You know those shows where the famous celebrity invites you, the television viewer, into their home so we can all "Oooh" and "Ahhh" and drool over their fancy digs?
Yeah, well, that's not what this is. But maybe you can just pretend that this is the cattle version of one of those shows. OK, it's not fancy. It's not that big. But that doesn't mean my farmer isn't happy to have you along on the tour.
We didn't even need the "magic of television" to construct the cattle shed shell in a day. The
"Tinkertoy" assembly parts arrived December 31.
Then, one day last week, four workers showed up around 7:45 AM. Watching them was like watching a well-choreographed dance.
They each had their moves down, even if some of those moves involved balancing on top of wood beams!
By shortly after noon, they already had the tin on the building ...
... and they were hanging the doors.
By 2:30 PM the very same day, they had packed up their tools and were gone.
It took Randy and Jake another couple of days to get the "interior decorating" done. They moved the
calving pen out of the barn and into the new shed. They also installed fencing to keep the cattle from rubbing on the insulated walls.
They also had to do some work on the corral so that we could run cattle from the corral into the new shed.
Randy learned that his predecessor wasn't afraid to use concrete to get things situated. Both he and Jake spent some time digging dirt with a fence post digger. They eventually had to attach a chain and pull the cement-encased corner post out with the loader tractor.
Then I found it terribly ironic when they proceeded to use two bags of Quik-Crete to set the new post! Someday, someone will be thinking the same thing about Randy!
My favorite part of the new set-up is the walk-through gate. I am looking forward to walking through - and not climbing over - the fence on our cattle adventures.
All that's left now is adding the electricity, and the electrician is supposed to arrive this week. Then it will be all ready to welcome the 2016 calf class on the County Line!
The new shed and corrals look good! I'm sure you will enjoy them come calving season. It's amazing how fast a shed can go up with a crew that knows what they are doing.
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh as I was reading about pulling cemented in posts out of the ground. Before I saw the next picture I thought "I bet Randy quick-cretes that post in."
Walk through gates are always nice. I will admit, that I am little enough to slip through the bars of the continuous fence and take advantage of that. I don't like being a Ranch Wife Monkey.
Lately J has been watching a lot of house flipping shows and tends to have the Las Vegas edition on. It is fun to see what professionals can do to a house. I wish they would leave out the unnecessary drama. Reality tv!
I like the HGTV shows, too, though I sometimes think I should quit watching, since it can give me "house envy."
DeleteI ended up with a huge bruise last winter after slipping as I was climbing over a fence. So I'm very thankful for the walk-through gate. We are losing our hired man, so I may be called upon more frequently until we can replace him.
Kim, you should never have house envy.... I bet anything you are happier than any of those folks on TV! They would envy your life if they knew any better!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cathy! Yes, I am definitely blessed with a wonderful life. I wouldn't trade it.
DeleteThe new shed & yards does look mighty fine Kim. Will be nice and cosy for all the little newborns & mums.
ReplyDeleteThis morning, with four heifers in the shed, it was 40 degrees inside, which was a whole lot better than the teens! And, no, there were no babies yet. We ran three heifers in this evening. We shall see. It should be any time!
DeleteArticles are good! It’s exactly what i’m looking about walk through gate.. agtech.com.pk
ReplyDelete