Double tin today

2/3 finished with low section of the barn.

Screws are killing me.  We were doing the upper layer of roofing and 1.5 inches was not long enough.  We had to stop and I had to call four different stores before I found one in the whole town that had them.  I went in and bought 10#.  We used about 12# of screws just today.  I also special ordered another 10 bags (1000 screws) of the 3/8 screws (big).  I need those to cover up the big holes left in the sheet metal when pulling the old nails was difficult.  I have to go to town tomorrow and I will get the last of the long roofing screws at the hardware store.  They are 2.5 inches long and all the boxes were covered in dust.  I am guessing not a popular item.  Sucks to be the next guy that needs some.  By the time I am done with the barn I figure at least 100 pounds of screws will have gone into it, screws run any where from $3-$8/lb. 

The tin is going far further than I thought it would.  We found another 11 pieces in the old granary.  Those are the shiny new pieces on the top left of the above picture.  They were brand new with no holes.  The long pieces are 16 feet long and the new pieces were 12 feet long.  The old ones that are bent and going up the steep roof are 14 feet long.  Mr. President and I just kicked and beat them into a bend to make the angle change.  It is working so we are going to stick with the method.  The steep roof is 16 feet to the peak.  I am not going to get this covered.  It is a project for next summer.  I do know the measurement now so I will be able to predict how much tin I will need for that project.  We still have over 10 pieces of the 16 footers and more than that in the 14 feet.  We are going to be so close to finishing the entire low roof!  If we don't get the whole thing done there will only be a couple of feet unfinished.  I will go and buy what is needed to finish it at that point.  I had only envisioned about half the roof done. 

Twin girls in the yard next to momma.

The sheep escaped from the orchard pasture this afternoon.  Annmarie and I went and walked the fence line.  There is a large hole down at the other end where the flood had removed four feet of dirt.  The weeds had made a nice barrier.  The sheep ate all the weeds.  So now I need a panel to cover the V-shaped hole under the fence.  This meant that we needed to go get the sheep and bring them in.  Zeke has been in puppy prison since his attack on the ewe momma.  I have been keeping close tabs on him when we are outside and he doesn't even get to go outside without sitting and waiting for a release command.  It was test time for the dog.  We had one ewe in the yard and I took him out to scoot her to the other side of the yard.  Zeke was pretty good.  He would lay and stay on command.  The ewe was not good.  She kept stomping her front hooves in the ground and would not give way.  I had to walk up to her and give her a knee to get her moving.  I had Zeke scoot a little closer and finally the ewe charged him.  He raised hell, growling and jumping on her side.  I called him off and in the mayhem one of the babies got separated from the momma and ran with Zeke.  He left the baby alone and she finally cried so momma would come get her.  Not perfect but not his fault either.  So Annmarie and I went out the upper gate and onto the back hillside.  I am proud to report that the spray is killing the star thistle.  Most of it is dying.  I saw a handful of healthy plants on the hillside while we were walking (thousands died).  First, Zeke spotted the sheep, Annmarie and I were headed left, the sheep were actually to our right.  He herded the sheep back to the ram pasture with virtually no input from us.  It was quite amazing.  He did a fantastic job.  By next year I hope to be able to open the gate and just tell Zeke to go get them and bring them to me.  Totally think this is going to happen.