4/21/19
Building Summary: Today, I put together the second 30″h by 36″w by 12″d cupboard, checked beefers with Padre, and then constructed the 15″h by 30″w by 12″d cupboard. The first bit of construction went together well, but a slight malfunction of the wood glue applicator caused a bit of an excess on the left side (easily taken care of with a wet paper towel). The second cupboard was even simpler to construct due to its being smaller and easier to handle. Padre and I found a small crack at the back side, though, so we took care of it by applying some wood glue and then compressing it with two clamps*.
Commentary: This morning was pleasant from the beginning. Though cool, the sun was shining, and even better, I was able to hop right into cupboard crafting rather than spend an hour fiddling with faulty fittings (yes, I’m still a tad sore about that little blue valve being leaky, but it’ll be fixed in due time). I was especially impressed by how easily those cabinets went together, and that easiness allowed me to construct two while still having enough time to tend to the following highlight.
The highlight began with Padre and I riding through and checking the beefers this morning, intent on finding the two new calves so we could give them their oral vaccinations**. The first one we located was a little British (Belgian) Blue calf whose mother was surprisingly not present for the procedure. The second was another little British (Belgian) Blue calf that was with its mother. She wanted to be protective, and released a deep rumbling growl when Padre and I drove up to vaccinate her calf. We did so successfully, nonetheless, and then set about finding the prior calf’s mother.
We checked for some time, riding through the herd twice over and reviewing our calving lists to see who would possibly be having a Blue calf around this time. The next cow that could have possibly given birth to a Blue, though, was a heifer that was not due for another 60 days. It was Padre who finally came to realize that the first calf we vaccinated was, in fact, the second calf’s twin brother. The mother had abandoned it, as is often the way in such cases, so we knew that it would be us taking care of it from then on out.
How to get it up to the barn, though? That was a simple solution, because we had performed it on multiple occasions before. Padre fetched the calf, carried it in his arms, and stepped onto his Segway. Then, with me driving my Segway with my left hand and his Segway with my right, we rode from the beef cow field all the way up to the front of the farm. By the end of that journey, poor Padre’s arms were getting tired on account of the heavy and lively Belgian Blue calf, but it was a worthwhile endeavor. Now, the little Blue is in a great spot for feeding and personal attention.
Final Note: Tomorrow, I think it will be time to attach the assembled cupboards to the kitchen’s north wall. This will likely involve the use of self-tapping screws, but I’m not sure if I will use those screws to install ‘hanging brackets’ or if I will simply end up putting the self-tapping screws through the thick pieces of wood at the cabinets’ back directly into the container home’s wall. (late night update:) Now that I’ve thought about it, it will very likely be the second method.
*We have no 30″+ clamps at Jacobhouse, so we had to join two together. To add to the complexity of our makeshift clamp amalgamation (but really, just to protect the cupboarding), we used styrofoam-wrapped 2x4s between the clamp ends and the cabinet siding.
**Lately, we’ve been giving our newborn calves an oral application of vaccine to help protect them from intestinal ailments.