Life on a family farm
in the wilds of
Upstate New York
Thursday, October 09, 2008
LIke a mullet
You know...business in the front, party in the back. Liz and I, thanks to some heifers which got out about five times the past three days, have been cutting brush out of the electric fence.
It is in and of itself a miserable job. Even though it is crispy cool, after half an hour hacking wild rose bushes higher than your head out of the wires and cutting raspberries higher than they are you are hot. Sweaty. Itchy.
We forgot to take water so after the first hour we were thirsty to the point of misery.
We work with the electric fence turned on so we can find the shorts. You don't want to make a mistake in what you touch.
However, as in most farm jobs no matter how painful, there are compensations if you know where to find them.
I put the big camera in its case in a thick plastic tote and took it along for the ride. Here are some of the things we found while discovering that there was a bad clip holding two wires together so there was no charge at all on most of the fence.
11 comments:
Anonymous
said...
strong is your fence? Ours is currently over 5500 ( probaly more towards 10000) The cows and the sheep steer clear of it, but the cats and the chickens on teh other hand don't seem to mind at all!
The pics you got here completely hide the amount of misery you experienced that day. Beauteous images! I particularly got mesmerized with the Dodge pic. Good luck with the apples. (me/ checks drawer for spoon for jelly testing...) lol.
MML, I don't know but it is the hottest regular one you can buy. We like to get fences for kangaroos that they use in Australia because they are REALLY hot, but the dealer went out of business. We weren't getting any charge at all though on most of the fence because where the guys crimped a splice with a splicing tool they missed getting the wires to touch. The cows have been minding it because they know where the fence is but we turned nine heifers that weren't fence trained out and they got out...several times!
Steve, thank you so much. The beauty of a fall day like that is plenty of compensation for the work. Just wish we had remembered to take some water because we probably could have done another hour if we had.
I love those two old trucks (there is an International too, but I couldn't get to where I had a good shot at it). When I win the lottery I am going to have them restored. lol
Love your blog! And love getting to see where you live. Building fence can be such a pain....it won't be long before we can turn the cows out on the worked farm ground---that means fence building.
Thanks for visiting my blog. Would you be up for me adding your link to my blog?
You are so right in your comment about no matter how hard the work is on the farm, there is always a blessing if you look for it! I can't tell you the times I've dreaded a project only to find it was really a blessing because of my surroundings or something I wouldn't have noticed in any other venue! Thanks for putting that to words!
Really nice photos: Look's like fall is "very long in the tooth" up there. Here in south Florida, our cypress needles still haven't fallen. That's our queue that fall has officially begun ... plus a cold front.
I have a few goats you can borrow that will take care of that brush in no time! I have little left of the wild roses around here after they've been at em all summer every year, plus they still get hay plus other pasture on top of it, thats how much they go for that stuff... cows haven't been here for 20 years its amazing how fast pasture turns to brush..Got a couple of old rusty farm implements hanging out there they uncovered too if you want those to add to the trucks !lol.
dayphoto, I love your blog too. Blogrolling has been down since yesterday but as soon as it comes up again I am going to link to you. We build some temporary fence for the same purpose, but it sure helps to have the heifers fence broke. lol
Melissa, sometimes it is hard to find the silver lining, but it is usually there when you look...even standing in the lane night waiting for the heifers to come across to the other farm can be pleasant when the stars are out and the moon is rising.
Robert, thanks, it is moving along into Indian summer now....a really nice day today. Hope I can find some excuse to putter around outdoors. I really need to get some apples done though.
Marianne, ah, you have the same name as I do and the same spelling too.... we could use a couple of goats if they like the rose bushes. In June they perfume the air indescribably, but the rest of the year they are just a misery.
The lovliest things seem to find me to, while I'm ick and tired in the midst of mucking or some such. I never seem to take photos of them, but sucked my breath in the entire time viewing yours. BEAUTIFUL, thank you for sharing them.
11 comments:
strong is your fence? Ours is currently over 5500 ( probaly more towards 10000) The cows and the sheep steer clear of it, but the cats and the chickens on teh other hand don't seem to mind at all!
The pics you got here completely hide the amount of misery you experienced that day. Beauteous images! I particularly got mesmerized with the Dodge pic. Good luck with the apples. (me/ checks drawer for spoon for jelly testing...) lol.
MML, I don't know but it is the hottest regular one you can buy. We like to get fences for kangaroos that they use in Australia because they are REALLY hot, but the dealer went out of business. We weren't getting any charge at all though on most of the fence because where the guys crimped a splice with a splicing tool they missed getting the wires to touch. The cows have been minding it because they know where the fence is but we turned nine heifers that weren't fence trained out and they got out...several times!
Steve, thank you so much. The beauty of a fall day like that is plenty of compensation for the work. Just wish we had remembered to take some water because we probably could have done another hour if we had.
I love those two old trucks (there is an International too, but I couldn't get to where I had a good shot at it). When I win the lottery I am going to have them restored. lol
Just amazingly beautiful-makes me wish I could come help you two-or at least take pictures while you two worked! Love the lizards.
Love your blog! And love getting to see where you live. Building fence can be such a pain....it won't be long before we can turn the cows out on the worked farm ground---that means fence building.
Thanks for visiting my blog. Would you be up for me adding your link to my blog?
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
You are so right in your comment about no matter how hard the work is on the farm, there is always a blessing if you look for it! I can't tell you the times I've dreaded a project only to find it was really a blessing because of my surroundings or something I wouldn't have noticed in any other venue! Thanks for putting that to words!
Really nice photos: Look's like fall is "very long in the tooth" up there. Here in south Florida, our cypress needles still haven't fallen. That's our queue that fall has officially begun ... plus a cold front.
I have a few goats you can borrow that will take care of that brush in no time! I have little left of the wild roses around here after they've been at em all summer every year, plus they still get hay plus other pasture on top of it, thats how much they go for that stuff... cows haven't been here for 20 years its amazing how fast pasture turns to brush..Got a couple of old rusty farm implements hanging out there they uncovered too if you want those to add to the trucks !lol.
Tipper, wouldn't that be fun! Thanks!
dayphoto, I love your blog too. Blogrolling has been down since yesterday but as soon as it comes up again I am going to link to you. We build some temporary fence for the same purpose, but it sure helps to have the heifers fence broke. lol
Melissa, sometimes it is hard to find the silver lining, but it is usually there when you look...even standing in the lane night waiting for the heifers to come across to the other farm can be pleasant when the stars are out and the moon is rising.
Robert, thanks, it is moving along into Indian summer now....a really nice day today. Hope I can find some excuse to putter around outdoors. I really need to get some apples done though.
Marianne, ah, you have the same name as I do and the same spelling too.... we could use a couple of goats if they like the rose bushes. In June they perfume the air indescribably, but the rest of the year they are just a misery.
The lovliest things seem to find me to, while I'm ick and tired in the midst of mucking or some such. I never seem to take photos of them, but sucked my breath in the entire time viewing yours. BEAUTIFUL, thank you for sharing them.
Teri, thanks, I agree, some of the sweetest moments of peace come at the strangest times....
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