#stewartcreeksomethings

Fencing proceeds despite communication barriers

Steve Hardin1 Comment

Today the plan was to actually get some posts in the ground and get all of the needed materials to their appropriate locations. This proved much harder than one would assume as the day progressed. Both Mr Rainman and the Apprentice came out today to help with fencing. It took us a half an hour to gather tools and the rest of the railroad ties we needed. As the Apprentice and I got to the barn lot and were loading up large cedar posts to be the other half of an H brace with a railroad tie, I realized we needed more tools. I texted Mr Rainman and after the third text I realized that I just needed to walk over to the machine shed and help load more tools. We almost forgot the rifle, varmit getter. We loaded up 12- 16’x2”x8” rough cut boards onto the Kubota forks to use as the cross pieces for the H braces. That was almost too much weight to safely carry down the fields. The tractor back end kept bouncing off the ground when the path got too bumpy.

The plan was for Mr Rainman and I to start setting railroad ties after we drilled out the 12” holes. We had used the 6” auger yesterday to put in all of the holes and the plan was to widen the holes that needed railroad ties today. The field has dirt and not many rocks where we were digging but the ground has a lot of clay in it and can get very hard. Usually the big auger will just sit on top of the dirt and not cut down into it. It’s better since I welded the holder onto the arm and we stack tractor weights on it. We only had to use 100# of weights today.

The plan was to send the Apprentice back to the fence supply pile for a gate, there were three places on the farm she could find extra railroad ties, she needed to grab used T-posts from another spot and then grab the high tension wire that was on the ground near a culvert. I also have blocked off the wheat field access, I just covered it up with woven wire. This proved very problematic. You have to drive all the way down to field #3 to get out into the wheat field road before you can then drive up alongside the fields and get out onto the gravel road. We had to put one railroad tie on that fence alongside the road. She needed to deliver that said post. I thought I had explained the correct path. When she showed up in field #1 with the post and asked me how to get to the hole I had to reiterate all of the instructions, except this time she did not have to find the railroad tie, she had that. The tie got delivered to the correct spot and then she was supposed to get used T posts and the high tension wire.

Mr Rainman and I managed to get almost all of the railroad ties and cedar posts set when I asked him if he could see the Apprentice. Nope, it turns out that she drove past the used pile of T-posts six times and missed them every time. She had to drive down to the house and dig into the used post pile we have behind the grain bins.

Mr Rainman had to run to the house for a break so I asked him to grab a gate behind the grain bins. He comes rattling down the field with this super fancy very nice gate, not the gate from behind the grain bins. He states that I told him to go down to four corners and get that gate. You could not have picked a further spot from where we were fencing! He had to drive back and drop it off and get the gate we needed from behind the grain bins.

The only consistency here is me. I was the one giving instructions. There may have been some ambiguity present that I did not realize was present! The Apprentice and I got four sets of H braces built. She kept after it. As we were putting in the high tension tighteners she was having trouble using the fencing pliers, no grip strength. I gave her shit for not using the grip strengthener exercise I had told her about. She wants to be a farrier and will need to be able to hold onto the tools even when tired. She then voiced that she has been hurting all over her body since starting to work for me! Her hands hurt, her feet, her legs, her arms and her back all hurt all of the time! I laughed and told her mine do also but we still have to get stuff done. Say what you will, but the Apprentice just keeps coming back for more work. She digs in and just works at it until it is completed. You simply cannot ask for more and it is nice knowing she shows up to getter done. In a month, she goes off to school, so I will be keeping her as busy as possible until then.

Big surprise, we did not see a coyote that could be shot at. There was one across the street on the neighbors place but it was gone in about five seconds. I was up at 0115 due to the puppy barking, I went outside with a flashlight, suppressed 22 pistol and two extra clips to check on the ewe carcass we had left in the orchard, nothing there.

