Been a busy week!

MONDAY 10 APRIL 06 started out fairly quiet, I was working on the fence around our new goat pasture and trying to get it ready for our "herd" of two momma goats and their four children. Nothing really exciting went on! Things would pick up by Tuesday, though!

TUESDAY 11 APRIL 06. I started out by going to a neighbor's house to borrow a trailer. I was on my way to clean up around some buildings on a friend's mother's acreage. Not only did I borrow the neighbor's trailer, I borrowed the neighbor! He volunteered to come help, if I helped him cut firewood later in the day. We spent 2 hours dragging things out of head-high weeds and small trees, but managed to get a lot accomplished! I managed to scrounge 5 "goat" panels with angle iron frames and three without frames! These panels are similar to "Hog and Cattle" panels, except that the entire panel is made up of the small 2x6 openings. They measured 16' long and 6' tall!

In addition, there were 9 pieces of 26" x 10' corrugated "Barn Tin", 20' of shed door upper track (the kind the door rolls on), a pile of angle iron (some twisted, but a lot useable), and a three "stall" rabbit hutch!

After loading it all up, heading home for lunch and UNLOADING the trailer, it was off to return the trailer and fire up the chainsaw!

The neighbor cuts and splits wood for another man to sell. He has done this for 10-12 years, and enjoys it. We got most of what he had left cut up, but managed to save some for today! I came home and worked on fence for awhile before supper.

TODAY WEDNESDAY 12 APRIL 06. I figured out what I needed to finish the goat fence and found all the pieces for the three walk-through gates I needed to finish. One of the gates needed welded, and I needed a couple of other small pieces made. My neighbor again volunteered to weld them if I would help him finish the wood! We had what I needed done in about 45 minutes. It was 11:30, so we decided to start the wood at 1:00 pm . I headed home to finish the gates. I decided to cut one of the "frameless" goat panels into pieces that would fit the gate frames I had. I would then wire these together and hang the gates. I finished one and decided to temporarily wire the panel pieces into the openings in the fence where the gates go. This being accomplished, it was decided that today was the day - MOVING DAY for the goats! They would FINALLY have their pasture, and I would FINALLY reclaim my tractor shed (of course, now I have to clean it out!)! After a leisurely, uneventful stroll at the end of a 15' dog lead around both momma's necks (and youngin's following closely), we arrived at our new home. Both Nanny goats ran to the nearest clump of fresh grass they saw, and all four little tykes enjoyed their new freedom by kicking their heels and running around as fast as they could! It was a funny site to see!

I finished up the day by screwing down some tin on the goat shed roof. Most of this tin was procured on the trip Tuesday.

One other important scrounged item story from today:

I have also been trying to work on the OTHER pasture fence. I wanted to move the fence farther away from the house and make it a little more "permanent". We rent the pasture out every year and the renter uses an electric wire fence. The gate is normally electrified. I wanted to make a permanent gate without it having electricity going through it. I figured on running a wire under ground to bypass the gate. Problem was, I didn't have, and couldn't afford, the underground rated wire! On an trip to town this morning at about 8:30, I found about 150' of 6 gauge underground wire laying in the middle of the road! I only needed about 35', but the extra will be used for something else! I've got the posts in the ground and am gonna hang the gate in the next couple of days. Then I'll dig a trench with my 8N and bury the wire!