Buildings

It snowed six times before December 1st.  I don't know what that means, but it is unusual.  And then last night we had a thunderstorm and tornado watch.
The long johns are on for the duration.

Tonight we went Christmas caroling.  It seems way too early for that!

Every summer the painters from down south stop in and want to paint our buildings for cheap.  Our barn needed painting pretty bad, but we kept putting them of by telling them that we were going to side it one of these years.  Well, we finally got around to doing it.  Blunier Builders, who also sided our corn crib in the past, started the project during harvest.  For safety reasons, we had to shut down power several times for them while they were working .  The first time, the generator wouldn't start and we blew up the battery trying to jump start it.  First time I've seen a battery explode!  A quick trip to town for a new battery and all was well.  We still have some trim painting to do, some tuck-pointing, and some other repair work, but it turned out real nice.  The oldest farmer and his wife were pleased that we are restoring the centerpiece of the farm.

Before (construction had already started) and After.

We have temperature sensors in our hog buildings to alert us to power failures and high/low temperature problems.  If there is a problem an Alarm company calls us to let us know.  Usually we will get a couple calls a year (often in the middle of the night) and they are almost always false alarms.  Last week early one morning at 4:45 A.M. the phone woke me up and it was the Alarm company calling to report a temperature problem.  Everything was working fine when I finished evening chores, so I was tempted to stay in bed and ignore it.  A couple minutes later they called a second time, so I decided I better check it out.  I crawled out of my flannel sheets cocoon, slipped on some warm clothes, and headed out into the 12 degree temperature.  Fortunately everything was normal and I was able to slip back into bed for a little more sleep before the alarm went off.  We assume there was a malfunctioning sensor.  It is good insurance to have them, but a pain when they don't work correctly.

 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
Isaiah 58:12