Barn Dig out completed

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Last week went fast and slow at the same time. The Apprentice stated that she wanted to work. The barn needs dug out and I have to go to the paying job. This seemed like a match made in heaven, to me. I attempted to teach The Apprentice how to drive the little tractor in and out of the barn. It is a tight fit and you have to watch the rear tires and the front bucket simultaneously so you don’t smash either one into the barn or knock out a roof support. After 20 minutes I realized that the time to just get in and out of the barn was going to be too long. So I had the Apprentice start shoveling the barn in areas the tractor would not go. I used the tractor to break up stuff it could reach and had the Apprentice make a long pile of poop in the center of the barn. She kept digging every day and I had to come home, eat dinner and then go out on the tractor and spend a couple of hours digging out the piles that were made in the center of the barn. She had that entire thing done in four days!

The barn floor is now drying out before we lay down some new bedding. I have to repair three boards that I managed to tear up with the tractor. This is only the second time I have torn up some boards when I was digging out the floor with the tractor. I just have to screw down three 4 foot long boards. It will take the impact driver to get the screws into the ancient wood I reused as the subfloor.

I had the Apprentice attempt to clean up the ground outside the barn with the tractor. The wind was blowing and after she ate about a half a pound of dust and poop she called it a day. I will have to come back later to scrape the ground clean. The Apprentice wanted to keep working but we were headed out of town on Friday so the apprentice agreed to come out early on Saturday and we would start in on the fence around field #1. I need to get that field fence up so the cows and sheep can get in there and eat it down. I have also been spending some time in the evenings picking blackberries. Annmarie uses them in her breakfast smoothies and we freeze them in individual serving portions. I have been picking wild blackberries and our domesticated thornless ones. The domesticated ones are huge in comparison to the wild, but the wild ones are much sweeter. The domesticated ones also have NO thorns, it is so pleasant to pick them. My hands look like I have been dragging them through rose bushes after picking wild berries for a couple of days. I was able to swing a deal with a friend for jam. I pick the blackberries and they make the jam! This way we both get some. They don’t like the hornets. I have not been stung a single time by hornets this year. I have managed to “pick” a couple off the blackberry bushes that I thought were fruit. It’s always a surprise when you go to put it in the bucket. I wash it, measure it and freeze it in known quantities so we can use it for jam and pies later in the year. I need to pick about four more gallons.

12 cups of wild blackberries

Alpaca are sheared!

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I was able to finally catch up with a new helper, The Apprentice. They messaged me this morning and stated they could come out later in the day. This gave me enough time to work on some inside chores and do some laundry. I like to write blog entries on Sunday morning. I made breakfast shit on a shingle as there was extra time. It turned out very nice, I sent a picture to the child as she was not here for breakfast.

Once The Apprentice messaged me I headed out to get ready. The third manure spreader needed to be unloaded so I picked it off of the trailer with the tractor and put it next to the other two. We flipped gates and got everything ready to push the alpaca up toward the barn. We walked down and I fed apple slices to the three Musketeers and Snoop on the way to the barn and The Apprentice walked behind them encouraging them to follow. Once we got them into the barn lot we snagged one and let the games begin. They are so painful to shear. I had to use two blades for each alpaca. I really needed three blades. I think if we had done them earlier in the year there would not have been as much grit, dirt and rocks at the base of the hair. This would have made the blades last longer.

At one point on the last alpaca as I am trying to milk the second to last blade I stopped cutting any hair. Yet I still managed to slice out a divot of skin from my left thumb tip about 3/32” deep. It bled a lot. The Apprentice told me to just pore some of the powder dust for the alpaca toes onto my wound. It’s some kind of styptic powder designed to stop the bleed. I did it and it burns! The blood kept breaking through so I had to go find a first aid kit, a nonstick cotton pad and a roll of tape to get the bleeding stopped. I then forced my left hand into a leather glove to hold it all together. This worked very well for controlling the bleeding. I managed to barely get the last alpaca sheared. I had to use an old blade to get the final hair cut off.

