The Great Fencing Project - Part Deux

**just a clarification:  technically, the fence in these photos are not technically 100% finished...the pictures were taken *before* the face boards were put on there to cover up the seams...my camera has a mind of it's own, and works when it wills...I've yet to get pics of the fence completely finished...**

It's been awhile since I've sat down and written a blog post.  We've just been so busy lately; I've not had the time.  And, really, I should be folding laundry or sweeping right now, but I'm pretty sure 'blogging' is synonymous with 'procrastinating from house work', so here I am!  

A few weeks ago, my husband began working on putting up fencing around our property, so that the cows could get to grazing.  Last weekend, his Dad and cousin came by to help him finish up the fencing around the house.  It looks so good!!  I'm so excited about this fence.  It really dresses up the yard and makes it look beautiful.  Plus, the cows can no longer just show up on my doorstep looking for food or a place to chew their cud =)

My handyman!

The first row of boards up:

Second row of boards:

And, all three rows:

I think my favorite part of this project was the fact that it ended up being a family project.  Phil got help from his Dad, brothers, and his cousin to do the bulk of the hard work, like putting the posts in, and hanging the boards, but for the lighter work, like putting up the face boards, and a few other little things, the kids and I joined in and worked as a family to get it done.  I'm finding more and more that living in the country on a large piece of land is so great for family life!  Not that it's always perfect and happy - I mean the kids were pretty much whining the whole time because "they were tired", "we don't want to!", and "Andrew's not helping"..."Natalie's not being nice!"...blah blah blah!  But, even so, it forced them to learn to cooperate and at least try to work as a team.

Don't let those smiles fool you!  They were only posing ;)

They would carry the boards and line them up along the fence, then Phil would put the board on the face of the fence to cover the seams with one screw, and then I would go back and put the rest of the screws in.  It was work, but it was fun...

Natalie making sure Daddy gets it level:

On most afternoons, they just opted to play instead of help:

Liesel even got involved!:

I'm sure the kids will be forced to do work around here that they absolutely do not want to do, and it will cause all sorts of arguments, but in the long run, I truly believe they will benefit from life in the country...even if they never see it that way.  Having that strong sense of family, and expecting everyone to contribute to family life instills values and virtues that are hard to find else where.  Not that this can't be done if you live in the city, but I think it's harder, because when you live out in the country, life is just slower and simpler and more conducive to working together and communicating.  There's no stress of city traffic, or loud noise, or all the lights from businesses that are open 24/7....it seems like cities never sleep.  And, I love that my kids spend the majority of their time outside, exploring nature, catching frogs, finding baby birds, playing in the dirt, learning about farm animals and gardening.  It's amazing to see the wonder on their faces when they discover something new.  Now, don't get me wrong, there are days when all they do all day is fight, or beg to watch TV all day long (some days, I just give in to their request for my own sanity ;), or refuse to go outside, but I would say that the majority of the time, life out here is just simply awesome!  On top of all that, it's so easy for me to find God in our life here.  I'm not being constantly distracted by the glitz and glamor of the world (although, the internet does a pretty good job of filling in that hole...).  It's so peaceful and quiet - it's hard NOT to see God in nature when it's all around you.  

Anyway, I got side-tracked.  Back to the fence...we are pretty much finished with the fence around the house.

The next phase is for Phil to finish up the perimeter fencing.  He has one more side to go, I think.  After that, he has to put up the fencing to divide the property into separate paddocks, and then we'll be cow proof, or "cow tight", as he likes to say =)  In the mean time, we've got up some temporary electric fencing so that the cows can start eating on the grass that has been growing like crazy!  It needs to be eaten, and we are running low on hay, so we put up the temporary fence last week, and the cows got their first taste of the grass since we moved here.  They were beyond excited.  The littlest one just kept running through it and jumping in circles...it was so cute!  I tried to get a picture of her in action, but she was too quick...

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!!!