Update
Dec. 20th, 2025 08:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ranunculusI just ate a lovely pickled okra. So yummy. Must grow more okra next year...
Yesterday before our work on the Red Barn, Donald and I worked on the road. It was pelting down rain which is ideal for showing just exactly where to use the shovel. I got involved with some blackberry vines down by the neighbor's pond and have several nasty scratches which are still making a nuisance of themselves. We got wet enough that we had to turn around and get dry clothes before going to the barn. Fortunately it isn't cold.
Yesterday night I got a text that there were cows out in the horse pastures. Cody said he'd come in the morning.
Today the Fence Charger project began with running a new ground wire from the outlet on the southeast side of the barn through the 4 tackroom light fixtures and then through the new conduit to the new outlet on the northeast corner. The outlet works properly, the fence charger got moved to its new location. We cleaned up and headed home. I had just sat down in my easy chair when the sense that "something wasn't right" turned into "I know what I forgot!" While I -had- grounded the outlet to the regular barn grounding system, I had NOT run the 8 feet of wire needed to hook the fence charger to the special fence charger ground. This is bad because fence chargers burn up if they don't have a ground. Donald and I jumped in the car and ran back down. It didn't take long to run that last cable (and for Donald to find the missing hammer). Once again we cleaned up noting that tack room #1 needed a new light fixture (simple pull chain light).
Meanwhile, back at the Ranch, Cody was continuing to be puzzled by the actions of the cows. They have been bunched up pushing on the fences, trying to get out, ever since he put them in Jungle pasture. These include old cows that have been coming to that pasture for 10+ years and have never caused problems. Yesterday they were all in. Today most of them had leaked through the fences into the pastures to the south. I want to put up a trail cam and see if we can figure out what was scaring them. The older cows have years of living with mountain lions and bears. They aren't especially afraid of them as neither a black bear or a mountain lion will usually attack a 1,200 # cow. Calves yes, but there are only two, fairly big calves with the herd and they are fine. Coyotes aren't a threat. Dogs will run cows but usually they will leave marks on the cows, shredded ears, bitten off tails or bites on the legs. None of that is apparent on these cows. For now we have let the herd into the House pasture where they are much more content.
Because the cows moved into the House pasture we closed the gates around the house itself and turned on the electric fence. Mostly this is to keep the cows out of the area directly in front of the house. When Donald and I returned for the second time I wanted to double check that the fence was on. It was, but Donald noticed that the fence was "snapping" near one gate post. Snapping indicates a short to ground which is bad. I know this particular problem, it has been an issue in the past. I think the wire that runs under the road was done with the same batch of wire that failed at the Red Barn. After a rather lame attempt to patch it, we pulled a new wire through the pipe that runs under the driveway. Really didn't take long, but it was getting dark and the third flashlight of the day had dying batteries. It was sprinkling on and off. We turned on the power and then had to replace the last 8 feet of electric fence tape which clearly had broken some of it's tiny wires and was also shorting. The final test of the fence showed it to be good. By then it was full dark and definitely time to go in.
Yesterday before our work on the Red Barn, Donald and I worked on the road. It was pelting down rain which is ideal for showing just exactly where to use the shovel. I got involved with some blackberry vines down by the neighbor's pond and have several nasty scratches which are still making a nuisance of themselves. We got wet enough that we had to turn around and get dry clothes before going to the barn. Fortunately it isn't cold.
Yesterday night I got a text that there were cows out in the horse pastures. Cody said he'd come in the morning.
Today the Fence Charger project began with running a new ground wire from the outlet on the southeast side of the barn through the 4 tackroom light fixtures and then through the new conduit to the new outlet on the northeast corner. The outlet works properly, the fence charger got moved to its new location. We cleaned up and headed home. I had just sat down in my easy chair when the sense that "something wasn't right" turned into "I know what I forgot!" While I -had- grounded the outlet to the regular barn grounding system, I had NOT run the 8 feet of wire needed to hook the fence charger to the special fence charger ground. This is bad because fence chargers burn up if they don't have a ground. Donald and I jumped in the car and ran back down. It didn't take long to run that last cable (and for Donald to find the missing hammer). Once again we cleaned up noting that tack room #1 needed a new light fixture (simple pull chain light).
Meanwhile, back at the Ranch, Cody was continuing to be puzzled by the actions of the cows. They have been bunched up pushing on the fences, trying to get out, ever since he put them in Jungle pasture. These include old cows that have been coming to that pasture for 10+ years and have never caused problems. Yesterday they were all in. Today most of them had leaked through the fences into the pastures to the south. I want to put up a trail cam and see if we can figure out what was scaring them. The older cows have years of living with mountain lions and bears. They aren't especially afraid of them as neither a black bear or a mountain lion will usually attack a 1,200 # cow. Calves yes, but there are only two, fairly big calves with the herd and they are fine. Coyotes aren't a threat. Dogs will run cows but usually they will leave marks on the cows, shredded ears, bitten off tails or bites on the legs. None of that is apparent on these cows. For now we have let the herd into the House pasture where they are much more content.
Because the cows moved into the House pasture we closed the gates around the house itself and turned on the electric fence. Mostly this is to keep the cows out of the area directly in front of the house. When Donald and I returned for the second time I wanted to double check that the fence was on. It was, but Donald noticed that the fence was "snapping" near one gate post. Snapping indicates a short to ground which is bad. I know this particular problem, it has been an issue in the past. I think the wire that runs under the road was done with the same batch of wire that failed at the Red Barn. After a rather lame attempt to patch it, we pulled a new wire through the pipe that runs under the driveway. Really didn't take long, but it was getting dark and the third flashlight of the day had dying batteries. It was sprinkling on and off. We turned on the power and then had to replace the last 8 feet of electric fence tape which clearly had broken some of it's tiny wires and was also shorting. The final test of the fence showed it to be good. By then it was full dark and definitely time to go in.
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