Goat Barn Floor. Plus Flowers!

Despite my fall and spending the entire day at the ER Monday there has been some progress on the goat barn. Unfortunately I'm on crutches and off my feet for a while so I am out of the picture for a bit and that makes me sad.  Yesterday Don took the day off of work so he could help me with daily needs. While I was resting he and his helper Keith shiplapped the floor boards and got them nailed down. Now that the floor is laid out you can really get the sense of the size better now. I haven't seen it in person yet but I cant wait to get back out there.

 Keith took a photo of Don shiplapping the floor boards

The floor is done, now it's time to start on the walls. That is always my favorite part. 

Today is my first day alone since I fell and it's a bit challenging with the crutches. My ankle is continuing to swell so I really need to keep it up and iced. I have a follow up appointment with a Dr tomorrow and they are going to make a referral for physical therapy. I was feeling a bit lonely and depressed today when a delivery of flowers arrived. They were flowers that my 3 Stepdaughters ordered for me around Mother's day but they never arrived. Well today was perfect timing as I was feeling quite sad.

Here is the little nook that Don set up for me in the living room until I can climb the stairs again. Nice to be able to look out the window and be in the sunshine. 

Everything Was Going Fine, Until it Wasn't (ER Visit)

 It started out as a beautiful day and we had planned to get the floor down in the goat barn.

A tree company owed us some work so they came in the morning and were taking down some large pines and some oaks that were in the way where we wanted to build the chicken coop. The logger that is going to clear the goat pastures can't make it until June and those trees were really holding us up for building the chicken coop so we were grateful to have them taken down at no cost. 

I felt kind of sad to see the large pines go so I whispered a prayer of gratitude to them

Just as they were about to take down the largest pine with a few twisted trunks it was time to take the 3 small dogs to the vet for their checkup. 

After their check up, on our way out of the Vets office Nikko got away from us and was running towards busy Rte 5. I was terrified he would get hurt so I took off after him and fell badly, all my weight folding over on my ankle to miss landing on the smallest dog, Toshi. 

We had to bring the dogs back home before we could go to the ER. When we got to our house the tree crew had the road blocked off and we had to ask them to move their equipment. I had already blacked out twice in the car and was having trouble cognitively. Don was wondering how hard I hit my head. We headed down to the ER and everything went black again and I was in this semi aware state. When I opened my eyes I could not longer see. Everything was just bright white light. At that point I felt very confused, and very nauseated. 

     

Yay! Not Broken.

After spending the rest of the day in the ER, having x-rays and an EKG we found out that it was a nasty sprain but I did not break my ankle again. Yay!!! That was awesome news. They felt the vision problems and fainting were caused by a vasovagal syncope episode. So off I went with a wrapped ankle (it was too swollen for an air cast), crutches and instructions to not bear weight on the ankle and to keep it elevated for a few days. Then they want me to follow up with my PCP for a referral to PT.  

Don put the guest bed in the LR since I couldn't climb the stairs. Niko, the pup that started this by running off at the Vets office, slept  with me in the living room bed and was very clingy and nervous all night. He knew things were not right. 

Needless to say not a stitch of work got done on the goat barn so Don took the day off today to be here for me and to work on the barn. 

Building the Goat Barn Day 2

Today was the second day working on the goat barn. Neither of us felt that great and because it was raining I was having a bit of a pain flare up so we were both moving more slowly than yesterday. We had some young helpers stop buy for a few minutes and Lukas got to try out Don's power tools. That was a big hit! 

 Working on the bracing for the footing

 Great team work! Until I slipped and hit his finger. Oh yes I did lol

 Screwing off the bracing for the girder and footing

Feeling a bit under the weather but giving it a go anyway

 The boss man inspecting the girder and footing

 After all the puzzle pieces are joined

 Screwing through the rim joist to the braces

 Those screws are 50 cents a piece!

 Shaving down a board with the skill saw

 Doubling up the girder

 The work crew for day 2 arrived just before lunch,  Lukas and his sister AnnaB

 Lukas got right to work with the power tools. Hey, wait, I thought that was MY job!!

