Setting Up Fence

In the spring, one of our jobs that has to be done is getting the paddocks all set up for the cows to rotate. We do what is called "intensive rotational grazing". The girls go to a different pasture almost daily, depending how quickly they eat the grass down. By having several paddocks set up, this ensures that we will be able to have fresh grass all summer into the fall, instead of letting the girls tramp down their fields and run out of grass.

My job is to carry the "reel". It's a reel that is attached to a heavy metal post and I unreel the electric wire as my husband, Al carries the plastic step in posts and sets them where he needs them, and hitches the wire onto them.  After that is done, we check to make sure that the water lines are in good shape, no leaks, etc. And we make sure that the water tank fills up with water, and doesn't overflow or quit working.

When doing the fence and water line work,I'm pretty sure we get at least a mile of walking in.  It feels good too, this time of year isn't too hot or cold. Now if we had to do this in the heat of the summer, forget it!

We make sure we enjoy our work as we walk along. Nothing like being back away from everything, cars, telephone, tv, etc. It is so quiet back at our pond, except for the birds, frogs and wind.  That is my kind of day! Emily thinks its great to stop by the stream and look for tadpoles and snails.  She took a container this time, but wasn't able to catch the tadpoles.  They are really big, and fast. 

Cheese make day tomorrow...so I need to scoot and get some stuff done. Before we make cheese tomorrow, I have to run a few boxes of cheese to the UPS drop off and get them shipped out, and we have a customer stopping by around noon.  I'll be getting her order cut and ready for tomorrow.

Enjoy the week! Looks to be sunny around here! Glad for the dry weather, we'll get a lot of outside stuff done before it's time to head to the hayfields.

our fancy buckets of fence supplies

walking the water lines, looking for leaks

Al and Emily working on a leak that they found. And yes

she's wearing a hair net! lol We just got an order of hairnets in

for the cheese house, and she wanted to wear one.

hitching up the water so that will fill

up the water tank

Al and Emily, making sure the water is filling up the tank

I was done with my job, and took a breather at the top of

the hill, Al was still putting fence posts in the ground and

Emily was having fun playing with dandelion poofs

We're below our pond, heading home. That's our buildings

in the distance

Our pond, facing our buildings

Annie goes for a swim

Daddy & Emily looking for stuff in the stream.

A tadpole

Emily trying to scoop up some water snails