Barn Raising

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The backhoe lived for six or eight years in a little parking space in the woods with a tarp spread over it and tied in five places. That kept the weather off, but was dreadedly inconvenient. So we made it our winter project for 1999 to build a new home for Old Stoney.

We leveled out one of the piles of pond dirt beside the backhoe driveway and spread some of the county's sand and rocks on top to make a dry spot. (Some time later we'll explain about the never ending effort to keep the county's road from washing into our woods.)

Then we started making the usual fifty trips to the lumber store. Posts, concrete, beams, rafters, tin, siding. Plans? All in our heads - the only way to go.

Here's a couple of shots of the beams going up:

They were even heavier than they look. We went a little at the time, up one side then up the other, and tied them between lifts to help prevent headaches.

We put on rafters:

Some tin and siding to keep out the rain and wind:

Old Stoney has to tuck his tail a bit, but he fits. To be honest, we weren't sure 'till we tried.