Whitewash

The barn is dark inside. It has windows, and I usually have the door open, but still, it’s quite dingy in there.

So today, after converting two sheep stalls into one larger cow stall, I decided to experiment with whitewash. We had bought a bag of lime some time ago, which I used to help dry out the soggy ground in the barn intermittently, and I thought … hey, what about whitewash?

Mix the lime with some water and add a bit of salt, paint it on the walls, ignore the fact that it looks like it’s barely covering the surface and just keep painting … and voila! White walls!

The stuff comes off like dust for the first little while … I hear it needs to cure for a day or two (and even then it’ll flake off a bit with rubbing, but hey, lighter is better!). I covered all the gates, the pen walls, the interior barn walls, everything but the ceiling (which would be nice to have done as well .. maybe next year). It was a messy job, but it looks so much better in there! I will go out and test it tomorrow and see how it’s sticking.

I also installed the head gate, which I got as part of the milking machine barter deal a few weeks back: I painted it with some rust-covering paint, and hung it up in the milking stanchion. I had it in there yesterday, actually, and Sasha didn’t mind it at all, so I am very pleased.

This picture is kind of blurry, but it’s the only one I’ve got at the moment:

So yeah, after all that work my feet hurt and I’m very weary … I came in and had a shower, coated my feet and arms and back with Voltaren, and sat down to watch a movie (Inception – cool!) and knit. Now for some hefty sedatives and off to bed!

A finished barn!

We have a finished barn!

There is white trim around the edges, and around the windows ... all the red paint is on, and the interior is stained with the 'mistint' that I found (which turned out to be way more purple than it seemed, but, well, the price was right and it seals the wood even if it is a weird colour). The stalls inside have all been built and have hinged gates that latch shut, there are hooks on the wall to hang things, and the sheep halters and the newly purchased cow halter and lead rope are hanging up, waiting for use. The dirt floor has been brought up to the right height and levelled (the Boy stomped it down to pack it a bit), and today we put the last bit of straw we had into the stalls.

We made an effort this afternoon to split the sheep into their breeding groups, but we were foiled by the loose cross fencing (translation: the sheep we wanted to keep separated just pushed their way under the fence and joined their buddies in the other pasture). However, four of the sheep stayed behind - and all four of them happen to be headed to the Big Pasture in the Sky in another week. That was convenient! We rounded them up and took them into the barn, where they are now being guarded by Bob. They have hay and water, and are out of the rain that just started, so I think it's a good way to spend their last week here! They seem quite comfortable, and it's a good test of the barn layout. So far, so good!