We have been busy rebuilding the house, throwing out old stuff, giving away, donations. We also divided off a new room for the kids a few weeks ago. They love their new room and we found it was more spacious than we thought it would be.
Yesterday, we started working on a push cart. Nathaniel always wants to build something, and his latest idea was a push cart. Picture a go cart, but without the motor. A sporty looking wagon, possibly. It will be light enough to push up and down the hills here, and we are currently looking for wheels. I am thinking something fairly light, not as light as wagon wheels, more like front tires of a riding mower. Maybe wheelbarrow tires, maybe from a dolly, haven't decided yet.
I have no inclination to get anything else that requires gas to run. The kids have a lot of fun playing with each other, not needing to run off alone. This they can use to help each other and get some good exercise, too.
The steering is always the difficult part. Anyone can nail together a frame and rear wheels, but the front steering is the hard part. You want to steer from the passenger compartment, not just from outside, so a swivel wheel doesn't work. A stationary arm with fixed wheels is the idea. So, when we get the wheels picked out, we still have some work to do.
We will be inheriting Sara's dad's old riding mower. It looks in hard shape with no hood, and some other dings and dents, but it is a solid tractor. It runs fine, just had a few minor collisions from a few inexperienced drivers,lol. So, Grampa said Nathaniel could have it if he took good care of it, which I know he will.
For Nathaniel, this is a dream come true. A real live motorized vehicle to use. Now, his primary job is to mow my lawn, haul our trailers with grain, etc. but he also will be able to earn money mowing other people's lawns. He can scour the neighborhood looking for work. He also must pay his own expenses. This is going to be a great opportunity to learn more about business and hard work, while being able to reap the rewards of a job well done.
At 12, he is a small boy, but willing to work. He has taken care of most of the chicken duties for 2 years now, and loves to take care of sick or injured birds. He has a heart for animals and loves to be able to help. I find the more he stays away from the TV and video games (which are both scarcely used here) the better he does. He is a great kid, and has the makings of a young man that will be a great asset to this family.
Well, that is the latest here, maybe later I will talk about the impending import of sheep to our mix. We have been studying more and more, and the time of year is coming soon to get going.
Mark
