At times I feel I am my own worst enemy...more ways than one!
Everything going so well with the babies, gorgeous sunny spring-like weather and I get an idea! Or as my DH likes to call it "a hair-brained idea!"
Weather is amazing and I can do this...I'm gonna level up that unlevel run! Asked DH if he had any kind of "jack" I could use to do each of the metal posts on the low side of the run. He did! A hydrolic jack! He said "do not spend any $"...so I dug through garage and got every scrap piece wood I could find. Several 2x6 that would help support the frame if I attached them to the bottom post. We had a few large landscaping blocks...I did buy bout $10 for cinderblocks to help give me the "umph" I needed for support underneath the posts!
Got the jack to work once! DH had gone hiking...so YouTube to my rescue. Doing everything just like they showed - no idea why it worked once then not again!
DH comes back and says "you broke my jack!" How on earth could ya break a hydrolic jack!? He fanangled around til he got it to somewhat work so long as you pulled the lift part up manually E A C H time!
I did! And got that thing jacked up and as level as it could get with my lack of skills and strength!
Rain setting in the next couple days so put the tarps back on to keep the run dry since I had worked so hard to get it all good and dry and nice for the babies!
Get up the next morning after heavy rains all night...ugh! The run was so level that the tarps were acting as a swimming pool containing all the water! My 10x20 metal frame was bending. Dreaded telling DH...he knew when I said I got a problem it had to do with the babies...again.
He said to just brace it up with scrap 1x3...I knew that wouldn't work but figured the 1x6 I had might!
I get inside the run...definitely worse than I thought from inside the house looking out...the hardware cloth had come apart from the seams where the zip ties had broken and the only thing holding all this water back was the tarp!
So I crawled I side and got to the back of the run near the coop and as soon as I touched the 1x6 to the metal posts the entire thing came crashing down on the inside of the run! I went to the ground thankful for the couple inches space I had to scoot back in order to prop the wood in my attempt to save the structure. But it was a complete loss. The posts and all were bent and broke in every area except the 4 corners!
So I crawled out and tried to drain the water off the tarp still thinking it was all salvageable. Nearly 100 gallons or so of water gushed into the dry run...after I got over initial shock of watching all that water go into the run i had worked so hard on...I grabbed a 6 gallon galvanized can and started trying to catch the water but it was filling up faster and pouring out wider than the can! So after emptying it 10-12 times...I crawled back out and resorted to major frustration at myself. I knew I would hear the "I told u so" from DH...but I was so mad at myself and frustrated at my "hair-brained ideas" he didn't have to sat a thing.
When you have clinical depression on top of chronic health problems it doesn't take much to frustrate one...much less send them spiraling.
DH never said the words "I told u so." In fact he said we'll fix it and make it better than before. Call and get quotes to see what it will cost to put up a wooden covered run.
I was still so angry at myself I couldn't even ponder anything else. All that was on my mind was the screwed up mess I had made...again. And how I had wasted those gorgeous spring-like days I could have been spending with the babies in the nice run I had! But no I had to go and jack it all up...pun intended.
DH understands the depth of despair that can send me spiraling so he wanted to help.
But I was ungrateful and didn't deserve a thing! I had messed up everything he had done to try and make me happy with these babies that I said were "less work and money than a dog or cat!" I didn't want him to fix this. I deserved what I got and I and the babies would have to pay for it by not having a place now.
Each day that passed the windows revealed my stupidity and stubbornness as I walked by the disaster of a mess I had made! I was literally sick.
DH got up Saturday and said let's get this cleaned up so they can come build the run. He gave me a much needed pep talk...still never saying "I told u so."
We got the mangled mess all up. It's amazing how you can take something down so fast but it takes a week to put it up! 10x20 metal structure with 3 rolls hardware cloth holding it together with zip ties...i never wanna see a ziptie again! LOL
Got 2 estimates...2 were no shows and last estimate was a friend of a friend so he started the build on Tuesday! DH reduced the size of the run due to the increased price of wood yet again. But I'm not gonna complain! 10x12 will be more than enough!!!
And hear we are one day into the build.
Super excited and praying I do not get any more "hair-brained ideas"!!!
I share this so you know how dangerous those tarps can be...especially with water that can collect on them rather quickly!
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