Author: Steve Hardin

Barn roof day 10.

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I was hoping to finish the barn roof today.  Mother Nature had other plans.  The wind was just starting to blow when I crawled up on the roof.  I managed to get the back side flashing attached but when Mr. President tried to get the first sheet up he started blowing sideways on the ground.  There was no way we were going to get the roofing up the ladder. 
 
I had to crawl off the roof.   My hopes for finishing today crushed.  We went inside the barn and started to clean up and put tools and supplies away.  I cut a new lid for the grain storage bin and wrapped tin around the hole in the lid to keep the rodents away from the grain.  I still need to put a hinge on the new lid and a latch.  I don’t think the raccoons will slide down a dark one way hole but you never know.  This is a winter project.  I looked for a hinge laying around but did not find one in the old house.  I did find a locking latch that would work. 
 
Gary from work came out and he was pulling nails from old boards in the unused hay area.  It has a hole cut in the side of the barn to allow light in that we had covered with a rug to keep the rain off the hay.  I mentioned it needed a window.  The conversation just kind of took off and I went and found a window from my stash that would fit.  It was a brand new vinyl window I picked up at a yard sale for $25.  As an added bonus, it is frosted so I will not have to make a curtain on the inside to keep the sunlight off the hay.  We got it installed and framed out on the outside.  I covered the inside with a piece of cow panel so we can stack hay up next to the window and not worry about breaking the window.  It even slides open in case we need the ventilation.  I am really hoping the weather cooperates tomorrow.

  

Foiled by the wind!
Side Window installed.

Turbinator lid and skirting

Barn roof day 9

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Morning view from the barn roof.

 

Inside of turbinator, leading into our grain storage bin.

Mr. President was late this morning.  We had a discussion last week about timeliness.  It has not really sunk in.  He was 45 minutes late this morning.  I know I am getting old now that I lament the youth of today!  Luckily for him and I, his greatest asset is his flexibility.  I need the help and he is good help. 

We had 250# of stock and stable and 250# of wheat for the animals.  We ended up pouring them in simultaneously to mix them as we filled the bin in the barn.  500# of grain barely made a dent.  I think the bin can hold 2000# of grain, more than enough to get us through a winter.  Now I just need to find it on sale and buy a whole winter supply at once.  I am on the lookout.  I need to cut a metal lid for the turbinator, a metal plate for the 6 inch vent and metal trim to go around the gap in the wood lid.  Hopefully, this will keep the mice out of the feed.  I think it is totally doable. 

We made great progress on the barn roof this morning.  I am sure it can be finished in two days.  We are going to hit it hard tomorrow and finish up on Tuesday.  I really, truly hope this will happen and I can be done with the roof!

Barn roof progress, only two days away.

Day of rest.

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Buff Orpington chicks.

We went to town and snagged the two porch chairs on sale!  Annmarie grabbed them as soon as the store opened and paid for them immediately.  Once that was done we continued our shopping.  D & B had over 200 baby pullet chickens.  I heard the peeping from three aisles away and drug Annmarie over to look.  They had ten different varieties.  I opted for Buff Orpington babies.  We don’t have any left out in the coop and they lay brown eggs.  We now get fewer brown eggs than any other color.  So after bleaching out the brooder the chicks are now ensconced in our dining room for the next two weeks until they are big enough to go out into the coop in their baby pen.  This works out great as they will be laying in full swing by April of next year.  My favorite time to buy chicks is in the fall so they can be deadbeats all Winter long. 

After lunch I went out with Zeke and we hopped on the tractor.  I hopped on the tractor and Zeke terrorized every living creature on a 20 acre stretch of land.  I was just going to mow but the irrigation ditch is dry on the lower end by the school house.  I thought if I got the weeds out and cleaned it all up it would run better.  It worked in the spring.  Unfortunately, I did not do the upper field ditch just the lower ditch.  It is running better but I still need to clean the upper ditch.  I started an experiment by mowing part of the hillside covered in sagebrush.  I am hoping that it will not grow well after getting chopped up by the mower.  I am thinking about discing the patch up and throwing some drought resistant pasture seeds.  Not sure it will happen as I need to do the exact same thing in the barn lot, upper prime pasture and parts of ram pasture and orchard.  I am going to have a busy vacation cycle over the next three months.  I am taking six weeks off throughout my next work schedule cycle to get the farm ready for Winter. 

I cleaned off the grill of the tractor and still managed to get it clogged up and overheat the tractor.  I am going to have to add getting off the tractor every hour and cleaning off the screen to my tractor duties.  That was the real reason I did not get the upper pasture ditch cleaned out. 

Irrigation ditch cleaned out and ready for water movement.

Barn roof day 8.

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Barn roof view of the back hillside and my finger.

 

More progress on roof.

Mr. President and I went to town on the roof again today.  It went a little faster not having to work around the cupola.  It still takes time.  Lifting and moving the ladder while sitting on the peak of the roof is not easy.  We counted the new pieces of roofing and I am short two pieces.  I finished up around 1300 today and got down off the roof for lunch.  Zeke had been missing for last 1.5 hours and he was waiting for us in the yard.  He limped over for a hello.  I have no idea how he hurt himself.  He is always doing something.  Now he is under house arrest, a few days of imposed rest.  He will hate it.

I had to go get more small long roofing screws.  The only place I can find them is at Zimmerman’s in Pendleton.  Home Depot doesn’t even carry them.  I had to drive all the way to Hermiston to get a couple of pieces of roofing tin.  More flashing for the far end of the roof also.  Most importantly, I got nine cans of hornet/wasp spray.  I plan on waging war in the morning to take back the old house!  I think there are over 500 hornets living in the walls and eves of the old house.  Last year it was box elder bugs, this year yellow jackets.  It is always something. 

The 80 acre pasture was fertilized this week and should be planted late fall.  The upper prime pasture still looks very damp after being disced last week.  I am surprised how much moisture is still in the ground. 

Tomorrow is a day of rest as far as the barn is concerned.  My muscles ache all over from crawling around and reaching across a ladder.  I am going to mow the pastures and knock down some weeds.  Hopefully, make a dent in the sagebrush on the hillside.  Annmarie wants to go in first thing and get some deck furniture.  After that I will start mowing. 

Barn roof day 7.

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Cupola finished!

Well, it is done, the cupola is finished.  We got it done yesterday.  All the siding is on and the most important part is the weathervane on top.  It is not really an optical illusion that the second cupola is smaller than the first.  I would like everyone to think it, but the second one is a foot shorter and a foot narrower on the short side.  It just kinda came out that way. 

I am having a hard time staying on the roof.  Once I crawl down off the roof it is hot and I don’t want to get back on.  I keep finding other things to do in the afternoon.  We tried to dig holes for the new gate in the lower pasture and could not do it.  It is dried out and hard.  We installed the hole auger on the tractor and took it down to the lower pasture and attempted to drill the holes again.  One foot, was all it would dig.  So we filled the holes with water a couple of times and I came back the next day and drilled all four holes in five minutes.  I spent an hour the day before attempting the holes.

New gate for the lower pasture.

I am hoping to get the gate up and the electric fence up so the cows can browse some of the lower pasture.  I may be able to use some of my upcoming vacation time to fix the lower outer fence.  I have all the supplies I just need to work on the fence and get it done.

We purchased a little lamby for the our weathervane.  Annmarie has now decided that we need another weathervane for the first cupola.  I told her it was going to be very hard to install.  She is still trying to figure out what figurine to purchase. 

Most important part of cupola!