MY LAWN. GET OFF IT.Saturday was an interesting day, since we were tasked with fixing an opening in the fence that surrounds our property. Whee!
We began this adventure by visiting our local Tractor Supply Co. for fencing materials. That was lots of fun for two people who didn't know what the heck they were doing, but we didn't spend too much time wondering around. Thank goodness for that! We actually found the kind of fencing we needed right away, but it was in a giant roll that, as a whole, cost $200 and the store doesn't sell it by the yard. My dad used to be able to buy it in sections, but we didn't see anything like that. We also weren't going to buy a $200 dollar roll of fencing when we only needed 4 feet of it, either. We found a much smaller roll of some kind of fencing that was much, much cheaper and got that. Sure, it wasn't meant to be used as cattle fencing, but we decided that if 3 strands of barbed wire can keep cows from getting out, this stuff would be just as good.
Surprisingly, it wasn't hard to do. Mom told me we just needed to fill in the gap behind the swinging gate and then lift off the gate itself. Steve and I managed to get the fencing stretched across, nailed in the staples, and wrapped the remaining wire around the fence that was already there. I even repaired a bit near the gate that had pulled away. We weren't able to remove the gate after all, because the hinges were rusted beyond anything WD-40 could handle. We're just going to leave it. It's funny, but I realized while walking the fence row and filling in the gap that all my jewelry making and crocheting I do actually helped me to understand how the fence was put together. I'm not saying that I could just go out and fence in an entire field on my own or anything, but I'm confident that if I need to fix the fence again, I won't have any problems. The rest of the fence looks kind of sad. Papa would be PISSED if he could see that. He never let it get that droopy. Oh, well. Maybe one day I'll go back and fix it, but it will be a big job.
I also placed my No Trespassing signs. It made me feel mean to do so, but apparently I need to cover my bases in case of lawsuits. It turns out, people can sue you for their own stupidity. I even took my camera along to take pics of where I hung the signs in case they are removed like the last set were. Every time I hung one up, I felt like the guy from "Open Range" who hated the "free grazers." The whole day was a learning experience.
WHAT I LEARNED
1) Attaching cattle fencing to metal fence posts is very much like crocheting a Front Post Double stitch, but without the extra loop.
2) My property gets very wet and smooshy in the south west corner and along the back fence row.
3) Cows poop more than any other animal on earth. They also poop wherever they feel like it, so you have to watch every step you take.
4) I'm not too old to climb over the gate. Yet.
5) Although I'm not to old to climb the gate, I would still rather not have people see me do it.
6) Fences to not make good neighbors, but they do keep bad neighbors out!
7) The people behind us once owned a pet bear. A BEAR?! How could I not have known that?
8) It's ironic that I have a pair of boots that are made for work such as I did that day, but I can not wear them to do fence work because I wear them as regular shoes.
9) Baby cows are adorable and curious, but momma cows will end your life if they think you are too close to their babies.
We began this adventure by visiting our local Tractor Supply Co. for fencing materials. That was lots of fun for two people who didn't know what the heck they were doing, but we didn't spend too much time wondering around. Thank goodness for that! We actually found the kind of fencing we needed right away, but it was in a giant roll that, as a whole, cost $200 and the store doesn't sell it by the yard. My dad used to be able to buy it in sections, but we didn't see anything like that. We also weren't going to buy a $200 dollar roll of fencing when we only needed 4 feet of it, either. We found a much smaller roll of some kind of fencing that was much, much cheaper and got that. Sure, it wasn't meant to be used as cattle fencing, but we decided that if 3 strands of barbed wire can keep cows from getting out, this stuff would be just as good.
Surprisingly, it wasn't hard to do. Mom told me we just needed to fill in the gap behind the swinging gate and then lift off the gate itself. Steve and I managed to get the fencing stretched across, nailed in the staples, and wrapped the remaining wire around the fence that was already there. I even repaired a bit near the gate that had pulled away. We weren't able to remove the gate after all, because the hinges were rusted beyond anything WD-40 could handle. We're just going to leave it. It's funny, but I realized while walking the fence row and filling in the gap that all my jewelry making and crocheting I do actually helped me to understand how the fence was put together. I'm not saying that I could just go out and fence in an entire field on my own or anything, but I'm confident that if I need to fix the fence again, I won't have any problems. The rest of the fence looks kind of sad. Papa would be PISSED if he could see that. He never let it get that droopy. Oh, well. Maybe one day I'll go back and fix it, but it will be a big job.
I also placed my No Trespassing signs. It made me feel mean to do so, but apparently I need to cover my bases in case of lawsuits. It turns out, people can sue you for their own stupidity. I even took my camera along to take pics of where I hung the signs in case they are removed like the last set were. Every time I hung one up, I felt like the guy from "Open Range" who hated the "free grazers." The whole day was a learning experience.
WHAT I LEARNED
1) Attaching cattle fencing to metal fence posts is very much like crocheting a Front Post Double stitch, but without the extra loop.
2) My property gets very wet and smooshy in the south west corner and along the back fence row.
3) Cows poop more than any other animal on earth. They also poop wherever they feel like it, so you have to watch every step you take.
4) I'm not too old to climb over the gate. Yet.
5) Although I'm not to old to climb the gate, I would still rather not have people see me do it.
6) Fences to not make good neighbors, but they do keep bad neighbors out!
7) The people behind us once owned a pet bear. A BEAR?! How could I not have known that?
8) It's ironic that I have a pair of boots that are made for work such as I did that day, but I can not wear them to do fence work because I wear them as regular shoes.
9) Baby cows are adorable and curious, but momma cows will end your life if they think you are too close to their babies.
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