Dug in Deep
The more there is to report on the ranch, the less time there is to do so. One morning, late this summer, I came back in from morning chores and casually said that it would be really cool to have an automatic waterer out back of the barn between the two horse stall and runs so the horses could easily have water in their stalls.
Automatic waterers are permanently plumbed and wired to keep the water bowl full of clean, cold water in the summer and warmer, ice-free water in the winter. No hoses, no added water heaters and running electrical cords, no filling, just regular cleaning maintenance! Talk about being efficient in every way; a massive time, water, and electricity save.
Nathaniel took that in and asked me to research the options. So I did. Then, somewhere along the research rabbit hole, we committed to what that really meant—an overhaul of the entire barn area.
And then, we got the ball rolling by ordering the waterers of choice from Nelson, getting our neighbor onboard for excavation, and my family’s company ready for electrical.
We knew this was a massive, multifaceted job, but as with all projects, they grow and change, and it's just impossible to see every step at the point of commitment. Outline it as thoroughly as possible, but be ready for twice the workload and and plenty of adjustments.
Therein lies the wisdom we've acquired after taking on so many wild projects around here. It's really positive to have that perspective during the entire experience.
This project outline includes installing three 8.5-foot concrete sewer pipes upright and buried 6-7 feet in the ground for each waterer. Two waterers split between the four horse stalls and runs. One waterer splits the horse dry lot and a new alley for the cows to access the waterer from all three pastures thanks to gates(a project for the future).
To achieve this, new power has to be brought to the barn —there is a trench for that. The current barn wiring is a home job of exposed lines, so we are taking the time to put it all in conduit, redo lighting, and add more electrical outlets for convenience.
The trenching for the waterers themselves meant that the horses had to be moved to temporary pens away from the barn. The goats had to be confined to their stall at night, but during the day, turned out to pasture in movable electronets. We moved the chickens out to here too so they would be less disturbed by the activity. All of this meant boarding off stalls, erecting electric fences and electronetting, taking down panel runs, and moving hay and feeders for temporary feeding system for the horses.
Our neighbor, Shane, made insanely quick work of the trenching with his mini-excavator. It was so satisfying to watch. We ran into problems on the third hole to be split between the first and second stall, which is the Goat’s pen. Solid basalt at about 4 feet down. This hole needed to be the deepest, or we would have to trim the 8.5-foot-long concrete sewer pipe so the total height of the water resting in the flanged end of the pipe would be short enough for the goats(and maybe future kid’s pony;) to be able to drink from.
We tried shifting the hole, hammering the solid basalt, and replanning the entire placement of the waterer. No solution. That was where the waterer had to go, but how could we get the depth and not be on top of solid rock so the geothermal chamber the sewer pipe creates works to keep the pipes from freezing?!
This hold-up and head-scratching really took the wind out of our sails. It was exhausting, exhausting our options.
Nelson had a solution: wiring in a heated cord that would dangle in the chamber and work on thermostat to keep it just right! This meant the concrete pipe had to be cut shorter. Shane had a solution: a massive saw. He comes back from his house with it and this saw is the size of an end table. He fires it up and instructs Nathaniel to spray water onto the blade and away he goes, wielding this powerful saw as it cut through several inches of concrete and wire.
Setting these massive pipes is no joke. Between Shane’s excavator and our tractor and strategic chains, the guys transported and dangled the pipes into place. It was really something to behold and left me very thankful that I was not responsible for rigging and maneuvering them!
Having all three concrete pipes in place and the trenches dug between them brought us into the next phase of the project.
Now it was time to lay three separate lines of conduit for electrical and pex waterlines. This was also the time to set railroad tie posts for fencing on either side of the concrete pipes. Holes had to be dug for those posts and holes had to be drilled into each pipe for the lines to be plumbed into and up for the watreres. There, of course, was a massive drill with a circle bit for that which was easily rented for the three holes!
