The Stall and This Old House

The stall is done! Finished!

Last night I put Fred and Mica [the elderly mules] in the stall for the first time. I was surprised that there seemed to be no fuss. They got to the business of eating. I'd given them plenty of hay and they each had a bit of sweet feed.
Our weather last night was to turn cold and snow/rain mix. This morning we do have snow on the ground.

In a little bit, as soon as it is light out, I'll give them their 'breakfast' and then turn them outside when I get back from CrossFit.

So there it is, not a masterpiece, but it is done. I put the plywood on the front and one side so that Fred will not put his head through the rails and try to lift them! Yes, they are heavy and anchored down, but Fred is Fred.
However, it seems he is content to be inside as long as he has company.

I have Amanda and Daryl to thank for finishing this up with me. The panels are heavy an awkward to move, but two people did it easily.
I learned how to use Rich's cordless drill and made holes in the plywood and zip tied them in.
I can add another skill to things I've learned this year!

On Sunday morning, I took my friends someplace different since the sunrise was just rather mundane.
I took them to the Abandoned House.

This looks like a winter shot but it isn't. It was taken in Infrared.

It was cold and frosty, however, here it is in living color with my friends acting as if they just found their dream house.

We walked around the house and peeked in the windows. The wrap around porch was long gone. In fact the first time I'd ever seen this house was at night in 1996 while Rich and I were coon hunting with our hounds. The dogs treed next to the house and we had to walk back to it. I have always wanted to come back and take a look inside since then.

At one time, I think it was a pretty grand old house.


~~~~~

Added note.
When I got out to the shed Fred decided he'd had enough of the stall and proceeded to literally try and tear things down.
Hmmm.
On to plan B.

The Big Shed

Update:

This is the area that needed to be cleared out.

There used to be an indoor stall here but at some point Rich decided that this would be where he stacked lumber and hay. He took 4X4's and made a floor for the hay and stacked sheets of plywood against the wall. At some point, he decided to stack the pieces of a large cabinet he purchased at some auction for future use.
It has resided there for about 9 years.
The cabinet will never be built so it had to go too.

Close up of the stack of metal...

I purchased some masks to wear over my face as there was a lot of hay chaff and bird poo, mouse poo, and dust over everything.

The plywood was moved just to the left. I started to pull up the boards that Rich had screwed together. I wished he had used nails as it would have made the job easier to take it all apart.

No matter. He'd coached me well over the years on how to take 'stuff' apart.

With some elbow grease and a lot of pulling and pounding, I got the boards all apart.

The stall will be 12' by 16'. The rings are still in the supports for attaching the 12 foot panels.

Here is what it looked like in 2008 when Sunshine had to be placed on stall rest for a collateral knee ligament injury.

This 'stall' will house the elder mules together with plenty of room for them to bicker.
Neither mule will tolerate being in a shed/barn alone. So I am banking on the fact that they will keep each other company on those horrible days we get.

It rained and blew all of yesterday, but I got the rest of the metal pieces loaded into the skid steer bucket and started to drag the pieces that didn't fit to the 'metal' pile where it can sit until we have an auction.

This weekend I should have help to set up the panels and secure them. I will be prepared to keep Fred [Circa 30 something] and Mica [25 yrs old] on their special feed and help them maintain weight without fighting the elements.

Well, that is my best laid plans so far.
I'll be working on the rest of the shed all winter. Organizing the thousands of piles of bolts and other items. I need to make room also to put the riding mower and the 4 wheeler inside where I can use the trickle charger on their batteries once a month.

Lots of work to do!