Building a fence | Build Me a Dream

Time to Redefine our Lives in Oregon

Archive for the ‘Building a fence’ Category

A Whole New World

To continue on with the good, the bad, and the ugly, today, we get to focus on the good!! There definitely was some good along with the bad, and the ugly…..little Clark’s scours was, shall we say…solidified!! I actually confirmed today during our “Good morning, Hello” the real-time evidence of perfectly formed little jelly beans…YAY!!!!!! But there is more….there is much more!! Take a look at the picture above….now envision three little billy goats…shorter than the tops of the tall grasses…roaming, eating, and lying in the shade of a big, ole tree on a warm, spring day. That’s good….that’s very good!!

Fence building was priority one this past week, but before we could even get started, there were a few trees impeding the future fence line that would need to be cut. Tony lined out the fence to go directly through a grove of Douglas Firs….

….that needed thinning….two had broken tops….this worked out very nicely. We will have plenty of logs to burn this coming fall / winter.

Many holes were augered for the wooden posts necessary for support….fencing on a hill is a lot of fun…uhhh yeaahhhh. Just ask my He-Man ….. I wish I had pictures of Tony carrying those heavy logs while walking uphill to drop them into place…oh well, it’s engrained in my memory banks…. 😉 Although fencing-in this pasture was a team effort, most of the build fell onto Tony’s shoulders (literally.) My son helped out as his time allowed…and I came along in between work, the house, and everyday farm chores. Thankfully, Tony had a full week to devote to this project….nonetheless, it was a busy week for all of us. Thank goodness for Alleve!!

We ran an electric, shock wire all the way around the fence line about 2 inches above the top, and 6 or 8 inches above the bottom. Since we do not have a guard animal yet for the herd, we’re hoping this will do the trick … let’s have a collective “fingers crossed” moment out there…readyyyyyyyy…..NOW!!

I’m inviting you to experience the moment….the moment that the gate was opened, allowing our three young wethers into their new world….the world beyond their previous fence line….the world of tall grasses, Douglas Fir trees, and cool, shady places….a whole new world!!!! At first they payed absolutely no attention to the opened gate…..it was a look, back to chewing….continued staring, and chewing….standing, staring, chewing. Really, what did I expect??? They are goats, not dogs!!! Hahaha!! Finally, surprisingly, Lott led the way….

….we had really expected the leader to be, Montana.

The first day, they stayed around the gate. However, the herd is slowly expanding their grazing. They seem happy!!

Despite the residual aches and pains Tony and I are enjoying….it is very satisfying to have this first pasture fenced and open for the kids to grow and flourish on. Plans continue for growth of this farm. Did you notice the strength of the fencing?? It is strong!! Why so strong? Why so many wooden pole supports? Can we hear a “Mooooooo?” Okay, not yet….but…………that’s a maybe!!!

Thanks for helping us enjoy the farm today. We always look forward to your visits!!!

Please, have a wonderful, wonderful Sunday!!

Your friends from Oregon,

Tami & Tony!!

Category:

Building a fence, Farm Fencing, Goats, Pasture fencing, Spanish Goats, Spanish Meat Goats

Tagged with:

Crazy Goat Eve

This day, April 6, 2015, will officially be known on our farm as Crazy Goat Eve. Tomorrow is the great goat experiment. It has been close to 4 weeks since we have seen them, soooooo…I’m not sure what to expect. How big will they be? Is the “base camp” area we have planned for them big enough for the next 5 or 6 weeks until we get the first real pasture and goat barn built? YIKES!! I don’t knoooooowwww!! I’ve been just a tad…stressed….even had a few scary goat dreams, but I think those have passed…hahaha. I hope so!!

The preliminary plan is to adapt the old hen house to support our little Spanish kids for 5 or 6 weeks. I cleaned the place from top to bottom, and Tony enlarged the chicken door to fit our young charges.

Creating a temporary “base camp” was the main mission of the day, today. We had to move the house, now known as Candlestick Park II (you will understand that tomorrow) about 15 feet. This would allow us to put up the fencing and evade this beautiful, stomach upsetting tempting goat treat…..Camillia Tree flowers and bark….

….the blossoms are falling off now, which are not toxic, but apparently, can cause stomach upset in goats.

Okay, so the house did separate from it’s foundation a little…a lot, but it is fine now….we lined it back up just fine…

….it’s just a little off…..I thought it was lined up better….LOL. No worries though because there is a large base for the skids to rest on. I tested it out, and it didn’t tip over so it all good!

The fencing went up pretty quickly as the ground was soft from all of the rain. It was so great to find that the roll of fencing we had left over in the barn was enough to encompass the entire area which is about 1500 – 1600 square feet. These little guys are used to foraging over 250 acres with the herd, or staying in if they prefer….hopefully this area that seems large enough for a few weeks will keep them safe and entertained enough that they don’t push their fence boundaries.

There are stumps for climbing onto, and jumping off of ….. and a patch of cement to help keep hooves nicely trimmed….

…and of course, Penni took on the responsibility of checking the yard for and weak spots….after all, we all know that these little goats will be Penni’s kids. I think she’s as excited as we are!!

“Get goats”, they said. “They take care of themselves,” they said. Then, why does the back of my SUV look like this??? Well, I guess I needed these things anyway….right??? At least the two bags on top are for the chickens..LOL. Beyond this, we have a barn to build……pasture fencing to pull…..and a whole lot to learn!! I look forward to sharing it all with you along the way.

