Before I lived here, all I knew about a woodshed was that, if you were a kid in trouble, you didn’t want to go behind one with my mother! This dear old crooked woodshed is here to stay. We’ve fallen in love with the funny, quirky old building and once we found out it is the oldest structure on the property, well there was no way we’d take it down. Pat is pretty happy about this, because it means he doesn’t have to build a new woodshed. Yes, it does get cold here and yes, we do a lot of heating with our wood stove. The Southern Cal teen is still not use to this, so there is always a ready supply of s’more ingredients on hand, as the smell of burning wood to her means campfire, which means marshmallows & chocolate.
The hen-house has been made skunk proof and hawk proof with chain link buried underground, chicken wire & tin sheeting protecting over the yard. It is so satisfying building with items available here at the farm. Chain and netting left behind in a shed, the door from the old pig sty and wood from old cattle covers we’ve taken down. The little kittens could now play safely out here until they are bigger and the chickens move in…. sort of. The little kittens are so little, that they walked right out of the yard through the chain netting. Keeping these two safe has almost become a full-time job and no, they are not coming into the house. I’ve seen what kittens do… they turn into cats!
It is bittersweet taking the old structures down. The previous owner, who is much beloved around here raised Angus cattle. At this point, we’ve no plans to add any cattle to our current livestock situation. This shed is coming down and the wood being reused. I call this a ‘cattle port’, which is basically like a ‘car port’ except for cattle. I’m sure there is a ‘farm appropriate’ term for it, but clearly I don’t know what it is. We do not really have a need for a ‘cattle port’ and as cattle have been pooping in it for years, it is pretty stinky! This will clean up the property and then give us pasture space for more horses. The writing is on the wall for more horses, as most mornings I am greeted by my darling Pat with a hot cup of coffee for me in one hand and the iPad in the other with a picture of the latest horse he’s found that we ‘need’.
Hello, I check your new stuff on a regular basis. Your humoristic style is awesome, keep doing what you’re doing!|
Such a vivid post, Ellen!! I could almost smell the cows, horses and skunks as I read along. I’m just loving reading about your adventure!
Here’s one plausible answer – when I was a kid, that would be called a rest shed.
Cow rest shed, too smelly for a human rest shed. Unless one was playing a very intense game of hide and seek!