·:[ high hopes gardens ]:·
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I hired out siding the 3rd story east and west dormers and while the guys were here, I had them frame up a new exterior wall for the old machine shed.

Last year I reroofed about half the building, but the half that is over me in the photo is beyond repair - so the new exterior wall will go on this framing. I’m debating saving part of the back wall and make a smaller open-ended shed for implements that will allow me to back into and detach implements and keep them out of the weather. However, taking part of it apart, may be tricky, so it may be a total tear down and rebuild. I’m still mulling it over. I’m not sure why the original machine shed was built so tall.
one year ago…”The Tempest”

Today, after a year since the first piece was put up, the back roof of the machine shed it now roofed (or at least all I’m planning on roofing). This brings a number of benefits - no more pile of steel roofing on the ground taunting me, no more drips in the shed, and no more having to straddle two sharp pieces of metal between the legs to put on a ridge cap.

The plan is to tear off the rest of the building, or make it open to the south as the lower half is in pretty rough shape, even by my standards.

one year ago…

Today was one of those rare days that more “farming” got done than planned. Spent the morning loading up a load for the dump and getting supplies in town and in the afternoon started getting ready to reroof the back side of the old machine shed. First task was to nail 2×4s across the roof into the rafters. The roof has a great hump (where two buildings were joined). So, I tore all the asphalt and cedar shingles to get down to the sheeting on the hump to help smooth out the hump. Got all the boards pounded in.

Even got three sheets of roofing up - about nine feet. I was hoping to get it done this long weekend, but about 3/4 done today - should be a snap!
Linda got some serious weeding done today.

Here’s a view down the onions and potatoes.
GJ got lots of patio blocks set around the new raised beds. It was hot and calm - a day that felt and smelled like summer. So it was the first time to Ev’s in town for ice cream after dinner.
Any guesses what this crop is?

These are Chinese cabbage and raddicchio - looks like they like the wet weather of late.

Today I brought Thing 1 and Thing 2 (male dairy goats born last spring) to the locker. Six of the visiting does that were “serviced” by the buck (stinky jim) at our place had an ultrasound today and 5 of 6 have at least twins. So the open doe is back for another visit.

We also got a mulberry tree cut down that was on the back of the machine shed - one of those winter extras - so that when spring and roofing season starts, it won’t be in the way.

There’s still a lot of hauling and cutting to do, but it is at least down.

In a family note, tonight was the last forced eye-drop administration of pink-eye solution to Martin’s eyes. It took one parent to hold his body and arms, another to pry the eyes open enough to get the drops in three times a day. He never did warm up to the procedure!

We’re going on two weeks without sun. It came out for a peek this evening and for about 15 minutes a few days ago, other than that, it’s been two weeks since we’ve seen it. The good part is that it has been warm, most of the snow is melted; the bad part it the clouds get monotonous after a while.

Today we finished cleaning up the attic and began to clean out one of the sheds that hasn’t seen attention since we moved in. This space was full of old lumber.

Here it is in the truck destined for the burn pile or storage racks in the corn crib. This is a little under half the haul.

I’ve completed one side of the shed re-roof and I think I’m done unless the weather continues mild into early December. The first step was to pound 2×4’s horizontally on the roof into the rafters and through all the shingle layers. I had to put a few 2×4’s vertically to try to take some of the bigger swales out of the roof. These give me a footing on the rotting roof and give a solid surface to screw the metal roofing into.

From up on the roof, you can see the boards.

The plan for this building is to save the part that has a new roof and build a new structure in the footprint of the part to be torn off and put in doors in one of the new sections on both sides so animals can go through or be restricted to one side or the other. It will give us many more options than we have now.