Major works on the cowshed today. For some reason DH, who is generally hard to start, is just as hard to stop when he gets into a project. It's pitch black and he's out there putting a four foot gate between the cowshed and the stable yard so I can use the various pens more flexibly.

I also finished the first coat of sealer on the plywood that he lined the shed with. This is to absorb both noise and kicks. The colourbond walls of the shed won't withstand a good cow kick. The shed is a 6m x 3m garage on a concrete slab with the concrete brushed rough for hoof-grip. It's got double doors at one end and a person sized door in one side. A skylight came with it, and I hope to add a window and a whirlybird one day.

Furnishings are two steel shelves and an old wooden chest that will stand on the end wall. A sink with double drainer that will go under the skylight, and the usual feed tubs and milking stools. I bought a 2,500 litre tank which will be connected to the same kind of pump-tap that they use in caravans and there are four solar shed lights for illuminating the scene in winter.