Cooped Up on a Sunny Day

A lot of progress has been made on the chicken coop over the weekend (without my help.) Today, however, was entirely devoted to cooping.

When I went to the studio today, this is what I came to. Please note the awesome egg-latch on the nest box door. And the immense amount of angled, individually measured battens. Looking good though.

The door was constructed today, but I didn't get a picture. It's not attached yet anyway. All I can say is that it is beautiful. Without the door, however, you can see more details of the inside. The floor-panels are in place (they weren't in the last post - they are meant to be removable though.) The boards facing the chickens are planed smooth, so clean-up should be easier. The outside is still rough though, to keep that traditional, rustic feel.

My first assignment for the day was filling in the gap above the doorway.

Yestermorrowians are the most precise people I have encountered in chicken-coop building. Or, at least, Tim (1) is. So, each of these boards had to have the rafters cut out. And they are on an angle, of course. I used a bandsaw, a chisel, a Japanese hand saw, and a miter saw. And I created a near-perfect fit. I'm pretty proud. I like seeing the problem and knowing how to create the solution. I'm pretty glad that I'm getting to the point where I can be left loose in the wood-shop without much instruction.

After dinner, Tim and I decided to pull a really long day and get the first coat of paint on the roof. Well, it's not technically paint. It's a latex-type solution that is used in paint production. You paint a layer, place a layer of fabric, paint another layer and let it dry. Theoretically, it will harden to something similar to fiberglass. Tim and I worked until 9 getting the first coat up.

We wrapped up the coop so we wouldn't get any of this really thick paint-stuff on the walls.

The core class left for a week-long trip to a building site. I'm not sure on the details of what they are doing there, but another class has come in, so it's a totally different group of people. This is my first class switch-over, and it's a little odd. I got to be such good friends with members of the core class, but now they are away with a new group to replace them. The new group is friendly enough though, and I already know a lot of their names. After this week, both groups will be here at the same time. I think this summer is going to be full of meeting tons of great students.

Today was an excellent day for my confidence as the mystic seventh. (Have I mentioned that there are only 5 interns, so I'm really just the mystic sixth?) I was told that I could use the laundry fund jar in the office (coins emptied from the laundry machines) so I wouldn't have to pay to wash my clothes (intern priviledge.) I facebook friended Stephanie and Karie (I've been spelling her name wrong.) I was introduced as an intern. The office duty, morning duty and kitchen duty calendars were redone so I am included. And Tim (1) gave me my very own set of keys to the building, which so boldly declare that I am an intern.

It's been a good, long, productive day. I'm been going constantly since 7:30 this morning. And it's 7:30 again tomorrow. I have no idea how to record hours for Berea, but I will soon.