Barn construction and house exterior finishing

I noticed that it's been a long time since I've posted an update and we have made some progress.

There has been a significant shift in the weather since last I posted. It now feels overwhelmingly Autumn-ish. The high yesterday was 62 and today is forecast to be 56. That's over 20 degrees below normal!

Skylr, our 18-year-old son, has been helping me work on setting posts for the barn. Blaine, our 21-year-old, and Jeremy, out 15-year-old, have also lent a hand.

Here are some photos of the progress:

First 6 poles set last weekend - we learned a lot!
This day was definitely still a Summer heat day.

Carrying the 18' poles required 2 people.

Measuring and re-measuring took a significant amount of time.

I actually set 2 poles alone yesterday using an idea Brent had.
The ladder held the pole in place as I filled the hole for 2 of the 12' poles.

Today, I am only one pole short of being done setting the poles. That's my task to complete before the end of the day.

I've learned a ton about construction! Not surprising, since I've never done this before. My biggest learning has been about measuring and using scraps to build "helpers" when you're on your own.

Meanwhile, Rick and Dave made some wonderful progress on the house. The exterior paint is done and they've applied the barn metal to the sun shades. They've also nearly completed the deck and worked on the shower in our master bathroom.

Here are some pictures:

Here's the East side of the house now showing the paint colors, metal awning,
and the deck. This is the view from the barn. Nice!

Dave shoveling the substance that forms the shower floor into the shower.

This is the finished shower floor substrate after Dave formed it. He has also finished the
wall substrate. It's about ready for the tile!

Brent made more progress this week on the flooring. He's actually gotten farther than this.
He has only the small living room area left to do.

I think that about covers it to this point. We are still working. Brent is off work today to continue the flooring job. I will be setting the last post for the barn and starting to measure for the skirt boards. Rick and Dave were off yesterday but should be making more progress today.

Of course, I have also taken time to scope out our crop of morning glory flowers. They came up in the disturbed dirt in the pasture over the septic system lateral field. But I won't bore you with those - just wish me luck in gathering seeds or transplants. We have at least 3 different colors - all beautiful!

More to come :-)