Cleaning out the Barn

We began the process of cleaning out the barn this weekend. The previous owners had two horses, but sold them both about three years ago and the barn and field has since been neglected. For the last three years the barn has housed junk, possums, groundhogs, foxes, and lots and lots of wasps.

The barn is divided into two parts, the stalls and the lean-to. We decided to turn the lean-to into a chicken coop because it is a straight run and smaller than the side with the stalls. We've heard from the previous owners and the neighbors that we have lots of predators around here... coyotes, foxes, raccoons, and even the occasional bobcat. And the evidence that many of these have been digging large tunnels into the lean-to inspired us to take drastic measures to keep them out.



This is all the crap that was left in the lean-to. Good news is a lot of it is wood and pallets, which we can use in the future. Bad news is there was also a lot of trash. Even worse news: we don't get garbage pickup so we'll either have to burn it or pay to take it to the dump.



This is how the lean-to looked all the way around the outside. Large, gaping holes. We first nailed boards and plywood on the inside where the holes were, then stapled chickenwire along the outside of the barn, then shoveled dirt over the plywood on the inside.




This is a gnome being helpful.