JJ: Change and Renovation

The old barn had been used in one of the movies filmed here in the late seventies, a non-blockbuster called Heaven's Gate. The film crew built a fake well which the hero threw his guns into at the end of the movie and also modified the barn by adding double doors to the south end. We built the round pen off of that end of the barn, an enclosure about thirty feet in diameter and about six feet high. We also built the corral from that south end out to the line fence between Weaver's and my place, using wooden posts and woven wire for the bottom and adding a wood rail at the top. The round pen had two openings, one into the bar and the other into that corral. We had a new roof installed on the old barn at that time, as I have mentioned. Finally we built a third enclosure off of the east side of the barn with wood posts and wood rails. Cutter and Dani were enthralled by the process. I was doing some repair work on a post, respiking some planks, when I got interrupted -- the bag of nails wasn't there when I reached for it. I looked up to see Cutter strolling away with it in his mouth, and had to chase him down to get them back. I guess he thought they were treats. On another occasion I was leaning into the corral and working a board into place when my hat fell off. I ignored it until Dani came up and rested her wet muzzle on my bald head. I guess she was giving me the equine equivalent of a kiss. All of this building made me relocate my rifle range. I'd been using the big pile of dirt at the corner of the barn that was left over from the well drilling, but it was in the way when we were building so I borrowed a tractor and bucket from Dave Ballenger and moved it north and east. TBC (Me) (Blacktail Books)