It is important to note that at this point, Nathaniel came down with Hand Foot and Mouth Disease that Clancy shared with all of us in our own time. Nathnaiel had a 102-104 degree fever for just over 24 hours. That was WITH Advil AND Tylenol. We lost several days as he recouped and helped me get the kids through it too. We also lost the help of his dad as he headed home after a very productive ad helpful visit ended at the precise time Nathaniel fell to the latest sickness.
With this completed, Shane came back and buried the pex, conduit, concrete pipes, and freshly aligned railroad ties. Having those trenches filled in made it easy to navigate around the project but also gave us a peak into how nice it was going to look finished. At this point we entered the phase where the last 20% of the project takes 80% of the time, haha.
At this point, I fell to the Hand, Foot, and Mouth. No fever for me, no I was destined to be the leper of the group being the only one to get painful bumps and blisters in clusters all over my body, in the worst places! Nearly unable to swallow and barely able to use my hands, it was excrutiating for five days. Yet I trooped on, holding down the fort best I could as Nathaniel did the slowest section of the project.
This is also where we realized just how exact and tedious it is to install these wateres correctly. Everything in alignment, trimmed and assembled perfectly. It was no easy or quick job for Nathaniel to get everything just so. Morrale tanked, slogging was the way through.
Once the plumbing was solid, Nathaniel anchored each waterer in place from inside the pipe, leveled them, and then used mortar to fill in around the waterer and create a visually appealing and functional finish. Finally, they were ready to be wired up and then turned on!
We were back in our element now, more 180-pound railroad tie fenceposts to set and fence to build.
Emotionally, this project had been hard for me. I wanted to be apart of it so much more. My roll was often cohersing Clancy to come out into the cold and wind with me or leaving him to his own devices in the cozy house while I bundled myself and Liv up, apcking her around the project and plopping her in fresh dirt piles that she often rather not be abandoned to.
When Clancy was dropped off for a day of fun at Nana’s and Livia was walked down for a stroller nap, Nathaniel and I set to building the much anticipated alley fence. Five strands of Barbless Red Brand wire stretched, stapled, clipped to divide Porter’s paddock from the alley for the cows to use for accessing the fresh waterer.
Livi went down at 11:30. We never quite got a groove but, together, we did strand after strand and finished the fence from wire, clips, to post caps in less than 90-minutes. 10 minutes later, and after we had thoroughly admired the new fence, Livi woke up. I was so thankful that I actually got to participate, halfway childless, with my husband on the project. Of course, the entire time I buzzed with an unavoidable anxiety that at any moment she would wake up and I’d either slow down the process by lugging her from post to post (if she tolerated that) or I would be sidelined in the house or on my mounting block—sitting, watching, nursing.
This is the hard part of parenthood for me. No time is sacred or guarenteed for me to rest, be productive, or nourish my body or soul. Anxiety aside, I was still just so thankful to work alongside Nathaniel for a stretch of time.
Then we turned to temporary work. We screwed up scrap boards to seperate the horses, lashed hog panels to our permanent, sturdy posts to contain goats, and day-by-day, we restored animal function to the barn. First the cows gained access to the alley, then the goats were relaased to their massive pen. They sprinted, climbed, and leaped from boulder top to boulder and it had them slurping from the new waterer without a single hestiation!
A simple retaining wall builds up earth to allow the goats easy drinking access on their aide of the fence.
Then came the moment for the horses to regain access to the barn, permanetly. I could have cried. Even writing this days after, my throat tightens and my eyes prick. These boys have been my buds for 16 and 18 years now. It is safe to say I am thoroughly attached. But it isn’t just my sentiments towards my equine partners. It is also just how proud I am of the work we have accomplished—and by we, I mean 20% me and 80% Nathaniel.
The cows have some adjusting to do, but everyone else is slurping as though they’ve been there the entire time.
While the project isn’t over, it is all gravy from here on out. The gravy being sleek pipe fence rails to divide the paddocks around the barn and then more new electrical which will give us new lights and more outlets throughout the barn! Stay tuned for a post on fencing and one more dedicated to discussing Nelson waterers themselves.
