Cabin

 There has been a lot of things happening at Little Frog Ranch, but today was a good day to work inside on the cabin ceiling.

Since it's been a little muddy lately, we made a makeshift porch!  We will make a much nicer one once the inside is finished.  But for now, this works just fine so we don't track mud inside!

This is what we are using to insulate the ceiling.  The walls have R15. We are about 1/2 way through with the ceiling insulation.  The walls are done except for some of the bathroom area.  

It's looking great! This end is the bedroom area.  We will add crown molding, paint, flooring, a ceiling fan, and finish up the electrical outlets, and then this end is good to go!

Speaking of the electrical outlets, these outlets with USB will be great to have around the cabin!

We also put some cameras around the property and were very surprised to see this new friend!

Water

Taking a break from the cabin, we decided to tackle the water.  The well was installed some time ago, but we needed to dig trenches to put the water lines to the cabin and near the storage container.  The area next to the storage container will be covered for shelter for the cows and donkeys.  We intend to add a water trough there as well.

We rented a Skid Steer to dig the trenches.

Water line to the storage container 

 Water line to the cabin

This is the shanty that houses the well.  Once we're all done, this will look MUCH nicer.

We opened the well house and discovered....

Rusted pipes!

More than one!

The well people came out this week to repair the pipes so we can finish hooking up the water lines.  Once that's all set, we'll test out the lines before burying them deep into the trenches.   Little Frog Ranch is always an adventure!!

Peaceful

Visiting Little Frog Ranch is always peaceful.  Well, maybe not to Chris who is doing a lot of hard work out there right now.  But when I visit, I just love to stand outside and look at the beauty all around.  I'm sure he wishes I would work a little more though. ;)

More new neighbors!  So cute!

 One view from the cabin

Another view from the cabin.  The pond is on the left where the trees are surrounding it.

Pond

Cactus

Indian Paintbrush

Among all of this beauty, we did inherit some trash too.  We'll clear it out soon enough.  

More Cabin

The cabin interior is moving along!

 The bedroom end of the cabin is looking great! 

 

This is the other end of the cabin.  The kitchen will be on the back wall around the window area.

 This is the view from the kitchen window.

Another view from the back of the cabin (better view without the screen)

Back of the cabin

 This end of the cabin will be the bathroom.  We will build a wall with a sliding barn door.  The bathroom will big enough for a shower on the right, toilet, sink/vanity,  hot water heater on the left, and even space for a small stackable washer/dryer next to the hot water heater.

The next projects to be done are the ceiling, and then the bathroom!

Cabin

The cabin is coming along nicely!

 New next door neighbors!

Wildlife

Spring at Little Frog Ranch is always beautiful!  

Indian Paintbrushes

My favorite tree and cactus

We planted two new Burr Oak Trees on each side of the cabin.

Another view of the newly planted Burr Oak Tree

The pond filled back up!  We love to see the animal footprints in the mud around the pond.  There are often deer prints.  

Strange web-like nests in the trees. 

We were nervous that these were spider nests or something, but it turns out, they are caterpillars!  Eastern Tent Caterpillars to be exact!  We saw a few hanging around on the cabin before we saw the nests by the pond. 

We also met our new neighbors to the left.  They helped us solve a mystery! Every now and then we notice some dirt has been disturbed, like animals have been digging there.  We thought it might be moles, but we didn't see any tunnels.  The neighbors saw the rascals in action one night!  It was a herd of about 30 pigs, or maybe hogs!  They had some babies with them.  Once our cabin is completed we'll be able to stay overnight and catch them in action- that would be neat to see in person, but from a safe distance!

January Update

Things are moving right along at Little Frog Ranch again.  Work had to slow down in late summer and early fall due to the heat and rain, but things are moving again!

This is the back corner where the bunk beds will go.  We installed USB outlets so people can charge their electronics easily.

Radiant barrier over the insulation

Ceiling is getting ready for lights and insulation.

This is the view from the front door of the cabin.  Just beautiful, no matter the season!

The pond is looking a little sad these days.  We need to run new pipe from our well to keep it filled for the animals.  There were animal prints in the mud so we know it's being used.  

The pond is down so low that we discovered this!  It's been there awhile, we just couldn't see it before!  

City kids checking out the tractor!