By the way, make sure you stop in tomorrow to meet the newest members of the farm….I can’t wait!!! AND…there are now…

…four Canadian Geese (2 couples) on the pond!!! That must mean something good.

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope your day was absolutely wonderful!

Your friend from Oregon,

Tami

Category:

Building a fence, Farm Fencing, Goats, Spanish Goats

Tagged with:

Fencing and Biscuits

The work on the fencing….

…once again…NOT THAT KIND of fencing…..is getting closer to completion.

***RETRACTION FROM YESTERDAY’S POST…CREATING BOUNDARIES https://haveadanehill.com/2014/07/20/creating-boundaries/ … Tony has informed me that he is building 1,063 feet of fencing…not 367 feet …. a slight miscalculated reporting there…hahaha.***

Tony and the son, Will, took a lazy Sunday worked a little, came in for a country breakfast of cheesey, scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, biscuits….and…..Froot Loops…then lingered awhile. Worked some more….took a 35 min. drive (both ways) into a town with an open hardware supply store to purchase more fencing bolts. Worked about an hour more and ended for the day.

Farmer Tony

Poles waiting to become gradual fence corners.

Breaking through this stuff was not easy.

Luke 6:48
He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.

Sundays are lazy days around this farm, you didn’t hear my name mentioned on the fence line, did you?

Hey I did make the biscuits, from scratch, and they turned out a bit like hockey pucks…but they tasted okay….with butter, blackberry jam (not homemade…yet – still waiting on the blackberries), and a little local honey – which by the way tastes so much more wonderful than the store bought stuff.

Rustic, dense, hockey puck biscuits…I need more practice!!

This is the recipe I tried to follow… http://blog.williams-sonoma.com/brunch-101-how-to-make-tender-flaky-biscuits/ Although they are supposed to be rustic, I think I worked the dough a little too much. I am challenged to perfect my biscuit making!!

Have a very happy Monday…the start of the work week…enjoy the moments in your day, the weekend is just a few days away!!

Your friend from Oregon,
Tami

Category:

Biscuits, Building a fence, building a new home, Farm Fencing, Fencing, Homesteading, Honey, honey bees, Local Oregon Honey, moving to Oregon, Oregon, Williams Sonoma Biscuit recipe

Tagged with:

Creating Boundaries

Fencing….the sport of fighting with swords, especially foils, épées, or sabers, according to a set of rules, in order to score points against an opponent.

Wait a minute….not that kind of fencing…this kind of fencing…

Not our farm…just an example.

…lots and lots of fencing!! Three hundred and sixty seven feet to be approximately exact.

I think it is safe to say that every farm has fencing…lots of fencing. I am in the conflict stage of needing fencing, and wanting to keep the forest that merges with the farm in smooth transition. However, there are realities in the relationship between wildlife, farm production, dogs, and neighbors…the latter becomes the biggest issue.

We have neighbors…one of our neighbors has goats..see my earlier post https://haveadanehill.com/2013/10/27/my-neighbor-has-goats/ This same neighbor, has two big, white farm dogs that protect their goats. I like my neighbor’s dogs, they bark…often…but they are very nice dogs. Recently, however, the intact male has grown up. He has become a dominant boy, and adamantly protects the fence-line between us. Unfortunately, this means that the friendship he and Penni have had since his puppy-hood is now in contention. His mama dog,

which is now his wifey dog (yeah, it’s complicated…not really…just weird) is still friendly, but the boy dog – her puppy now her stud dog (I just think those are questionable breeding practices) does not agree with these friendly neighbor relations. Thus the need to create a secondary fence line buffer zone. It’s needed both for the safety of all three dogs, but for peace of mind. Do I really want to worry every time the dogs are out what might happen at the fence line? NO!!

The thing with fencing is when you start one line, it gets you thinking about other lines…where can you go from there? With the occasional coyote (or possibly coywolf – see my previous post https://haveadanehill.com/2014/05/29/my-coyote-theory/ ) and who knows what else (we are in Black Bear and Cougar country) we decided to create an area of 3 plus acres wherein the dogs can run freely, but still be controlled.

It’s a big project, and takes a ton of muscle power to sink the wooden posts into this rocky ground. Thank goodness for a tractor sporting a post hole digger. Thank goodness even more for a husband who is willing to spend the past 3 days of his vacation breaking up rock where the post hole digger couldn’t get through…and the next 2 – 3 days pounding metal poles, stringing fencing, and hanging gates. He’s had some help from the male offspring when available after work. My assistance has been nonexistent due to my work schedule. So here’s a standing applause for the man on this farm…

…for a man who works hard to make sure we (including our animals) are safe, and is willing to work really hard at everything he does!!!

The work is in progress…and Penni is waiting very patiently…with bated breath…waiting to get off of her restriction…

“Whyyyyyyyyy do I have to have this stupid leash on? I’ll just lay here then.”

…and once again able to stretch her legs freely. It’s so wrong…34 acres, and nowhere to run…for the moment.

Hope you have a wonderful day…thanks for popping over and visiting the farm.

Your friend from Oregon,
Tami
***RETRACTION…I have been informed that the actual feet of fencing being constructed is 1063…not 367. My apologies to those who may be taking note…hahahahaha****