The Goat Side Is Done

Well, technically speaking, it isn't really done since it doesn't have a roof, but I ordered the metal from Pro-Build in Johnstown and it should be here on Friday.

It's been brutally hot here.  It took two days to hand the Dutch door in the pic below.  Yep.  You read that right.  Two days.

Today it was sunny, humid, and in the upper 80s.  I didn't plan on doing much, and I didn't.  All I got done was adding the goat bed to the goat side.

The goats seem to love their new house.  They were both in there while I was trying to install the bed, and as soon as it was up they were on it.

Tomorrow it's supposed to be even hotter than today, in the low 90s.   But I may work at a slow pace and try to get the door for the horse side built.  Then build the two doors for the little hay loft, and then screw the roof on.  Then on to the pump house.

I also decided to put a four foot extension on the run-in shed (already!) for use to store feed and such, and perhaps tack.  That will come after the pump house.

Go-Fest

On Saturday, my step-son-in-law Eric arranged Go-Fest, Gloversville Outreach Festival, on behalf of  the Perth Bible Church.  Now, I am the first to admit that as a Roman Catholic, I am far from church going, but it seemed like a nice community event, totally free for everyone.  There was a bounce house, a dunking booth, hot dogs and fried chicken, face painting, and a small petting zoo provided by Pam and me.  We brought Amos and Andy the goats, Ruby the pit bull, Pam's mom Judi's two rabbits, and our friend Kim brought a pony and geese.  There was also crafts by Kim, three legged race, water balloon tossing, and a pie eating contest.

A good time was had by all.  Especially by Amos and Andy who were the center of attention, and Ruby.  Ruby was even overwhelmed by all the kids and often would hide under Kim's craft table to nap.  

Almost Done With The Run-in Shed

Considering all the rain we've had, and how quickly I tire out, I think it is coming along nicely.  Yesterday, I put the final trim pieces on the back wall and finished the front wall.  I started building the goats' door (the one on the left) which is 55 inches wide.  At that point, even without the roof, the goats can be put in there at night.

Next comes the four foot horse's door, and then the two hay loft doors, and the roof.  I will then build L shaped bunk beds for the goats to get them off the dirt floor.

A Meteor

I love taking photos, as many of you know and to your dismay.  And, as many of you know, I'm night blind and can't see stars at night, and so night photography is a favorite past time.  Last night, I loaded up my Stellarium software to see where the Milky Way was, went outside and pointed my Nikon D7100 with its 50mm lens in that general direction, and got this.

Yep.  I totally missed the Milky Way, but I did catch a falling star.  Cool.

As for the run-in shed, I did try to work on it yesterday.  It was incredibly humid, and warm to boot.  I got one trim piece cut and nailed before I decided it was o'beer-thirty.  Maybe today, because it will will cooler and less humid, I'll get more done.

The Run-in Shed is Close

All of the hard parts are now done.  Today, Trish came up and we put up the headers and nailers for the metal roof.  When I order it, it will take until a week from Friday to come in.  In the meantime, I'll build the doors and finish the front and then start on the pump house.

Trish, AKA Superwoman.

She even came with a nail gun.

Yes, I know I didn't need to use 1 x 10s for nailers for the metal roof, but they certainly didn't cost much and will add to the strength of the roof.  Nope, no engineering has gone into this, and no snow load calculations.  Only a make-it-up-as-you-go kinda thing.

It is close to being done.  Very cool.  

Bugs

If you  live in Bleecker, you have bugs.  All kinds of bugs.  Black flies, deer flies, mosquitoes, bees, you name it.  As such, spiders also thrive.  I thought this little spider web in the grass was pretty cool, and industrious.

As do fleas thrive here.  Pam just treated our dogs with Advantix just two weeks ago, but already they're covered in fleas.  Pam has a flea comb, or sometimes just picks them off.  The dogs hate fleas and tolerate the picking well.

I think Chevy actually enjoys it.

Today should be a good day.  Trish is coming up to help with the run-in shed, and we should be able to get the headers and rafters in place.  Then it is a matter of getting the doors on, and the metal roof, and it is done.  Cool beans.

Keuterville Big Foot Cast

Notice how I broke my cardinal rule about not referring to Sasquatch as "Bigfoot", but notice the space between "Big" and "Foot".

