Friday Fencing

This week we've been picking away at beefing up some of the fencing.  Just an hour or two here and there. This afternoon we finished a stretch.  We have a whole bunch of random rolls of fencing that I found locally on Craigslist too many years ago.  We've gradually been using bits and pieces of them.  This week we were working on the boundary fence of the north field.  When we moved in it was just barbed wire.  At some point on our side of the posts we added some farm fencing, but it was only three feet high.  The north field is one that Pride used some of the time, and the sheep also, but only when we were home, because it wasn't coyote proof.  Not long ago I noticed a coyote track coming from the field next door, and then into our north field.  I looked out of the window one day and saw three coyotes crossing by the horse shed.  It got me worried, because sometimes Luna goes out to the horse shed and cleans up what grain Pride has dropped.  I was worried about what would happen if she was out there, started to head back, and ran into those coyotes passing through.  We try to make sure all the gates are closed if we come inside and the dogs stay out.  We've watched Luna from the window go to the two gates and the barn door and test them all to see if she can get through one.  She's a sneaky, determined one, that Luna.

Earlier this week we loaded a roll of fencing on the dolly and dragged it out to the field.  Larry thought we could carry it.  We were able to lift it off the ground but to actually walk with it would have been impossible.  The first roll did 140ft.  We went to the other end with the next roll and that did 110 ft., which left us with a 35' gap in the middle.  That's what we filled in and finished off today.

Larry is undoing the broken post from the end of the first section.  That is what we wrapped the chain around to pull it tight.

Jake grabbed a ball and brought it with him.  Sometimes we gave it to Calli.  Calli thinks all orange street hockey balls belong to her.  She teased Jake with it.

Jake got fed-up and eventually wrestled it away from her

And we were back to this

Larry was all set to go at the other end, and was waiting for me to finish my end. I told him to take some pictures but he was to take no 'butt' shots.

The sun came out and it felt like Spring.  We both shed our jackets.

 He had been pounding in fence staples to fasten the broken fence post on the other end while I wrestled with the fastening the two sections of fence together.  Thirteen horizontal wires to connect like this.

In the meantime, Luna was running here and there.  She doesn't like any pounding noises, so as soon as we started hammering the fence staples in, she was outa there.  See how dirty her belly hair looks?

This is the mechanism that pulls the fence tight.  The 'come-a-long' is fastened to the broken post that is stapled to the end of the roll.  The other end of the come-a-long is fastened to a long chain that is fastened to a good sturdy post up the line.  Crank the handle and the fence gets pulled nice and tight.  

We left the old saggy farm fence in place.  It was partially buried into the ground at the bottom, and would deter any digging under the fence.  A good 4' high of 2x4" holes will hopefully deter the coyotes.  There's no chickens in this field to encourage them to challenge the fence.

To make the entire perimeter of our property coyote proof would be a daunting, expensive endeavour.  The perimeter is 5/8th of a mile.  There's probably nearly that much again in cross-fencing.  That's a lot of fences posts we've pounded in.