The southeast pasture project

Last May, I built a temporary fence around a small pasture in the corner of the ranch to keep the boys contained while I dealt with an outbreak of locoweed. That pasture has come in handy many times since then, so early in January, when the weather was warm and beautful, I decided to replace it with a permanent fence. I hired a local ranch hand to pound in the t-posts and do the welded-pipe corners. He got most of the job done the day before the storm of the century moved in. With any luck, he'll be able to get back to finish up this week.

When we started this project, I was in no particular hurry. Now I am. Lucy's coming soon and I want this new pasture to be available for her. It remains to be seen how the herd dynamics will shake out with her arrival, and I need to be prepared to pasture her separately if the boys don't behave themselves.

Anyway, time's a wasting, so even though Sunday was freakin' cold and windy wasn't ideal for fence-building, I bundled up and headed out to install the t-post tops and connectors so that I will be ready to string the electric tape as soon as the corners are done.

George and Alan: Here we come to help you, mom!

Uh, thanks but no, boys. That kind of help I don't need. My real helper in this project was the Ranger. I loaded it up with all the fence parts, tools, and extra clothes I thought I'd need, then used it to travel back and forth to the garage five more times to fetch all the stuff I didn't think I'd need. 

When all was said and done, I got all the caps and connectors installed without frostbite too much trouble. The hardest part was pulling the cable ties tight.  I  They can be so disagreeable when  I'm  they're cold.