Late Fall Work

This is what I love about Late Fall and Winter. See that tangled mess of wild Rosebush, small Trees and Cedars? Well most of the Summer you couldn't see it actually because of all the hay growing but it was even more of a tangled mess then. Now that we have had a few freezes under our belt it doesn't quite look so intimidating.

This mess in on an internal fence line between the pasture on the East and the Hay field on the West. It pretty much cuts the place in half and has been allowed to go wild for decades. Almost the entire length of this line is really just a massive hedge of Cedars and Wild Rose Bush but I want to put a gate through it at the back.

So I chose the weakest spot I could find.

Here were my first cuttings before I remembered to take a before picture. They were to the right of the picture you see at the top.

The fence line looking North....

The fence line looking South....

I had my trusty battery operated chainsaw along. I LOVE this thing. People still make fun of me when they see me with it but let me tell you I have found NOTHING that is better for cutting trees and heavy brush out of a fence line than this little saw. I can operate the thing one handed while holding brush away from wire and fence with the other. If I do catch some wire it is low powered enough that I am not in danger of cutting my own head or arm off and the wire doesn't ruin the saw or chain either.

Seriously NOTHING is better for fence clearing than this little battery operated saw. Especially now that I have a spare battery for twice the power time on target :)

Here's the same section cleared out, with two new metal fence posts in place and the new gate leaning against them to close the gap for now. Not that it matters as the useless old nag horses are allowed free range into the hay field during the Winter months but I also don't want the wire to sag either before I can put in some proper end posts for the gate. There really isn't too much to worry about though as that fence line is so over grown it has become a permanent land fixture and you can cut any given spot without any sag really showing.

Finally the real goal of this operation. This is the back side looking Southwest. Those Cedars make the perfect wind break and the land is relatively level there (although I will have to level it more). It stays pretty dry and get's good Eastern and Southern exposure.

That's right this is a new Bee Hive area I am opening up. It's about a quarter of a mile from the house, no access except through my driveway and perfect protection qualities. I will fence in the section you see mowed and start getting all the hive supports and such put in place a leveled tomorrow, weather permitting of course.

Had I attempted to do this project in say the middle of June it would have taken me twice as long and I would have been covered in ticks and chigger bites. This kind of work is what late Fall and Winter is for. Now all I need is a helper to run the post hole digger and I can put that gate in permanent like.

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!