18 February 2004 "Barn life"
We've pretty much moved completely into the barn. We need to do our final walk-through with Gerald to patch-up a few final things. As the weather continues to get warmer, I will be spending more and more time there. Please stop by to see me sometime!
31 January 2004 "Finishing touches"
They placed the cupola on top of the barn, added the ladder for the hayloft, painted the cement blocks in the wash area, and stained the wooden bottoms to the stall doors. We have been putting the horses up every night because of the intense cold. It's really nice to have such a functional barn. They are waiting for some decent weather in order to put the brick on the sides.
Oh, we also bought a new horse trailer today. Let's hope it will suit Dumbledore!
24 January 2004 "Horses in the stalls"
I actually used the stalls for the first time. Hermione wasted no time in dirtying hers up! They finished the wooden inserts on the bottom of the doors and hung all of the various stall paraphernalia. The brick was delivered Friday to make the skirt around the bottom of the barn. Not too much longer and they should be all finished.
12 January 2004 "Horses on the Farm"
We moved the animals yesterday except for the cats and the border's horse. As feared, Dumbledore was a complete pain but with the help of Scott, Kelly, Scot, and Chris, they managed to finally get him on the trailer (almost two hours later). Everyone is now settled at the new place and they seem to like it okay so far.
They put up the metal grates on the fronts of the stalls and installed the stops for all the doors so they no longer fly off the tracks.
9 January 2004 "Doors"
A new year is here and with it came the doors to our barn. They still need the glass in them and the interior stall doors need the wooden bottom inserts installed but in all their glorious redness, they complete the barn. Last night, Scot helped Chris move all of our barn stuff from Spurr Road to the new place. All that is left on our moving agenda is the animals and hay. Sunday, we will attempt to move the horses. I say attempt because Dumbledore HATES to get on a trailer. Mom and Dad's friend, Scott, the manager of Shadwell Farm has offered to come over and give us some professional assistance. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that Tabitha won't be riding a horse south on I-75.
7 January 2004 "Riding Arena" "Barn at Night"
They finished the fence around the riding arena. This will be where the horses live while they finish the rest of the fencing.
I thought the lights on the barn looked really pretty at night.
30 December 2003 "Varnished"
Gerald Robins gave me a tour of the barn today. All the interior woodwork has now been varnished and it is gorgeous but very stinky! They also poured concrete in the garage. Chris decided after-the-fact that he would prefer it to just the sand aggregate and I think he mad a very good decision. Tomorrow, they will be installing the concrete block in the wash area and building the loft to the ladder.
18 December 2003 "Lots of wood"
We visited the barn today for the first time in a little while. Since I have been feeling under the weather, I haven't been able to get out there to see what is going on. I was pleasantly surprised to see four garage doors and all of the interior woodwork complete. We talked with Gerald Rose a lot today about cutting-in the driveway and some last minute fence details.
30 November -- 9 December "All Kinds of Stuff"
Yes, I have been lazy about posting pictures on the site. They have made a lot of progress on the barn but Chris and I moved into our new apartment recently so my web developing time has been limited.
23 November 2003 "Concrete"
On Saturday, the Geralds worked hard and poured all the concrete within the barn. They also managed to get the roof on the main barn and hope to have the garage roofed by the middle of next week. OH! There are rumors that we will actually have electricity by Tuesday! Let's all keep our fingers crossed.
21 November 2003 "Stalled"
The stalls are in place and the rafters are ready for the roof. They started the framing for the garage today as well as the run-in.
17 November 2003 "Broad Side of a Barn"
Well, Chris and I can now attempt to hit the broad side of a barn...our barn! They have now completed the sides of the barn and the roof joists. I guess that is what they call those. I believe the next step is the metal roof. They are also going to start putting up the fencing this week! Let's all hope for good weather.
13 November 2003 "Trenches and Posts"
They dug the trenches for the water and electric to the barn. The water trench is on the left and the electric on the right. If you look closely, to the back and right of the barn, you can see our pile of posts for the fence!
4 November 2003 "Framing"
The framing went up quickly. I was so excited to see it, I made Chris drive us out there the night before to look at it in the dark. The shorter days really impede our ability to get out there in the daylight.
2 November 2003 "Block foundation"
The cement blocks are in place. Next stop...framing!
23 October 2003 "Footer"
The barn now has its footer poured. Tomorrow, Chris and I are meeting with Terri, the foreman, to mark off where we want the driveway to run from the house back to the barn.
19 October 2003 "Completed Pad"
The barn pad is now complete and they will dig the foundation tomorrow morning. Should take about three to four weeks to completion!
19 September 2003 "Excavation"
Gerald Rose started excavating the barn and arena site today. As soon as he is finished, Gerald Robins will begin barn construction! This picture was taken from the hearth room in the house.
15 September 2003
Chris, Scot, and I met the Geralds and a slew of other various men at the property this evening. We spent a great deal of time finding and staking off the property line. Once we had that in place, we placed the barn again, and again, and again! We figured it would be easier to move around four stakes rather than a fully built barn. We then figured out how big and where to put the arena. Gerald Rose is going to begin excavating the land at the end of this week or the beginning of next. Stay tuned for pics of the progress. Our next step is to figure out the final placement of the fencing.
12 August 2003 "Parade of Barns"
Chris, Scot, and I went on a parade of barns this evening. After deciding that we probably wanted to go with a mostly wooden barn, Gerald decided to take us on a tour of some of his completed projects. I couldn't believe my eyes when we pulled up to the first barn; it was gorgeous! I was also very impressed that all of the people we met truly adored Gerald and couldn't have been any happier with their barns. Alright, all the cynics out there are probably saying, of course he would only introduce you to happy customers. Well, they were happy enough and the barns were well-built enough for my satisfaction.
We went back to Scot's after viewing all of the barns and played around with the layout some more. Between the three of us, we came up with a much better use of space. Now, all that is left is for us to decide how we want the fencing placed and then how we are going to pay for it.
6 August 2003
Chris, Scot and I met with Gerald the barn guy and Gerald the fence guy today. We spent two hours talking barn placement, fence construction, and budget. By the time we were finished, my head was spinning and my stomach was growling. We are back to the drawing board though on our pasture design. We ended-up totally changing the placement and direction of the barn on the property. I think it will all work out for the best in the end but we have a little bit of work ahead of us now. We are going to meet Gerald again next week to take a tour of a few of the barns he has already built. This will give us a better idea of what he can do for us and possibly what we want exactly. We are hoping to get the barn started soon and the fence will follow close behind.
24 July 2003
Miracle of miracles! I may have found somebody to build the barn. It was a very convoluted linkage of people (I am certain someone along the way knows Kevin Bacon) but I met with someone at the property to discuss the barn. Even scarier still, he will probably be able to build the barn and our fencing close to what we have budgeted. Next step is to meet him out there again to walk off the fence lines and decide the placement of the barn. The guy does all of the barn building for Taylor Made Farm. Let's keep our fingers crossed that he is "the one"!
