Monday 25 July 2011

Phase 8 .......the end is Nigh !!

Zoretah and Zirrianna...sniffing my boot !!

The last door.....mam and dad is joined by Sonny ...in the background, waiting for his tea !

Me sitting on the floor........putting the hinges on the door !

This door is now complete with 4 doors on......as of yesterday !


Yesterday we managed to finish off the big barn doors.....what a job that was getting them hung up....however with a bit of a doo.....we eventually managed to get them hung yesterday. It is just left to do the finer points of finishing off the main boarding on the bottom section and around the edge. Fix a few bolts to secure them together and sort out something extra strong to secure them into the ground. As this is the windy side that gets battered by all the winds...so its got to be a good job !!

Anyway onto phase 8 !! This is to make the door which will eventually block off the opposite side of the barn which leads directly onto the track. This is a much smaller door....but it still measures 10ft x 8ft. Just as a matter of interest I have used 600 screws on the doors...I know this because the boxes are of 200 and I've had 3 boxes !!!

Today I have managed to make the door......this door can be completely opened..to allow the tractor in if required, however it will mostly be kept closed. I have made a window in the door, this will be used if there are any alpacas in this part over the winter......this will allow light in without actually having to open the door.....I have a similar panel in my other shelter I made and it works great....I can either open it and let the alpacas see out or close it up if the weather is horrible...

After making the door...we had to stand it up to put the hinges on......and a photo shoot was required.....to record the moment......I said we looked like the Punch & Judy !!.....show.....'Thats the way to do it '!!

We had a little audience...the horses had came down for their tea.....and Sonny was in the background, waiting patiently, he is my oldest horse, he is now 27 years old....and I can remember the day he was born......like yesterday !!

Now, I have the gate on, this works both ways, to block off the new part of the barn, or the main barn, depending on which way it swings. Which is great as I can now either block the main barn off completely and if I have to keep something in....I can do with the new gate.

I have spent alot of time....thinking about how to get things right which will help with the running of the place and the animals....especially being on your own.....it can be tricky at times, but hopefully things are getting sorted to make life ....just that bit easier......especially after this job has been completed......this is the last big job...on the list....!!!......honestly !!

The weather has been like winter, so cold we have got the winter overalls and ski suits out.....the alpacas have spent a bit of time in the barn as the wind and rain was atrocious.

I'm still confident that Marquette is pregnant....and I'm still waiting for this baby to arrive ...... I'm sure that there is one more baby to come ....sometime !

The other babies are growing fast and seem to be happy and full of life. Zirrius is very cheeky, he sometimes comes over and has a sneaky nose nibble !! Zoretah is also very confident round people and is happy to come to see you for a cuddle also....its lovely to see them all so happy and confident around people........by choice !

6 comments:

Debbie, Barnacre Alpacas said...

You should be very pleased with yourself the barn looks fab.

Terry said...

You are really amazing, Jayne. You and your parents have done a wonderful job.

Rosemary said...

The barn looks wonderful - maybe we'll get to see it for real . . . sometime!

Cotswold Vale Alpacas said...

What a brilliant job you have done with the barn, well done looking good.

Ginnie

Unknown said...

Fantastic job Jayne...and at an incredible speed too!

Apple Vale Alpacas said...

That's a barn anyone would be proud of, your folks will be glad to get home for a rest!