Projects & Plans

Chicken Coop Renovations

Another important structure we were thankful to inherit on this property was an old chicken coop. We decided to name it "Chez Poulet" (Translation: The Chicken House!) as a nod to my time living in France and job as a world language teacher! After extensive research and a full assessment of the existing coop we created a list of "must-dos". We prioritized completing safety and weather-proofing projects, and sprinkled in some fun aesthetics for the interior such as fun wall paper prior to our chickens move-in date!  

This year we were able to:
- Design & Construct a new enclosed run to the south side of the coop

- Clean out, Start Renovating and Decorating the interior. 

-Install an automatic chicken door

-Replace existing leaking shingle roof with a brand new metal roof

To read more about the coop renovations: click here for the blog about the interior renovations, and here for the new chicken run construction.

Greenhouse Construction

We decided to invest in and construct a small hobby greenhouse last year. It will help us extend our growing season with container plants, start seedlings outdoors rather than our dining room, and even grow some plants and flowers that otherwise wouldn't tolerate our climate. 

Check out our hobby greenhouse by clicking here! 

Backyard Overhaul

This project is a big one and while we made massive progress in 2024, we still aren't done! When we moved to the property our backyard consisted of beautiful rock ledges with (overgrown) gardens, an old root cellar, and a skinny stretch of (really rough shape) grass. We have a lot of plans for this space and started making progress towards our goals this year.

We completely removed the grassy area and installed a new crushed stone patio complete with firepit, grill space, living room and dining room areas! We finally have a nice spot to relax as a family and to entertain guests! 

Check out the patio install by clicking here!

Raised Bed Garden 

Growing anything on a new property requires a lot of research and attention specifically relating to wind, drainage, soil make-up/health, sun patterns, and more! We took a LOT of notes last season and decided to have some trees removed to the West of the gardens as they were providing too much shade on the raised beds. This largely impacted last years harvest so we knew we had to have them removed as soon as possible. We hate to cut down trees, truly, but it was and is necessary to have sufficient sunlight for our garden so down they went! We arranged for the tree company to leave the cut trees on the property, which not only saved us a considerable amount of money in the removal cost but it also provided us with a large amount of firewood for next season!  Waste not!

We  also noticed the beds were quickly deteriorating this season, and will need to be replaced before the start of next season.

You can follow our progress on these beds by clicking here.

 2023 

2023 was full of research, land preparation, 

& settling into our newly renovated home!  

We fixed up an old swing, cleaned up a little garden shed, and did some simple landscaping in the existing gardens. Our largest project however was clearing out and reviving an existing raised garden bed area. We fixed up the beds and installed new fencing and ground cover. We had a somewhat successful first year growing zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes, onions, parsley, oregano, dill, and lots of flowers! Most importantly, we studied and took inventory of what our property had that we could renovate or repurpose in the future. From wild growing perennials, to an old wagon wheel, a cast iron tub and cement trough we are prioritizing recycling and repurposing whenever possible and are working them in one by one to our future design plans!