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<\/a><\/p>\nEspecially with that handy center bar to attach the row cover to.\u00a0 Brilliant.<\/p>\n
But the peas weren’t the only thing needing a cover.\u00a0 The pigs had been relying on the woods for shade and housing during the summer.\u00a0 A pile of straw under their favorite tree, each other’s company for cuddling, and their own ample fat supplies were sufficient for the first few cold nights.<\/p>\n But since butchering wasn’t on the calendar yet, I figured some temporary pig housing was needed.\u00a0 Luckily I had cattle panels and T posts,<\/p>\n a tarp,<\/p>\n and some plexiglass panels a friend’s husband gave me stashed in various places on the property.\u00a0 Someone was going to throw those panels away.\u00a0 In the garbage.\u00a0 I know, shocking, right?<\/p>\n Pushy was interested when I first started attaching the panels.<\/p>\n Penny wanted to try it out as soon as the first corner was in place.<\/p>\n But they found the endless amount of\u00a0 tying involved in securing the plexiglass and tarp in place….<\/p>\n to be too boring to watch.<\/p>\n And even the thought of someone else hauling down some straw to fill their new digs…<\/p>\n was almost too exhausting for Penny to bear.<\/p>\n Only when all the work was done, were they inspired to investigate.\u00a0 And if it wasn’t very fancy, I figured it would at least stand up to the huffing and puffing of Old Man Winter.<\/p>\n With the pigs taken care of, it was time to fix the goat pen.\u00a0 Part of the goat barn has a confinement pen for sick or injured goats or a place to keep goat kids when they are being weaned.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the last time I used it, the goats chose to stand on the makeshift roof instead of under it and everything came crashing down.\u00a0 My building plans had not included standing-on-the-roof-durability.\u00a0 I know, you would think I had never owned goats before.\u00a0 In any case, this is what I had to work with:<\/p>\n With just a post driver and some poultry staples I created a spacious lounging area with both a house for goats and a pen for protecting broody hens or new chicks.<\/p>\n I raised the roof above goat climbing height.\u00a0 I think.\u00a0 Probably.\u00a0 Maybe.\u00a0 But please note the additional roof support using cast off aluminum poles from the neighbor’s gazebo that blew over last year during a summer storm.\u00a0 He was going to throw those poles, even the ones that were still straight, away.\u00a0 In the garbage.\u00a0 I know, shocking, right?!?!<\/p>\n Speaking of roofs, the roof on the guinea coop in the garden sprung a leak.\u00a0 It was actually so rotted that the roll roofing on top just peeled off the remaining wilted plywood.\u00a0 I had some leftover small pallets that I used to contain the potato patch last year.\u00a0 They fit just perfectly over the now open top of the coop.<\/p>\n Then I covered them with the roll roofing and a bunch of black plastic that was too degraded to be used for weed suppression any more but was perfectly waterproof when I tripled it up.\u00a0 Of course, all that would have blown off with the first winter breeze.\u00a0 Until I raided the pile of rocks I keep in the garden.\u00a0 That rock pile drove me crazy all summer long.\u00a0 I need to keep a pile of rocks handy in the garden.\u00a0 But since I couldn’t mow over the pile or even too close to it, it quickly became enmeshed in weeds and grass.\u00a0 Getting a rock out to pound in a support for a tomato cage or hold down a piece of landscape fabric meant risking snakes, spiders, or whatever else was hiding in that mess.<\/p>\n By piling the rocks onto the roof I secured the pallets, the roofing, and the black plastic in place.\u00a0 Plus, kept the rocks in a nice accessible weed-free and mower-safe location.\u00a0 So I might not have killed two birds with one stone but I did kill two problems with one pile of stones.\u00a0 Which is much better.\u00a0 I think.\u00a0 Probably.\u00a0 Maybe.\u00a0 Who kills birds anyway?<\/p>\n Meanwhile, The Other Half was busy replacing the buck pen…<\/p>\n and the chicken coop.<\/p>\n Not that there was anything wrong with them.\u00a0 Or at least the bucks and the chickens never complained.\u00a0 And if the neighbor complained about my farm buildings looking like Sanford and Son’s backyard, he never complained to me.\u00a0 About buildings.\u00a0 Most of our complaint\/conversations revolved around guineas.