The Great Fencing Project

We purchased our 18 acre 'mini-farm' with the intention of raising farm animals.  Mostly cattle, and a few chickens, pigs, and possibly goats as well.  Naturally, you must have fencing to keep said animals within the confines of home - at least if you want your neighbors to like you, or at best not call the cops on you.  So, my handy-man husband has been diligently working on fencing our property in time for the cows' summer grass feast.  Right now, the cows are in the only pen that we have that will actually keep them from escaping, which is not nearly big enough.  We've been keeping them fed with hay, but that's not really the ideal.  It works for now, but not only do cows provide us with tasty, grass-fed steaks and briskets, they also take some of the work load off of our trusty, 'ole lawn mower.  That's the goal, anyway.  

This week, my husband has been working specifically on the fence around the house.  I am very excited about this!  He decided to keep me happy by putting a wood fence around the house.  The rest of the property will be broken into paddocks, fenced off with wire, but my house will have a gorgeous, 3-board wooden fence =).  Very cute and farm-country style!  It's going to look amazing when it's done (as does most of his handy-work).  This past weekend, he engaged the help of his Dad, and two of three his brothers.  So, while they spent the entire day digging post holes and putting the posts in, I made sure they were well fed.  We had cinnamon crescent rolls with sausage for breakfast, brisket for lunch, and red beans and rice for supper.  Yum!  

It is so nice to have a husband who knows how to do these kinds of things!  That, and fixing broken water lines, but that's another post entirely...  Here are some pictures of the progress they made:

Natalie & Andrew enjoying the corner post hole:

Putting in one of the gate posts:

All the posts for the front of the house:

the posts for the side of the house:

side view again:

front view again:

random baby loving on her baby doll =)

the guys working hard:

my blueberry bushes are blooming!:

red beans and rice for supper:

I also made homemade granola bars (a slightly adapted version of this recipe) for a snack:

making sure everything is level:

The kids enjoying the beautiful day while the men worked:

The end of a VERY long day (I think they worked for a good, solid 12 hours that day!):

There it is so far!  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the auger in use due to camera malfunction issues...oh well!  They had fun using that thing, anyway.  This week, Phil and I are going to put up the boards and finish up the fence.  I can't wait to see it all finished!  A big thanks to all those guys for helping!!!