Don't Fence Me In (or out)

Just in case you think we haven't been doing anything. Tim finished piping the overflow out to the ditch, put in the beginnings of a driveway on the far side, and, as a sideline, spent two days working with the road crew to put culvert pipe and fill in our front ditch. In the mean time, the weather has not been condusive to working outside. The winds have been high, and the temperatures low. Still, last Friday, he and the neighbor layed out the four corners of the garden fence and did some preliminary excavation. They also cut the cattle panels for the long sides in half, and welded a new rod into the end of each so we didn't have to lose a whole square. This is necessary, because the long sides are on a slight slope, and we are stepping each 8 foot panel down an inch and a half to flollow the slope. Then, when I came home from work today, I had the beginnings of a fence.



I wasn't expecting Tim to auger the holes, and set a corner post himself. Usually running the auger is easier with a helper on the ground. And setting 6x6 posts by yourself is sort of a pain. But I think he was just itching to see some fencing. I know I was. There will be a 2x4 running along the top of each panel, and a 2x6 skirt board along the bottom. The posts will be cut down. Then he is going to drill for a electric fence rod in the top of each post, and run a hot wire 2 feet above the panels to discourage the deer from jumping over (which we've learned they will if we don't run a wire).

In addition, as a bonus for working with the road crew for two days, Tim networked and found a section of 24" culvert pipe. This stuff runs $18 a foot, and you would have to buy a whole length of it. So, getting a 4 foot scrap for free was a real treat. This will go over the man hole on the water tank, and be back filled. Tim will fashion an accessible lid so we can get to the tank clean out. I'll find a sun dial, bird bath or planter or something to disguise the lid. Right now it sort of looks like the beginnings of a creative playground in our back yard.




ON the planting front, my tomato and eggplants have just about outgrown their grow lights. I am putting off transplanting them into gallon containers because even though they are pretty well hardened off, the night time temps have been low enough that I would have to move over 2 dozen pots into the garage every night, and I am delaying that hassle for as long as I can. I think I might transplant the tallest tomatoes tomorrow. Then I will only have to wrangle half a dozen pots each morning and night. I am lookiong forward to having a cold frame to eliminate some of this hassle next year.