We then went out to check on the red plums in the orchard, they were overripe and had fallen off the tree. I tossed them over the fence to the sheep. The Italian plums are just starting to turn colors so I give them 1-3 weeks still. The nectarines were all red and fairly big but still very hard. I think they need another 1-2 weeks. We tossed apples over the fence to the sheep and the Asian Pear has another 1-2 weeks. I will need to pay better attention to the orchard for the next 3 weeks. We swung by the garden and picked 3 pints of blackberries. Annmarie will now have fresh fruit for breakfast.

We then went out to the barn to discuss how to dig it out with the tractor. I had forgotten how hard it is to drive the little tractor in and out of the barn. After walking The Apprentice through the process I decided that they could dig out the edges of the barn and hand dig the momma baby area. The tractor can be used to move the debris once it is tossed outside the barn. They will be out in the morning to give it a whack. We will see.

When I came inside and took the bandage off of my injured finger it was black from the weird styptic powder. After a shower the edges of the wound are black. I think I chemically cauterized the wounds with the styptic powder. It never started bleeding again even after I held it under the shower for 10 minutes. Now I will have to wear a weird bandaid until it heals.

Mowing lawn

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It’s hot in Eastern Oregon, this means everything that doesn’t have water on it all the time is dead, brown and ready to burn. Due to the coyote problem we are now feeding the sheep last years hay in the ram pasture so they cannot get out to be coyote food. We have been watering our front hillside to get the clover well established. It is loving the heat and the water. I decided it was time to let the sheep into the yard. Now after the earlier fiasco this summer with the puppy jumping the back yard fence to get in with the sheep we cannot use the back yard fence as containment anymore. So we are resigned to using the two overhead runs we have in the front yard. The runs work well but the dogs are used to tearing up the front yard and running all over usually. They don’t like the runs. Unfortunately, the sheep getting chased all over the front lawn is a bigger problem so the dogs get some run time.

The screwy part of this is that the puppy, Chance, has been doing great on the 30’ lead when working the animals. She listens, she stops, she goes left/right, rarely do you have to use the lead to stop her. She is just over 1 year old but doing very well. This lulled me into complacency. Friday I put both dogs in the back yard, opened the gate with them both laying down and then took chance by the collar while Mouse stayed down at the open gate. After Chance was on the run, I got Mouse, no problems. The sheep got to stay in all day and at dinner time I ran them out of the yard. They wanted back in at one point for an evening snack but I told them they would have to wait until the next day.

Saturday, I was feeling pretty confident. I let the sheep into the front yard and got the dogs into the back yard again. I opened the gate, both dogs were in a down position and I took Mouse first this time. I was almost to the run, 6 seconds, before Chance broke and took off after the sheep. Fifty sheep tearing up the yard is rough on standing structures, two sheep almost knocked themselves out by hitting the upright grape posts, one sheep slid across the bridge and pushed out the paneling to fall off the bridge, two smashed into the already sheep broken outside lamp. I could not call the puppy off. I was standing in front of the sheep trying to get her attention when she singled one out. She just kept after it. I finally tossed a very large branch at her along with an impressive amount of vocal discouragement. I missed her but the combination got her attention and she ran off to an empty hillside. Annmarie had heard me “discussing” the sheep issue with the dog and hollered out for her to lay down, she did. I calmed down and was able to tell her to stay and walked over to her and got her collar and walked her to the run. The hardest part is to praise her for listening. The sheep got to finish eating in peace. Last night I again used the lead and she pushed them out of the yard without incident.

Sunday morning I again let sheep into the yard and put the dogs on the run. I used a leash and took Chance first! Mouse tried to rush past me when I wasn’t looking but he will drop at command as long as he is not locked in on an animal. I got him on the run. Now here is the weird part if we leave the dogs loose they will harass the sheep incessantly. But if we put them on the run I cannot count on the dogs to keep the sheep away from my plants! The dogs will lay down, hold still and allow the sheep to come in and eat the yard around them. The dogs are not even suckering them in close. They will just lay there and let the sheep eat. It is so weird!! The puppy is on the right side of the picture and our older dog is on the far left side. Neither one is reaching for or harassing the sheep. The dogs obviously got the instructions for the leads memorized. I think, they think, they are still on a lead and are following our instructions.

