In late December, we had many adventures, not the least of which was the delivery of a new shed. I was SO praying that this shed would come before we left on our mid-winter break to FL so we could bring Maude home. Kudos to Caleb of Helmuth Builders for NOT giving up on what proved to be a grueling 14-hour delivery challenge!
Pictures below show the painful and difficult “birth” of this building. So narrow were the margins that we more than once got to calling it “the baby” and talking about “the birth canal.”
The building arrived from Helmuth Builders JUST after a big melt, and JUST as the sun was going down. 😬🙄🤷🏼♀️
Caleb (the delivery driver) put the building on a set of wheels on the back and on the front he pulled the building up our hill using his “mule” — the small hydrolic jack you can see in the pictures and video. It was astounding to me how this mule went over ice, thru mud and finally across our (former) riding ring in order to get the building to the site prepared for it.
First, the building went up our hill (we had to tear down our orchard fence on the left in the picture above) to get it past there. Then it had to go across the icy part at the top of the hill.
THEN it had to go between the existing big barn and past the goat porch — which is how far they got after the first 5+ hours of sweat and strain.
All this in the cold and dark. They didn’t give up until one of the mule’s tires blew.
Kudos to Jonathan Eye who came and helped with his skid steer and body until 10 PM that first night, when we all gave it up and went home to regroup for the night.
Next morning, it was more ticklish business to get the “baby” past the new barn goat porch, across the (now frozen) mud to the proper site, and then position it in place.
The above picture is of the “field side” where animals can use it as a run-in shelter. We plan to add gates as needed so that these can become holding stalls as well. Each has a door opening into the “ring side” of the complex.
After placing the building correctly, the delivery team had to erect the overhang that had hung by the side of the building on a giant “hindge” when it was in motion. They put four supportive posts in place where there were pre-existing piers poured, afixed trim, etc. Again, they finished after dark.
SO: we have a great new shed.
Again, so many thanks to Caleb and Jonathan and a good God who made it all possible!
