All Quiet On The Western ....Side

Lately, we've been trying to get the fence done around another pasture so the two Jersey girls will have a nice place to hang out this summer. So far, it's been slow going. Weather, aches, pains, trips to go shopping, goat auctions, ....aches and pains....All manner of things have slowed me down.

Meanwhile, the two ladies have decided that it is their RIGHT to be let out into the yard each day - and they put up a fuss, if the gate isn't opened on their time table.

Oh well, it's nice that they can snip off some of the grass in the front yard. Another good thing, if they stay around the house, in the ranging areas of the chickens, any "land mines" are spread out and picked through.

What a way to get your lunch, eh? Shovelling "you-know-what" with your face....

Odd thing, though, I can toss out corn , and the chickens run right past it, and head for the mine field.

It must be some sort of fancy "Bar-B-Que" sauce that chickens love..

Anyway - my fence building has led me to the west fence. I had to put a gate in where the county had built a field driveway for me a couple years ago. Along with it, about 120' of fence had to be replaced. The last time anything was done to the fence was in the 1960's, so it needed some help.



There were vines, Wild Roses, grass, brush, and weeds to get out of the way before I could even SEE what I had to deal with. It took a bit, but it was clipped and mowed so progress could begin.



All of the posts came out except for one metal, and one wood post. I replaced everything with metal. Not that it was a whole lot, I think is was 7 posts. Here is what I "started" with, after it was cleaned up.



Over the weekend, I put in the four posts for the gate, and Monday morning - before the rain - finished putting the brace pipe and wire on. I was ready for a gate.

Since the opening was 16', I figured I'd use two shorter gates, instead of one big one. I also didn't want them to be able to open toward the road, so put them on the back side of the posts, instead of between them.

After painstaking measurements, and drilling the posts with (mainly) a brace and bit (I need new batteries for my drill), I finally got the two things hung this afternoon.



A few years ago, I brought home the hinges for a gate from a farm sale - I paid around $1 for four of them, the boards were free, and the bolts to hold everything together cost about $4. Not bad for a $5 gate....

This is what it looks like from the road:



I'll need to pour a little concrete below where the two halves meet, and then shoot the wood with some "MacGyver Preservative Spray" - and it will be done.

In case you are wondering about the spray - it's one quart ATF (or light weight motor oil), 1/8 cup Dawn dish washing soap. Put it into a 2 gallon garden sprayer, and fill it up with water. Slowly stir or mix it (don't shake - it will suds). The idea is to use the soap the emulsify the oil and water. When you spray the wood, it soaks in, then the water evaporates, leaving the oil to preserve the wood. Spray it when the wood is dry for the best effect.

Now I just need to build about 8 more gates, and I'll be caught up.

At any rate, I thought this photo was pretty - the green grass, blue sky, clouds, and the open gate: