Pasture Deconstruction

I didn't feel like getting up today!!!  I slept on my arm wrong or something, because I had a crazy pain in my neck.  It would last the entire day...I couldn't turn my head sideways today.  For whatever reason, this waking up in pain stuff is becoming more and more common.  It's either my bed, my daily activities, my lack of daily activities otherwise, or something, but it's getting pretty old.

But work needed to be done!

I headed to Tractor Supply Company to buy a 16-foot cattle/hog panel fence.  I wanted to replace the wooden fence that is now only held up by baling wire.  Of course, while there, I had to take a look at the little chickies.  And wouldn't ya know it, they were marked off!  It was a flash sale!  The $2.99 birds were only 50 cents apiece!  I needed some roosters, so I grabbed several birds.  I picked up 7 fully-feathered older ones (probably around 5 weeks) and five small ones (probably two weeks).  I have a broody hen that I might as well let be a mother.  13 chicks for the normal price of two.  Done deal.

Once at the farm, I put all 13 chicks in the coop.  The six older ones adjusted well.  The five little ones I tried to place underneath the broody hen.  You are supposed to do this during the evening, but I didn't want the chicks to wait all day in the cold temperatures.  So I tried to sneak them under momma.  She took to a few of them...but not all.

The broody Delaware hen sitting on her new babies!

I picked up seven fully-feathered chicks, as well.

It was a bit chilly this morning (upper 40's), and the rain started around 10:00 A.M.  The radar showed a wide mess of rain, too.  But again, I had work to do!

If the pigs can eat in the rain, then I can surely work in the rain!

It was sloppy today.  Hours and hours of a gentle yet cold rain.

So I worked in the rain.  I first installed the fence panel on the east side of the pasture.  I already had three large telephone poles as supports.  Unfortunately, the area was about 18-19 feet wide instead of just 16, so I had to use a smaller fence (which I had) to fill the gap.  I added two T-posts to hold that up.

Once that was up, I knocked down the wooden fence, and what a difference!!!  I LOVE the new view!  When you look west now, you can see wide-open pasture.  Granted, the pasture is all mud, but it still looks so much better.  Before, the wooden fence just acted as a blockade more than anything.

The old barn and the large wooden fence just held up by baling wire.

The old wood fence is down, and the new metal fence is up!

What I started with...

What I ended with!

The fence is so heavy that I decided to dismantle it to better handle the wood.  And I have never seen so many screws!  Each board had probably 20 screws holding it in.  On the front side, three held it together to the vertical brace.  But once you had those out, the board never moved.  It was only then that you realized that two screws came through the back side, too.  It's almost as if the owner didn't understand how screws worked.  Three on the front and two on the back is beyond overkill.  It created quite the undertaking for dismantling.

The fence is now dismantled!

Once that fence was apart (finally), I decided to start on the cattle chute.  It was a bit tricky even knowing where to begin, so I just started finding screws and taking them out.  One...two...three...ten...twenty...thirty.  SO MANY SCREWS.  Yet the chute wasn't coming apart.  The way the chute was designed, the screws acted in combination with wood overlap and bolts.  Lots and lots of bolts.

So I just kept looking for screws.  50...60...70...80...the rain kept coming down, and my drill battery decided to take a break.  I was getting pretty soaked by this point, so I, too, decided to break for lunch.  I also had to do some Mother's Day shopping for tomorrow.  Both were a success.

Once back at the farm, I kept going after the chute.  The more time wore on, the more I realized that I didn't think I could complete this project in one day.  Which was crazy to think about when you looked at it.  It was just a cattle chute, right?!

But I plodded away.  More screws.  100...110...120...then bolts.  I climbed up the fence on either side to start working on the contraption on top.  The chute wood was sooooooooo slick.  It was a combination of thick green algae, treated lumber, and rain.  I mean, this was some dangerous stuff.  My tennis shoes had zero traction.

So many screws and bolts removed today!

