Sunday, August 21, 2011

Some searches take years!

I bought my 5 acres of rolling hills, oak and chokecherry trees eight years ago next month. The property has an approach and a flat acre of knee high deer corn. The corn got scraped off with a skid loader and stakes set where the buildings would set. It was my brain kid working with a vision, the house goes up on the rise, later I would find out the rise was an old rock pile.....my manufactured home is not on frost piers but anchored to a $7,000 engineered concrete slab!
The farmstead took shape. I planted perrenial flower beds, pine grove to the west, shrubs and flowers along the barn, fenced my 4 acre pasture slowly with steel T posts and hog panel....I hadn't the strength to roll out sheep netting and stretch it......and then spend years every Spring tightening the woven wire.....so I used hog panels, set up a few a day then rested, pulled panels through prickly ash/buck brush......up and down the slopes. My years of hard work.....for my weakned state. [my soon to be ex-wife never ventured out to help, my cousins came to help, she stayed inside.'nough said]   I have to say my place looks great.
Fletcher "Three Oaks" was inspired by my mom who was helping stake out the buildings, in the background of the farm stead stand 3 massive oaks.........one to the west, one north and one east. For 8 years I have been searching for nice shade tree to sit under..........neighbors Lloyd and Carolyn- they sold me the 5 acres-- came by a month ago, Carolyn said I found your shade tree..dumbfounded I said "where" That massive oak west of your house and flower garden. All you have to do is move back the sheep fence,  The light dawned in the dark abyss! How simple.   I moved 80 feet of sheep fence--hog pnaels and T posts back 16 ft.....now I have "Liberty Oak". I picked the rock, mowed the tall grass........lawn. I planted shrubs along the fence...yes far enough away so my ewes can't prune them for me. Lloyd with his loader moved the rocks from around Liberty so it would be safe for my grandkids to swing from the new tire swing.  The rocks gone left a dirt patch so another flower bed was planted,,,lilies and hydrangea bushes......adding more next Spring as I divide up some older clumps in the other bed.  I bought a swing set. [ no one to veto my ideas, so I do as I like!]
Now way back when I was 12, we went to 4-H at a neighbor's farm. They had a white board fence around their barn yard. I was impressed and said to myself someday I am going to have a white fence. Well pricing on the fancy PCV fences are beyond the grasp of this frugal German.  So I studied on it. 10 foot sections of two 6 inch wide boards on 2x4 posts 42" high....with a 4 ft break between sections.....hmmmm and attached to the existing fence.  My fence by Liberty Oak........looks great - yes my opinion and everyone that sees it. So I bought for lumber to build more fence from my house to the barn along the existing fence--9 sections. It takes me longer than most as limited vision and my strength/energy allow, but I got the time and perseverance....

Jerry
Project pictures


1 comment:

Michelle said...

Wonderful! Isn't it funny how we can miss an obvious solution?