In which we purposely mis-quote an old Star Trek movie about "whales"

It's been a long time coming, to get to this day.

I need to do a "retrospective" on building this barn, because it's taken so dang long--and it's only half finished.  But I can't wait for that. 

I have to crow that as of today the horse stalls are finished at last!!! 

Or, as only a Trekker would say:  "There be WALLS here."

 You can see on the left side of the photo (above) the chaotic stack of building materials and tools--that's all the stuff we need to build the other half of the barn.  We've got all the parts, and now finally we're getting enough daylight to stick everything together.

Is it crazy to want to award something "Most Valuable Tool"?  Because that's how I feel about the turbo-heater that Jim found on Craigslist.  We use this thing whenever we have to paint stuff (ahem, like the walls) and also whenever we discover that yet-another-thing-or-other has gotten wet.  Set the turbo-heater down and enjoy warm and dryness!  

 Luna:  most useless decorative dog.  But definitely the cutest.

Lisa is the go-to-gal when stuff needs painting. 

She's got a whole "painting outfit" set aside so she doesn't need to wreck any other clothes.

 Fiddle's stall looks like an empty apartment, waiting for furniture to move in.

 Lisa helped put the finishing touches on the goat fence, a.k.a. the semi-permeable membrane.  NO GOATS IN THE NEW BARN!  (except when they escape into it, obviously).

 Jim installs the gutters.  Yeah, those are kinda important in a Swampland building.

 Drains:  you can never get too many of those around here.

 Filling the water tank! 

Next step:bringing in the new residents!  (sorry about the photo quality--it was dark before we could move the horses in, and raining, so the flash on my camera took a bunch of pictures of brightly-lit raindrops...)

 "Hey, Food Guy! You have accidentally left the goat outside!"

 Hana checks out her new quarters.

 Jim is proud of the new barn.  Hana is mostly interested in the grass that has grown up in the 8 months since we started building it.

 Fiddle demonstrates the value of tall doorways.  Geez, the mare is big.

 Fiddle in twilight, enjoying some dinner while her new stall waits patiently out of the rain.

Meanwhile, back at the house:

 Carrot-Cauliflower soup--perfect for a wet day of construction work.

 Lisa grates fresh ginger.  The soup is good with fresh or dried dill on top, OR grated ginger

 or BOTH, with sourdough bread.


Do I need to say this, or do you already know it?

Life = Good.