Garden Harvest in Late July

Starting at the top and working to the right: blueberries, Tendergreen green beans, multiplier onions, Zuchetta summer squash, Green Nutmeg melon, Sugarbaby watermelon (a volunteer), Amish Paste and Roma tomatoes, a couple of eggs, and a blueberry pie. Sadly, the cucumbers are finally done due to blight. We had enough overlap to get a few tomato and cucumber salads, but I certainly wouldn't have minded a few more.

How is your garden doing?

Garden Harvest in Late July © July 2014
by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

Idea For A Round Goat Barn

Folks sometimes comment that Dan and I seem to get along so well in spite of our many home remodeling and homestead projects. Many a marriage has taken its hits from differences of opinion! Our ground rules are simple, but effective.

1. Brainstorming stage - anything goes. we can throw out any idea, no matter how fantastic. No criticism from the other party allowed.
2. Discussion stage - we take a closer look at all the options and try to list pros and cons for each one. Again, no criticism, we just try to take a realistic look at feasibility. The wildest ideas usually get canned at this point.
3. Decision stage - if we both agree on an idea, it's a go. Likewise, if we both disagree, then it's crossed off the list. If one feels strongly and the other doesn't care, then we go with it. If we differ in opinion, then the idea in question is set aside and we keep looking until we both agree. This has actually been a marvelous rule because it forces us into better solutions than we previously thought we wanted. 

But on to the idea for the barn. I've showed you a couple of our ideas for a goat barn, one here, and the plan below.

Click for larger view. Details here.

This plan has been the top contender so far. It fits within the footprint of the outbuilding we just tore down, and pretty much resolves most of the problems I have with managing my goats. We still discuss options from time to time, but always come back to this plan in the end.

While we were working on the coal barn demolition, Dan said, "What about a round barn?" I said, "Let's look into it." We found a great website, which has a collection of photographs of round and polygonal barns from all over the U.S. and Canada. Dan immediately starting thinking about the how-tos of constructing such a barn, while I started thinking about the how-to of dividing the space within. We came up with a rough sketch of a floor plan for a bottom floor. A second story would be the hay loft.

Rough sketch for a round barn idea.

The challenge to doing this is working around the concrete slab that used to be the carport for the old coal barn. Dan doesn't want to tear it out, so we figured it would make a good floor for a milking/feed storage room. That was placed in the center of the plan.

At the bottom of the plan is a loading bay, large enough to back the bed of a pickup truck into. Things could be carried directly into the storage room, or goats could be loaded or unloaded from their area on the left. We're also considering making it open to the hayloft above. The truck could be backed in and the hay hoisted up with a block and tackle. This arrangement would mean we wouldn't have to have a hayloft door on the outside. In fact, we could likely leave the bay open with no exterior door. The goats would still be protected from rain, snow, and wind, but have excellent ventilation.

Goat area on the left. A hay shoot from the hay loft would allow for direct dropping of hay into the feeder. For the goats, I'd have both entry and exit doors for the milking room. No more clogging up the door for feed! At the back (top of plan) a large 8 or 10 foot gate would access an open area as a covered loafing area. I haven't figured out where yet, but I'll have portable pens for kidding (no more territorial fights over the kidding stall!).

The goat porch in the back would be open to the outdoors, no walls, just the roof overhead. It would be open to a small courtyard with gates to either of the back forage areas, easily enabling pasture rotation.

On the right would be a room for processing feed and storing the equipment needed to do so: my corn sheller, a threshing machine, and a hammer mill (both items on my wish list). We'd need to add a door into the milking room. This room is also where we'd have a narrow stair or ladder to the hay loft.

The round barn idea is still in the discussion stage, but we both really like it. We haven't yet figured out if it would be truly round or polygonal, nor things like where to put windows. The milking room being in the center presents concerns about light and lighting. Also trying to work a round building off a square room is a puzzle. We haven't dared consider the cost either! That would likely be so discouraging as to us abandoning the project. We'll continue to work through the details, discussing if this is truly a feasible idea. Like everything else, we'll plan it out and take it one step at a time. That being said, there's no telling when we'll actually be able to get started. When we do, you'll be the first to know. 

Idea For A Round Goat Barn © July 2014 by Leigh
at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

Before There Was Duct Tape There Was Baling Twine

I love baling twine. It's always been a favorite of mine for holding things together in an emergency. When Splash kept slipping through the fence and getting into the blueberry bush ...

Splash looking longingly at the blueberry bush, now off limits.

The first thing I thought of was rabbit fence and baling twine.

Old baling twine easily ties rabbit fencing to the
rail blueberry fence. It is made out of sisal fiber. 

I could have used staples, but that would have meant going to buy them and dragging out tools (I was in the instant gratification mode, you see). I could have used wire, but I don't like working with wire if I can help it. (BTW, a roll of wire is cheaper in the electric fence department than the same gauge in the hardware department). Wire is more permanent than the twine, but it gets caught on everything making it a nuisance to work with. Besides, baling twine has worked well for patching fence in the past.

This was a hole that Elvis tore in the fence. It's
new baling twine, made from a synthetic fiber. 

I know folks love their duct tape, but I couldn't have done that with it.

There are some things baling twine isn't so good for, such as deterring chickens from fence hopping.

My baling twine chicken barricade was a fail.

Maybe I should have tried duct tape for that.

Then there are the times when only duct tape will do.

Not to hold it in, LOL, for leaking.

I reckon if I keep both handy, I'll be prepared for just about anything.

Before There Was Duct Tape There Was Baling Twine
© July 2014 by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/