Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Barn Work Day 2

Thanks for all the visitors, comments, and words of encouragement. I only got to work with the carpenter half a day today which slowed the progress a little. I had to do a couple interviews for upcoming stories, so my carpenter worked alone all afternoon.
He still made a lot of progress. We should complete the work by mid-day tomorrow. Jilda talked to a guy at the paint store and he's confident he can mix paint to make the new wood match the old. 
I'd also like to paint the roof green to match our house, but that's a project for the future.
What's interesting is that we have a tree growing in the foundation. It was part of the reason the side of the barn had rotted so badly. 
I struggled with the decision whether or not to cut the tree down. When I talked to the carpenter, he felt it was not a big deal. He said he could replace the foundation on both sides of the tree, and replace siding to allow for the growth of the old cottonwood.
The right side of my brain said cut it down, get rid of it! But the left side of my brain said, it's a tree, man! Do you want people to call you a tree-slayer?
How many people have a tree growing out of the side of their barn? 
In the end, the left side won and the tree lives on. The photos I took of the tree didn't look that good, so I'll shoot a good one tomorrow when we finish.
Oh yes, I was so excited about the barn that I didn't mention the Apple video editing class I took Monday.  I was amazed by how easy it is to edit video.  My instructor was great, but I don't think he was old enough to vote. I know for a fact that I have sox that are older than he was. But he was remarkable.
The video I used was just junk I threw together, but he showed me how to cut the gems out of a piece of video, and add music, still photos, and effects. I was totally blown away.
I'm not prepared to share any video just now, but I will have some soon, so stay tuned.
Again, thanks to all of my remarkable followers.  I know I've been a little remiss in reading your blogs, but this weekend is catchup time.









10 comments:

  1. That barn is looking good! I'm glad you could save the tree. I'm looking forward to seeing some videos.

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  2. there's a notch cut out of the eave of our shop to accommodate the tree there.

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  3. Thanks so much for the photo! I can't believe how much you have completed already. Our projects typically move much more slowly. :/
    tm

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  4. Ken Owens1:15 PM

    Rick,
    Please straighten me out. In the 2nd sentence of this blog you state "I only got to work with the carpenter half a day today which slowed the progress a little." What slowed the work, the time you were there or the time you were gone?
    Sorry Rick it's just me. I'm loving the photos, especially the ones of your carpenter. He so reminds me of my Dad at that age. My Dad would have been 96 on Valentines Day. I can still hear him trying to teach me which end of the hammer to use.
    Ken

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  5. It looks excellent progress. And I'm looking forward to seeing your video skills!

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  6. @ Ken - Ouch! That hurt :)

    My carpenter is a remarkable guy. I've had fun just working with him.

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  7. Your barn is coming along so well. It must be so fun to watch the progress. And hey, I'm impressed that you're tackling Apple movies. My sons know how to do that stuff, but I'm clueless.

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  8. Anonymous8:09 PM

    Thank you for stopping by my blog and for a visit and leaving your kind comment. You look like you have quite a project going here!

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  9. Hurrah for the tree!! And that Ken Owens... I want to call him a pedant but that might be a little unfair. I laughed when I read his comment.
    Ms Soup

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  10. I understand what you mean about cutting trees. We cut some large white pines last spring that were becoming dangerous because the large branches (almost the size of a tree themselves) would break off and fall. We were worried about the kids or that the trees would fall on the house. But, even with those concerns, it was a difficult decision. Glad you could save the tree! I'll look for the picture

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