a picture or two to make it a little homier.  Any suggestions for the pictures?  I'm NOT doing curtains!

INTRODUCING SADIE, MY NEW HELPER

     Last fall I got a new helper.  Half Chou and half Shepherd, she's become acquainted with the poultry, and encouraged me to go out and do chores this winter when I felt like staying in the warm house.  Hopefully she'll continue to encourage me through this spring and summer to with the myriad of projects yet to be completed.  Whatever gets done, I know we'll have a good time doing it.

No Radishes, Lots of Eggs

In October I still had hopes of winter radishes

     Who'd a thunk it.  November with so many days below 0 Fahrenheit brought the radish growth to a halt.  Lots of green, but no root development.  That simple cold frame was just not enough to get the best of Mother Nature up here in the North Woods.

a Surprise Gift from the Chicken Coop

    During that November cold spell, the egg production went down to one or two eggs a day from 23 hens, but I was expecting that.  No additional light for the shorter days and switching from layer mash to straight corn and kitchen scraps gives the hens their time for winter rest.  5 eggs this morning  when I went out to give them their corn for today was such a thoughtful gift from my friends in the coop!

     Give them a few days with temperatures in the 20's above 0 F, and they just get a more positive attitude.

The Larder

     For my grandson Alex's birthday supper last night, we ate the last of the potatoes and squash from this year's harvest.  We still have some carrots left, plus some canned tomatoes, beet pickles and jams and jellies, but we'll have to start buying more of our basics now.

     Way down here in December, when I think about the failures and the successes of this past year, I figure that I won the game,  Who knows?  Maybe next year on to the championship!

The Radish Experiment

     About three weeks ago I tilled up the Central Garden.  A week later I noticed some sprouts where earlier I had let some radishes flower and develop seed pods.  Knowing that the winds of November will come, I thought putting a low tunnel over them might give the extra warmth they would need to supply me with some radishes this fall.

Volunteer Radishes.....

.....Protected by Mini-Greenhouse from Cold Fall Days

     I could have used one of the low tunnels I used for the tomatoes, but I still had these transparent sliding doors from the collapsed greenhouse I obtained a couple of years ago.  Hinging them together and setting them in an old bedframe was an easy task.  All that  remains is closing up the ends on cold nights.  I'm using pieces of old carpet, but one could use almost anything from cardboard to an old feed sack to a piece of plywood.  Fasten it to the ends with whatever you have.  I'm using baling wire.  With a little luck, I'll have radishes in 2 or 3 weeks.

The Pantry

The Harvest

     Everything else from the garden except for a few rows of carrots is on the porch, in jars or eaten by now.  The few tomatoes that aren't in jars are in a box in the pantry.  The potatoes and carrots will go to the root cellar. There were only a couple of buttercup squash, and along with the unprocessed tomatoes, will be used by Thanksgiving.

Peafowl 3 months old

Poultry Report

   The guineas and the peafowl are between 3 and 4  months old and doing well.

Guineas 4 months old

     A couple of times a day we hear loud squawking from their house.  At first we thought they might be warning us of varmits, but later realized they were just having choir practice.  They must be improving because I'm enjoying their music more and more every day.

     The chickens are still giving us 3 or 4 eggs a day, but with the days getting shorter, they'll probably stop completely some time in November. As refrigerated, eggs maintain their grade A rating for 60 days, we should have eggs until about January.


     Although it's jacket weather, with temperatures in the 40's to high 50's F in the day and freezing most nights, it's still pleasant enough most days to work outside.  It looks like I'll continue to work on these outside projects until the winds of November blow me into my hibernation mode.

     Until that time comes, enjoy this beautiful autumn weather.  Enjoy the nasty days too.  They help prepare you to recognize and appreciate the beautiful winter days when they arrive.

End of September Update

     We've had a stretch of very pleasant fall weather which has eased the workload on both me and the chickens.  As you can see the chickens have been cleaning up the south garden while I've been working on the rest.

Tomato Patch Update

     I've tilled up all of the East Garden except the area under the low tunnel.  The wind blew the cover loose, and as we're not expecting more frost for at least a week, I removed the cover completely.  By the time frost comes again, we'll have all the tomatoes we care to save on the porch or in the garden shed.  We've canned 12 quarts and 7 pints as of now, and have enough for another canning session tomorrow.

     In the lower right hand corner of the photo you can see where I weeded the strawberry bed.  Never had much luck with this patch, but I'm going to douse it with some well rotted manure, mulch it and hope for better things next summer.

Central Garden Update

     We've harvested and tilled the Central Garden except for the kale which we're still using, and of course the perennial chives and asparagus.  The beets that we didn't already eat became 5 pints of beet pickles, a must for every holiday dinner.  The Yukon Gold and red potatoes didn't do so well, but we do have 30 or 40 pounds of Kennebec to take us into winter.  I haven't completed digging the carrots in front of the greenhouse yet, but judging from the one row I have dug, we should get a total of 25 to 30 pounds for winter storage.  On the other hand the pumpkins, squash and sunflowers all made a poor showing.

     The trailer in the photo is filled with the two cubic yards of well rotted manure that I bought on Saturday, yet to be unloaded and spread to supplement the poultry manure produced here on the farm.

Guinea-Peafowl House

Closed for cold weather

     My thanks go to my two grandsons, Alex and Aaron, who were here today and helped me hang the sliding wall on the guinea and peafowl house.  I still have some adjustments to make, but the other building repairs and painting will have to wait until next year.

Open for pleasant weather

Dream a Little Dream

New North Garden?

     I saw an ad this morning for a Case tractor at a reasonable price.  The tractor was almost as old as me, but serviceable.  I know it could pull a two bottom plow, a small disc and a harrow.

     I then went out to look at our land north of the existing garden.  hmmmm.............  Well, maybe not this year.