Fencing and organizing.

Fresh snow in April!

We had a productive weekend.  It has been raining for several days so I was authorized to burn weeds.  My track record in the past is a pretty grey when it comes to using fire as a cleanup tool.  Don't get me wrong it works great, I just tend to burn down some "extra" stuff.  It was actually raining on Saturday when I started to burn, I had to get a cheap yellow plastic rain jacket to stay dry.  It was almost perfect burning weather.  I would have liked the weeds to be a little drier but eventually the wind started to really blow and that made up the difference!  I burned out about 80% of the fence line that needs woven wire.  I ran out of propane early and had to run to town to get more.  I came in from burning for dinner and Annmarie informed me I was not answering my cell phone.  I reached down and no cell phone was on me.  After dinner while it was still light we went back out and traced my burn path.  I lost it 20 feet from where I stopped burning.  Luckily, it stopped raining during dinner and had just started when we found the phone.  It survived. 

Hillside fence completed, upper portion.

 Kelly came by on Sunday and we went outside to work on fence despite the blowing wind.  We split all the wooden stays we could from my pile next to the road and loaded up on tools and tackled the hillside fence.  We strung three more strands, installed all the stays, erected a gate and completed the upper 16 feet.  Panels across the creek are the only thing left.  I have the panels they just need to be drug over there and installed.  By the time we finished the wind was howling!  It was easier to walk uphill then downhill.  I sprung the door on the pickup trying to get inside.  It took me almost a minute to get the door shut.  It was crazy.  We opted to quit fencing for the day and went into the old house to organize my tools and to see if there really was a floor.  A couple of hours later all the tools were put away.  The used toolbox I got this fall has tools in it now!  I used the wooden draws on the new dresser for bits and pieces and screws to get them organized.  My screw shelf was overflowing.  I am going to start putting bolts and misc in the the dresser and just screws and staples on the shelves. 

Hillside fence completed, lower portion.

Now the drawers just need to be labeled so I can find everything.  We did install my second fluorescent light (from my sister's garage) over the workbench and plugged it in tandem with the other one so the wall switch operates both.  The lighting is much better now.  Our sheep pasture is very short.  We need a solid week of warm weather to get the grass to jump up and grow.  Since that is not happening I am going to use the last large roll of woven wire I have to go across the top of the hillside from the newly completed hillide fence.  We just purchased 450 feet of electrified woven wire fence on spikes and a solar energizer pack (panel, charger, battery and case) to electrify the temporary fence.  We are going to start moving the sheep out into the unfenced pasture.  There is a lot of grass out there just no good fence to keep the animals inside.  If we keep bordering our good fence we will be able to expand the area the electric fence covers. I ordered everything on Saturday (97#, thank goodness for free shipping) so it should be here this week.  I will go check the scrap metal yard today for more woven wire, it is going to become my habit until I have a mile of rolled wire, a weekly constitution. 

Kelly has offered to help me out a couple of days a week when he is up working at the base.  So I might be able to get the fencing done in a month with his help.  If I do it alone it will take me about 2-3 months.  We feed him well, plus he doesn't even have to pay me for the exercise regimen I put him through.  I guarantee he can lose 10-15 pounds over the summer helping me out on the farm!