Green Acres Weekend Update

I admit, I'm a little overwhelmed right now, hence the lag in posts.  A week or so ago Byron made a list of All The Things We Need To Do This Spring.  A lengthy list it was, and I'll probably miss something, but I'll share it with you to give you an idea of all the homesteading sorts of activities we'll be partaking in around here.  Per the usual, we'll be learning a lot and sharing our experiences with you...

1.  Build a fence.  Ideally, we'd like to get a cow or two to raise for beef, and though we'll be moving them around to fresh pasture every few days with portable electric fencing, we need something on the borders of our property.
2. Research getting goats.  Byron has been working on cleaning up an old fenceline, and is thinking that a couple goats would help clear up the weeds.  We'll see if this materializes, as we've heard goat horror stories.  Besides, I did get out this weekend to help him pull up some poison ivy since I'm immune to it.  Not kidding.  I used to try to get it when I was a kid, even to the point of rubbing it on my arms.  I like to think of it as my one superpower.  But Byron wasn't so lucky:

Byron thought the roots were dormant...not so.

3. Paint the barn and outbuildings.  They're in rough shape, and as I am the family painter, this task will fall to me...for the most part.  We had a friend come out and give us a quote on the barn roof (since I don't do heights), and he's giving us a great deal on painting the whole thing. And some other friends blessed us with some barn paint they bought accidentally, which should cover the woodshed and old corncrib. 
4. Repair the barn, which means I get to pretend I'm a structural engineer.  That should be interesting.
5. Order seeds and plant a garden!  Why didn't I say this first??
6. Order and plant apple trees.
7. Design and build a portable hen house.  I design, Byron tweaks, I re-design, and Byron builds.

My as-builts of the old trailer.  Yup, I'm on a roll!

8. Design and build portable houses for meat birds.  Probably.
9. Install new floors in the dining room, and then refinish 500 s.f. of the flooring in the front of the house.  I spent the morning researching a product called Waterlox versus a tung oil/citrus solvent finish.  They're similar, and Waterlox may be more durable because one ingredient is a resin, but it also stinks to high heaven.
10.  Various sewing projects, including:

Reusable facial cleaning pads made of flannel.

Cloth napkins. 

Placemats to protect the beautiful patina on our kitchen table.  I'll be adhering this fabric to some canvas my friend Kim passed on to me...more on that project later.

I'm sure I'm missing something (such as eating and continuing to homeschool).  But apologies for the lag, and I'm excited to share these coming experiences with you!