Preparing for a Fence

There are a lot of first's for me now that we're farming. Putting up a fence is one of those things that in my mind didn't seem too difficult. I figured the worst part would be digging holes since we have an abundance of rocks around here. Nope, that may still end up being it, but so far it has been the rose bushes. Not the pretty little roses retirees grow in front of their homes. These are the multiflora rose bushes. Here is a great description of them. My favorite line: "Do not plant multiflora rose." Back in the day, they thought it would be a good animal barrier. Maybe so but when you remove animals from the land, the roses take over. In order to get a fence line cleared out, I've been beating and cutting these bushes for almost 2 weeks now. Finally, the fence line is clear! It's such a relief. My body is scratched, my hands ache, and my feet are really starting to feel the pain of standing and climbing up and down the side of a mountain. It is so worth it though. The goats love rose bushes so they get to take care of the rest of them!

It's so refreshing to work outside that I actually enjoy the aches and pains at the end of the day. Here are some of the views from the top of the future fence line.

Looking behind me at the path that has been cleared. We're lucky enough that the deer keep this part of the property trampled down.

Another view from the top

Looking over towards the rock quarry. You can almost escape the noise of the dump trucks from this high up.

I'm slightly jealous of our neighbors property. Somehow, he doesn't have a single rose bush!!

Marcell looks pretty amazed at how big that tree is

Looking up into the big tree. I love trees. They're all so unique and beautiful.

Marcell, our cat, was my hiking buddy yesterday. He didn't know what to think about all the noises and things going on around him. His eyes were huge the entire walk. Maybe he was waiting to pounce on something or perhaps he was terrified of all the new surroundings. He was a great hiking partner until we got back down to the goats. He's familiar with Sunny, the baby, but he's never met Daisy before. Her size and spastic ways seemed to frighten Marcell. Mama carried him out of the woods and back to the house while earning a few more scratches.