The archive.

The project is finished, planted, and finally settled into the landscape.

Now that the permits have all been approved the landscaping company has been able to resume work on the pond. The shore line is being constructed here using rocks and the rubber...

Some random people drove up, jumped on top of my rock wall, and started photographing the boat. While I don’t mind, if they’re just curious, I also don’t want people getting hurt...

In a much earlier post from a couple of years ago I talked about plowing a field and planting hay, etc. well that field needed some major work and we don’t have the right...

Photo update from the Daybreak Farm archive.

A very big and impressive crane came out and pulled this huge ramp right out of the water. I asked the crane truck operator if he could lift my boat out (~35,000 pounds – just in...

I added an area to play warhammer in the boat salon. I used three 24×48” folding tables (for easy stowage in rough seas) with the Forgeworld realm of battle terrain on top....

I put a few lights out on the deck railing and hung a wreath off the bow… looks pretty cool.

1963 Chris Craft Constellation 46′

I had to go diving in the pond to retrieve the metal boat stands, wood cribbing, tarps, old carpet, and plywood that the boat was standing on prior to adding water. The water was...

Hm. I really need to clean up the work area.

After several days of anxiety and filling the pond and wondering what will happen… the boat took float, one corner at a time. Before and After…

Photo update from the Daybreak Farm archive.

Photo update from the Daybreak Farm archive.

The goal is to get the boat floating and then finish the rest of the pond. I think I’ll have her floating by tomorrow.

One of the final steps on the exterior of the boat is remounting the swim board. This is so people at the water level can get onto the boat. The old one was completely rotted and...

I’ve decided to stop pumping the rain water out since it’ll be ready for filling soon anyhow…

The hole is starting to look like a natural pond finally as the bog filter gets piping added and lava rock for biological filtration. It sort of looks like a shipwreck from this...

The hull is all sealed, metal trim is cleaned and painted and re-mounted. Even all of the screens on the portholes have been replaced. Oh and the seals on the fore and aft hatches...

I went back to a factory original style paint job and it’s coming along nicely after three coats of Smith’s CPES. Here’s a few pictures.

I did such an awesome job covering the entire boat and the pond with two massive tarps (40’x60’ each). Or so I thought… today we got some light rain along with really gusty winds...

The “pond” I should say… no water yet and still missing a side to make room for the truck to bring her in, but a feat nonetheless. Here she is getting loaded up: And here’s a...

Over the weekend the good folks at LS Blasting came out and stripped all of the paint off of the 46’ Chris Craft Constellation from the deck, down. She looks really beautiful in...

Lots of progress on the pond this week; we got the initial designs done, the hole was shaped up, and the liner was installed. Of course, the install is only on the lower end of...

I bought some molds for casting concrete pavers to make a garden path. As I prepared to mix the concrete I thought that scooping it into the molds would be a pain and decided to...

We’re having an electric gate installed at the main entrance to the farm. In these photos the posts for the gate have been installed and the gates have been hung but not yet...

I wrapped the boat in tarps at the recommendation of the marine surveyor who came out to inspect it. He said this would be important to preserve the wood while we work on it....

After much deliberation and hand-wringing I decided to move forward with the pond for the boat. One of the big motivators for me was that I was outside trying to decide if I...

So the boat finally arrived today. It sat at the shipyard for a couple of months having the flybridge disassembled to bring the overall height down to 14’ so it could be towed...

Back in May we bought a boat. It’s a 1963 Chris Craft and it’s 46’ long. It’s in pretty good condition; structurally very sound, intact, and very beautiful inside. She’s been over...

Since my cardio exercise is limited to when I mow the lawn these days, I’ve been using a walk-behind mower instead of the tractor for the front acre. I had been using an old...

Photo update from the Daybreak Farm archive.

This project that started two years ago is finally done! And of course, by “done” I mean simply moving into the next phase because nothing is ever actually done at a farm. This...

It’s pretty amazing how many different types of mushrooms grow around here. These are just a few…

We had the sheep sheared. There’s a great local guy who comes over and does this for us. My sister has been talking to green mountain spinnery in Vermont about getting the wool...

X took these with his fancy camera.

Sadly four of the six ducklings were killed by a predator on their first day at the farm. However, the two that survived are now fully grown and they are big and surprisingly...

So we managed to finish this up on Saturday including a new rain gutter and down spout, sealing, and fascia board to conceal the swale of the deck (which it needs to shed water)....

Our house at the farm has this sort of Alpine lodge look to it. Being surrounded by evergreens adds to the motif. As part of the remodel we extended the deck around the front and...

I picked up the warcry starter set over the weekend and tried it out with Kasey. It’s a fun, fast-paced game that left me wanting to play more. This is my first foray into the...

We’ve discovered that there is little-to-no information to be had on longevity for farm animals. Most of the material out there is about culling the herd and “humane” killing and...

This is the little chicken. He was born on June 1st. As soon as he hatched from his egg his mother attacked and tried to kill him by pecking his eyes out. She had done this to two...

My sister raised some baby ducks in the workshop. Apparently they’re going to her school for a bit and then coming back to the farm to live.

I kept very busy over the holiday break at the farm (more on that later). One of the things that I did was to put up a new sign. I had it made from cast aluminum and it is powder...

This may come as a surprise; it turns out that it is shockingly hard work to build a 130′ long, 3′ high dry stack rock wall. Digging the trench for the footer alone was a massive...

After spending some time tearing down the small, older garden (while preserving the old grape vine) I became frustrated with how hilly (not to mention rocky!) our yard is and so I...

The plan has been to turn this part of the pasture into a hay field so we can harvest and store it and our sheep will have healthy food to eat next winter. The first step is to...

The front lawn of the main house has a triangle shaped yard, bordered on either side by the driveway which loops around the back of the house. Down near the tip of the triangle is...

Photo update from the Daybreak Farm archive.

All of my great-grandparents came to the USA through Ellis Island between about 1890 and 1917. This weekend Xingyu and I were in NY so we decided to finally visit. What a...

I had an interesting conversation over dinner with a friend who happens to work in tech as well. I have often joked that Facebook has destroyed the world. What I mean by that...

My sister and I decided to grow our own hay for the sheep. This winter we’ll have to buy it, although if we start the growing process now then next winter we won’t have to. Plus,...