... and man, are my arms tired.

Outcome of this particular weekend on the farm: a brand spankin’ new fence. And a couple-a scratches and cuts from ill-tempered barbed wire. But, I'm not worried about that, they will heal. This FENCE is FOREVER. :)

This process started a few weeks ago, when we had a bulldozer in to clear out the fence line. Essentially what this means is the dozer takes out all the brush and big trees out of a fence that’s falling down. We do this when we've patched and patched, and simply can’t repair the fence any more – we just need to start over (kinda like Michael Jackson’s plastic surgery). Our grandfather’s grandfather’s father used to clear land like this with one of those two-handed saws and a couple of draft horses. I’d never make it as a settler.

Anywho. When the way is clear, you don’t just slap a new fence in. You have to decide if you’re going to put the fence back in the same place, how you’re going to rotate pastures, how you’re going to get cattle in, where they’re going to get water, and various other strategeries. We decided to put the fence back in the same place, but a watering tank was a good idea for the bottom of the hill. (I wish I could describe the installation process here. All I can say, though, is that it’s a BIG deal.) That was Thursday. Friday: The Corner Posts. Gigantic, Heavy, Massive, Awesome hedge tree trunks that were cut out of the old fence get put back into the fence as the anchors. They’re sunk 6-8 feet in the ground, surrounded with concrete and dirt … these will most likely still be there, holding the fence, when they put ME 6-8 feet in the ground, surrounded by concrete and dirt.

Saturday: After a brief debate with my dad over just exactly how long the fence is (very specific measurement words like ‘yonder’ and ‘betcha’ and ‘s’pect’ were used), we decided it’s about an eighth of a mile long. Then, when we came to terms with the fact that the fence wasn’t going to build itself, we got to work. First, more wooden posts. We put 8 or 10 of those in the fence line – carrying, digging, shoveling, tamping – voila! Next, steel posts. Steel posts are about 6 ½ feet tall, and to put these in the ground we use heavy tools and elbow grease. Over one end of the post, we put a ‘driver’ – a 3-foot-long, steel, tube-looking thing with one solid end. Then, essentially, picking the driver up and slamming it down on the top of the post with as much force as you can muster, several times per post. That’ll get your heart rate up. Whew.

Sunday: This, is the ‘easy’ part. ‘All’ we had to do on Sunday was string/stretch the wires and attach them to the wooden and steel posts. Five barbed wires, 1/8-mile, two hills, oh and did I mention it had rained all weekend? Add 25-pound, muddy boots too. But! No pain, no gain, right?! So, we pulled, stretched, measured, clipped, wired and steepled the barbed wire to the posts, and we have what I definitely consider to be the best damned fence on the farm. (Course, I may be a little biased.) And I have sore shoulders ... but if you ask me in public, I'll totally deny it.