A little warmth

 Little pigs don't have any fat at all.  they're very, very lean, and they love heat.   These little guys are enjoying a heat pad underneath them, and a heat lamp above them; they're about 10 hours old.  I use the heat pads in because the piglets like to sleep on them and there's a very low risk of barn fire when they're used.  But the newborn piglets don't figure it out as fast as I would like them to unless I put a heat lamp in there, too.  the light and heat of the lamp draws the piglets out, and provides a very warm spot - you'll see the newborns wobbling around on uncertain legs, and then stop and visibly relax when they feel the heat of the lamp; the shivering goes away, and they stand there until they're warm enough, and then wobble off on piglet business.  but a couple of good warming sessions and i don't have to teach the pigs any more about heat -- most of the time I'll find them all glued to the heat pad, soaking up the warmth.


 the greenhouse is warming up, too.  It's about 55 degrees outside, partly cloudy, and it's a balmy 90 degrees in the greenhouse.  Perfect weather for sprouting seeds.   the 90 degree weather inside will warm the ground, and that warmth will keep the greenhouse 10 to 15 degrees above outside temperature over the evening, and then warm up in the morning.

greenhouse, showing end wall framing and side rails.

greenhosue door framing, before plastic applied.  

the greenhouse is closed on one end, with a door on the other that I built as 44" wide and 7'9" tall,
leaving 2" of clearance at the bottom of the door (for dirt buildup over time).   the door is framed with 2x4, with a pair of eye bolts mounted on diagonal corners and a turnbuckle in the center to tighten it up.   It's not a heavy-duty door, but then, it's not doing a heavy-duty task.   It'll last 3 or 4 years and then need to be redone, about the same time as the plastic covering of the greenhouse itself.