Annmarie got our upstairs bathroom panels covered with cloth. She just needs to run a ribbon around the edges. We needed stronger magnets if we were going to run the fabric over the edges and over the magnets. She tried and it did not work. It looks good and the fabric was a gift from a friend who is no longer. We can look at it and remember her every day.

Barn dig out happening

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I happened to have Tuesday off this week so I spent it fencing! I need to dig some fence post holes but the dead of summer is the wrong time for this to happen. I pulled on the broken railroad tie and fenced over the gate opening. I drove in T posts on either side of the railroad tie and wired it to them. Then I was able to drive in three T posts over the opening. I stretched out fence and tightened it all down. I am now about half way down the fence alongside the wheat field. I am going to continue the fence repair along the road next. This means I will only need to install one new section of fence along the creek side. I need the animals to get into field #1 to eat, half the field is still green due to subterranean water. I need about three days with a helper to get this done. Alone takes about 125% more time. Some things just take longer alone.

Thursday, Mr Flow came out for a couple of hours and dug out the chicken coop. I went and bought more wood pellets to put in there. I use the deep litter method and only dig it out once a year. The wood pellets work great to absorb moisture and keep the smell down. I get the cheapest kind they have, made here in Reith.

The plan on Friday was for him to come out and help me shear the last three alpaca. Nope, he got sick and called off around starting time. I cannot shear the alpaca alone, it takes at least two people and when they are not cooperating that is a hard two. I decided that I might as well start in on digging out the barn as it needed to be done also. It took a couple of hours to tear apart all of the panels and drag them outside. I have to leave one section as it is permanently attached to the wall. The sheep kept jumping over two gates so I created permanent panels to stop that and they cannot be removed.

I managed to get the manure forks installed on the John Deere tractor bucket and started digging out the barn. The tractor is small enough to get in and out of the barn. After two days of digging it out I am about 60% completed and I have only been at it about 7 hours so far. Yesterday, the tractor overtemp light came on. I ended up having to blow down the entire tractor, clean out the radiator and I even took out the air filter and cleaned it out. The tractor has two air filters, one inside the other and the inner was clean. Once I had it all cleaned out and filled with fuel I was able to go right back to digging out the barn. I have it dug out far enough I have to use the pitchfork and shovel out the edges and near the feeders. I just toss it into the middle and scoop it up with the tractor. For some reason I did not use a hat, just a do rag on my head and by that evening I had a lot of sun on my face! The horse has been bugging me while I am doing this so I took the time to give her a total brush down and brushed out her mane and tail. She just stands there and lets me do it.

Annmarie sent me a link from someone who wants to work before going to college. So far, in two days I have not been able to connect or get a commitment. I am hopeful I can as I would like them to help me with the alpaca. I am hopeful they will reach out on Sunday. She also sent me some information on old equipment for sale, yard ornament type. The exact same manure spreader that I already have two of was for sale! I called and got the third one! I will now have enough parts to get one going for sure. I had to back the trailer up to it, toss down the ramps and come a long it into the back of the trailer. It took about 30 minutes to get it onto the trailer. I will pick it off with the tractor forks. It will be a lot easier that way! She had an old 10’ hay rake but honestly it makes the piles too big for my baler and I am looking at putting less money into the farm not more.

One of the staff at the hospital had asked if her son’s could come out and shoot at the coyotes. I totally agreed to that. They have been out several times in the last week without coyote success. They are working on the pigeon problem. We had none this spring and now have about ten. They multiply rapidly if not kept in check. We are starting to have problems with ring neck doves again also. They are pushing out the native doves. One of the boys, now called Mr Hornet Tamer, has been walking all over the property scouting coyotes. He has found their crossing points and two old dens so far. Unfortunately for him, he also found the hornets living in one of the gates. The gates are metal tubes and the hornets love building nests in them. I usually pay attention and just open the gate quickly. He got popped several times and then called his mom to tell her he was going to the ER. She made him drive back out to me while I was building fence. Nah, he just needed some Benadryl. He slept most of the next day I am told. He did come out later in the week!