\u00a0 Guineas are good at distraction like that.<\/p>\n But The Other Half has an affinity for ceilings that are higher than 6’4″.\u00a0 Since he started doing the barn chores half of the time, he began to notice that very few of my buildings had roofs or ceilings higher than…well, higher than I could reach easily during the construction process.\u00a0 Very, very few.\u00a0 Like, none.\u00a0 Not that I’m opposed to high ceilings.\u00a0 I’m just opposed to anything that requires more than zip ties or twine to hold it together.\u00a0 Zip ties and twine will not hold anything together if it’s taller than 6′.\u00a0 Trust me on this.<\/p>\n Also, tall projects require real posts, not just T-posts.\u00a0 Real posts require the post hole digger.<\/p>\n Don’t be fooled by the name.\u00a0 The post hole digger does NOT dig post holes.\u00a0 It just\u00a0 moves dirt out of the hole.\u00a0 You are required to dig the hole by slamming the digger into the rock hard red clay with every ounce of strength you have, feeling the impact from your arms all the way down into your knees, and then use the digger to move the pathetic 2″ of\u00a0 dirt that was loosened in the process.\u00a0 Repeat about 8,000 times or until you decide a 4′ high roof supported by T-posts or leftover aluminum poles is entirely adequate.<\/p>\n Of course, you’ll also need the digging bar.\u00a0 Which is used to pry up rocks or break up tree roots that you encounter during the digging.<\/p>\n I have never used the digging bar, for a couple good reasons.\u00a0 First, it’s extremely heavy so that the force of driving it into the hole can break through any trouble spots.\u00a0 Which makes it too heavy to lift more than a couple times.\u00a0 Second, it involves a disturbing fear factor.\u00a0 See, if you’re using the beveled end in the hole to pry up a rock, then the sharp pointed end is at face level, promising to poke out your eye if you slip while using every last ounce of force to lift the bar and slam it down.\u00a0 If you’re using the pointed end to break up tree roots, then the beveled end is at face level, promising to knock out your front teeth if you make a mistake.\u00a0 I prefer my tools to be a bit more user friendly than the digging bar.<\/p>\n Even if I could manage the post holes for the 4X4 or 6X6 posts required for a solid structure, I’d still run into the ladder problem.\u00a0 I have never constructed anything that required more than a nice, steady, sturdy one level step stool. The kind you can sit on comfortably to sip your Diet Coke when taking\u00a0 construction break.\u00a0 Safe and restful.\u00a0 That’s the kind of tool I enjoy working with.\u00a0 And it just doesn’t suffice for constructing roofs over 6′ tall.<\/p>\n The Other Half doesn’t have the same problem.\u00a0 Ugh.\u00a0 2 ladders!\u00a0 One that’s high and one that’s higher-than-anyone-should-be-climbing-on.\u00a0 Double ugh!<\/p>\n Never mind the fact that he not only dug about a million post holes, but then sunk the posts into concrete.\u00a0 Concrete.\u00a0 Wha?????<\/p>\n So while I finished the pig house, the guinea coop, and the goat pen (plus the peas!),\u00a0 The Other Half built a 12’X24′\u00a0 barn.\u00a0 Divided into a section for the bucks…<\/p>\n …and an area for roosts and nesting boxes for the chickens.<\/p>\n With sky lights.<\/p>\n And windows.<\/p>\n And a gabled roof.<\/p>\n A barn which was not just functional and waterproof, but impressive.<\/p>\n I mean, if you’re into that kind of thing.\u00a0 And you care about what the neighbor thinks.\u00a0 And you like to be able to stand up while providing animal care.\u00a0 And you have the patience to dig holes 2″ at a time.\u00a0 And you’re not afraid of the digging bar.\u00a0 And you’re willing to get up on ladders.<\/p>\n Thank goodness one of us is capable of all of those things.\u00a0 Well done, The Other Half.<\/p>\n Although I did manage to build 4 things while he was building 1.\u00a0 Not that anyone’s counting.\u00a0 Or comparing.\u00a0 Definitely no one’s comparing.<\/p>\n Stop it.<\/p>\n Hey, knock it off.<\/p>\n \n Anyway, around here one of us is willing to put in the time and tough work that it takes to build things that last forever.\u00a0 And one of us is willing to use whatever is laying around to keep things fixed up.\u00a0 That’s why we’re halvesies.\u00a0 ‘Cause it takes a little bit of both to keep this funny farm in business.\u00a0 Plus, a whole lot of zip ties.\u00a0 Ah, zip ties \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n