Storms, project help

We had a pretty fierce storm roll through overnight. The forecast was for it to be severe and I think they got it right on this one. We only got an inch and a half of rain but we got a lot of lightening and very strong winds. As I left the farm this morning I could not see any signs of damage but Mama will clue me in if there is any. Nearby, there were reports of 60 – 80 mile per hour winds. I am pretty sure we did not get anything that severe. The trees on the farm seem to be frail. That is the best way I can put it. There is some sort of brittleness to them that I am not used to seeing but so far, we have had very little damage done to them by the high winds. So, they might not be as frail as I think they are. Last year I had three trees taken out that were near the house and shop. The year before I had four taken out that were very near the back of the house. I still have five dead trees to remove but only two of them are in areas that give me any concern. All of them escaped damage through this storm, but their days of standing through the buffeting are numbered.

In preparation for the storm, Mama and I battened down the hatches around the property last night. All the animals have places to escape the rain and wind so we had no worries for them. Our goal was to keep as much rain out of the buildings as possible. We were planning on going to Wichita Falls last night but postponed it to Thursday evening because of a tornado watch that had been issued for the area. The brunt of the storm did not roll through until the wee hours of the morning, but we thought it was better to be safe than sorry. Although some areas had very large hail, we did not see any at the farm. Going forward, there are more storms forecast off and on through the weekend. This was the second damaging storm for many. Those who did suffer damage will be more apprehensive about the next round than Mama and I are, but in either case, there is little that can be done other than mitigate the damage as well as possible before the next one hits.

I made a call to Chester last night to see if he and Chuck would give me an estimate on building and installing rolling doors on the goat barn. Since they have a welding shop it would be much easier for them to do than for me. I have put off building the doors because I could not decide how I wanted to build them; whether to use wood or metal for the frames, whether to hinge them or mount them on rollers. Their estimate will give me more direction. It is also a pretty daunting task to mount the doors regardless of how I make them. Most of the work I do at the farm I do by myself. This is one project I will not be able to do alone. If the price they give me is good enough to turn the construction over to them, it will be one less chore I have on my list. That would be a blessing. Getting the barn finished would also be a blessing.

Since Mama and I have a little bit of money coming in, I plan to complete the well house in the barn lot next. I already have a lot of the materials for the building (metal for the exterior and roof) and the well. The electrical lines and water lines have already been run so the structure is the next step in getting that done. If I can get the materials for the building itself, it should take me about forty hours to complete. Getting those forty hours set aside to do the work is the challenge especially since the max I am normally able to put in is six to eight hours per week; on a very good week. So, it will take me six to eight weeks to get forty hours applied to the project; one hour here, two hours there. A great deal of time spent getting set up to start working – gathering tools, string our extension cords, etc., then making sure I have time to put put everything away after I spend forty minutes actually working.

A little here. A little there. It’s the best I have to offer right now.