And think about this (as I did).  I was standing there on top of the fence, balanced on the slippery sides left and right.  I thought as I felt the upper portion give way, "There is no greater challenge than trying to stand on the very structure you are dismantling below you."  And I kind of gave it a chuckle as I contemplated the idea.  Yes, it was a challenge.  The south side upper portion was now swaying back and forth, and it had come loose from the bottom side which was now wavering.

I put my foot or feet (I don't remember) on the gate in between the two sides.  And just seconds after thinking the thought about how challenging (exciting) it was, my feet gave way.  It happened so quick, but I DISTINCTLY remember thinking, "Oh, this is going to be way bad," as I tumbled.  There was literally no good way for this to end below me.  I was getting ready to drop right on my man parts on top of the fence, so I twisted sideways, and my foot hit something else, as my arms flew up to grab something (anything) that wasn't really there.  I ended up catching something, stretching my arms way out of whack, and twisting sideways.

I had managed a very disgraceful albeit decent fall.  I didn't hurt.  I'm not saying I felt great, but I REALLY knew how bad this should have been.  It's one of those falls that just don't end well...as in damage to a body for several days...or weeks...or life.  It was quite disconcerting.  I literally said a prayer of thanks, because I really don't think it should have ended how it did.

Wow!

But I still had work to do, so I climbed right back up there and kept going at it.

I spent HOURS dismantling this chute.  Once I was able to remove the top pieces, the area took on a bit of a different look.  But I still had so much wood to take apart.  I literally ran through the entire battery AGAIN on my drill.  There was just that many screws.

The top portion is now off, but the bottom remains!

But I was starting to see progress.  The area still didn't look pretty, but at least you could start to see change.  Mom asked if I was still down at the property around 6:30, and I said, "Oh yes."  So she and Dad came down to see what I had accomplished today.  With them there, I used their muscles to move two of the massive fences around.  I would estimate these weighing a few hundred pounds apiece.  They are connected together with nails bent over at the back.  In other words, a pain in the butt.  They are either to be sold...or dismantled with a saw, because undoing all of those nails would just be a waste.  But it's such good wood!

To the left and right of the chute were two large homemade wooden fences.  The wood is never-ending here!

One of the wooden fences.  Too heavy to move by one's self!

I would imagine I probably have well over $1000 in wood here.  Probably closer to $2000.  When I built a backyard shed several years ago, I ended up spending just under $1000...and that wood wasn't even treated.  These treated boards are just expensive.  I could literally build another shed with the wood...and it would be crazy sturdy!  I have so many 2 x 6's.  I even thought about building a bigger chicken coop with a walk-in door or a three-sided pig shelter.  There is just that much wood.

Those piles represent a LOT of work.

All of the wood dismantled from the last couple of days.

I finally called it a night around 7:45 P.M.  I was pretty exhausted.  The area DOES look better...sorta.  It's a wild difference from what I purchased several weeks ago, yet with the posts still in the ground, the lumpy concrete, the piles of wood, and the large amount of concrete and brick debris, the area still doesn't look very attractive.  Yes, it's a welcome change, but there is still so much more to do here.  But when it is finally clear and turned into grass, wow, what a massive yard I will have.  I will certainly have to turn it to pasture.  It's just too much to mow.

The area is slowly opening up.  I would LOVE to see green grass all the way around that barn!

It's just hard to see that right now.  You have to really look past the mess...and a mess it is.

With the chute now dismantled, all you see is a mess of broken concrete, concrete blocks, bricks, and poles!

But all in all, a really good day.  Unfortunately, I already lost two of the baby chicks.  I think two momma's are fighting over the chicks, and one has not taken too kindly to them.  It's amazing just how cruel momma chickens can be.  Here's to hoping the other three make it with the ferocity of a broody hen.

Little by little.  I have to keep reminding myself that this farm is a long-term project.  I'm just getting caught up in the never-ending day-to-day projects.  I feel like I did so much more than what I see today!  But it's a job that had to be done.  Picture results or not, someone had to dismantle all of those screws.

The final tally at the end of the day.  Yikes!

What I started with when I bought the property vs. what I ended with after today.

What used to be a mess of fence is now opening up to become a nice pasture of green grass.

Little by little.