While the name Trees, Bees and Cheese might suggest otherwise, one thing we’re short on is trees. So with the arrival of sheep, and now lambs, we’ve tried to get in before summer with a sheep shade-shelter. With our soon-to-be-complete subdivision of the property into smaller paddocks, we thought we’d build a moveable shelter that would allow us to rotate it from paddock to paddock with the flock, rather than building seven or eight smaller structures.

It’s constructed entirely from salvaged materials, with the large majority of materials cut by hand from our compulsively collapsing remnant redgums, and the roofing hauled from our Ali Baba’s cave of gully junk.

Built on a pair of hardwood skids, once complete, we hooked it up to the ute and dragged it across the block. Happily it skiied effortlessly across the pasture to the waiting flock, who regarded it with a curious sniff.

What we lack in shelter we make up for in wind, so while the shelter rests comfortably at the moment, our fingers are crossed that it doesn’t get blown out into Gulf St. Vincent in the next stiff breeze.

Thanks to Will for the lend of Philip Cox’s inspirational classic Rude Timber Buildings in Australia. We continue to aspire to be as rude as what he depicts!