Mick has continued organizing the barn, one project at a time as he decides how he wants things to be set up. A project we were very excited about is a rack for storing sheets of construction material, such as plywood. The idea is that the rack fits neatly against the back wall so we can still stack hay directly in front of it. Mick left enough space to the right of the rack so that materials can be put in and out of the rack that way.
The side from which the materials are extracted is fastened with a chain. He used big bolts at the bottom for the rack to be able to swivel outwards when needed.
The opposite end of the rack is fastened with a bungee cord, and we can stack hay directly up to it, since we do not need to be able to access this side of it. This rack cleared out an entire corner of the basement! as these materials were bulky and difficult to store the way we had things set up there.
Another project was shelves built directly into the wall. I am amazed at the angled cuts Mick is able to do so that pieces fit together.
Maynar and I helping, as usual.
So far all of the barn building projects have used lumber left over from the construction of the overhang. (The builders were thrilled to be able to leave their scraps behind; I can't imagine anyone not wanting it!)
We have started a new tradition of at least weekly spending an evening out in the woods. The evening typically includes Mickey's amazing cheeseburgers, drinks and smokes, and bannock, along with the radio and great conversation. Bannock is an idea Mick brought along from Boy Scouts -- our current recipe is Betty Crocker's rich crescent rolls, wrapped around a stick and cooked over the coals, though next time I'll try less sugar and more butter. This week's radio included Wait Wait Don't Tell Me (an NPR news game show that we really enjoy), Selected Shorts (short stories read aloud), and a debate about affirmative action. In between forays through the surrounding woods to keep us safe from chipmunks and zombies, Yarrow enjoyed overcooked hamburger buns (overcooked while Mick was fixing me a drink, oops!) dipped in beef grease. It is nice to be far enough away from the house not to be able to hear the phone ring or the animals complain (at least the complaints are distant enough not to be annoying). And it is nice to be close enough to the house that we can walk to our private spot in the woods.
It didn't occur to me to take any pictures this last weekend until we were on our way back, but this might give you at least a little bit of an idea of our evening. Mick tows our supplies in the garden cart -- we're getting better at packing; I don't think we forgot anything this week.
And the contents of the cart:
We couldn't believe it, but Maynar slept through the entire bumpy ride back home!
Since the delivery of the barn, Mick has been doing a lot of research on barn organization, and we have begun clearing out the basement. (!!!!!!!!!!) The first project that took shape out of his research was hooks for hanging things from the rafters:
I was amazed that they specifically make hooks for hanging bicycles. There are a lot of really neat options for making efficient use of space.
Yarrow, the mountain cur, kept watch on the nearby dirt pile (from the site prep for the barn).
And Maynar and I provided moral support (?) -- mostly I walked around, while he looked around and tried to eat the carrier.
Further bulletins as events warrant... Mick has some great ideas for lumber storage next!
When Mick got a salary job this year, we knew we wanted to use the extra income for our big-ticket purchases. (And for Christmas present splurging, but we got that out of our system by, well, Christmas.) We have a wish list of big and small items, and Mick thought we should choose what of all the purchases would make the biggest difference in our life -- "shoot the close targets first" kind of thing. We decided that the closest target was a barn. As we discussed this during a windy, snowy winter which destroyed our temporary fabric shelter so that we found ourselves stretching and tying tarps to try to keep the hay dry, we looked forward to a shelter for hay, tools, and equipment that would not get shredded in the wind or collapse under the snow. Mick was also looking forward to a space to construct and to putter (less mess in the house! no complaints from me), and an area set up specifically for bucking, splitting, and storing firewood that would also allow him to more easily save the sawdust for compost cover material.
Mick did a great deal of research and settled on a run-in shed with an overhang from Wood-Tex Products in Himrod, New York. He was impressed by the quality of their construction, and felt that the price was very reasonable for the materials used (including white oak framing) and a hassle-free, delivered, ready-to-go structure. So in January we submitted our plans, received our quote, and tightened our belts to meet our budget for the Barn savings account.
We opted to have a poured cement pad for a foundation. This would allow us to easily move heavy objects between the barn and the overhang by rolling or tugging.
So this is what the area looked like in 2011:
And this is what it looked like last week: (The wheelbarrow is in a similar-ish location to the rain barrel in the above picture.)
And then moving day finally came! My first view of our barn as they maneuvered it onto the driveway (I thought it looked huge! certainly taller than I was expecting):
Yarrow wasn't so sure about it.
Maynar seemed to enjoy watching.
It took a bit of finagling to get it around the corner, although they reassured me that they have gotten structures into much less convenient spaces than ours.
The trailer could be operated by remote control completely independently of the truck, which was amazing to watch.
They then slid the barn off the trailer.
They set it onto rollers so that they could then push it into position.
They did the fine-tuning positioning with a mule.
It was amazing to watch such a large structure be moved around so easily and precisely.
They did a great job lining it up on the pad!
They then constructed the overhang, which only took a couple of hours.
And now we're in the barn business!
One of our favorite things about the barn is how it has changed the view out the window, from...
Chinquapin is our goat kid. We have decided that a healthy goat kid is a mischievous goat kid!
She has tried that trick with the ewes, but they do not seem to tolerate it. Loki (our ram), on the other hand, seems to enjoy it (as evidenced by the wagging tail)!
It is not uncommon for the two of them to walk around together like that. She does remarkably well at keeping her balance, and he remains remarkably unperturbed by the whole thing.
They certainly seem to share a special bond, though she gets along well with everyone, including Maybelle (our cow).
She also likes to hang out in the hay feeder *sigh*. Well, if mischievous means healthy, she is certainly healthy! :)
We kicked off the mushrooming season this past weekend and were rewarded with a basketful of platterfuls. We were a little disappointed not to find a greater variety of mushrooms, but there was certainly no shortage of platterfuls! We found them fruiting on rotten logs throughout the woods. Maynar seemed to enjoy his first mushrooming expedition.
Our favourite mushroom guidebook focuses on edible mushrooms. It includes descriptions and pictures of the tastiest species, and how to distinguish them from similar-looking mushrooms that are less tasty (or worse) -- so it gives us a great deal of confidence in identifying which mushrooms to eat and which to avoid. It also includes anecdotes of the authors' mushrooming forays (my favorite part) and recipes (from which Mick drew inspiration).
After cleaning the mushrooms (and inspecting them for bugs), Mick chopped them, along with some onions, and cooked them with butter, milk, and herbs (salt, pepper, fresh thyme, and dried bayberry leaf, if I remember correctly) to make a gravy.
He added some fresh chopped chives.
And served it up over fettuccine.
It was delicious! We enjoy mushrooming because it can be very rewarding foraging -- we commonly harvest a substantial amount of meaty food. And I love the excuse to roam through the woods! (particularly on hot days, like this past weekend, when it's really too hot to want to work) We look forward to more excursions this summer!
