What I was going to write on Saturday... but I was busy crocheting

Fall is here!

Sorry I haven't posted lately for you readers that follow the blog regularly! I admit I have been slacking since I got back from NJ! I have been spending all my spare time crocheting, getting ready for Christmas! I started a crocheted farm play book for Isaac and I keep picking it up every time I sit down. Just a few more things to make, a cow and a tractor; then back to making afghans for my older grand-girls.

I did take an hour to repaint the house doors one morning, using the enamel paint Nellya bought and used on the summer kitchen door. It seemed a better color than the blue with the new house color, which was picked to "look like bricks".  Unfortunately it turned out to be a cooler damper day than predicted, so the paint didn't dry for about 24 hours! We did shut the door that night, luckily we didn't get stuck inside.

Garry has been slowed down by a sore back since the week I got back, two of the guys got in a fist fight in the back of the van when they were coming back to the school from a field trip to the fields. Garry stopped the car and opened the door and pulled out the one punching his friend repeatedly in the head (really they had been best friends since he arrived two months ago) and sat on him. Shortly after they were buddies again, but Garry aggravated an old back injury.
So he has been taking it easy... right, not Garry, he has been doing construction!


First the concrete work for Jessica last week Wednesday with Nikolai and Sasha (pictured above) making a housing for the well for her House of Compassion  orphan home project.

 Max and Garry decided to try to build a heifer/dry cow shed in two days... Thursday and Friday. They didn't quite finish and had to order steel and wait for it to be delivered. Saturday it rained ( and Garry was teaching English and Max was at his monthly Bible school class in Dnepro) but they got the sides mostly done Monday (they had to get a few more boards)  and the steel for the roof arrives today.

digging holes for the posts

making posts 

New  student Sasha 

Straw shed is full

Now the bred heifers and dry cows can stay outside and stay dry and out of the wind. Last winter they were in the barn with the milk cows but they kept breaking down the divider to get to the better feed (dry cows cannot eat the rich feed of the milk cows, they get fat and then have health problems when they calve) and all the cows would be mixed together.  Someone would try to sort them back on the right side, but dry cows would get milked and even worse, milking cows would not. If no one noticed for a couple days that they were in the wrong side, they would stop giving milk. This winter it will be easier for everyone with this shed.

Today (Tuesday) dawned rather cold with a light wind to chill your bones, however I got a couple photos this morning, since I had not taken any of the new shed since Thursday, and the pictures above were taken before they put up the posts.

Max and Anton were nailing on the wide boards which were delivered early this morning when Garry and I arrived. Garry said if the steel came soon, they might finish by lunchtime.


Garry did take off Sunday from making feed, since driving the bobcat is hard on his back, and he says he is finding ways to make it easier on his back this week, like loading bales with the bobcat instead of throwing them in the TMR by hand.