April 1-3

Well, Francis made great progress on Friday. He finished off the first stall and then"cleaned up". He removed the old wall that had been part of the old feed room. This is necessary as the second stall will be going here. He repaired several joists, removed some old posts and put in new ones for the new stall. Weather turned cold and so he used the opportunity to remove more hay from the hay loft above and transfer it over the field, through the ravine to some cows that belong to the neighbouring farm (for anyone who know's me I mean Dave's cows- my ex-husband). He has been very helpful with this project as he found us a hay wagon to us to put the old hay in, and is letting Francis dump the hay at his property for his cows. He also pulls the loads of hay with his 4x4 tractor when Francis' little tractor won't pull it through the muddy ravine or he gets stuck- like he did yesterday.

Hay removal from the loft-- this is after nearly all the hay has been removed

It was a cold and windy, miserable weekend but Francis solution was to tarp off the area he was working in and put on his propane heater.......no stopping this guy when he has an agenda!

I was sent on an errand late Sunday afternoon to get more post plates before the Home Depot closed so he could finish getting all the new support posts put in for the second stall. Meanwhile, friends dropped by to check on progress and Francis even roped Serge in to  helping with the posts......as I was gone to the store.

My part of the weekend was ensuring I left supper ready for him for when he came in ( I was working 3-11) and making banana muffins for snacks. I also painted horseshoes that will become the bridle and halter hooks and am going to use them as hooks for the barn equipment, such as brooms, shovels, manure forks etc. Francis taught me how to use the grinder as some of the old shoes had clips on them, that had to be ground off..... I didn't lose a finger but Francis says I am a messy painter, and the proof is in the photo on FB of me with paint on my nose! No idea how it got there....oops

There is a long narrow window at the top of the stone wall in the first that is currently boarded up as it is broken. This will be replaced by a new window. Francis is being driven crazy by the fact that the stall grills and the sliding door grills don't align!! I am sure he will take it all apart at some point but it has to do with the height of the beam and not having room to hang the track any higher. I'm fine with it and really don't notice it. This stall will be Raphael's (" Raphi's") new home in a few weeks. I've started my shopping list of must haves:manure fork, broom, shovel, garbage can, bucket hooks and of course wheelbarrow for all the poop!. I have ordered salt lick holders in the shape of horseshoes... they should be here this week-- ;they are made of black plastic.

First stall completed! There are no floors yet-- waiting for the tamarack wood

New joists ( "sistered")- old joists were raised, straightened and then sistered

So this is the wall that was taken down, the freezer was moved and all the old hay swept up. There is a "hole" in the ceiling above the wooden "ladder" against the back that was used for throwing hay down from the loft. Two joists were repaired, the steel posts were removed and new support posts installed

Beginning of the second stall! 

My horse shoes........

Before............

All of them painted.......ready for wooden blocks ( PS I need Francis to cut those for me)