Barn Improvements

So living in Oregon we seem to experience wet winters, and when we built our barn we failed to take into consideration the direction the wind would blow the rain.  This resulted in it becoming necessary to close all the big doors on the barn to keep the rain from soaking the aisle.  Hmmmmm why not put a porch on the barn so the door can be open?  That is exactly what we did.  We called our barn builder and told him what we wanted and asked him to come up with something that would look attractive as well as provide the functionality we wanted.  The result is awesome and we love the new look of the barn.

Here is a better picture of the bench. It is so relaxing to sit out in the barn and enjoy the crisp evenings. There is room for guests so come a "sit a spell" at the Osterud ranch!

Operation Chipmunk

So some of you know that I started my morning well intending to be at work on time, but oh know the woodland creatures saw to it that would change. I was about to make my lunch for work when I noticed that Boris the cat had caught a chipmunk who was not dead yet, but was on his back twitching. I was very unhappy about this, but I at first decided to let nature take its course (but oh no I could not leave it at that). I tried to ignore what was happening outside my patio door and make my lunch, when out of the corner of my eye I saw the chipmunk flip over and attempt to scurry away. Now it was time to make my move, so I race to the door to yell at the cat to drop the now recaptured critter. As I slid the door open wide the cat ran in with the chipmunk in his clutches and I am sure I yell something and he reacted by dropping the chipmunk. Oh great so now the chipmunk sees he is free and is racing around my kitchen climbing cabinets and I am running around trying to follow where he is going. Then the unthinkable….he finds the one and only hole in my kitchen and disappears inside. Oh crap!!!!!! So not knowing quite what to do I call my fearless neighbor who is an animal lover like me. I believe her first reaction was to laugh, but then she came over. We bravely opened cupboards but soon realized the little chipmunk was trapped between the sub-floor and the cabinets. I soon began dismantling the cabinets, but I did stop short of removing the counter top. We tried a yard stick to flush him out but he hung on in the corner. We even tried to get him to stick to the yardstick with duct tape, but that didn't work either. So Kathy suggested I go to work and she would go to the farm store and get a live-trap for chipmunks complete with bait. So long story longer…………… she set the trap and our little friend left his hiding spot and took the bait. Kathy took him down to the woods and he let loose some grateful squeaks as she let him loose. She did snap his picture before letting him go. I Love a Happy Ending  I owe Kathy big time, and for today I will a vow not to rescue any more woodland creatures….of course tomorrow is another day.