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Today though, I have help. Dean is carrying the new ladder to help me close off the windows above the stalls. The screens need to be changed out on a few. I didn’t know that was a viable option, to be honest. We never had screens in ours. We had a handle that hung from them that you could use to push them closed. Or we climbed up to the crossbeam and pushed it shut that way.
“I kind of want to get someone to close in over there. I’d like to make it a true space for hay storage, maybe build an awning-like space that leads out to the big paddock. It would give an outside shaded area as well.”
“Do you know someone who can do that?”
I look at him over my shoulder and grin. “I could do it, sure, but I’d need a lot of help. That crossbeam is a good fifteen feet above us. I’m strong, but I can’t just jump up there with a board on my shoulder. We’d need to rent some equipment too. It would mean opening the sliding doors to the horse stalls and letting them use that big side paddock for now. Which is a good idea, that grass is out of control.”
“Why don’t I call my uncle and cousins? They have the equipment, and building things is what they do for a living.”
“I like that option much better.”
He chuckles; walking by me, his hand comes out, and the swat stings. The good kind of sting. “Not that I can’t handle my wood, but expert help is always best.”
I can’t hold back my laughter. This man. I swear I hit the lucky girl lottery with him.
“What goes on this side? Goats? Horses in the bigger stalls on that side of the barn?”
“Yes,” I reply excitedly. The horses will be here in two days, so we have to get this place ready.
“If they have that grass while we get the hay room finished and ready for winter, that will be good. What do you say about three goats? I saw an ad on Facebook from a local farm who is selling Nigerian Dwarf Goats.”
“As long as you’re getting three females, I have no complaints. We are not set up for breeding animals just yet. That will be a lot later on.”
He smiles over at me as he climbs the ladder. “Of course. I am in no rush to lose sleep being up all day and night waiting for babies. So it’s a deal then. You have that line on chickens already?”
“Yes. The lady who I spoke to said she would have her husband call us as soon as he got back. They have a small flock, about one hundred birds to choose from.”
“How many do you want to start with?” he asks, climbing down.
“Well, we can use some chicken wire on that back stall, here. It’s big enough to make a roosting rack, a few nesting boxes. Maybe three or four, then when spring comes, we can get more. By then we can have the mobile chicken coops ready to go.”
“One side of the pastures for horses and one for goats and chickens?”
“Yes. I want to keep the horses separate from the smaller animals for now. They are flight animals. If something spooks them, I don’t want the little ones getting hurt.”
“Sounds fair. You do know I am learning this stuff as we go?” His brows bunch together.
I walk over to him, reaching up to wrap my arms around his neck. “I do, and I love you so much. Thank you for letting me bring my dream to life.”
He wraps his arms around me, lifting me slightly so he can kiss me. “I will always give you what I can. You know that.”
“And I will always teach you what you need to know.” My smirk grows as he pulls back, his brow arched.
“Is that so?”
His lips are brushing mine when my cell rings.
Chuckling, he pulls back. “Saved by the bell.”
“Ha.” I tug it from my pocket and answer, my finger hitting the screen to put it on speaker. “Hello?”
“Ms. Conrad? This is Jed Loman. My wife gave me the message to call you back about some chickens?”
“Oh yes, thank you for getting back with me.”
By the time I end the call, we have a verbal contract for five hens. He has Partridge Plymouth Rock and Barred Plymouth Rock hens available. I know the names, but I do a quick Google search to refresh my brain.
“Those are the ones you’re getting?”