 Katie and the kiddos checking out the project. 

One floor joist set and then it was lunch time.

After lunch Don laid down on the couch with Toshi. Then his brother, Niko, climbed into my lap and put on his cutest "Cuddle me" face. How could we possibly go back out in the rain to work after that???

We did end up heading back over after lunch but we definitely felt off. I hope we're not getting the stomach bug that has been going around. We got the floor joists nailed off but when it came to lugging the floor boards down from the barn loft and cutting them we just didn't have the energy so we called it a day. Hopefully we will both feel better tomorrow.

Bye for now :-)

Getting Started on the Small Goat Barn

Today Don and I started working on the small goat shelter that will attach to our barn. We are getting excited to get our girls. The footings are dug and poured, the rim joists are up. We are both exhausted and my back is screaming at me but we are very happy with what we accomplished today. We make a good team. He is the forman and I am his laborer. I hold boards for him, screw off boards, grab things he needs and read the level etc. He has a strong back and I don't anymore, so he does all the heavy stuff.  I'm going to limp upstsirs for a hot soak in an Epsom salt bath but before I do here are some photos of what we accomplished today. 

Screwing off the supports for the rim joist

 Watch it! I am armed with power tools!

Screwing off the last one!

Don digging down so he can pour the footing directly on the ledge. 

There is a reason they call our road "Old Ledge Road"

Don had to use a hammer drill to put some pins into the ledge for the footings. 

Is Don holding up the shovel or is it holding him up? :-)

Our Collie Ember was wandering around supervising the project

Setting the tubes and filling them with cement

 Getting the rim joists up

The level in this photo belonged to Don's Dad, as did the hammer we were both using today. I think his Dad would have approved of our project

 Screwing off the rim joists

There will be a girder running down the center from where Don is standing to the barn. 

Box of nails

The puppies came for a visit first thing in the morning before we got started.

The Best Laid Plans: Compost Happens

 This month has been so perfectly reminiscent of how things came to pass on our homestead in the Northeast Kingdom in the 1990's that you just have to laugh and go with the flow or it will make you crazy. We have 35 day old chicks coming in a couple of weeks along with 2 Boer goats, a doe and her doeling, waiting to be delivered and we don't have the shelters ready for any of them. This is partly due to the fact that the logging that was supposed to be done back in February to clear a couple of acres for the chickens and goats still has not come to fruition and it is nearly the end of May. Now 3 loggers and many promises later we believe we have a logging company coming in June. Fingers and toes crossed. Because of the delays we will have to build a goat shelter and pasture area where the garden was supposed to go and move the goats to the cleared area in the fall. There are actually some unforeseen benefits to doing it this was so all is well that ends well.

Today we had planned to get started on the goat shelter but we found out this morning that we can get someone to come in this Monday to cut some of the huge pines that are in the way for where we want to build the chicken coop. So that meant we had to move the log splitter, the lumber pile for the coop and the cold compost pile. We decided to combine some of the old compost pile with some new green material in one of those compost tumblers. I had a plan for this great 3 bay compost system that I wanted Don to build but we just have too much on our plates so we bought a tumbler for now. Maybe I can get him to build the 3 bay one this winter when things slow down a bit. We have had some foxes, raccoons and even a bear  (as seen on the trail cam) check out the pile of mulch hay and miscellaneous compost materials so we really needed to get it under cover.

 Don started moving the old pile by hand then decided to get the tractor. 

 I was gathering up the old mulch hay to add to the tumbler. 

 Don decided the whole thing would go faster with the tractor and he was right. It did :-)

 Then he dragged the log splitter out of the way of the trees that will be felled on Monday.
Last year he cut a hole in the bucket of the tractor and installed a hitch so he can tow things
like the splitter with the bucket. Pretty smart!

 Then he worked on cleaning up the area where the large pines would be dropped 

(Still no work getting done on the goat barn LOL)

 I worked on tying the raspberry canes into a V shape to let in air and light. 

Then we applied mulch and compost to the raspberries and blueberries. 

As for the goat barn, well.... tomorrow is another day ;-)