Outdoors - Fencing

   Owning land means being responsible for fences. It is an unfortunate part of life. One would think a person would have less problem with newer fences than old, but this is not the case. A fence that has stood the ravages of time, nature and cows for twenty years will probably be trouble free for twenty more. A newer fence will have every disaster known to man happen to it the first five years of existence. I had one stretch of fence, about a half mile long, that was well past its useful life. I guessed it to be seventy-five years old by dating the antique barbed wire on it. Large sections of it were rusting away, so I decided to replace it a couple of years ago. Two major causes of damage to a fence are trees falling on it and deer running through it. Not much can be done to stop the deer as it seems to take five to ten years for them to learn there is a fence there and jump over it instead of trying to run through it. Trees, on the other hand, can be cleared so they do not fall on the fence when they blow down.

   When the time came to replace this section of fence, I hired a dozer to come in and clear the run where the new fence would be. The trees were pushed out of the right of way about fifty feet on each side. There was enough firewood to last several people several years. After the new fence was put in and I seeded down the bare ground, I stood back taking in the beauty of it all. I admired the clearing thinking I would no longer have to fight my way up and down hills through the thick timber to patch up pieces of deteriorating fence that some cow decided to wander through.

   This weekend, my wife, dogs and I were cruising around the farm on the Ranger. We happened to drive near this new fence and noticed a few trees blown down. A sixty-foot tree standing fifty feet from the fence will hit the fence with only the top ten feet of the tree. The problem with this is, a tree is much wider at the top than the bottom. A tree close to a fence will destroy a small section when the trunk falls on it. The spreading crown of a tree hitting the fence will take out three sections and require an hour’s worth of chainsaw work to clear all the branches before fence repair can begin.

   Having brought the chainsaw with us, I started clearing while my wife and the dogs searched for shed antlers, or rabbits, or anything else that interested them. Before repair could begin, we had to make one return trip to the house to get wire and fencing tools. On the return trip we also found a couple of places where the deer had broken the top wire on the fence. It must be just a bit taller than they expected. A few hours later, the new fence was as good as new again. My hands were sore and I acquired a few wood ticks, but the fence was again cow tight. My wife and the dogs had a good time exploring while getting their quota of fresh air and exercise. Though not as planned, we all had a good day in the woods and pasture.