Sunday, August 13, 2017

Week 33 - A Diganosis and a New Barn Roof

Shortly after we started building this house back in 2003, John was able to find the cornerstone of the barn that was already on the property.  You can see it in the header on this blog.  It appears the barn was built in 1937.  Yes, it's 80 years old this year.  She's a bit weather-worn...but she's a good barn none-the-less.  John has been systematically repairing all the windows, and a couple of weeks ago we had the roof re-painted and weatherproofed.  

 A lot of the companies in this area use Amish workers...it helps the economy of that group and they are an amazingly talented and professional group.  Anytime I hear that the Amish built something, I know it's quality work.  
The next barn project is to somehow re-do the doors to make them a bit more secure...then John is going to bring electricity and water to the barn and the gardens.  Currently, he uses hoses and extension cords to get water and power out there...during the winter it's a pain!  

2 of the 3 girl cows came home yesterday.  Rosie (on the left) and Belle (in the middle) have spent the last couple of months at Sex Camp and if they aren't carrying babies by now, there's something wrong with the bull they were dating.  John will take them to the vet in November and have them checked for pregnancy.  And, with luck, we should have calves being born in early spring - March-ish.  Our other girl, Garnet, decided she wanted to stay and play longer (actually, she got out of the corral and they couldn't catch her!) so she will hopefully come home next weekend.
That's Beast on the far right.  John went out early today to get some mowing done before the rains kicked in...notice those cows are not afraid of that big mower...yes there's a fence between them and the mower but, still!  They didn't even shy away.

I went to the surgeon on Monday for my 6 weeks checkup on my knee. Recover is still a bit slow but that's because of the ankle issue.  He took an x-ray of the offending ankle and it appears I have a 3 inch crack in the fibula - the thin, non-weight-bearing bone right next to the tibia.  It's used to stabilize the ankle bones.  There is noting they can do about that crack except let it heal on its own.  So I am left with pain and swelling (which is getting less and less each day) for the foreseeable future.  That being said, it has hampered the rehab of my knee cause some of the exercises I need to do involve the ankle and the doctor said to tell the PT folks to keep away from anything involving the ankle.  But, this, too shall pass and at least knowing what is wrong is helpful to my peace of mind.  It doesn't do a darned thing for the pain, but that's what pain pills are for, right?  

Mom and I drove to Branson yesterday morning.  I hadn't picked up any of this year's Row by Row patterns or kits yet and it is winding down.  We were gone a couple of hours and let me tell you by the time we got home, my ankle was not happy!  But knowing I got the kits I wanted from the 2 shops down there made me happy.  

Have a wonderful week and thanks for stopping by.

2 comments:

Jennifer said...

What a beautiful barn.....it would look even more gorgeous with a barn quilt! Those girls are hussies, I'm sorry girls, but spending all that time out on dates getting up to you-know-what and having babies - well, what can I say?

Debbie said...

Glad to hear you have a diagnosis. Hope there are some little calves running around in the future. Can't remember the gestation period for cows. How fun to get a few Row by Row kits!