setting the first lintel

The door and windows of the new south wall feature red oak lintels. With load bearing masonry walls, the beams have to be cut very precisely, which can make for a tight fit, and the beams are very heavy. Here's the first try:

. . . the difficulty of which led to a second, from-the-top approach:

. . . which having succeeded, we then admired our work:

(If you're wondering, no, Our Lady didn't get broken, we just moved her somewhere less dangerous.)