I carefully calculated exactly how much lumber I would need for a 8' x 12' run-in shed for Jeremiah the Horse and Amos and Andy the Goats. Being a seasoned computer systems designer who knows better, I then doubled what I needed and placed my order with an Amish lumber mill in Ephratah, about 22 miles away. It took a couple of weeks, but my order was ready, so yesterday I fetched Earl and Bill and we made two trips to Ephratah to load up the flat bed trailer. Our last trip was today.
That is a lot of lumber for $514.40. Why the odd number? I don't know. But when the Dad called, he said it was around $512, so that's what I withdrew from the bank. After loading the trailer the first time, I handed the oldest boy (the Dad was out in the field) the bank envelope.
"There's $512 in cash," I said.
The boy, about 15 years old or so, looked horrified.
"Its $514!" he exclaimed.
As I pulled $2 from my wallet, he added "And forty cents."
So all you city slickers are thinking "what in the heck is a run-in shed?"
Well, when you put a critter in a fenced in area, they should have a place to run in to get out of the hot sun or bad weather. It doesn't have to be big, and ours will be only 8' x 12'. The goats will get 8'x'4' and Jeremiah 8' x 8'.
"But don't you just let them run free?" you ask.
Yep. For now. And this is the problem.
I thought goats would be like cows. Just there. But they're not. Goats are incredibly friendly, and curious, and want to stand on everything, and eat everything. Not only flowers and dinner are fair game, but so too are shirts, hats, and camera bags.
Trying to fence in a goat, though, is tough. They are escape artists. So Pamela's job tomorrow is to make an escape-proof corral, while mine is to start the run-in shed.
Oh. Don't leave your beer and pretzels around while you have loose goats.
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