The Willow Farmyard

Welcome back to The Willow Farmyard. It’s been a rather nice day for late November. I had some errands to run today and work to do so not much enjoying to be done. Chris is outside right now moving dirt around. We’ve got some big piles in the yard after constructing the barn!

But speaking of the new barn, in addition to a wonderful new work space and some much needed storage, we also now have a covered porch. I’ve always wanted a big porch. Wouldn’t a 3 season porch be so amazing?? Well, I don’t have that but I do have a wonderful place that we can sit and watch the world go by. Well, sit might be a bit of a stretch. We’re usually a little too busy to do much sitting. Maybe next summer, after all the building and remodeling is done. Anyway, a girl can dream!

The porch will have a covered ceiling, but that’s not quite finished yet. Once it is, you better believe I’ll be hanging some lights from it! And I’m sure we’ll either find or make some very nice lights to flank the door, too. All in good time…

For now, I’ve done a little porch decorating that I thought I’d share with you. Some things I already had, in anticipation of the porch. And a few things I got recently. Sit ont he porch with me for a spell and have a look…

I bought this locker at a barn sale a few years back. I thought it would be really cool if we could turn it into nesting boxes for the chickens But then I found a legit set of vintage metal nesting boxes instead. Now the locker make a great addition to our new porch, along with a milk crate and a little rusty additions. I found the Big H chicken feeder just yesterday in Nashville, MI at Sweet Pickin Antiques & Collectibles. I really couldn’t say no to it. I love that it’s tall and has a nice graphic on it. I plan to put some greenery in it soon for the holidays.

And this vintage egg basket is something I picked up a few years ago from one of the antique stores in Lake Odessa. It also has a really cool metal graphic on it!

And I certainly do love old crates. These are 2 of my favorites! And doesn’t that locker just have the best patina?

In the middle of the porch, I have a few little vignettes flanking the entry door.

I love that vintage chicken crate and the teal kerosene heater! I grabbed the teal egg basket and really big metal scoop yesterday on our antique trip. And the red nail keg on the other side of the door is another of my new favorites. It will look great for the holidays! The vintage parking sign is something we picked up down south on a vacation. If you know me, you know how much I love signs! That one has a great chippy patina and the letters are embossed. and Check out this adorable little tractor. It might end up in my garden. But for now, it gets a spot on the porch.

On the other end of the porch we have a few barrels we picked up somewhere north when I went with Chris on a quick job. We stopped at a few antique stores on the way back and found the barrels for a great price. My new vintage water softener that I got yesterday i there too, along with a wonderfully colored ice cream bucket. And the metal rooster that I got for valentines day last year.

Everything looks really fun with the pops of orange pumpkins. We grew those in our pumpkin patch. Never thought I’d be a girl who had her own pumpkin patch! We had regular jack-o-lanterns, cinderella, blue, white and minis. The blue didn’t do so great, but we got quite a few nice fairytale pumpkins this year. And an abundance of the minis!

I know I’ll be adding more things to our new porch in the spring and definitely looking for some nice comfy chairs. And I’m sure we’ll have some grass, too. Construction was tough on the yard this year! I’ll be sure to keep you updated.

But before then, I’ll be sprucing the porch up with greenery and shiny Christmas baubles for the holidays. I don’t like decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving so, instead of doing things on a nice day like today, I’ll be out there next weekend freezing my fingers off! And I always do a LOT over at the coop. Check back next week for a holiday porch update if you’d like. I’d love to see you back at The Willow!