Farm Life – Kick Ass or Die

Drinking Beer & Building Shit: Donkey Shelters

February 5, 2021 22 Comments

First, a warning: Sad farm shit ahead. About this time last year, I walked out to the barn one morning and found the older of

Garden Upgrades 2019, Part 2

July 31, 2019 18 Comments

Let me start by saying that I have had mixed feelings about my veggie garden, pretty much since I put the first beds in six

The Greenhouse Returns

May 15, 2019 12 Comments

This thing… I’m not sure if I’ve had a single project on the farm that has brought me such varying levels of joy, frustration, and

Garden Upgrades 2019, Part 1

May 6, 2019 7 Comments

Last year I used the word “manageable” to describe spring on the farm, and, I mean… that’s hilarious. I didn’t know that was even an

Spring on the Farm: 2018

June 14, 2018 18 Comments

It only took six years, but I think I’ve finally figured out how to manage spring on the farm without completely losing my shit, and

Summer on the Farm

July 24, 2017 21 Comments

Every year I go into spring with a ton of energy and a ton of projects, and I’m always convinced that energy and motivation will

Building a Vineyard Trellis

June 16, 2017 11 Comments

When I first considered adding a few rows of grapevines to the farm, I figured building the trellis to grow them on would be the

Spring Garden Tour

June 7, 2017 20 Comments

For so many of the early years on the farm spring was a daily, relentless battle against grass and weeds. One I almost always lost.

Orchard: Spring Maintenance 2017

May 23, 2017 9 Comments

My little orchard is still in its early years– which means it’s still a fair amount of work– but there’s such an amazing sense of

Building a Chicken Run: Part Two

April 13, 2017 16 Comments

Let me just start out by saying this: all the animals on the farm are alive and well. Whew. And, after 3 straight weekends of

Building a Chicken Run: Part One

March 27, 2017 21 Comments

It feels like ages ago that my biggest concern around the farm was cutting and installing the kitchen counters. Then the big windstorm hit, which

I Saw That Going Different In My Head: The New Chicken Edition

January 25, 2017 10 Comments

One of the things on my list for 2017 was adding a few more chickens to my flock. In my head I pictured that happening

The Missing Chicken

December 5, 2016 12 Comments

It doesn’t feel like I’ve been sharing a lot of good news on the blog recently, so– spoiler alert– my two most recent farm stories

Vineyard Update: Summer 2016

August 15, 2016 9 Comments

If you asked me to summarize what starting a small vineyard on my property this year has been like I’d say roughly 50% digging holes and

Orchard Update: Summer 2016

August 14, 2016 22 Comments

At pretty much any point in my life prior to living on this farm, my thought process around learning and/or doing new things went something

I'm not interested in a mediocre life. I'm here to kick ass or die.

(formerly DIYdiva.net)

THE STORYTELLER

Back in 2004 I started writing about my adventures in fixing up houses on the internet. A lot of things have changed since then, with me, with my houses, and with the internet. These days I am basically a cranky old man trapped in a slightly less old woman’s body. The internet has changed and I am staunchly refusing to change with it. You won’t find any algorithms here, or feeds, or ads, or social media. Just good old-fashioned stories about a woman drinking beer and building shit, and living an unexpected life.

(While you won’t find updates on social media, you can sign up to receive new posts via email here.)