When we first moved to the farm we were so overwhelmed with the needed basic renovations, fences, shelter for the animals and cleaning that needed to be done. The previous owner had been a hoarder. Attics were full of boxes, fabric, trash, the list goes on and on. The yards were full of washers, dryers and refrigerators. Not to mention weeds. Tall weeds that could have been people eaters in a SyFi flick. We lived for 6 months cooking a 2 burner camp stove without a kitchen. We had to replace pipes to have running water. No electricity in the upstairs ever. EVER! We were so excited when we could flip a switch and a light came on. The list goes on and on. As I sit here and think back to the original farm we have come a long, long way. It was daunting but we didn't realize it at that point. The thought of taking pictures of all that didn't even cross my mind. Dumpsters went out of here loaded. I don't even want to mention the burn piles we had. Big apology to the atmosphere.
In some little dark hole in my brain I had an image of what the outcome would look like. In those images there was always, and I do mean always, a two board white fence across the front and enclosing the yard. It is time.
We took a trip to Hammond Lumber in Bangor with ideas and approximate measurements in hand. They delivered the necessary material the next day. We are using 4x4 pressure treated posts with 1x6 pressure treated deck boards. Keep in mind that we have only put in wire fences and pointed posts that are pushed into the ground with the tractor bucket. The internet was very limited with information. Some called for bags of sakrete, others putting posts in first after accurately measuring out the space. Hahahahahaha.
We used the tractor to lay out the post every 10feet and two boards each length.
We tried putting the posts in first. Then found out our measurements were off. After an argument or three we found our own method.
We wanted a 14ft farm road to make sure that all hay equipment would be able to have access to the fields. That meant that Ted had to move the drive over a few feet to keep it centered.
We did find our own method. We chose to omit the sakrete because at some time in the future a post may need to be replaced due to rot. We called around for rental of an auger that would go onto the tractor. After realizing how many days we would have to rent the thing for we decided that it would be cheaper to buy on from Tractor Supply. Now we have an auger for any future holes. Neighbors have already requested holes to be dug.
It's a good start. It took us about 3 weeks to finish all 900 ft of fence. We decided to move the fence back well beyond the ditch. It would make mowing easier and be far enough back to prevent snow plow buildup in winter. More to come.
Much Love and Prayers from Mainely Ewes Farm
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