Baymule’s Farm

[flowerbug]

Awhile sounds like a good schedule, Bay'.

Now if one of these California Five was a ram ... well, it sounds like that you wouldn't be so happy with that and maybe call him Ramburger.

But, you could call him Rory, after Rory Calhoun, the Californian star of The Texan. That was the TV show from my youth about a "gunslinger."

digitS'

now there's a funny thought, sheep with guns, comic book series? what could go wrong?!

 

[baymule]

My chain is dull on my Ryobi battery chainsaw, so I took it to Home Depot. I figured take it with me, let the experts figure out which chain and which size file it needed. Better than me babbling about my cute little green chainsaw that needs a new chain. I got 2 new chains and a file with an angle guide on it. I got to put on the new chain and I’ll be ready to rock n’ roll!

This morning I’ll be helping Bennett on the new fence going up on the property line between us. Lots of prep work. Neighbor Chase is coming over to cut big trees that my chainsaw and I can’t handle out of the fence line. There are downed big pine trees that he suggested using as raised beds. I think I’ll ask him to drag them out of the way and pile up for now. Getting this particular part of the fence up is more important to me right now.

 

[seedcorn]

Too bad you don’t have a round file to sharpen the chain. Sharp chains make the job much easier.

 

[baymule]

Too bad you don’t have a round file to sharpen the chain. Sharp chains make the job much easier.

I did get a file. And the nice man showed me how to use it. I’ve worked hard all week, tired. Pictures coming later, forgot time change. Got to get outside to feed sheep. I won’t make it to class this morning but I’ll make it to church.

 

[baymule]

Front field, side fence, south side. This is close to the house.

This is the corner.

Had 2 guys that wanted a downed giant oak for the firewood. They came and cut it up.

I told them if they would cut down the big pines in that fence line, they could have them, take the logs to the mill and keep the money. They loaded up 4 logs and never came back. They left a lot of firewood on the ground too.

 

[baymule]

A neighbor, Chase, came over last week and we looked at the pine logs laying on the ground. Little sawdust piles gave away the insects that were already burrowed into the logs, no mill would take them now. We lamented the waste. A few days later, he came up with an idea, make raised garden beds! Yes! Then the logs won’t be a total waste.

Chase used his two days off, Wednesday and Thursday to come help me out this week. He dragged out the logs, having to limb and top several. Using 2 logs for runners, he stacked the other logs on them.

The reason the logs are stacked up instead of making raised beds, is because I need to focus all my energy on fence. If we made the raised beds, I’d feel like I needed to develop them into a garden, and I can’t divide my time and energy. Maybe this fall or winter.

With the logs out of the way, Chase cut a few more trees that were in the fence line.

This one fell into the other trees and hung up.

He pushed on it with his tractor.

It was still hung up. He chained it to the tractor and backed up.

It fell down.

 

[baymule]

While Chase was doing that, I was cutting yaupon. Yaupon is a small shrub, that can grow into a small tree. It also sends up suckers from the roots and can become a thicket. Carson found a shady spot where he could supervise.

Wood fence posts were rotted off at the ground level. Only thing holding them up was the rusty barbed wire intertwined in the yaupon.

We both worked at cutting yaupon. I pulled the few staples left in the posts, dropping them in a bucket. We cut the barbed wire in lengths of 8’ to 10’ so we could get it out of the tangled mess, rolled it up and made a pile of it. Later I loaded it in the back of the truck and took it to the dumpster.

 

[baymule]

We made it to the corner! It’s actually not a corner, the concrete marker is a couple of feet from the posts. They don’t actually make a corner.

I pulled staples off one post.

Concrete marker. It’s in a mass of tree roots. For me to put a corner post next to it, I’d have to take out a large tree and I’d rather have the tree. So I’ll be putting new posts back where the old posts were.

A chain that comes from under the tree? Goes?

The other post was so wrapped in old wire, I just cut it loose.

Those posts were so rotten, no telling how old they are.

 

[baymule]

Chase and I cut a lot of yaupon, brush, briars, and a few trees out of the fence line.

I made a couple of loads to a burn pile day before yesterday.

The fence line is looking better but still needs more work before I can roll out wire.

There are still a half dozen dead pines that need to come down and one big twisted tree.

 

[baymule]

Around the corner, the fence line goes towards Bennett and Peggy’s place. There is no fence, as this was surveyed out from a bigger parcel. So we are starting the fence.

Where the H brace needs to go was an overgrown mess.

Bennett pushed it down with his tractor. He and Chase cut down the big dead tree.

Today, Bennett, Peggy and I set 3 H braces.

You can’t see it, but there is a H brace in the middle and another on the front fence line.
That is a span of about 470 feet.

This span of fence will be easy!