The south boundary fence line
It became very apparent that a new fence was needed when I decided I would overwinter cattle. I took on 5 head, I know hardly the cattle ranch, and needed to be able to graze the far reaches of my vast 10 acres. The biggest problem I faced was a massive information gap. I mean my fencing skills have come a long way in two years. I can tighten one, fix a wire with baling twine, I can put in posts, and hammer a staple. Even with all that experience under my belt I felt perhaps there were a couple of things I could brush up on to make this a reality.
Step one, walk your fence line a lot. Step two look at other fence lines to see if there is anything about those that you could use for your fence. Step three pick any thing to start on so you feel accomplished. Step four, obsessively think about your fence line. Ok, that is not really a step by step guide to building a fence. Although that may have actually been how I began. I did walk the fence line and compare mine to others. I learned it had waratahs (or t-posts) with 7 wires. The fence is down for a bit and there are trees, blackberry, and grass all over it. I also learned (by looking at other fences) there are really big posts that do an important job. One of my big important posts had a broken stay post.
Now I did obsessively think about the fence; how I could do it, what I needed to do, and pick a thing to feel like I started. I figured the easiest fence for the area would be waratahs and wire. I bought a bunch of waratahs and they sit still waiting to be put in. I also called someone to help me with the stay post as that was truly out of my depth. After much waiting the gentleman came and I watched. I chatted about the fence and learned how to put in a new stay. By talking about the fence I learned what spacing to use and how deep to put my posts (and you measure from the top of the post, makes sense doesn’t it). Now I had a plan of attack. Clear lines, pull out old stuff, mark spacing, pound in posts, string wire, and if I want add an insulated line.
That was June, where are we now… Clearing the line. Weather is not always your friend in winter and there is a whole lot of stuff to clear. fingers crossed we will be done clearing soon and can pull out the old stuff. In the mean time cows need grass.
