JaZzEd AbOuT PoStS

You might be asking yourselves what kinda goober gets all excited about posts. Well let me tell you when you have been working on fencing for over a year and only now are finally reaching the worst spots of the old stuff it's kinda a milestone.

This old farm has concrete pads littered all over the place. Remains of ancient wells, cisterns, forage chutes, grain bins, machine sheds. You name it. In almost all cases the buildings or whatever structures have been long gone since before I ever arrived. However there were many spots that needed clearing out and with this gate section the last (and worst) of the eye sore areas will be gone.

Well as long as you don't count the lean too off the old equipment shed in the pasture but more on that later.

I planned the fence project to eventually give me three 2 to 3 acre paddocks to rotate the flock around on and the 10 acre hay field for Winter forage. I was in a pickle and needed at least one immediate paddock last year so I started on the West side which was the part that had no problem areas. After a trip to the back of the hayfield when that fence failed last Summer it set me back months due to weather.

I enclosed the West paddock, the barn lot, the hay field and am now at the East side of the barn where I need to make a breeze thru area that allows me to run the flock from the barn to the East paddock. I also have to work around the two ram paddocks in the process. This area I am working on now is the heart of the entire plan. It is where the barn lot breezeway, horse pasture, East paddock, front drive and South paddock will eventually all come together, along with a new concrete pad I am putting in for sand blasting old implements and stuff.

This area will also contain a 34'x12' storage shed/outbuilding and be able to be enclosed off as it's own separate space to help feed the donkey since the horses take her food otherwise.

Another words it's complicated but the posts for the first two gates are finally all set. This is huge because as soon as they settle enough I can hang the gates and begin clearing out the mess you see below.

Yes this eye sore will finally be gone now. Those old posts were set into concrete and no way to fix em when they started shearing off. I have em propped and knitted together with old T-posts, baling wire and cattle panels right now.  When I finally pull all that old wood out of there I will still have a long thin concrete pad to deal with but at least the eye sore will be gone.

After this section is cleaned out I can make the breezeway and use it as a temporary paddock for the ram and go back and finish his area then move on to the East paddock for the ewes and new lambs. Hopefully it will all be done by May weather permitting. Once the East paddock is finished I will be completely done with electric wire as well. Which will be another huge landmark in my fencing project.

The reason it has taken me so much time is not the fencing specifically but the gate and corner posts as they need time to settle properly for the whole thing to work. Making sure there are no gaps for baby lambs to slip through is the real issue to be honest.

They don't leave you with much wiggle room honestly.

I hope to have the gates hung by the end of this week!!!!

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!!!!