Ancient Technology

Yep. You read that right.  Ancient technology.  We used it this weekend and got 'er done.

What did we do?

We moved a shed.

 

Here it is in its old position.  We built this a good 20 years ago, well before we thought we'd put runs on all the stalls.  Once we started adding runs, well, it's in the way.  So, for the past 5 years or so, we've been thinking about how to accomplish this task.  Many theories were floated, many dismissed.

Finally, we decided what to do.  Dig out the entire foundation, put skids on it from front to back, brace and cross-brace, cut the posts (which were sunk 3 feet into the ground) right below the skids, and then put up on round poles and roll and pull.

Larry spent a good three weekends digging out the foundation, with occasional help from others.

Once the entire foundation was dug, we braced and put the rollers under it.

Then, Larry cut the posts off right below the skids.  Sawzalls are really cool.

 

Next, we hooked it up to the truck and the tractor.

There is a whole story about getting the truck here - what you can't see is the VERY tight space I had to navigate to get it where it is here.  I am now qualified to dock starships.

Then, we pulled, slowly and carefully, jacking up the shed to put new rollers under it.  The kids helped out and while they weren't exactly excited, they did the work. You can just see Alex, here, helping Larry.  At this point, the shed is almost in its new position.  Here we were taking out a fencepost that was in the way.

Here is a view from where the shed used to be.  It will get some fill and end up being a paddock, until we put runs where it was.

 Here it is, in its new position.  We later put up temp fencing and will end up putting in permanent fencing to make 3 paddocks.

Here is where the shed used to be.  That pile of gravel will end up being the flooring of the shed in its new home.  Maz (the horse looking at me) was very interested in what the crazy humans were doing. 

So, now we need to finish the shed, including the floor and a patio outside it, take down one line of fencing, put up a few more and wah-la, done!  Then, it's on to the next project, which is finishing up the 3 runs in progress. 

All in all, the actual moving time was about 7 hours total, but that doesn't count the prep or the hours of discussion on how to do it without trashing the shed.  We all did decide that we now know how they moved the blocks of stone for the pyramids though...so, ancient technology plus a lot of modern horsepower and lots of muscle power.

After we were done with moving the shed, we went and picked up 100+ bales of hay.  Ahhh...farm life!

We don't need to go to the gym today.

 



Farm Chores

It seems to be summer (although today it sure doesn't act like it).  I can tell because we've already gotten 2 loads of local hay out of the field and that ONLY happens in the summer.  I've been dealing with the same family for around 20 years now, THANK YOU Vicky!  Every summer we joke that if the kids get the phone when she calls, they won't hand it to me.

Last year we picked up around 600 bales and I was able to get another 100 or so when I ran out in the spring.  That really helps stretch the expensive Eastern Washington hay I get.  And, last year, the local was so good that it actually was better than a lot of the Eastern WA I got. 

My children and husband have become a well-oiled team;  maybe not the most cheerful during this time, but they do the work. 

This is Callie (in green) my almost 20 year old daughter and Zach (almost 17 year old) stacking hay.  I took this in the trailer, as I was throwing the hay to them.

One of the great things about local is that most bales run around 50-60 lbs, which means we can throw them around.  Those monsters from across the mountains need one of us on each end.  Also, it's cheaper than Eastern, thank heavens!  I have to feed hay year round, so my expenses are not insignificant.

Other things we do during 'summer';  get ready for winter!  This past weekend (Father's Day weekend), my husband and I spent most of it working on new runs off the barn.  Our plan is that we will have almost all the stalls with runs, which makes winter so much easier.  Over the years, we've figured it out; Larry cuts a hole in the barn for a door, frames it in and then we sink posts and put down fabric over the graded run area.  Then, it's drainage rock about 4 inches deep and 5/8 minus over that, another 5-6 inches.  Near the barn, we put in a 'porch' of Hoofgrid with gravel in it(I'm trying a competitor this time called Ecogrid) to keep down any possibility of mud.

The view from inside the stall.  Right now, I have the end of the Ecogrid up in the air, as I need to put more drainage rock under it, but my tractor died before I finished.  Sigh...

So, once the tractor is running again, I'll put in more of the big drainage rock until the whole area is smooth and flat and then put the grid down and fill everything in with 5/8 minus.  When this is done, you will barely see the grid, but the horses will not be able to dig or paw.  Presto!  Dry runs no matter how wet it gets.  (right...presto...so far it's taken about a year to get to this point).  The horses love it, as they can go in and out all night long, there is no mud (here anyway) and if they like, they can poop and pee outside only and keep their stall clean.  Win-win all around! 

Now, why haven't we done this sooner?  Besides the large amount of work involved, it is NOT CHEAP.  Each normal size run costs us around $1500 + or -.  This is a double run (otherwise, there would be a slice of useless area and we can't have THAT) and I think it will be well over $2000 by the time we're done. 

We are also moving a shed.  We started looking at the projected runs and realized that if we ever wanted to move this shed, we had better do it now.  When it was built, over 20 years ago, we had no plans to put runs on.  Well, times change and this shed is built so strongly that I can't imagine trying to take it apart (or, at least MEANING to take it apart).  We will see what happens when we actually go to move it. 

So, this coming weekend, we are planning to shovel out around the posts and put runners on each pair, along with cross bracing.  We will cut each post off and then the idea is that we will hitch up the truck and tractor (when it's working again, argh) and just pull the whole shed to it's new position.  Sounds easy in theory; we'll see how it works in practice.

Oh and actual horsey stuff?  Well, not so much right now!