While eating breakfast and checking Blogger, out the corner of my eye I notice workers getting a wall ready to stand. Yikes!! Threw some warmer clothes on, grabbed my camera and hustled my not quite awake self over to the barn. When building parts start flying, it is game on. They waste no time. I got there just before they finished setting the first wall:
first wall
high in the sky
un-tying straps attached to the liftee bar thingamabobber
Surprise!! You are on candid camera! I had asked Brad if I needed to request permission before taking photos (I usually do) but he said no, so I didn't. He has been the one communicating with them, so I figured...when the foreman saw me, I felt kinda bad when a couple young guys got hollered at for not wearing their hard hats. It's all good, bunch of nice guys. I briefly chatted with a few of them in between "where is Aurora going to show up" as I popped in/out of their view, while doing chores.
view from the other side
waiting for the first wall to go up on the East side
31 second video of setting wall
first East wall is up
I shoot active building with my 70-200mm medium zoom lens. My long time favorite lens. Length can be limiting, but works well for most things and allows me to keep a safe distance. The tree line is fairly close on the East side and too thick to shoot through. Trust me, I thought more than once about bush wacking and shooting in between the trees.
another section is up
I kept popping in/out of the barn, and listening for the track machine to fire up. I was hoping to catch them lifting the wall frames, and had no idea which side or order they would be lifted into place. Patience. It requires waiting and watching, and patience.
third and last East wall
wider shot taken with my phone
Side note; My phone does a great job with clouds and general exposure. Straight out of phone. For me to get a shot anything like this I would have to expose for the builders, then take a second shot at that exact spot exposed for the sky and combine the two photos. The only time I bother to go to that extent is with special (to me) landscape or sky photos.
second West wall going up
look at that arc bend!!
going swaaay
can't be easy matching up moving posts
removing back of barn overhang
I left the guys alone for the rest of the day and told them I would be back when these go up:
trusses got delivered
(my favorite part of framing)
the barn and arena to date in the distance
early evening thoughts swirl around my head
on the way to see our arena
Never ever (ever) once did I dream of having an indoor arena. It was way too far fetched. The little girl who had to be sponsored just to attend horse camp, dreamed of one day being able to have her very own horse. That dream came true in my mid-40's, when Koda (and Nemo) joined our family. Up until then it was borrowed, lesson and trail horses. Brad on the other hand grew up on a farm , and has always dreamed of having his own indoor arena. Yep, by the end of the day we were both feeling emotions. Guess it just kinda hit us...
end of day three
back of barn overhang is trimmed
16 sec video of end of day three
building dreams
9 comments:
Wow! That's really coming along quickly. Ours took forever to build (our contractor was a jerk) we had to keep tracking him down and getting him to move his butt. Anyway, it looks so much bigger with the walls up. You're going to love it.
Awww! Like stories. I got my first horse at 39. It was a dream. Hubby grew up with animals and introduce me to mules.
This is fantastic! No worries on the photos it is documenting which is very cool indeed. I get it regarding skies and ground. It is soooo hard to get it all perfect.
I had a lot of fun 'shooting' the progress on our remodel. One of the things I did was set up a trail cam on a tripod out of their view and set it to capture motion. I ended up with a cool time lapse of the work being done.
Just in case you thought that was a cool idea.
I'm excited for you.
That is too bad Arline. It gives everyone in the building industry a bad name. At least it was worth it in the end, your arena is beautiful!! We would have had to do similar if we used our barn/shed builder for our arena. The crew that built our barn was great, the company was really good back then. The owner built our shed years later on his own, wasn't a great experience. He let his employees and company go, and builds with whatever help he finds on the side. On his own timeline. We chose a reputable company for the arena that has been building for a long time, and is known for quality work. So far we are very happy!
That is a cool time lapse idea Val! I plan to put together my build photos and do an iMovie or ?? each of our house, barn and now arena. Someday. Ever notice how I say "some day" a lot?!! Patience and procrastination are not two of my better virtues!
I know this sounds really bad, but I rarely strive for perfection with my photos. It is subjective anyways. Being technically perfect would take all the fun out of photography for me. My goal has always been to capture the moment. I know you get it :)
It looks huge now! What a dream set up!! Dream or not! I always wanted a beautiful barn, but I can't say I ever really thought I'd get an arena either. And I still haven't got the "beautiful" part of my barn! Maybe I can talk my husband into making it his next hobby project. He's my remodel / construction guy, so I'm limited to what he wants to do. I'll just live vicariously through you! It makes me just as happy without the expense or work!
Our arena is in a "huge looking" stage, it will look smaller soon - just wait. The real dream to me is experiencing true equine connection, the rest is just icing on the cake. As far as buildings go, both Brad & I wish we could have found property with an existing older barn. We both love older dwellings, they have so much character! Everything happens for a reason, and we do love our barn. It really helps us that Brad has been working in the building industry most of his adult life. Your hubby does a really nice job remodeling/building, maybe choose one fav room/area to redo in your barn to start.
I can understand being emotional when you see your dreams coming true.
Here's to many days of enjoying the fruits of your labour! (Your, meaning Brad and you.)
Love the photo of the barn and arena in the distance- it puts your place in perspective- what a nice set up.
Thank you Shirley! I think back and remember walking the land, trying to figure out where to put pasture gates etc. I really need to put my photos together into a timeline, some day :)
So windy here I hope the winds escape your project! Progress is wonderful! :)
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