Let There Be Light!

We have been very busy this weekend. Or I should say, my neighbor, Dean, has been very busy this weekend installing electricity to our back patio and barn. We acted as go-fers (as in "go fer the phillips screwdriver").

It's something we've been talking about for a long time, but one of those things we just never got serious about, until now. It didn't hurt when recently Dean said he had access to a trencher. I told him to bring it over and I would get started.

Funny thing is, he took me seriously. The next morning (Friday) he called me at 9:25. He was just bringing the trencher into our back yard and he was anxious to get started. I told him I'd be right out as soon as I brushed my teeth and got dressed.

Together we managed to manhandle the trencher in a fairly straight line from the big garage out through the pine trees, into the sheep pen, and to the barn.My husband took the afternoon off and he and Dean went to Lowe's to get a bunch of electrical stuff.

Meanwhile, the real electricians showed up, looked around, and proclaimed, "so far so good." We're hoping they come back tomorrow to install a 30 amp breaker at the house and put in a new line from the house to the big garage. That way we won't blow any fuses when we try to heat the garage in the winter with more than one heater. It also won't hurt to have the extra power for plugging in and running the blender, fan, etc at the back patio!
Ollie is supervising.
I screwed on the cap to this thing. It's where the new wires come out from the back garage and into our newly dug trench.
The back of Dean's truck after two full day's work. Pay no attention to the beer cans. (That was staged!) And...VOILA! We have light!

It's really nice to have the electricity out to the barn. Now each stall has a light (no more flashlights when the lambing is during the dark evening hours), and if I need to I can plug in a heat lamp (haven't had to yet, but just in case!). There are flood lights on the corner that can be turned on from the big garage, so I can actually see when I feed in winter. There is also the nice little light that overlooks the patio area where we sit.

As I said, the only thing we are waiting for now is for the real electricians to come and finish the job from the house to the garage. I don't know how much that will cost, but I don't think much since we did most of the work already. The cost of all the materials so far was $425. The trencher was free, and the neighbor was paid with beer and dinners and promises to help build his new chicken coop.

Sooo... electrical equipment (wiring, boxes, conduit, fixtures, etc)=$425; labor=beer & dinner; handy neighbor=priceless!