I ordered a copy of the Keuterville cast done in 2001 by a 13 year old boy.  Readily visible are even dermal ridges.  This is an impressive print.  Sadly though, it came damaged.  The big toe was broken off.  I sent an email to bigfootcasts.com and got an immediate reply.  They're sending out a replacement.  Good company.

In other news, check this out.  These were on the steps leading up to our tractor-trailer trailer.  Pam thinks the goats kicked them out of the trailer.  Nope.  All of my washers and such are kept in an antique metal pretzel can that was my father's.  Sasquatch are said to "gift", meaning that they will leave you things that they think you will like or need.  If this was not from the goats and indeed a Sasquatch, I have no idea where it is finding this stuff.

Goats love to climb, and they've been jumping up on our plastic wicker furniture.  They're getting big, and we're afraid they're going to go through it.  I know, you're thinking this is store bought, but its not.  I made it myself.  I'm thinking of selling them on the internet.

Olivia running.  You can see the joy on her face.  She loves to run.

But what's annoying is when you think you've got a great shot of your dog, and it is only when  you download it to you computer that you see an ear is inside out.

And how about this for a ten foot high pile of stinking Sasquatch crap?

Time to head to Florida!

Shed Wall

We've had a lot of rain lately, so work on the run-in shed has slowed.  But I did manage to erect the wall between the goats' stall and the horse's.

The boards are simply butted up to each  other.  I was going to space them, but even at one inch I could envision a goat getting a horn stuck, so I didn't.

The last couple of boards were tough to hoist, but with a ladder and some effort I managed.

Canada Lake, in Photos

When I published my Drift Away blog (our boat that we lived aboard), one of my favorite things was to grab my camera and photograph whatever happened by.  On Drift Away, it could be incredibly interesting.  Visiting our friend James on Canada Lake, maybe not so much.  But still, for a Tuesday on a tiny upstate New York lake, not too bad either.

A West Wight Potter.

Everyone sing... Mist, on the water...

Yep, certainly not as exciting as being on Drift Away... but still, these folks were having fun.

Goats

Amos and Andy are goats, and have natural instincts.  One of which is head butting.

It is amazing to me.  They somehow have programmed into their DNA that if they gain height, they gain power, and make their head butts more forceful.  They were fighting for the attention of their momma.

As for the run-in shed, Earl and I drove into town where I spent almost $100 on hinges for the shed doors, only to return home without the screws to put the doors together.  I really need to make lists.

Getting Close on the Run-in Shed

We spent the weekend in Harvey the RV on our property over the weekend.  It was a hot one, and so I worked in the morning and stopped when the heat and humidity got to me.

On Saturday, I closed in the back twelve foot wall.  Unfinished wet lumber is heavy, so what I did was to put nails on each end a half inch below the top of the board below it and then hoist the next board up, one end at a time.  This worked perfectly except for the last board, the one on top.  I was nailing from left to right, and when I got to the end, I found that the two nails I had there had bent.  Oh well, as I often say, it is a shed, not a bridge.

Besides, on the inside, the goats and horse won't even notice.

Today (Sunday) I only worked from ten until noon when I quit because of the heat.  I got up the small four foot wall in the middle of the front.

On Monday, I'm heading into town to buy hinges and to check to see if the local lumber mill has rough cut 2x6s.  I ran out when I decided to put in a small hay loft.   Then comes the doors, finishing the front, and then the roof.  And then onto the pump house.

Slow Progress on the Run-in Shed

I only work on the run-in shed in between rain showers and errands, which means maybe two or three hours a day, tops.  Anything more than that and I'm exhausted anyway.  I'm having a hard time pounding in four inch ringed pole barn nails.  But I did get the second wall put up.

Yes, I mis-measured one board.  I could have cut it shorter and used it on the one above, which is probably what I should have done, but I'm not building a bridge.

The black flies are fearsome in Bleecker, and the dogs are rolling in mud to protect themselves.  In the photo below, Olivia gets a bath.  Note the color of the bath water.

Tomorrow (Thursday) Pam and I are playing golf and so nothing for the blog.  I really don't know if I can swing a club anymore, but I'm going to try.