Fences UP!

 

Well, the fences are up.  We still had to cut the top of the fence posts off to make it regular. The yard is enclosed on the pasture side.  It makes a very nice division from the pasture.

 

This is kind of far away but it gives a good idea how the front fence looks.

The farm road gate will be in the far left corner.

We kind of knew how we wanted the front gate to be.  We looked at stone gateposts. Whew, was that a shocker.  We decided on using 6x6 wooden gate posts for now. If there will be stone gateposts we will have to learn how to do it ourselves. Can't pay a stone mason. Ouch. There is an option that may be possible. Something we will look at in the spring.

The front fence done.  We had to stop shy of the creek.  Reason one, it is low and wet. Reason two, when they built the road I think they dumped every boulder over the side and down the embankment onto our property.  The auger went spastic. We will finish that side with wire fence and those sharpened cedar posts that can be manipulated a bit more.

The side yard complete with a deer afternoon snacking.

We had no idea how to tie in the fence with the gate.  We kept measuring and adjusting and measuring until it finally worked out. 

The front from across the street.

Now to cut all of the fence tops off at an angle to help snow slide off and not rot so quickly. Painting to be done.  Gates.  We have ordered a "gate kit" complete with free swinging hinges. One for the front and one for the farm road. The animals will be happy to have the pasture after we get the final cut in the summer.  The will be able to eat through till first snow.  This will cut our hay consumption drastically.  When we get done each group will have an area to eat in separately. Keeping the peace.  To be continued.......

Much Love and Prayers from Mainely Ewes Farm

Finally Board Fences

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