Barn roof rafter raising

So this has been an eventful week in the barn repair department. Tom and I have been working hard this week building rafters for the barn. We had help from our goat kids- this is PeeWee giving a hand (or a hoof):

Here's all the rafter's done in the rafter staging area (previously called the hay loft):
Here's Tom holding up a test rafter:
Here's our Sunday "crew" (cheap labor) putting up some of the rafters:
Here's the purlins going on:
Here's the barn after a long week:
Now let the roofing begin!

INJURY UPDATE: I had not done any updates because all there was to report is every muscle and joint in our bodies aching and random hammer-smushed fingers. Tom got shingles where his tool belt was rubbing (not sure if that counts as an injury or not). Then Thursday after working all night and then making rafters all day, I fell in the shower hard (again not sure if this is a barn related event). My leg swelled like nothing I have every experienced and I could not walk (much less make rafters) on Friday. By Saturday I was hobbling around again and now I just have a huge ugly bruise to show for it. The "crew" only experienced one bad smushed finger from a sledge hammer. So all and all no major damage done.

New sheep pages

So probably to avoid working on the barn I decided to take photos of my sheep flock. I realize that I am lacking current photos of some of my sheep- particularly the ones I do not breed. And usually when I think of they have been sheared or are otherwise non-photogenic. So anyway, after I took all the photos, I decided to post them on new web pages from oldest to youngest. So for your viewing and reading pleasure, these pages are at:

http://www.schoonoverfarm.com/sheep1.html

http://www.schoonoverfarm.com/sheep2.html

http://www.schoonoverfarm.com/sheep3.html

http://www.schoonoverfarm.com/sheep4.html

http://www.schoonoverfarm.com/sheep5.html

So I posted our ram lamb Shaun's photo above because I would like some input as to his color. He is out of a shaela ewe and a mioget ram. He was black when he was born with some white markings. Now he looks dark brown, and it appears to go down to his skin, but his face and legs still look black to me- compare them to the black lamb on the right in the photo. So what color is he- dark brown, black, modified black, sunbleached...? Any input would be appreciated.

Sheepy wedding

So I am going to divert from repetitive slow barn progress posts for a moment. Do not worry repetitive barn progress blog fans, I will be returning to barn posts this weekend, I am sure.

For those few of you who did not see this, here's a very sheepy wedding dress:

The full story and more photos are at:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1205007/Shepherdess-bride-marries-stunning-dress-wool-flock.html

Their wedding was way more sheepy than ours. We did not eat or wear sheep. We did recite "A passionate shepherd to his love" by Christopher Marlowe:

Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove,
That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
Woods, or steepy mountain yields.

And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers, to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of roses,
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers and a kirtle
Embroider'd all with leaves of myrtle:

A gown made of the finest wool,
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fair lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold:

A belt of straw and ivy buds,
With coral clasps and amber studs;
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me and be my love.

The shepherd swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May morning;
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love.

We also bottle fed Bobbitt and Monette at the wedding reception:

I guess our wedding was sheepy enough!

Even more barn progress

So we continue to make progress on our barn repair project. Here's the tenth pole up:

Here's some more joists up:
Here's the hay loft floor 5/6th of the way done:
Here's the twelfth and last pole up.
Here's the last of the goat prints in wet cement (it is interesting that the chickens, turkey and geese never leave foot prints in the wet cement and the goats and sheep always do):
Here's some new fencing we had to put up since our barn door is going to be larger (between the two poles):

More but slow barn progress

Another issue with construction around animals that I did not consider is the possibility of getting wet paint on your sheep's wool:

This is the seventh out of twelve poles going up, replacing our rotted poles.
I was not sure if these rabbits are cuddling or are terrified of the construction commotion.
The second section of plywood is up in the hay loft!
Another view of the hay loft progress above. And the ninth pole is now up (on the far right) and hopefully the cement is drying in the rain.